Coursework Task Analysis

Roses are Red:
They used an innovative may of displaying the title credits however I feel that it distracted from the story somewhat. Also the editing was quite slow paced but contrast to that some titles were not displayed on screen for long enough, to be able to read them, which could sometimes be an issue.
I could only see one use of foley in the sequence which was the click on the computer therefore I think they would loose marks on the sound as it was only one audio track applied for the duration of the song.
Overall I would grade this at a mid level 3 as it showed little in the way of story and shot selection wasn't diverse.
Gemini: The use of foley sound was evident which helped improve the production value of the film, however the sound design was poor and did not flow well with the piece. I felt that the camera angles were basic and that the titles didn't stay on screen for long enough for us to read them. I also thought that when it went back to the action after the titles, it felt like the second scene of the film therefore not making this just the opening scene. Overall I would grade this at a high level 3 as the sound in this film opening was poor and brought the grade down. My Mother and I: The editing in this scene was slow paced and didn't feel natural as he was walking through the house.  I also found that it didn't leave much enigma and that the music and the production company didn't fit with the genre of the film, which in itself was unclear. There was some evidence of sound design as the same television news article was continued throughout the different camera shots which added to the editing skills. Overall I would grade this at a high level 3 again with the sound and camera work letting it down. A Schools Nightmare: Their production company logo was well constructed and the theme of it went with the style of the film. The titles were nicer and simple and mostly all in the correct order, however 'starring was used' However I felt when the name of the film came up right in the middle of the action it felt like more of a trailer for a film rather than an opening for a brief moment. Also the fact that we saw the ghost at the end made it feel like a short film as it left little enigma for the audience to think about. However the camera and production was well thought out and overall made for a powerful piece of work. Overall i would grade this with a level 4, however it wouldn't get full marks on its short film like feel. The Edge: The titles in this were cleverly constructed and the camera work was well crafted and the piece flowed well. The editing could have been a little tighter and the piece should have been a bit shorter in my opinion. Enigma is left to the audience at the end as we don't know what happened to the boy or why he was being chased which easily opens up the possibility for this to continue into maybe a short feature film. This sequence would gain very high marks however the word 'Starring' was once again use when introducing the actors. The overall grade I would give is a high level four of about 58 marks. The reason why it didn't get 60 marks is that I was a bit too long for a good film opening and staring was used meaning it didn't follow the conventions of an action film. Blitz: The Mise en Scene in this opening was good as time was taken on making the set and getting the correct icons to appear in the scene. The camera work was good and the lighting was carefully thought about. However, the reason I wouldn't give this top marks is because the opening was resolved at the end when the person appeared in a gas mask, which made the whole production finite resulting in it being a short film rather than an opening scene from a feature or short. The sound was carefully done as well with lots of evidence of foley. The overall grade I would give is a level 4 at around 50 marks simple because it didn't have the total feeling of a film opening.



Mark Scheme I used to grade these openings:

Level 1 0–23 marks  The work for the main task is possibly incomplete. There is minimal evidence in the work of the creative use of any relevant technical skills such as:• Producing material appropriate for the target audience and task; • using titles appropriately according to institutional conventions; • using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task set;• shooting material appropriate to the task set; including controlled use of the camera, attention to framing, variety of shot distance and close attention to mise-en-scene; • using editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer and making selective and appropriate use of shot transitions and other effects. 
Level 2 24–35 marks  There is evidence of a basic level of ability in the creative use of some of the following technical skills:• Producing material appropriate for the target audience and task; • using titles appropriately according to institutional conventions; • using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task set;• shooting material appropriate to the task set;, including controlled use of the camera, attention to framing, variety of shot distance and close attention to mise-en-scene; • using editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer and making selective and appropriate use of shot transitions and other effects. 
Level 3 36–47 marks  There is evidence of proficiency in the creative use of many of the following technical skills:• Producing material appropriate for the target audience and task; • using titles appropriately according to institutional conventions; • using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task set;• shooting material appropriate to the task set; including controlled use of the camera, attention to framing, variety of shot distance and close attention to mise-en-scene; • using editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer and making selective and appropriate use of shot transitions and other effects.
Level 4 48–60 marks There is evidence of excellence in the creative use of most of the following technical skills:• material appropriate for the target audience and task;• using titles appropriately according to institutional conventions;• using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task set;• shooting material appropriate to the task set;including controlled use of the camera, attention to framing, variety of shot distance and close attention to mise-en-scene;• using editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer and making selective and appropriate use of shot transitions and other effects.

Sound

Diegetic Sound- What the characters of the film can hear.
Non-Diegetic Sound- What the characters can't hear that has been added. (eg. a voice over)
Asynchronous Sound- Diegetic sound that you can't see in the scene.
Sound Bridge- Linking two scenes together with sound.

