What I have learnt:
This is was my first experience of creating an opening sequence and I believe that it went well. The reason that it went well was because we carefully planned out the sequence by drawing a clear storyboard, printing off a script and identifying locations to film around the school. This shows if you have a clear plan, you can focus more on the acting a small details that make it look more professional. Personally, I think that the first sequence that features lots of shots is very much like the original and looks realistic. However, the audio of the voice over is quite quiet and not very clear so it could have been better if we recorded it again in a louder and clearer fashion. The car scene is also good as we stick to the 180 degree rule and apply match on action as I exit the car. However, we experienced audio problems again as it is a struggle to hear the actors. This is because we had the windows open to film the sequence whilst it was windy and the people in the car were not confident enough with their lines to act the scene passionately. In the original the music fades out during the car scene whereas in our remake the music still overpowers the speaking of the actors. One camera angle that we used which was effective was when the camera pans down on the locker and up on the car. This helps the audience know that they are in a new setting and allows the film to flow. I will therefore use this when I start to create my own projects. Although this is an effective film opening for a coming of age film I think that I will base my opening on one subject rather than three as I do not want to reveal the narrative to the audience straight away and I want to be able to create some enigma codes.
Checklist For My Opening Sequence:
Don't reveal too much of the narrative.
Use a catchy soundtrack to engage my audience.
Correct institution information used.
Make the main character the focus of the narrative.
Film the video in landscape and not portrait as it will make it difficult to edit.
Make the actors speak clearly and slowly to make it easy to edit and understandable.
Stick to the 180 degree rule unless I am braking it to add effect and demonstrate confusion.
Use close ups.
Think about costume to represent a social group.
Make a clear plan/storyboard.
Make transitions seamless.
Use Film 4 as my institution company as they are usually low budget films and bring up encouraging actors.
Try to include some animation in my sequence.
Produce a script for my actors.
Use pans to demonstrate motion.
Create some enigma codes that will make my audience watch on.
Greg Mottola Voki
Greg Mottola's three films, Paul, Superbad and Adventureland all contain similar elements. Firstly, he uses animation in all of the films but in slightly different ways. The title and typography elements in Superbad and Adventureland look animated and are cartoon like whereas the animation in Paul is of the alien which is made to look like it is in the shot with the rest of the characters. This animated element gives us the impression that the target audience is teenagers because this is associated with comedy films that stereo typically teenagers are engaged to.
The actors that Greg uses in his films are also well known. For example, Paul features Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, Superbad stars Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill and Adventureland stars Kristen Stewart and Jesse Eisenberg. All of these actors are extremely famous so therefore his films will be watched by a lot of people because of the names listed. Kristen Wiig and Seth Rogen appear more than once in his films which shows that he wants his audience to be attracted by seeing these names on the credits.
In all the trailers of these films, editing techniques are frequently used. For example, wipes are used a lot along with a sound effect which helps the scene to flow and develop. Mottola also uses vibrant music in his films which allows his audience to recognize his films and potentially watch it because of who it is related to.
The narratives are completely different in his films but have the same goal. This is because of the theory that most films follow Todorovs theory. he uses males as the main character which could be because he is trying to attract a male audience so that they will watch his film with the aim of not only being entertained but to relate with the main protagonist.
Film Examples:
Superbad
Adventureland
Paul
What I have learnt:
After researching the work of Greg Mottola I have found out that if you frequently use some small elements you can build an audience and a franchise. I will try to use some of his editing techniques like a wipe from one shot another as I believe that this helps to construct a flow to the narrative. I also like the idea that he incorporated animation into his films so I will therefore try to include this in my sequence. I have also learnt a lot about the directing industry and that most directors have a style or way of doing things. They furthermore like working with the same actors as they clearly understand each other and know what the actor is capable of.
Checklist For My Opening Sequence:
Don't reveal too much of the narrative.
Use a catchy soundtrack to engage my audience.
Correct institution information used.
Make the main character the focus of the narrative.
Film the video in landscape and not portrait as it will make it difficult to edit.
Make the actors speak clearly and slowly to make it easy to edit and understandable.
Stick to the 180 degree rule unless I am braking it to add effect and demonstrate confusion.
Use close ups.
Think about costume to represent a social group.
Make a clear plan/storyboard.
Make transitions seamless.
Use Film 4 as my institution company as they are usually low budget films and bring up encouraging actors.
After my research of these distribution and production companies, I have discovered which company I would like to produce my Coming of Age film. Film 4 is a perfect choice because they are associated with bringing up and encouraging young actors and also produce some coming of age films. I have also understood the difference between between a production company and a distribution company which I didn't know before this piece of research. Finally, I was surprised by the amount of different companies with different amounts of money, audiences and genres.#
Checklist For My Opening Sequence:
Don't reveal too much of the narrative.
