24/9/13 Planning: Final Film.

Today we planned more of our final film. We added the idea that the girl has a dad who is a surgeon and recently he failed on the surgery of one of his female patients. This patient that died was the daughter of the person who kidnapped the main girl hence this is the reason for the kidnapping.

I like the idea that in her flashback the man is saying her name (Laura) and in real life her dad is the one saying her name, so that is how she wakes up from her flashback.

Our inspiration is still from the Stay music video by Rihanna.

19/9/13, Research: The Art of the Title.

Pacific Rim (Guillermo del Torro, 2013):

Bold writing (very masculine) choice of font reflects the genre of the film. There are some close-ups which create enigma. There are a lot of close-ups on the CGI, and the colours are very dramatic and intense (red, gold and black). We are dealing with metallic surfaces. They use very high contrast in lighting to exaggerate each close-up. There is a lot of emphasis on hard surfaces, which creates again, a masculine feel. We just get glimpses of parts of a robot/machine so audience trying to figure out the enigma. There are many shots of eyes and profiles of masks making it very intimidating. Everything about this opening sequence places us in this ‘world of robots’. It is very crowded, and the music fits the slow, long shots.

The Day after Tomorrow (Roland Emerick, 2004):

There is a very long tracking/aerial shot over the frozen wastes Antarctic which suggests a sense of adventure and majesty. The shot is long because the director wants to make it look like the audience are on a plane and are traveling to this very hostile and magnificent environment.  The titles all come up at the beginning within the first 3 minutes, and they all appear to be reflected onto the water which creates vertigo and makes you feel like if you fell, you would fall very far down into the water. It’s a very dangerous place to be, the CGI is very realistic which makes us think that we are taking place in this adventure. All the colours used are dark blues and whites which are very dramatic.  All of these things are creating the feel of the ore and magnificence; the building up creates the glory. The shift between the opening tracking shot and the live action is marked by the text ‘Larsen B Ice Shelf, Antarctica’.

Spooks:

In this secret spy film, the live action comes before the title sequence, so we had the build-up of what the episode was going to be; we see a conversation between the head of MI5 and his boss on the phone and how he hasn’t kept ‘the secret’ (sugar horse) which the audience doesn’t know in turn causing enigma. We have cross cutting between the two people which makes the conversation seem like it’s going faster because Harry knows he hasn’t kept the secret and that he is doomed. The titles all move very fast which creates a sense of urgency, and there is a lot of split cuts. There are a lot of double screen like things are happening simultaneously. The graphics look very computer-like, and most of the names coming up on the title sequence look like code names, which fits perfectly with the genre of the film.

13/09/13, Research: Art of the title (Sherlock)

Sherlock:

I analysed this opening sequence which is visually stunning and combines film footage with VFX to create an authentic Victorian period quality. For example, the titles appear to be hand written on old paper in sepia ink and watery blotches and ink splatters. Pen and ink line wash is used in combinations with longitudinal lino type. Many still photographic close-ups of the heroic protagonists merge with live action, again bringing this Victorian period drama up to date. The colours are all muted to suggest the gas-lit streets and murky corners of the Victorian underworld, a place of danger and fear and crime lurks in the shadows.

10/9/13, Planning: The Brief

I am working in a group of three. The other members of my group are Nicole Shakhnazarova and Emma Walker. We have chosen brief 7 (video). The opening sequence from a new film; including titles, in any genre or mix of genres such as a comedy or a thriller, together with a storyboard. Maximum length: 3 minutes.

action adventure exam question

Taken 2 clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p06Obl68Ocs

The genre of this extract from the film Taken 2 is a very typical Action Adventure film. I can tell that it is because the events that take place contain combat, conflict, speed and motion. These are very usual things to see in an action adventure film. 

The events show many of these qualities, for example the fast moving of the cars and the gun shots create a sense of jeopardy. The combat and conflict comes from when Liam Neesons shoots his gun at the car behind him. This scene where it is a 'battle between good and evil' is featured in many action and adventure. In addition, the speed and motion comes from the speed from the cars that are chasing the hero, in this case Liam Neeson.

The events that are taking place are things that happen in a typical action adventure for example, there is a chase scene with cars through a town/city that is crowded. The hero in this scene, Liam Neeson, is also very typical because he tries to revert the bad guys from following his car, by shooting them. 
The action in the extract impacts the audience because the speed of the cars creates enigma.  It makes them want to keep watching by introducing suspense. The audience would almost be 'getting out of there seat' with excitement as there is a lot of action in the scene as well: the cars are so close to each other to make it seem like the film extract is moving faster.

One of the main reasons this is an action adventure however is because we have a hero, or in this case two. Liam Neeson and his daughter are driving away from the 'bad guys', and the audience guesses automatically because he usually plays these sort of characters and roles in his other movies and he is very recognizable. In my opinion LN is not just your average hero, he is more of an anti-villain (like Jack from pirates of the carribbean, or James Bond from Mission Impossible). This is because he is using a gun which makes him seem quite aggresive and destructive (not a typical trait of a hero), and he is shooting another car. Eventhough in this film he is seen as a hero, in general, he is more of an anti-villain. So overall, the characters in the extract and the events portray a typical Action Adventure film.