Costume

We were given two dolls one male, one female and a set of clothes to design two characters for a particular genre. I picked out the drama, this is quite a wide genre so I had a lot of choice. I went with ordinary clothing which didn't stand out but explained the characters situation.  I chose to dress my female in a flower patterned dressed and sunglasses and the man in a shirt with palm trees on; I also added a suitcase as a prop and put wedding rings on their fingers. My idea was that they had just got married and were now going on their honeymoon to Hawaii where something would happen.

The Blood Ring - AS media opening sequence analysis

This opening takes a different approach to others because it explains the whole story and introduces all the main characters in the first 30 seconds however the way its done intrigues us as a viewer rather than ruining the story. Using a voice over rather than having him speaking definitely improves it and shows they have spent time on the script as well as how the actor speaks. The blurry zoom on the ring made it seem less valuable contradicting what he's saying. Through the next few shots I would have made them a lot shorter as sections are unnecessary also I would change the music as it runs for a long time and became annoying towards the end. This opening is quite simple but was still effective.

Lockout - Opening sequence anaylsis

This opening is mainly different to others we start with clos up long shots of the main character. The still shots means we focus on what he is saying and get to know Snow's funny personality. The punch sounds are exaggerated and break up the speech but also create a sort of rhythm as there's no music. Next we are introduced to another character as the shot cuts to a close up of his face, this shot shows the characters power over the other. Next we quickly see a wide shot of the interrogation room before the flash back starts. The flash back changes the tempo of the opening as dramatic, fast music starts and we see lots of short shots from different angles, the sound effects as well are loud and increase the tension in the fight. The camera moves around a lot making it seem frantic. Then the sound completely stops when the guy is shot, killing the pace, almost like it freezes.

End point - AS media opening sequence analysis

The beginning is in black and white and shows quick moving shots making it seem very dramatic, we see only short shots creating suspense and mystery about what's going to happen, the music also adds to this as its upbeat. We are also straight away introduced to one of the main characters and then another one, we know this because they are talking and shown with close up shots of their face. The characters are complete opposites one in a suit the other in jeans and a hoody.  At the beginning of the chase we see a clear match on action shot, but after that the moving shots are too blurry to make out. We see a comedy side to the film when he's in the lift, but it doesn't suit the character because he's got a gun. The slow motion starts a bit early but on the bullet it looks really good and is effective. I would have cast an older person for the hired killer and also the ending seems to final for an opening.

The Cobra Effect - AS media opening sequence analysis

This opening is fast paced, full of well following short shots and accompanied by an upbeat soundtrack to show the audience that this is a action film with lots going on. The fact the box links all the shots together suggests its very important to the rest of the story. We are also introduced to the main characters of the story. The opening starts with three slow, long  and close up shots first showing us the box which seems just an ordinary object, then as the camera moves up to introduce the first character this character looks at the camera breaking the fourth wall and then the speed completely changes. When it stops on the characters faces it tells the viewer they are important and helps us remember them as the film is frozen this is also helped by the fact they are so close to the camera so we are never shown much of the background and that they directly look at the camera. The voiceover towards the end is very poor quality and the composition of the characters doesn't look right.

Toy Story - opening sequence anaylsis

Toy story uses the opening sequence to introduce us to the main characters of the film, it also suggests the tone of the film as its funny and also childish. We learn alot about Andy, even though we barely see him and that woody is his favourite toy. The scene consists of short shots, lots of noise and action to reflect the lighthearted mood of the film. We know the rest of the film will involve Andy and his toys, especially woody. The scene is colourful and creative showing Andy spends a lot of time with his toys and they are important to the story.The use of added sound effects like the sheep and Andy's different voices make the toys seem more realistic hinting at the fact they come alive. The camera cuts quickly through different shots and angles creating a fast pace and a sense of action. The chosen camera angles make the toys appear life size also leading towards the fact they're alive. 

Submarine - opening sequence

The opening of Submarine starts with a slow moving panning shot of the main characters bedroom. We get a little incite into his life, the room appears very cluttered maybe a metaphor for his mind. We also here the diagetic sound of seagulls which tells us we are need the sea. The camera doesn't focus on any objects in particular but we see a typewriter which suggests the time period of early 1990s, just before computers. Next the camera moves downwards from the ceiling and a seagull towards the floor and a window where we see a teenager boy looking out; this is like the camera moving from the sky to under the sea. There's also a skeleton and telescope to show an interest in science. During these shots we hear a voice over from the boy, this stops the atmosphere being broken by him talking in front the camera and is a lot easier. On the wall under the window there's a painting of a submarine below the water and he is also under the line, maybe meaning he is a submarine in society. Next the camera does a jump shot to a close up of his face to put the focus on him. The boy looks right into the lens which is breaking the fourth wall this creates a personal connection between the character and the viewer and he almost asks the question are you with me.
The camera then cuts to a completely different shot of a landscape of his town and then a few other landscapes of around his town and the beach. These all are quite beautiful but have been distorted and covered by the black as the light disappears. Maybe this could be the way he sees it or the affect he has on what's around him. Towards the end he is shown as a black silhouette against the surroundings which also suggests he is causing the darkness. The camera does another jump shot to the back of his head also pulling the focus in on him. The fact we never see anyone else shows us we are being introduced to the main character but also he is isolated, like being under water.