Use a catchy soundtrack to engage my audience.
Correct institution information used.
Make the main character the focus of the narrative.
Film the video in landscape and not portrait as it will make it difficult to edit.
Make the actors speak clearly and slowly to make it easy to edit and understandable.
Stick to the 180 degree rule unless I am braking it to add effect and demonstrate confusion.
Use close ups.
Think about costume to represent a social group.
Make a clear plan/storyboard.
Make transitions seamless.
Use Film 4 as my institution company as they are usually low budget films and bring up encouraging actors.
What I have learnt:
From creating this task we have managed to use all the elements we have learnt in our other videos and link them together. Firstly, we found that planning our video was quite simple as we all agreed on one idea and roughly knew what shots would work. we made a clear storyboard shown above that mapped out our ideas and made sure that we knew what we were filming. Filming the video also went well as we stuck to one camera man which meant that the other people in our group could focus on positioning etc. we also learnt from our previous mistakes like filming in landscape, not portrait and having more of the persons body in the shot whilst filming an over the shoulder camera angle. Together, these improvements made our video look a lot more professional. However, whilst editing our video, some of our transitions between the shots were not seamless like in previous videos which lowered the professional value. Therefore next time we will need to focus on making sure that the shots fit exactly to make it improve.
Checklist For My Opening Sequence:
Don't reveal too much of the narrative.
Use a catchy soundtrack to engage my audience.
Correct institution information used.
Make the main character the focus of the narrative.
Film the video in landscape and not portrait as it will make it difficult to edit.
Make the actors speak clearly and slowly to make it easy to edit and understandable.
Stick to the 180 degree rule unless I am braking it to add effect and demonstrate confusion.
What I have learnt:
Whilst analyzing these film openings, I have learnt how camera angles, editing, sound and Mise en Scene can be used to make an interesting opening sequence and hook and engage the audience. I have also got an idea of what elements I need to include in my opening sequence in order to stand out or help it flow. Some camera angles that I will use are close ups as I think that they clearly show someones emotions and a point of view shot to make it feel like the audience is the character in the scene. I will also have to carefully consider the costumes that I use in my opening as I think this is a great way to highlight a characters persona.
Checklist For My Opening Sequence:
Don't reveal too much of the narrative.
Use a catchy soundtrack to engage my audience.
Correct institution information used.
Make the main character the focus of the narrative.
Film the video in landscape and not portrait as it will make it difficult to edit.
Make the actors speak clearly and slowly to make it easy to edit and understandable.
Stick to the 180 degree rule unless I am braking it to add effect and demonstrate confusion.
From the completion of this video, I have learnt the technique of match on action and put it into practice. We experienced a few issues when creating this video. Firstly, some of the shots that linked together where not seamless. For example, when Tom ties up his shoe lace he doesn't carry on walking after the action and instead stands still. In our next shot, Tom already started walking so we were missing a link in between to make it look like he had just carried on. Another problem that we had was that the volume of audio in each shot was different as they were filmed at different times in different places. Therefore, we had to put a soundtrack over the top of our video and mute the volume in the shots. However, I believe that this made the video better as it added another element to it.
Checklist For My Opening Sequence:
Don't reveal too much of the narrative.
Use a catchy soundtrack to engage my audience.
Correct institution information used.
Make the main character the focus of the narrative.
Film the video in landscape and not portrait as it will make it difficult to edit.
Make the actors speak clearly and slowly to make it easy to edit and understandable.
Stick to the 180 degree rule unless I am braking it to add effect and demonstrate confusion.
What I have learnt:
By creating this video I have learnt what went wrong and what went well. The first problem that we had was that we started to film the shots in portrait on an IPhone. This was an issue because it would have meant that the shots would have looked small on IMovie. Half way through filming we realized what the issue was and had enough time to start to film in landscape which made it look a lot more professional. Another issue that we encured was with the audio in each shot. This is because we were overlapping each other as we spoke which made it very difficult to edit. Therefore, we should have left long gaps between the time that we spoke so that it would have been a lot simpler to edit. One thing that went well, however, was the editing of the video. This is because each shot clearly linked together and flowed which made it look like a real conversation. One particular edit that went well was towards the end where Tom and Adam walk away from the conversation. The camera changes at exactly the right time which helps the video flow. We also followed the 180 rule and i believe this was important because it is easy for the audience to follow the conversation and also implies that there is no confusion between the characters in the shot.
Checklist For My Opening Sequence:
Don't reveal too much of the narrative.
Use a catchy soundtrack to engage my audience.
Correct institution information used.
