For the Jelly baby activity we had to re-create a film opening idea using jelly babies. We could use them as the characters or we could cut them up and use them for the props/set.
The film opening that we created was thought up specially for this activity. It was a comedy horror.
some of our characters had to have quite dramatic wounds, one of them had a knife sticking in them. To create this we used part of pen lid and stuck it in the jelly baby. the other characters had huge cuts and scars, to create this we cut parts of the jelly babies off, and then pushed them together again.
For some of the shots we would have just their feet walking along. To create this we cut the top half of the jelly babies off and just had the bottom half's together.
On the post-it notes we wrote the time (in seconds) and the title that would appears at that time. We also wrote down brief descriptions of what was going on in each shot.
This activity has helped us because it made us start thinking about potential film openings that we could create, it also made us think about the certain conventions that we would need to include in the genre that we were working in.
The certification of a film tells the potential viewer whether they are legally suitable to watch the film. This means that if you get someone under the age of 15 wanting to watch a film rated at 15, they legally wouldn't be able to watch it and therefore would not watch it in cinema.
This being the case means that the higher age rating that the film has, the more narrowed their audience can be. As the higher age rated films are already at this dis-advantage, it means that
the production team have to be more specific to hit their target audiences preferences to ensure that they gain maximum profit from their film as possible.
It is important that the film opening is thought about carefully because in a lot of cases, the opening can decide whether someone is going to watch a film or not.
Looking into how certification has an impact of film openings has made it clearer to me how important the first few minutes of film are.
U- U stands for universal, A 'U' film should be watched by people aged 4 and above, however there are certain cases where the bbfc will note "Particularly suitable for pre- school children", this means that the film can be viewed by anyone.
A 'U' film is only allowed infrequent use of very mild language such as 'hell' or 'damn'. this should still be only or a rare occasion and only where necessary.
Characters may be seen kissing or cuddling however there isn't a focus on sexual behaviour, innuendo or language.
violence is always very mild. If any of the characters have a fight or are in danger, the situation is resolved very quickly.
There will never be any reference to illegal drug in a film classified as 'U'.
PG- PG stands for parental guidance. These films are suitable for general viewing, however there can be some scenes that are not suitable for young children. A PG film shouldn't be disturbing to anyone aged 8 or over. Parents are advised to watch the film either before or with the child to decide whether it would be suitable for their child to watch.
In a PG film there can be mild bad language. It has to be in context with the narrative though. If the language is used aggressively, the film will pass at a higher age rating.
In a PG film violence is generally quite mild, there is never any great detail into violence. Sometimes there could be some blood shown, however there isn't detail into how the injury came about.
references to sex aren't usually allowed in a PG, however if a child is unlikely to be able to understand the reference, it may be allowed.
There isn't usually any references to drugs in a PG, however if the film focuses on enforcing clear anti-drug messages then it can sometimes be allowed. There is never any strong detail into drug abuse.
12A/12- 12 means that no one under the age of 12 is allowed to watch the film. Sometimes a film is classed as a 12A, this means that if someone under the age of 12 wants to watch the movie, they can just as long as they are accompanied by an adult. the adult must make the decision of whether the film will be suitable for their child before hand.
the use of strong language is allowed in a 12/12A, however it depends o the way it is being used, who is saying it, how many times it is said and the context behind why it is being said. If the language is used in an aggressive way, the film could be classed as a 15.
sexual behaviour can be briefly and discreetly portrayed in a 12/12A film, however it will be reasonably mild and it won't be used frequently.
In a 12A/12 film violence is very moderate, again detail is not included massively. There isn't any emphasis on injuries however they may be a few gory details depending on whether they can be justified.
weapons that 12 year olds would be able to get hold of would not be glorified or be used excessively.
there my be in-frequent drug use is a 12 film, however detail is not permitted.
15- A 15 film mean that you have to 15 or over to watch it.
Strong violence, frequent strong language, portrayals of sexual activity, sexual nudity, strong verbal references to sex, brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal references to sexual violence, discriminatory language or behaviour and drug use can be seen in a 15 film.
