Thomas Pennyworth is another one of my criminal characters, he is a fashion designer from Boston who has an anger problem when it comes to bad fashion. He is rude, self absorbed and thinks he's better than everyone else. Though he is an icon in the fashion industry he isn't very bright in terms of anything else, and gets in trouble because of this. He is secretly is very intelligent hacker and lives a life of crime behind closed doors.
Name : Thomas Pennyworth
Age (depicted) : 28
Nationality : American (Boston)
Occupation : Hacker
Appearance : Well dressed, light brown styled hair, well groomed.
Mannerisms : Upturned nose, smirk, holds head up high
Personality aspects : Rude, snobby, takes himself very seriously.
This character is called Randell Wartscab, a burglar notoriously known as the "Burp Bandit". He is one of four criminals my narrative needs to work, and will be stood with the other 3 in a line up room. He is selfish, crude, socially inappropriate and arrogant. The character will be introduced as a notorious villain, so the audience gets the impression that the detectives have been searching for him for a long time.
Name: Randell Wartscab
Age (depicted) : 20
Nationality : American
Occupation : Criminal (burglar)
Appearance : Average size, dark hair, wears sloppy informal clothes, generally dirty appearance.
Mannerisms : Twitchy, fidgets a lot, does things that may seem socially inappropriate.
Personality aspects : Vulgar, disgusting, socially tasteless.
Character type : Villain
My first character is named Jax Power, he is one of the main detectives that will be present in my main task. He is a unique, quirky character who is conventional and unconventional in different aspects. He is charismatic and fun as opposed to the regular gritty mysterious detective characters often used in films and TV. He is not taken seriously by most people, yet is surprisingly good at his job. He is a stereotypical "loser" and lives in somewhat of his own dream world.
Name : Jax Power
Age (depicted) : 24
Nationality: American
Occupation : Detective
Appearance : Dark hair, tall, wears casual/formal clothes
Mannerisms : Walks around / speaks very enthusiastic. Very immature yet good detective.
Personality aspects : Silly, makes lots of jokes, doesn't take job seriously, immature.
Character Type : Twist on the stock hero character
I went onto 1001fonts and looked at a few fonts that could be suitable for my main task, I wanted something bold and powerful, so it has connotations of a detective precinct. The typography will be used during the title credits, and also when the camera cut-zooms on characters and the graphic I will be creating pops up. I can use multiple fonts but they need to be very similar, and used in appropriate ways so they aren't scattered all over the film opening.
I have a few thoughts on a few key narrative aspects my main task can have. I will most likely change it a bit, but for the moment i have a general thought about the narrative and a few elements that will be shown within my work. I previously posted a clip of Brooklyn Nine Nine, and I would like to film my main task in the style used within the TV show. I would also like to loosely base it around a comedic detective / criminal theme.
For the 2 minute opening I would like to have the scene set in a line up room, with 3 or 4 perps lined up against the wall, the detectives will discuss what each perp did, while showing it in a flashback sequence for each one. I will research into different crimes each perp could commit, and find ways to make each comedic, and ways to film it with different characters.
I would like to incorporate Photoshop into my work, by zooming into each perp individually, followed by an edited picture of them shown in the opening of Brooklyn Nine Nine, i will add picture examples below. Within these pictures I will add what crime they committed, their name, and I will also add a catchy sound cue whenever this happens.
I have done some research on different types of humour in order to see which one would best fit my narrative for my main task. After this piece of research I'm going to start looking into what themes, characters and general narrative elements I can add in my main task and start a small amount of planning.
Anecdotal: Anecdotal comedy revolves around an anecdote which is a small personal story. These stories usually have aspects of comedy and the delivery of them should also be comedic.
Burlesque: This type of comedy ridicules by imitating with exaggerated characters and somewhat cartoonish representations of people. Used heavily in films like Zoolander.
Dark: This is usually based around grim or depressing situations dealing with misfortune with a pessimistic approach.
Hyperbolic: Very similar to burlesque, comic representation marked by exaggerations and outsized characterisation.
Juvenile: Humour including childish themes like pranks, name-calling and general immature behaviour.
Situational: This is humour that rises out of certain situations. Often used in sitcoms or specifically situational comedies.
I want my main task to be really upbeat and fun to watch. The Brooklyn Nine Nine opening credits is exactly the type of thing I'd like to have for my opening. Obviously I would have a scene to introduce certain characters and themes beforehand, but i would like a 20-30 second section after the scene along these lines.
I could do this by recording each character for a few seconds doing an action that suits their personality, use jump cuts to slightly zoom into them and then photoshop to create an edited image of them.
My preliminary task had many features that can be improved on, though there are also a few good factors. I didn't put all of my effort into my preliminary task, instead i attempted to spread out my effort across my blog posts and the production of my film. This resulted in my task not having 100% of my attention, therefore not being nearly up to the standard my main task will be.