Make the main character the focus of the narrative.
Film the video in landscape and not portrait as it will make it difficult to edit.
Make the actors speak clearly and slowly to make it easy to edit and understandable.
Stick to the 180 degree rule unless I am braking it to add effect and demonstrate confusion.
From this task I have understood the differences between older coming of age films and newer coming of age films. For example, in newer films the main character is the focus of the narrative and the whole story revolves around them. However, in older films like The Goonies and The Breakfast Club there are many main characters all grouped together to form the narrative. I have also learnt that coming of age films are not a recent occurrence and have been around for quite a long time showing their development as a film genre.
Checklist For My Opening Sequence:
Don't reveal too much of the narrative.
Use a catchy soundtrack to engage my audience.
Correct institution information used.
Make the main character the focus of the narrative.
Narrative revealed?
No elements of the narrative have been revealed as the title sequence only follows the protagonist walking down the street. Sound
Non diegetic sound is the only sound in the title sequence. The music in the background is upbeat and enjoyable which implies that everything is calm in the first stages of the film. Typography examples
Fox searchlight pictures presents, Mr Mudd production, a Jason Reitman film, Juno, Ellen Page, Michael Cera, casting by Mindy Marin, film editor Dana Clauberman etc Audience
Aimed towards young people of both ages as the main character pictured in the title sequence is a teenager. This means that teenagers will watch this film to relate with the protagonist. The font of the text is also quite messy and lose which also suggests that it is aimed at teenagers because it is not serious. The cartoon display finally connotes a comic book which many teenagers read and would therefore be engaged by this sequence. Institutional Information
The only information given is that it was produced by Fox Searchlight Pictures. Opinion
I enjoyed this opening because it is unique and quite catchy. However, I feel like it was repetitive and would have been better being shorter.
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Narrative revealed?
Some elements of the narrative have been revealed. Ferris has just pretended that he is ill so that he doesn't have to go into school but we don't know why he wants to do so. Sound
Non diegetic sound of the radio informs the audience where the film is set. We can also hear a conversation between Ferris his parents and his sister which also gives us an idea of the setting and occasion. There are also diegetic sounds from outside of dog barks and sympathetic music starts towards the end of the sequence as they are leaving him. Typography examples
Paramount pictures presents, a John Hughes film, Ferris Buellers Day Off, starring Alan Ruck Audience
Teenage male audience because they can relate to the protagonist. The font style is simplistic and curvy which connotes childlike and playful, also connotations of teenage boys. Each part of writing is also written in lower case again showing simplicity and it appears in different areas of the screen helping the movie develop and flow. Institutional Information
The only institutional info given is the production company Paramount pictures Opinion
I enjoyed this introduction because I could relate to the character of Ferris Bueller and this sequence would make me want to watch the film to find out why he is bunking off school.
The Breakfast Club
Narrative revealed?
The narrative is not revealed but it is clear that most of the events in the film will take place in a school Sound
Non diegetic sound of the voice over which gives the impression of a diary or personal story. The music in the background is also upbeat and dies down when the characters are speaking. Diegetic sound of the car doors being slammed, the car moving away and dialogue of the characters. Typography examples
There is no text in this opening sequence Audience
The audience of this film will be younger people of both ages because of the fact that it is set in a school. Institutional Information
There is no Institutional Information Opinion
This is quite a simplistic start to the film but it clearly introduces the main characters and sets the scene.
The Goonies
Narrative revealed?
Elements of the narrative are not revealed as the things that happened in the sequence do not link together Sound
Diegetic sound: Dialogue, doors of the jail opening and closing, reloading of the gun implying danger, wheels of the car spinning and gunshots suggesting action, police sirens
Non diegetic: Sharp noises as he hit the policeman suggesting action, fast music implying tension and drama, Typography examples
The Goonies, Starring (in alphabetical order), casting by..., production designer Michael Riva Audience
The audience for this film will be young adults who are boys. This is because of the use of sound effects like gunshots and car engines where they connote action and danger which male adults are usually engaged in. Institutional Information
There is no information about the production company of the film Opinion
I think that this is a good opening because the audience are instantly envolved in the action and danger of a car chase which is engaging. The sound used in this sequence is also very effective in captivating an audience.
Spider-Man
Narrative revealed?
There are no elements of the films narrative revealed as there is no dialogue, however the frequent occurrence of a spiders web suggests that this has some importance in the film. Sound
Non diegetic music playing in the background is sinister and is not upbeat or happy. Therefore this implies that there is an element of danger in the film and could suggest a disruption to the equilibrium. Typography examples
Colombia pictures presents, a Marvel enterprises production, Spiderman, starring Tobey Maguire, music by..., edited by..., produced by..., Audience
The audience for Spider-Man would be young males due to the dramatic music that connotes danger and suggests that things may go wrong. The font is also bold, white and clear which is easy to see suggesting the importance of the people that make the film. Institutional Information
There is Institutional information in the sequence like Colombia Pictures and Marvel who would have both produced the film. Opinion
I think that even though there is no dialogue, the opening sequence is still engaging because of the fast, dramatic music in the background.
