Sound

In this task I looked at possible copyright free songs for our opening scene, I used two websites and listened to different genres and songs till I found a few I liked. The websitesI used to find the copyright free music where Free Music Archive and Bensound. The sound we are looking for in our opening scene is a modern, soft rock song without any words, this is so it can play in the background and people can speak over the top.

I then went on to make an I-Movie which included all the songs i have found:

 

We came to the conclusion that song 3 is too happy so we decided it was between song 1 and song 2. We then asked people which song they liked the best here is some feedback from the people we asked.

Emily said she preferred song 1 because the high notes make it seem happy but the tempo makes it sad. She said this made it fit in with our idea for the opening scene of the film.

Ali said he preferred song 2 this was because it has more of a cheerful tone.

Megan said she preferred song 2 this is because  the drum beats fit in well with walking also because it is upbeat.

Audience Profile

In this task we looked at audience profile and the target audience for our opening scene. From doing this it has helped us think about the different social groups represented in our opening scene.

Here is a Prezi done by my partner Freya Vincent to show this information.  

Representation in Films

In this task I looked at two films and analysed them and the way teenagers and young people are represented in these films. I made mind maps and put them together on a slideshow to show this.

 

Learning Comment
From looking and researching these two opening scenes I have learnt how they have represented teenagers which is their target audience and their teenage characters. I have learnt that they use the normal conventions and codes for the coming of age films genre. They have done this through the use of the mise en scene, this is the bright colours and fast paced music and editing. I have also learnt that the teenagers are represented as energetic by the use of cuts between the shots when editing. Another thing I have learnt is that teenagers are also represented as shy, quiet and having health issues. This is shown by facial expressions seen by close up camera angle and low angle which makes people look small.

Narrative Structure

In this task I looked at the Narrative Structure for two coming of age films, I showed my analysis in Spiderscribe an online mind mapping website. The two coming of age films I looked at were Wild Child and Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

Learning Comment
From this piece of research i have learnt that in an opening scene it is good to have a fast paced opening scene that has a disrupted equilibrium at the start, this is because it engages the audience.

Preliminary Task

In this task we had to plan, film and edit a short video clip that we recorded. The storyboard below shows the idea i had for my short video clip. The storyboard shows someone walking through the door, sitting at a table then talking to another person. There is very little dialogue in the video just short sentences. I looked at three types of editing and tried to include them in my video these are:

• Match on action - is where one shot cuts to another shot and shows the action that is still going on from the first shot.  

• Shot/reverse shot - is normally used when two people are having a conversation. Shot reverse shot shows the first person speaking then shows the second persons reaction. 

• 180-degree rule - is a a guideline in filming that the people in the scene should have the same 'left - right' relationship with each other. However, the filming must take place within the 180 degree angle which this is maintained in a conversation.

  Preliminary Task from Becky Moffat on Vimeo.

Learning Comment 
From this piece of research I have learnt new camera angles that I didn't know about before. These include the 180-degree rule, match on action and shot/reverse shot. From this research i have found that using a 180-degree rule shot makes it easier to edit together, this is because the 2 shots will flow together nicely. From this task I have found it things will i will need to use in my opening scene. For example one thing i have realised is that i will need to press record then wait a few seconds before the actor speaks or comes into shot. This is because in my shot clip above, the start of the sentence or scene gets cut out when editing the shot. From editing this task i have learnt that it would have been easier to edit if I had started recording the individual clips before the person has started talking. This way the clips would't cut out the start of the speech.

Analyzing Previous Students Work

In this task i looked at two opening scenes that were created by other AS Media students, i am hoping that this would give my some ideas of which techniques i will use to make my opening scene and how i will make the opening.


The first opening scene I looked at was called Captive.



In this opening scene it is obvious that they have clearly thought about the genre of film they are looking at, you could also tell who the target audience is. At the start of the opening scene they show the age rating for the film.  The demographic audience for this opening scene would be E this is students and unemployed. This shows us the target audience for the film which would be teenagers aged 15+, this suggests their may be violence or bad language in this film. The first shot of the opening scene shows us some bloody hands that have been tied up with some dirty and bloody rope. The first shot is already gives us an insight into the narrative, this is because it showing us that someone has been injured and hurt. We can see he is hurt through the mise en scene use of make up. This could also suggest that someone is being forced to stay there against his will. This links well with the title of film 'Captive'.  The next shot we see a close up of the tied character, this suggests to the audience that he is the protagonist as he is the only person that has been in the first two shots of the opening scene. Through the mise en scene use of sound is effective in this opening scene, the use of non-diegetic sound is effective as they have used music and sound effects to create an eerie atmosphere. The use of diegetic sound is also effective, this is because it is the character screaming and sound like he is in pain this makes you feel sympathy for the protagonist. This will engage the audience as they will want to watch more of the film to see if the protagonist is going to be okay. There is little typography in this opening but the typography used is simple and bold. The colour of the ext is white which connotes purity and innocence. This creates a binary opposite as the text connotes purity but the opening scene suggests the film will be may be gory and contain violence. If I could make any changes to this opening scene it would be to use more low key lighting, this would create a more mysterious atmosphere and would link well with the genre of the film.  


The second opening scene I looked at was called The Edge.


The first shot in the opening scene is an establishing shot, it shows the protagonist skating through a residential area. It also suggests to us that he maybe be from a rougher area. The target audience for this film would be teenagers aged 15+, the demographic audience would be E-C which is students, unemployed people and lower class. The opening scene doesn't build up suspense it goes straight into the narrative and is action packed. This will engage the audience as the fast paced opening scene will make them want to watch it as they will find it exciting and want to know what happens next. All of the text used in the shots are cleverly placed , they may not always been in plain sight. The text is also in black or white writing and is never placed in the center of the shot. This is effective as you can still see what is going on in the shot.For example at the start of the film the text is at the top of the screen on top of a building which is out of the way and lets us see the shot. The use of non-diegetic sound is creating tension which will engage the audience as this will also make them want to watch more of the film and see what happens. If i could change anything about this opening scene I would make the typography stand out more, i would make it bolder and wouldn't try to disguise it in the background. Another reason why I would make the text stand out more is because there is a lot of action going on in the opening scene so people will be more focused on that and not see or read the typography on screen. I would also make sure there is more dialogue and I would sure less of the narrative is revealed.

Learning Comment 
By analysing other AS Media students work I now know more about what codes and conventions are used in specific genres of films. From watching both opening scenes i now know what i would like to create an opening like the first one which was called 'Captive'. This is because it is obvious what the genre of film is. This is a good thing because it will help engage the audience if they enjoy the film genre. The use of sound is important in an opening scene, when I am making my opening I will use  sounds and music that will create tension. This is so that the audience are more engaged and what to know what's going on. I would add more dialogue to the opening scene but it would only be short sentences so that the narrative isn't being given away. I will also make sure i use a wider variety of camera angles to show different things. For example I will use close ups in emotional scenes where the character is showing facial expressions. Another example is using high and low angle shots to make my characters look small or big. This can be effective as the high angle shot will make them look small and weak and the low angle shot will make the character look big and strong, this could be used in a fight scene.