The Duff - anaylsis of costume

The Duff's main character, Bianca is deliberately dressed in baggy, dull and unflattering clothes compared with her friends who where more colourful and noticeable clothes. Throughout most of the film she wears denim and a checked shirt.  Bianca's clothes barely change and appear very similar. This is to reflect the storyline and that her friends are suppose to be pretty and more attractive then her and she is the duff. Her clothes also reflect the idea that she doesn't care about what other people think of her appearance and she just wears what is comfortable. The main male character is always shown in tight shirts to empathise his muscles and jeans, this fits with his captain of the football team and hottest guy in school look. The classic pretty, popular and slutty girl is always wearing mini skirts and tight tops to reference her status of a bully and her self righteous attitude.

Love Actually - Pre production

We were given a piece of script and 2 weeks to film and edit this scene. We needed a cast, location, costume and a storyboard. A date to film and enough time to edit our footage. As a group we decided to all help out instead of allocating roles. We brainstormed locations and people for a our cast and then set out jobs to do before next lesson. After this we discussed a date of when we were all available for filming.

Location - In the movie the scene is set at 10 downing street, as we don't have access to that we chose a manor, grand house which would be believable as the prime minsters house. I looked up similar locations and found several hall/hotels which suited what we wanted, I phoned up Caistor hall to see if they would be happy for us to film on their location, however they never replied. So we also tried Park Farm they also didn't get back with in our deadline. So we ended up asking friends who had a suitable house whether we could use their house, one of them agreed so we had a location.

Cast - As a group we found cast rather hard because it was hard to set a date without knowing the location and time and people had to be available on short notice. So we decided to properly cast the PM and Natalie as these people needed to have more acting experience. For the rest of the cast we decided see who was available at the time because they only had a few lines therefore didn't need great acting skills. Ed was our PM because his personality fitted with the character in the script, and Libby as our Natalie because she is a good actor and she also fitted quite well as innocent, nervous Natalie. Me and Kate had to fill in the other parts as Annie and Pat because people were not available
and dropped out at the last minute.

For costume, I ask Ed to wear a smart black suit, to appear like a prime minister. Libby, me and Kate all wore smart looking clothes, white blouses. We didn't need to worry about bottom half because it was never on camera.

Love Actually - Production

We decided to start with the PM coming out of a car to show he just arrived at his house. We did a low shot of the car door opening and his feet stepping out the car, and then we continued it with a moving shot of Ed doing up his jacket and adjusting his tie. Next shot was at the door and match on action of Ed walking up to the door waving and from the other side of the door him coming through. We plan to edit in crowd sound effect afterwards, we found a mixture of different sound effects online to download and blended them together to make it more realistic. As he entered we faded out the sound effects but only cut them off when the door closed.

Throughout the whole thing we added a de-noisier and changed the brightness especially inside which was rather dark we also had another person holding a light on set to make the scene brighter. We did two shot/reverse shot for the two conversations between pat and the PM and Natalie and the PM, this meant we could clearly hear their lines and got a close up of their faces to capture their facial expressions. We only had a small section of corridor to film in so we did separate shots using the same section of wall. We did a few takes because of things like looking at the camera and had to skip Terence because we didn't have enough actors, as well as the end because the camera ran out of charge but you cant really notice and it doesn't look like its been cut off before the end. We had planned to do these bits in front of the green screen but we didn't have a lot of time. We played around we lighting in editing and volume level. I would have preferred a plainer location because stuff in the background could be distracting.

 

The 76th hunger games premieres 20th November 

Game of Thrones - The Ruins of Valyria

 

The setting starts very dull with same colours and appears very uninteresting. The landscape is very flat and plain but also open and distanced suggesting the boat is alone. This setting deliberately focuses all the attention on the boat, to help this the boat has the only colour in the setting with the red sail. Though there are thick clouds we don't feel there presence because they are high and a light grey to show the vast amount of space in the setting. The boat appears to be large compare with what's around. The inside of the boat is also rather clustered with fishing nets and equipment contrasting from the setting shown outside.

The setting drastically changes as they enter old Valyria, the tall black, solid buildings over shadow the small, flimsy, insignificant boat. The building remains are shown on each side looking down on them. This starts to build an atmosphere of entrapment and anticipation as tension rises. The clouds change becoming black and creating a looming presence over the boat, while showing the light clouds behind them. As the dark consumes them we see a dragon this could be a warning as it flies towards the light or to symbolises the next setting change.