In the lesson today we were informed once again about the importance of sound in film productions, as well as the different types of sounds included in films. Sound always adds more to the moving image on the screen, often in films you don't need to see something to know it is happening. Even the absence of sound can really adds to the scene or shot and then can become the main talking point of the sequence. An example of this is the lack of music in the new bond film Spectre in one of the main fight scenes on the train. People felt that this really added to the realism of the scene and made it more intense.

Skyfall Opening Title Analysis

The people who fund the film are listed as the first title.

The Main character of the film is then showed.

All the further titles then last for roughly 3 seconds so they are in time with the music.

The title of the film is then displayed.

The rest of the main cast members then appear in order of significance.

The coproducers are next.

 The script supervisor, Sound recordist, Electrical Supervisor and the Second Unit assistant Director.

Then a list of the main makeup crew is noted.

The Art directors and the Visual Effects producer are next.

Visual Effects and Associate Producer.

 First assistant director

 First assistant director

 Casting and Main Titles Producers

 Social Effects supervisor and the Stunt Coordinator

 Costume Designer

 Editors

 DP

 Production Designer

 Music

Performer of the Main Theme 

Executive Producer 

 Writers

Producers 

Finally the Director 

Summary:
The first titles to be displayed in the film were the lead actors and actresses with the film title appearing after the main character. The script supervisor and the sound crew were next to appear with the writer and producers coming at the end of the credits just before the director.

The style of the titles is fitting with the type of film that Skyfall is. All of the titles are timed and animated to fit with the storyline that is being told throughout the opening credits.
Each title was on screen for an average of about 3-4seconds which. given that only a short amount are displayed at once, give the audience enough time to read each title clearly.

Prelim Task: Run

Narrative

Opening Scene of Whiplash:

Stot List:

-Black 0-33 seconds

-Extreme Static Long Shot of boy with a drum kit through a door. 33- 50

-Extreme Long shot tracking forward with boy doing an intense drum roll. Shot tracks and progresses to a long shot of the boy apologising at 1min23.

-Medium Close Up of the teacher in a shadowed door way

-Medium Close up of boy in centre frame behind a drum kit

-Back to shot of teacher but with higher key lighting.

-Same shot of the boy and straight back to the teacher

-Conversation continues with the same shot to emphasise the repetitiveness of the conversation

-Shot change when there is a tracking shot towards the boys face to a close up

-Then there is a pan quickly to the right to show that the teacher has left.

-Then back to the innocent face of the boy at the drums.

The actions from the two characters within the first 3 minutes easily portray their role in the film.

Enigma:
Who is the boy?
Who is the older man?
Why is he so harsh with the young boy?
Why is he so interested as to what he can play?

Action Code:
Loud drumming
Intense drumming
Quick stopping and responding to the other man.

Semiotic Code:
Boy sitting down reprising his weakness and that he is inferior to the other man.
The man in standing up to show his power and dominate.
The sweat from the boy to show his suffering and determination.
Slamming the door showed his power over the younger boy.

Film Pitch

Here is the Presentation from my groups film pitch of 'Still Friends?'

In the presentation we made sure that we included all of the topic that needed to be discussed in our film pitch. We also include some extra information on the certificate of the film which would be a 15 and the film institution we would like to partner with which is paramount. They have produced a lot of thriller films in the past and it would really fit the style of the film we would want to create.
Presentation Feedback: The class all did a feedback sheet each which we will take into account if we were ever to pitch with them again. The feedback that we received had come useful criticism on how to improve our pitch and film. A few said they they didn't understand the storyline there we need to create a clear plot to present to them without giving the entire story enigma away.

Juno Opening Sequence Task

To start of this Juno editing task required us to watch the opening scene (the first 1min 5) of Juno. From there it was possible for us to derive a storyboard.
Story Board:

This story board then gave us a complete and detailed list of all the shots we needed and the framing necessary to film.

After editing this is the final opening scene recreation we produced.

Evaluation: -The filming throughout went very well as we got all of our shots that we need within the one lesson time frame and it wasn't necessary for us to have another shoot as all of our shots worked with the edit. -After following the storyboards for the entirety of the shoot we found that the storyboard was well prepared and gave us just the right information about framing and the length of each shot as well as its content. -Among the many strengths and our finished product the group wasn't without its weaknesses. Namely one of them was the workload throughout the group. It could have been better organised so that everyone in the group was responsible for a different part of the short project. -The opening scene that we created compares vey well to the original, asides from the cartoon artwork, all the shots were framed well and matched the original well. The pacing was also almost identical to the original as well. -On the next project we will try to even out the workload so that the project will flow more smoothly and we will meet all the deadlines and ensure that everyone in the group has participated equally.

Pete Fraser

This was the powerpoint that Pete Fraser used in his talk about the AS Level media coursework.