My first problem was the general approach I had to the filming process. The set I used often had lots of people in or around it, meaning I couldn't film on specific days. This meant I had to complete all filming on one day, due to continuity issues otherwise. Having to film all on one day was a huge struggle, as I had to arrange a time for all actors to be prepared, though they couldn't always do it due to being busy with other work. All of these things resulted in a very rushed filming process, I couldn't get the result I wanted and didn't end up creating a substantial narrative. In future I will make sure there is nobody in or around the filming location, and ensure all people involved are able to participate. Another problem in the filming process was lighting. After messing around with it half way through the process, it changed slightly within the clip and it couldn't be changed back. This made for a bad continuity error, and I know now not to change the set at all in the future midway through filming.
There were also some problems within the editing process but i managed to learn a lot from it. Going into it, i had no idea how to use final cut, i had lots of trouble initially in terms of editing my clips with very little experience with the programme. Towards the end of the post production process, i learned more about the software and was able to use slightly more advanced techniques.
I need to develop my camera skills as there are multiple times throughout the video where the focus isn't used correctly. In some cases the camera loses focus too much, as opposed to being controlled creating good effects. My time management also needs to be improved on multiple fronts, including the film process, post production process and also organise time to sort out my narrative. My directing skills also need to improve, as the actors had too much freedom, and one ended up swearing a lot more than i would have liked.
I also didn't follow the brief to 100% accuracy. I didn't incorporate the 180 degree rule, and this would've been a huge problem in my main task. I have now learnt to follow the brief a lot closer, and won't make the same mistake again. I also loosely followed the general outlines, as a person does walk into a room to exchange dialogue, but doesn't sit down.
Though i have a lot to improve on, and i learnt a lot during my preliminary i did do a few things well. I have appealed to a certain audience with my film, that being people of both genders aged 16-25. After showing my prelim to lots of people from this age group I believe i made the film suitable to that audience in terms of the type of comedy, though in the future and my main task i would like to have a different type of humour displayed. I developed my editing skills in final cut quite well, as I was very new to the programme which will aid me in the future. The characters i used were also generic and stereotypical, which specifically appeal to my target audience.
Overall I learned a lot from doing my preliminary task, and I will hopefully be able to improve the quality of my main task dramatically.
I do not intend to do an animation for my main task, the reason i am analysing the Shrek opening is to look for the use of comedy and character structure throughout the scene, as well as mise-en-scene and use of audio. These things can be used in both animation, and live action film so they will be of use to me and what i decide to do in terms of my main task.
We are instantly introduced to the main protagonist of the story, a low angle shot is used to make Shrek look more powerful as opposed to the viewer. An establishing shot is then used to set the scene, this is evident as it lingers on the shot for a good 3-4 seconds. Due to this, the setting has connotations of importance suggesting this is going to be a major part of the narrative.
Throughout the entire scene, audio is used in different ways to create different effects. The music used within the opening is integrated with the visuals. For instance, when the camera shot changes, the music has a significant beat or change in tone, this makes the scene run a lot smoother, mixing non-diagetic sound along with the other aspects of the scene, as opposed to leaving them as two separate entities. An example of this is when the music heavily changes tone, Shrek swipes the mud to reveal the title of the movie. This is also a very good aspect of the scene which i could use in my own work, integrating the typography within the actual scene. This makes the scene more fluent, and wont take the audience out of the experience with bold writing that isn't at all relevant to the narrative.
Although the character throughout the scene has no dialogue, we get a substantial introduction to his character, with the comedic tendencies that a wide audience will appreciate. It is a simple opening that shows Shrek doing various activities around the swamp, but we see some of his personality throughout. His facial expressions, body language and general way he acts has connotations of enjoyment and happiness, this gives audiences the impression he is an upbeat fun character even though he is an unconventional protagonist.
I went online to get a small amount of help with camera focuses. This knowledge will help me throughout filming my main task, and my preliminary, I want to get the highest grade possible, and create a well filmed movie opening, and learning how to correctly focus a camera in different ways will help me to achieve this.
I went on youtube to look up a few tutorials, as I have been struggling with final cut express. It's my first time using the software, and this tutorial helped with the bare necessities of the programme, including things like cutting clips, editing volume, and generally manipulating clips along the timeline.
I had two people from my class that fit my target audience, sit and watch the opening to the film Zoolander. I recorded their reactions, and asked them a few questions about what they watched. In a later post, i will analyse what they said and use it to better suit my main task for my target audience.
I have chosen to use this clip for my textual analysis as it is very unique in terms of comedy movie openings. It is done in the style of a music video, and uses the iconic Austin Powers music that comes to be known by millions.
We get very little information about the narrative of the film, except that it is based around Mike Myers' character Austin Powers. The small details given about this character are subtle, but are picked up by most members of the audience through different techniques used by the director. The comedy factors of the opening are based on the hope that the audience understands and appreciates the use of British stereotypes throughout the scene, as the introduction of the character relies heavily on this theme. The character is represented as somewhat of a gimmick or joke with the use of ridiculously overdone British stereotypes giving the audience an instant idea of what type of film its going to be. This is reinforced with the different shots throughout the scene such as the character being chased through the streets by dozens of women and his general presence throughout the scene saying things like "oh behave" and doing dance moves in the street.
Unlike lots of other films, this opening scene doesn't actually effect any of the narrative in the slightest. It is mostly just a fun video for the audience to enjoy, and to fill up the parts of the film that displays names and production companies.
