BFI Trip

A few weeks ago I went on a trip to the BFI to hear some talks from an examiner and others from the film industry to help us with our opening title sequences.
It was really insightful to see work from a director who had a A-level in Media Studies, as it was inspiring to think it could be something we could do in the foreseeable future.

We also heard a talk from a senior examiner on how to create an excellent standard opening title sequence. I learnt what makes a good and bad sequence, and also what quality I would need to produce  to try and secure myself an A grade.

I learnt that there is an huge importance with planning, and that groups that had done a great amount of planning are more guaranteed to get a higher grade than those who don't.

We was shown that to produce a good quality of planning we'd need too,

• Build skills
• Build research
• Planning
• Brainstorm our ideas 
• Recce shots of locations 
• Take screen shots of the process
• Create a 25 word pitch
• Show evidence through out the whole process

I also found it very useful and exciting when we saw the opening sequence of 'Da' Vinci Demons' as the opening title sequence was unique and really interesting to watch as the drawing came a life and turned into titles. I also found it useful that we was told what program it was created in, as we have after effects at school, it could be something with a lot of dedicated and hard work that I could try and achieve.

I found the day really useful, I learnt what do's and don't there are when creating a title sequence, for example having an importance on audio and sound, needing to rehearse and direct, have a realistic expectation and make sure that we have a strong narrative.

I also learnt what not to do, for example not making the title sequence look like a trailer, having poor lighting, sound and direct actors.

Target Audience Interviews

I asked people who fitted the age range for our target audience some questions about thriller films.
Edited using iMovie, made for Sophie Bishop and I's joint production blog, to help us with our opening title sequence.

Audience Research

I decided to look on IMDb (www.imdb.com) to find out some research about different thriller films and find out the audience that watch them to help me for when I create an opening sequence for a thriller film.

From looking on the website I could see that the audience from the rating showings was mainly males who are aged between 18-29.

Fight Club 

Target Audience: 18-29

Fight clubs audience shows that it's a film which has been watched more by males aged either under 18 or 18-29. 

Fight club is a film which shows suspense, fight club also shows a lot of fighting, blood and death which men enjoy viewing. Also the film is based around two male characters which men could relate to, this could be why the male viewing is higher too. The film shows a lot of low lighting during the film, this adds tensions and mystery for the audience, sterotypicaly this wouldn't be a film a woman would enjoy which is why I think the female viewing is lower than the males.

Shutter Island 

Target Audience: 18-29

The same as fight club shutter islands audience is mainly male. Again there is a high amount of audience that are 18-29 but there is also a high percentage of under 18's.

I think the reason why a lot of the audience is under 18 is because the film is a 15 film.

I think the reason why 18-29 year olds would enjoy this film is because it has suspense which grows throughout the film. The film also shows an enigma  code which 18-29 year olds would also enjoy as a lot of questions would be produced by them during the film which would mean they would have to think what was going to happen next.

 The Silence of the Lambs 

Target Audience: 18-29

I think the reason why The Silence of the Lambs has a high rating of 18-29 because it is a very dark and twisted thriller.

I don't think women would enjoy this film due to that and it might might make them feel uncomfortable to watch it.

Se7en

Target Audience: 18-29

Because Se7en is an inventive and suspence thriller this could be why 18-29 would enjoy to watch it.

Also because se7en shows an dark atmosphere, this could be another reason why the viewers are mainly male.  I think there is also a large amount of women viewers because of Brad Pitt starring in the film.

The target audience shows a trend of males aged between 18-29. Men enjoy the aspects of danger, crime and actions within thriller. When creating my own opening sequence for a thriller I will feature them characteristics to make sure it appeals to the target audience.

TV Drama

Pretty Little Liars (American based)

Jenna Marshall

Dresses quite girly, is shown wearing big black sunglasses and using a white stick to help her with her surroundings. The audience would feel sorry for her as she is blind due to being a victim of a prank that went horribly wrong.

Later on the audience would'nt feel any pity towards Jenna, as she gains her eye sight again but pretends she's still blind. She does this so people feel sorry for her and it's also a way she can control situations to a way which suit her.

A mean and controlling character, who is clever so she can gain what she wants. 

Normally shown using a extreme close up shot (so the audience can see the damage to her eyes) and also a long shot (so the audience can see her walking with/without her surroundings) 

Ezra Fitz 

Smart/casually dressed. Wants to achieve and become an author, but is still being successful working as an English teacher. 

Normally shown teaching.

Shown as a caring character that people could trust, but is now being shown as a mysterious man who could have a dark and dangerous part to his personality.

Shown either with a close up, medium or long shot. The audience like the character due to him being nice, but their opinions could change of him as he is now someone you might not be able to trust.

Waterloo Road (UK based)

Barry Barry

Dresses in a school uniform and casually outside of school. Isn't very well spoken or educated, as he uses slang words and fails to actually do any school work. He's manipulative and not a trustworthy person as he scams to get what he wants in life.
The audience would like Barry Barry because even though what he does is wrong, he always seems to do things in a funny way.
Shown either with a medium or long shot, so the audience can see what he is doing when he's doing his scams and deals.

Simon Lowsley

Well educated and dresses mainly in suits as he's a school teacher. He's well liked by pupils of the school as he try's to achieve the best for them but isn't very liked by other staff members as he's determined to become the head teacher.
I think the audience would like him as he try's his best to make a failing school into one that achieves.
Shown in normally a medium shot.

Narrative

Narrative shows the way that the story is being put together. It shows the audience how the events are being put together, so the audience gains a better understanding of what is happening in the thriller.

Enigma Code
An enigma code asks the audience a question.
Who is she/he?
What are they doing?
Why are they doing that?
What is happening?

Enigma codes are a narrative to show the audience needed information. Highlighted parts within a thriller that take an unexpected turn to create a overall impact by the end of the film.
The enigma code won't be answered until the end of the film, this makes the audience want to watch the film for longer as they are intrigued in finding out more.
The audience will be curious about what is going to happen, the enigma code also provides mystery to audience, it also allows them to discover new things as the thriller progresses and gives an example of something new about the character or plot.
Linear
Shows a clear beginning, middle and end.
Non Linear
Is where it shows flash backs of what the character has gone through in their past. This helps the audience get a better understanding of the character. It also gives the audience a reason to watch till the end, to see if its effected the character in anyway and if so did it effect the ending.
Restrictive
The audience only knows what the characters know, so will not know the ending of the film. Near the end of the film the audience will be given hints to what has been going on but still won't truly understand.
Omniscient
Omniscient shows the audience who the protagonist (murderer, detective) from the start. Even though the audience see everything from the start and know what the end result is going to be, they might not always know when other events are going to take place.

Animoto Narrative and Sub Genre

Using 'Animoto' which is a website which creates videos, Sophie Bishop and I created two different videos explaining what the different narratives and sub genre's are.

Narrative

This is a video which shows narratives. Sophie Bishop created the majority of this video with my added input.

Sub Genre

This is a video which shows Sub Genre's. I mainly created this video, but I also had added input from Sophie Bishop.

From creating these video I have learnt more about Sub Genre's and have gained a wider understanding on the different types of narratives. I have also learnt how to create video's on 'Animoto' which is a website I haver'nt used before ,but I will use again as I think its a creative way to show my work.

Director's comments for camera shots

This the sequence Sophie Bishop and I filmed and edited, we have added director's comments to explain to the audience what we are doing. We have slowed down the clip so that our voice clips were in time with the video.