I found that the examples he gave of past opening scenes made by students a great help so I could get an idea of what level I now need to work at to achieve the level that I want. Also by seeing some of their mistakes will help me to avoid them in my final coursework.

Important Points Takes from the talk:

-The order and title content was seen as a very important part of opening sequence. 

-The acting in the opening scene needs to be natural and believable however the quality of the acting isn't marked.

-A large variety of camera techniques and angles should be used to demonstrate good camera work as it is necessary to gain the top marks.

Film openings 2 from Great Baddow High School Media

Boyz n the hood Analysis

Textual Analysis:

Camera:
The film starts with a black screen as for the audience to focus on the sound of the opening scene. Then there is a long shot, tracking shot which shows some children walking to school on the other side of the street. The movement of the camera give the impression that we are walking to school with them. As it is a wide shot we can clearly see all of the rubbish lying around and the stray dogs showing us the bad area that these children live in.
There is a match on action shot of the children entering the crime scene which makes for a fluid sequence which shows the normality of a crime scene and what the boys are used to being exposed to. After this sequence of talking about the blood and plasma it fades into a classroom which also helps to signify the normal like reality that these boys experience.
There is also a static wide shot of the boy walking past a fight from a drug deal on the way home from school which shows the normality for this boy to be exposed to this kind of violence.

Sound:
It starts with, what sounds like african american accents, shouting and swearing in a noisy public place. We then hear a loud tyre screeching and what sounds like an automatic gun fire. Within the first 29 second of the film the sound alone has portrayed a very dangerous scene which shows the setting and general theme of the film.
These sounds without imagery on screen gives more impact and intensity to the sounds. The way that we hear the children speak shows their last of education and that they are taught how to speak by their parents. In the classroom the teacher speaks with a bored and almost patronising tone to the class. The way that she speaks to the children shows that she believes she is better than the children. The fact that the teacher sounds bored when she is speaking shows that she is a bad teacher which furthermore portrays the fact of the children living in a very bad area. When the mother speaks about the teacher it shows that her children will then act like this towards the teacher therefore resulting in bad behaviour and the wrong attitude towards authority. It also shows that the mother does not agree with the stereotypes of the area.

Editing:
The editing is completed chronologically as we hear the gang attack and then the children see it the next day when walking to school. The pace of the editing isn't fast or too slow, this could be done to show that the scenes the audience sees are just part of the everyday life of these children.

Mise en Scene:
What the children are wearing is important as it shows that they are still smartly dressed however the clothes that they are wearing look dirty, old and cheap which further shows the poorness of the neighbourhood. The crime scene show danger by showing blood, bullet holes and a crash which are all symbols of danger, death and pain which further highlights the children situation. 

Institution

'The people who create and publish the media. An example of this is paramount.'

-The main film going audience is aged 15-25
-The cinemas make most of their money through the refreshments they offer and thought advertising fees.
-Distributers are the people who get the films to the audience.

Here is the Powerpoint task on High/Low Budget film institutions:

-It would be important to know the kind of genre each individual film institution usually produce when choosing them for your own project, as their style will be broadcast throughout your film, so it is important for you to research the style they are used to producing.
-I think that Universal Pictures greatly out perform this Low budget film institution as the amount of films they produce and the audience they are about to broadcast to is much greater.

Film Company Logo

I chose the design of this logo as the bright sunset behind shows the open mindedness of the institution and the sky shows that we are not limited to a certain type of production. The simple font shows the company name and it is easy to read.

Film Language

In one of our lessons we learnt about the different areas that go into making a film:

-Mise en Scene

-Camera

-Editing

-Sound

Camera:

Examples of Different Framings:

Examples of Different Angles:

Movement of the Camera:

-Pan Left/Right (on tripod)

-Tilt Up/Down (on tripod)

-Tracking Shot - Follows something traditionally moves along a track.

-Steady Cam - Makes the camera look like it is gliding, smooth shot.

-Handheld - the camera doesn't have the locked down feel. Good for fight scenes.

Mise En Scene - All the things that are in the scene

Costume - Correct costumes for the time period etc.

Lighting - Time of day, Low key or High Key lighting

Actors - Appearance, accent, body language, class, gender

Makeup - Correct make to portray who the person is meant to be

Props - Icons used in the film to raise production value

Setting - What type of film will it be and where it is located

Editing

Transitions - can add to pace of movie and portray a certain scene

Pace - How fast or slow you want a scene to be.

SFX - Sound Effects added in after filming to add more to a scene.

Sound

Dialogue - What is being said and how does it affect the scene

Music - Diegetic (what the characters can hear) or Non-Diegetic (what is put on top of a scene that the characters can't hear) Parallel (music goes with scene) or Counter Parallel (When music doesn't go with the scene)