As they sail under the bridge the black water and two walls along with people dropping down from above we feel a sense of claustrophobia on the boat showing the fear reflected by the characters. All light is lost when Tyrion goes into the water and all space is gone from the original setting.

Analysing Settings

The Duchess

The Duchess clip uses 4 different settings to show a change in mood and atmosphere. Before the first setting the camera travels under an archway this is a metaphor for us looking into her life so we see the following settings as she does and we experience her mood and feelings. The first setting is a crowded, busy street crammed with people and noise. We see people trading goods and running along with the carriage showing the life outside the carriage which she is separated from and we get a mood of longing from her. This is a long shot to create a real high contrast between outside and inside the carriage. The wide angle shot and busy streets highly contrast to the small and quite interior of the carriage.
The setting changes to a wide and spacious view of a courtyard. it is very empty and silent compared with on the streets and suggests her separation with the rest of the world and the walls of the courtyard acting as a cage or prison trapping her to her new husband. The archway at the beginning and end of this setting symbolise a new atmosphere. In the courtyard her mood changes to ore while still being intimidated by her surroundings.
Inside the hallway her feelings change to more of unknowing and uncertainty as well as feeling overwhelmed, there's also a sense of realisation shown by the grand, tall large setting which makes her look small and insignificant.
The bedroom is completely unrelated to the other settings because it is small and dark. The mood is completely changed to feel claustrophobic and slightly sinister creating the start of tension building up, adding to this is that the main colours in the setting is black and red which tends to mean danger. The contrast between the small, dark, intimate room and the grand, white courtyard shows how the director has used the settings to reflect different sides of their relationship.

The Last King of Scotland

The mission station appears as any normal building made of wood, only one story and is a pale brown colour. the room we first see is completely black apart from the window which is a square of light, this show that change is about to happen when he turns towards the light. This setting appears very basic and rural. Through the car journey we start by seeing vibrant green mountains and a very rural setting, then it progresses into a village with basic huts still very natural. Then the setting completely changes to a city with tall, white buildings lots of noise and people. This totally contrasts with the mission station in several ways, for example the colour goes from natural browns and greens to article white and very sterile and man made. The buildings become grand, tall and the foreground of the setting, where at the mission station they blended into the background.


Spectre trailer

 Seems Spectre includes everything you would expect from a James Bond movie. Good thing it never gets old, in cinemas October 26th. 

THE MARTIAN - Official Final Trailer (2015)

 

This film is definitely a must see right now, hope it lives up to expectations.

Ouija

 

 

Ouija

 

Really loved the storyline for this film and the unpredictable plot twist which was a complete shock, it had all you expect from a horror but I wanted something more and a bit more of a thrill, hope they develop a follow on which is more scary.

Mission impossible

Mission impossible - Rogue Nation
Personally thought it was a good film, had the right balance of action with storyline. Action films are a lot more interesting with a complicated plot but it has to be able follow. Of course there was an explosion filled motorbike chase which tom cruise executes to perfection. one thing I missed was a sex scene but you cant have everything. well worth a watch.

Settings - Mise en scene

         Settings give us three main incites into what we are watching. First the mood and atmosphere, for example a setting which has little lighting or colour can create a mysterious, scary and cold feeling to the viewer this is important to create tension and fear in horror movies. The setting is also important for us to tell the time period of the media text, for instance if the setting was  modern we are likely to see modern technology and cars compared with an old fashioned setting which would probably see a piano and a horse drawn cart. The final thing a setting can show us is the genre of the text, an example if the setting is abstract or set in outer space the genre is most probably science fiction.


Any furniture is old and mostly broken

The setting of a poor a destitute couple in the 17thC is likely to have a lack of furniture and they're probably living in one room. I imagine there's insufficient light which would reflect there mood of hopeless and desperate, I doubt there would be many if any personal items, showing their low status.

For a middle class couple in 1940s I would have a fire place and lots of candles in the setting, a bookcase containing well read books also some photos of family and friends to create a sense of life and pleasant atmosphere.



Money and passport to show the
 setting is temporary

A spy is likely to have a plain and simple setting with a distinct lack of personal items like photos for a setting to create a atmosphere of mystery around the character. there might be several passports and money lying around or in a safe and, of course a hidden room full of weapons these show the modern time period of the text.

A businessman or women is likely to have a untidy setting with a noticeably large desk covered with paper work and expensive desktop or laptop a lot of empty wine glasses and takeout packs lying around this sets a mood of importance about the character. There's probably business clothes like suit jackets and a posh leather briefcase.

Students are likely to have more character to their setting than say a spy, I would imagine lots of study books and sports equipment, posters on the walls, the setting is very messy with empty beer bottles and pizza boxes. These suggest a modern time period and an intrigued mood into the students busy life.
Comedy- The setting is likely to be more colourful and cluttered with more going on than others.
Horror - Dark setting will little objects or colour, its likely to be small and seem almost claustrophobic.