In terms of shot types, Mike Myers' character is always the focus of the shot, making him seem important and instantly centers the story around him. There are lots of long - mid shots in order to show the general surroundings of the character, and the occasional close up mostly used for comedic effect such as when he says "oh behave!". There are no POV or over the shoulder shots throughout the entire opening sequence, which suggests the director wants the audience to feel like a bystander watching the scenario from a back seat. This links to the film being somewhat of a gimmick or parody, as the director doesn't try to create any form of empathy in the scene.
The editing is purposely tacky and overdone throughout the scene with lots of freeze frames used for comedic purposes. This further emphasises the pointless yet humorous aspects of the clip. The cuts from shot to shot are done very well throughout the scene though, as they (as well as the mise en scene) coincide with the music used.
I have researched a bunch of different camera shots, and found out how and why they are used. I have also mentioned how each shot can help me with shooting my preliminary task, and my main task. I will attempt to incorporate a lot of these shots in my task so i can achieve different effects used by professional directors.
I have researched a text used in a past examination and applied Barthes' different theory points to it. I have done this because i would like to evaluate, and allow for in depth evaluation by including Barthes' codes within my film. This will help, as i can look how a professional media company intentionally or unintentionally applies these theories.
I collected the results from the questionnaire and put them all into pie charts and tables, so i could simply visualise them properly. A few of the questions have more entries than others, due to the questions being answered more than once by some participants.
I found out that in terms of genre, my target audience prefers comedy. This is convenient, as i have already chosen to do a comedy video as my main task. This means i can get practice on the genre by using different techniques used exclusively in comedy films, i have analysed a few comedy movie openings throughout my blog in order to get an idea what techniques and theories i can apply to get good results.
I also found out that the preferences of characters isn't very specific, and could have gone either way depending on the participants mood, it was a draw between 3 types of characters which consist of heroes, comedic and bad boy. I will try to incorporate these somewhere in my preliminary task, but if i don't use these types, it won't be the end of the world.
The time for a film to be set was quite a one sided question, as half of the people in the questionnaire voted for present day, this is where i will set my preliminary narrative, but in terms of my main task i'm still unsure.
Finally, for the scenario i found out that a funny interaction came out on top with the most votes, this corresponds to the audiences' favourite genre which is also somewhat convenient, although a hybrid of genres could have been fun and interesting to approach.
I have looked at multiple film openings in order to research how professional movie developers use different techniques to create certain effects. I would like to create a comedy piece, so I have researched using comedy movie openings. I will be looking at a large amount of things in the scene including things like the use of mise en scene, the representation of characters and even sound.
The clip begins with the iconic trademarks of the different companies that contributed to the creation of the film, though these have been somewhat integrated within the scene, as the song played throughout is continuous during all of the film logos and the actual movie scene. This makes for a very smooth transition from the sort of "behind the scenes" aspect of the film, to the actual scene. The song is also very fitting for the movie, the rap is modern and popular which will attract a lot of people in general while also linking with the appearance of one of the initial characters.
As soon as the scene begins, the audience is given ideas on who the film is going to be focused on, we are given an "over the shoulder" camera angle on a character. This introduces a somewhat personal effect that connects this audience with a character, I think this is used to simply show us that this is the main character, as it is just a few moments into the scene. Typography is also introduced around this time, and this is used very subjectively in the scene. The text is bold, intimidating but most importantly it is flashing red and blue. The connotations of this are based around the police and police cars more specifically,
The use of mise en scene throughout the clip is very cluttered and full of people, this is a somewhat iconic decision in a high school scenario as it makes the characters seem small and insignificant. The non important characters are wearing bland colours to make them blend into the background, whereas Jonah Hill and the "pretty girl" are wearing bright vibrant colours to stand out and show them as somewhat significant. During this scene, the music is rising in pitch and general intensity, insinuating it is leading up to a climax, probably some form of action sequence or confrontation. It also represents the feelings of Jonah Hills character, as there is a faint non diagetic heart beat in the background, representing his nervous feelings.
We are then introduced to another main character, this is represented by the use of costume. The letterman jacket instantly connotes a "jock" style character, which is emphasised by his dialogue and general personality. This is an iconic setup for characters, the jock and the nerd which makes for an interesting confrontation, this is where the main characters are established and some of the story.
The opening also corresponds the Barthes' semiotics theory, as there are multiple things that support it. The conversation between Jonah and the girl in itself is an action code, as we are given the impression something important is going to happen throughout that sequence. The very end of the scene with both characters sat on benches is also a Barthes code, I believe it is a symbolic code, symbolising them as equals, this juxtaposes with the previous scene as it showed the jock character as superior to the nerd. This is where he basis of the film is established, polar opposites in high school are put in the same boat, and become an odd couple of friends. The camera angle is a long shot, which I believe represents them being small and vulnerable in the world now they've left high school.
I have created a questionnaire for my preliminary exercise in order to find out what people most enjoy in films, i have asked about genre, settings and scenarios which will all lead to my preliminary film.
I researched previous AS students' blogs in order to find out what exactly they researched, and how they presented that research depending on the piece of work.
