Research and planning provisional mark

Name of student: Tobi Warrington

	Done?	Comment/target
RESEARCH
Genre Research and mind-maps	YES
Uploaded YouTube videos of openings - analysed	YES	I only counted 5 – you need 5 more (10 in total)
Opening titles analysed in detail – font researched	YES
Uploaded YouTube videos of similar genre openings analysed in detail	YES	Good detail of analysis
Costume and location research – google earth and pictures you’ve taken.	YES	Good detail of comments for location research – could pictures of possible costumes and props to be added to comments?
Actors and props photos and interviews	NO – comments on props
Soundtrack research (non-copyright music)	YES
Audience Research and Profiling (typical audience member and similar films)	Overview of Horror genre given
Institution research (Paramount etc)	YES
Certificate research	YES
PLANNING
Own film idea brainstorm	YEs
Own film treatment	YES
Relevant Online Tutorials and Comment	YES
Documenting of influences on production	YES
Shot lists	For own film?
Consideration  of representation in your film and stereotyping – use theory from G325.	NO
Questionnaire (and feedback) Get some feedback on your initial ideas!	YES
Diary of filming/editing etc with photos and screen grabs	NO
Mood board	YES
Script	NO
Practice titles created and uploaded	YES
Storyboard – animatic.	NO
Filming schedule	NO

 

 

 

Research and planning mark scheme:

 

Level 2

8–11 marks

Planning and research evidence may be partially incomplete;

There is basic research into similar products and a potential target audience;

There is basic organisation of actors, locations, costumes or props;

There is basic work on shotlists, layouts, drafting, scripting or storyboarding;

There is a basic level of care in the presentation of the research and planning;

Time management may not be good.

 

Level 3

12–15 marks

Planning and research evidence will be complete;

There is proficient research into similar products and a potential target audience;

There is proficient organisation of actors, locations, costumes or props;

There is proficient work on shotlists, layouts, drafting, scripting or storyboarding;

There is a good level of care in the presentation of the research and planning;

Time management is good; there is a schedule of filming

There is no animatic storyboard and/or mood board

 

Level 4

16–20 marks

Planning and research evidence will be complete and detailed;

There is excellent research into similar products and a potential target audience;

There is excellent organisation of actors, locations, costumes or props;

There is excellent work on shotlists, layouts, drafting, scripting or storyboarding;

There is an excellent level of care in the presentation of the research and planning;

Time management is excellent.

 

Research and planning mark       10/20      Level 2

Tobi – your comments are good, but you are missing too much – get the rest completed to the same standard and your mark should go up considerably

Analysis of Film Opening

                                                  Hitch

 

Hitch is a 2005 romantic-comedy starring Will Smith. He plays a 'love therapist', a man who teaches other men how to 'sweep women off of their feet'. The opening scene introduces the audience to Will Smiths character, Alex, and gives them an idea as to what he does and the methods he uses. Throughout this scene, Alex is made to sound extremely experienced in the area of women, as his narration details his knowledge about relationships, showing his expertise. he begins by narrating over a brief montage of different men admiring specific women from a distance which is then usually followed by a dismissive response from the chosen woman. This is a convention of romance films, where one romantic lead doesnt show an interest in the other. In every different situation shown it is always the man admiring the woman rather than vice versa, making women seem more powerful than men.

The location is shown to be in America in a city environment, likely New York. This is shown through the classic yellow taxi cab identified with New York in many classic films. New York is a popular setting for many romance films, as it has a mass market appeal as many people across the world can identify with New York. We then see the lockers in an apartment block. A woman we have followed through parts of the montage leaves the foreground of the shot, as she does this Alex enters the foreground in close-up, also becoming the focus pull of the shot. This shot is the first time we see Alex and during this scene he is the only person in the shot - other than briefly referring back to the men and women we saw before. By doing this, it shows his domincance and ability to entice and attract people towards him. The narration continues, although it is now delivered directly to the audience in a soliloquy from Alex, breaking the fourth wall.

Alex's costume is a suit, showing he is a professional in his line of work. The lack of tie and undone top button on his shirt also suggests a laid back attitude. In other words, the audience is supposed to look at Alex as a cool character. He is also shown as very mysterious in the clip because he only interracts with his 'clients' and speaks directly to the audience, other than this he doesnt speak to anyone making the audience think he doesnt have close friends or family. We know of his importance because he gets the prevalence of the shots as soon as he is introduced, and is mainly shown in close-up. The audience also sees his intelligence and methods in the introduction. Alex uses a dog to lure another dog to him, that belongs to the woman shown in the montage. He then hands the dog to a man outside her apartment block, who then lays in front of a cab with her dog in his hands, so the woman believes he dived in front of it to save her dog.

We see 2 quick shots of Alex shaking hands with the other 2 men shown in the montage, which suggests he is popular and successful in what he does. The next shot is a long shot of the man handing the dog back to the woman, which then pans downwards and puts the foreground in focus to show Alex talking again to the camera. He talks about the "basic principles" and tells the audience how any man can get any woman, which provides the hope and inspiration many of the target market look for in a romance film. The opening scene ends with an establishing shot of the famous New York skyline, confirming the setting of the film.

Conventions of a Horror Film

                                                  Conventions.