Garden State
Narrative revealed?
The narrative is not revealed but there are important clues that may help us understand what will happen. Sound
Non diegetic voice recording informing the passengers that the plane is not working properly. soothing music is being played in the background symbolizing the main characters state of mind. More emotional music played towards the end as he is told that his mother has drowned again reflecting his emotions.
Diegetic: People screaming showing distress and madness, phone ringing and dialogue to understand some of the context. Typography examples
A Jersey Films production, Garden State and no other text like actors or producers Audience
It is hard to say who the audience is because there s nothing to suggest it is female aimed or male aimed. However, the main character is male which could cause a male audience to watch the film in order to relate with the protagonist. The start also deals with some serious events like a death of a relative and a plane crash which may suggest that this is aimed at an older audience as they will generally not be as effected as younger people. Institutional Information
Jersey Films is the only information shown. Opinion
I don't like this opening as much because I don't think it would make you want to continue watching. However, the use of music is clever because it represents and emphasizes what he is feeling.
The Perks Of Being A Wallflower
Narrative revealed?
This opening is different to the others I have analysed because it uses snapshots from the film to create an opening sequence. However, these snapshots don't reveal any elements of the narrative as they are so short but gives the audience an insight for what to expect. Sound
The only sound in the sequence is a soundtrack which is quite upbeat and innocent which could be some of the motives of the film. Typography examples
The Perks Of Being A Wallflower, Logan Lerman as Charlie, Emma Watson as Sam etc, based on the novel written by Stephen Chbosky. Audience
The audience would be young teenage girls because it seems as if it is a love story between two people. The font used is also quite simple and is written in lower case letters to perhaps symbolize the narrative and make it easy for the target audience to understand. Institutional Information
There is no Institutional information in this opening sequence. Opinion
I like this opening because it clearly highlights the important characters and gives us teaser clips to make us watch on.
22 Jump Street
Narrative revealed?
Some elements of the narrative are revealed. For example they are told that have to go to college to complete a mission but it is not clear what their mission is and why they have it. Sound
Non diegetic police sirens in the background symbolizing drama and action. There is calm music in the background as clips are shown from the previous film. Dialogue gives us some context. R and B music comes on towards the end when they are preparing for their mission. This implies determination and also adds a comedic element to the sequence. Typography examples
In the previous episode 21 Jump Street. The writing is foreign which may suggest that this film is linked with another country. 22 Jump Street. Audience
The audience will be male adults because the opening sequence has some comedic elements and images of guns that may not be appropriate for younger viewers. This film is mainly male orientated as the titles font is metallic and shiny which suggests that there will be action in the film. The title is also in the colors red and blue which makes us think of a police siren. This should therefore have some importance in the narrative and will be engaging to males because of the action and danger associated with the police. Institutional Information
There is no institutional information Opinion
I enjoyed this opening because it reminded the audience what happened in the last film to make it easier to understand. I also liked the use of music to add comedy in the opening sequence and make us want to continue watching.
Superbad
Narrative revealed?
The narrative is not revealed as the opening sequence only shows two characters dancing. Sound
Upbeat and feel good music which gets you in a good mood to watch the film and gets you captivated. Typography examples
Columbia Pictures presents, Superbad, Jonah Hill, Micheal Cera, directed by Greg Mottola. Each individual name doesn't appear in the same place which helps the movie develop and keeps us guessing. Audience
The audience for this film will be people of all ages because the music is something that everyone can enjoy. Institutional Information
There is an animation at the start of the sequence for Columbia pictures which is well establish on highly successful films. People may have seen other films produced by this company and would therefore be engaged. Opinion
I like this opening because it is unique and puts you in a good mood before the film starts. It also clearly highlights the actors and production companies involved. What I have learnt:
From completing this task, I have learnt that most films opening sequences tend to follow a similar layout. The narratives in each of the openings i analyzed were not revealed which is engaging to an audience because it keeps them guessing. I have also learnt that sound can be used effectively to portray someones emotions or captivate the main idea and message of the film. Most of the films clearly displayed actors, directors and any other producers names and always included the title of the film. I have also understood that not a lot of institutional information is on the opening and is usually just the main production company. Overall, i now know how a film opening should be laid out and have started to have some ideas of what my own opening sequence will look like.