• Three act narrative structure
• Predictable narrative content (follows format)
• Clear binary oppositions e.g. good vs evil
• Use of low key lighting, use of CGI, FX
• Dominant representation of gender, male villain, Female victim
• Extensive use of close up, point of view, low angle
• Young/teenage characters
• Use of handheld camera: audience identification/realism
• The 'its behind you' moment
• Looking into the darkness for the villain

Film Soundtrack

Soundtrack Research

For our music, we have got a fellow pupil at our sixth form to produce the score. We began by researching music used in other horror films. We discovered that the music is usually very simple (repetitive), in a minor key and either very high in pitch or very low. The music will usually be eerie, connoting a supernatural feel or even a false sense of comfort making the audience feel uneasy. An example of this would be Tiny Tim - Tiptoe Through The Tulips (used in Insidious) or Mike Oldfields Tubular Bells (used in The Exorcist).

The instruments used in horror music is usually strings or electronic synthesisers, beginnning with a simple riff and repeating, gradually gaining volume and speed to raise tension.

Codes and Conventions

Codes and Conventions of our Film.

In our opening two minutes we have clearly shown most of the codes and conventions of a horror film. we have used low key lighting, young characters, a clear binary option of good and evil and a dominant representation of male villain. We have failed to use a hand held camera, a female victim and an extensive use of close ups and low angle shots. We have tried to use the three act narrative structure as we get to know who the main characters are and what they are dong within the first two scenes. We then get to the mid point of the structure where the characters are introduced to an enigma of a missing girl, this is then enforced by a half burried boot in one of the shots. The boot isnt seen by the main characters so they are still unaware of how close to the antagonist they are. The midpoint starts when they get to a safe enclosed enviroment (the shack). we are then introduced to the antagonists by a shot of them standing close by with weopns in their hands.

Title and Font research

Potential Fonts

We have chosen The thirst for the title of our film, the only thing that we are unsure about is what font to use. We decided to choose fonts that represent a horror film to show our audience what to expect. The colour scheme for our title will be a dark red to connote to the audience evil and blood. We have narrowed it down to three fonts it is out of ghastly panic, horrifind and DHF story brush. This is because the horrifind font looks like dripping blood, this links to our theme. Ghastly panic has been chosen because it looks like something that can be carved into a tree. The DHF story brush was chosen because it links to the theme of horror genre.

Research

Costume and prop research

The costumes that we will be using for our film will be casual clothing - no different to what we would normally wear. This is because in most Horror films, the protagonists will be wearing causal clothing (connoting that they are relaxed and not particularly worried about the apparent dangers). Another reason as to why this clothing is worn is to show the characters immaturity (they are not wearing suits because they are teenagers or young adults who don't have much wisdom or experience).

The antagonists of the opening will be wearing all black costumes, this connotes that they are evil, dark and mysterious. As we will be filming in the dark, this also connotes that this character is more at home in the dark woods than the protagonists who will be wearing brighter colours. We would also like to find plain white masks as shown in the mood board to further strip any personality from the villains. Masks will also cover the faces to make them look less human and it will also cover up any emotions. If we are not able to find any plain white masks, Halloween masks is a second option, this would connote a more gruesome and unprofessional antagonist because instead of wearing hi-tech attire he is wearing something that can be bought anywhere, implying inexperience. If no masks can be found then we have some balaclavas that could be worn. This would connote more of a thug like villain as well as an inexperienced one like with the Halloween masks.



During our film, we are going to use few props. The only props are going to be a hand held scythe and a claw hammer. these are going to be seen at the end of the opening when the audience are finally shown the antagonist. We do not really need many props because for the majority of the time, the protagonists are walking. We chose to use these props because they are make shift and would not make a clean death. This incorporates a gruesome aspect into the opening that features in many big name horror films.

Targets: Complete the Actors and Props photos and interviews, Soundtrack research - for the research section.

For the post - Decided Idea - make this 'Own Film Treatment' and explain the concept and ideas in your Opening Two Minute Clip - the beginning, middle and end of your clip and why you chose this narrative.  Explain what influenced your production.

You need to focus on completing the Planning Posts: script, diary of filming and edting and shot lists - explain what shots you chose to film, comment on how effective they were in what you wanted to show. You could also explain the horror codes and conventions featured in certain shots.

Blog Check list

	Done?	Comment?
RESEARCH
Genre Research and mind-maps (3 posts)	Complete	Have done 4 Mind Maps, Action, Horror and Romance.
Uploaded YouTube videos of openings – analysed	Complete	Have completed the analysis of 3 openings.
Opening titles analysed in detail – font researched	Complete	Have completed 3, from Action and Horror films.
Costume and location research – google earth and pictures you’ve taken. (At least 2 posts)	Completed half, no costume research	Have taken screenshots from google images, and have a post with 6 images on.
Actors and props photos and interviews
Soundtrack research (non-copyright music)
Audience Research and Profiling (typical audience member and similar films)	Complete	Audience research for horrors and action films.
Institution research (Paramount etc)	Complete	Have completed research about all of ‘the big six’
Certificate research	Complete	Have completed all of them ranging from a U to 18
PLANNING
Own film idea brainstorm
Own film treatment
Relevant Online Tutorials (on filming and editing) and Comments (At least 2 posts)	Complete	Have uploaded relevant tutorials for numerous things
Documenting of influences on production
Shot lists
Consideration of representation in your film and stereotyping – use theory from G325.	In Progress	Are using traditional stereotypes of girls in horror movies in our opening two minutes.
Questionnaire (and feedback) Get some feedback on your initial ideas!
Diary of filming/editing etc with photos and screen grabs (At least 3 posts)
Mood board	Complete	Completed
Script
Practice titles created and uploaded
Storyboard – animatic.
Time Management Schedule – what you did& when, problems you encountered& solved
Codes and Conventions featured in your Opening Two Minutes
Ensure that all posts have a title, detailed comments and relevant pictures which are commented on.