There could be a large amount of strong language in a 15 film. It can be used as frequently as the producers want.
In a 15, sexual activity can be portrayed, however, this is usually without strong detail. There is no constraints on nudity in an educational or non- sexual way.
Strong violence can be included in a 15, despite this, it should no dwell on detail and the strongest gory images are unlikely to be permitted.
In a 15, drug taking may be shown. Drugs and drug misuse must not be promoted.
18- An 18 film means that you must be 18 or over to watch the film.
18 films can contain content such as, very strong language, frequent strong language, strong portrayals of sexual activity, scenes of sexual violence, strong horror, strong blood and gore, real sex (in certain circumstances) and discriminatory behaviour.
This is no limit on strong language in an 18 film. It can be as strong or used as frequently as wanted. Uses of this language can be aggressive, directed, frequent or accompanied by strong violence.
There can be strong portrayals of sex in an 18 film, including full nudity. very crude, strong and explicit sex references are permitted in an 18 film.
In an 18 film, strong violence can be portrayed with strong detail. there can even be dwelling on the infliction of injury within the film.
Drug use can be fully shown, however drug misuse must not be encouraged.
Whilst researching into film opening I have discovered that
there are four types of film openings; this includes, ‘the blank screen’, ‘still
images’, ‘moving images’, ’animation/motion picture’.
The blank screen
The blank screen involves titles on a black background. It
is quite a common type of title sequence. When the blank screen is used,
usually the titles are white. This is so that they are clear and easy to read.
When studios use the blank screen opening its mainly because they don’t have a
big enough budget to produce any of the other 3 types. The blank screen opening
is an uncomplicated way of portraying the usual conventions of a title
sequence.
Still images
The still image opening is a more detailed than the blank
screen. The still images give a hint towards the genre of the film and can wok
as a representation of features within the film. The use of music alongside the
still images help to introduce the tone of the film.
Moving images
The moving image opening includes the credit titles over the
top of the moving images. The moving images are usually a form of metaphor
linking to the narrative of the film or it introduces the start of the film.
Animation/motion
The use of animated text in the title sequence became more
popular in the late 90’s. The use of animation for a film for a film opening
requires a lot of digital technology and stylized editing. To produce an
animated film opening it requires a reasonably large budget. An example of an
animated film opening is James Bond, Skyfall.
This research has helped me because it has made me think about what type of film opening would be the most suitable for me to make.
0.10-Paramount pictures and Spyglass entertainment
0.17-A Dylan Sellers Zadam/ Meron Weston pictures production
0.27-A Craig Brewer film
0.33-'Footloose'
0.37-Kenny Warmeld
0,40-Julianne Hough
0.43-Andy McDowell
0.46- Miles teller
0.49-Ray Mckinnon
0.52- Patrick John Fueler
0.55- Kim Dickens
0.58-And Dennis Quaid
1.01- Casting by Loray Mayfield C.S.A.
1.03-Choreography by Jamal Sims
1.05- Original score by Deborah Laurie
1.08- Costume designer Laura Jean Shannon
1.10- Edited by Billy fox (N.C.E.)
1.13- Production Designer Jon Gary Steele
1.19- Director of photography Amelia Vincent A.S.C.
1.21- Executive producer Timothy M.Bourne
1.25- Executive producers Gary barber
1.29-Produced by Craig Zadan Neil merino
1.32- Produced by Dylan Sellers
1.35-Produced by Brad Weston
1.38- Story by Dean Pitchford
1.42-Screenplsy by Dean Pitchfork and Craig Brewer
1.47- Directer by Craig Brewer
Toy Story
0.08- Walt Disney Pictures
1.27- Walt disney pictures presents
1.35- Toy Story
1.47- A Pixar Production
1.55-Executive producers Edwin Cavmill Steve Jobs
2.02-Supervising technical producer William Reeves.
2.13-Music by Randy Newman
2.20-Songs written and performed by Randy Newman.
Forrest Gump
0.01- Paramount (A Paramount communications company)
0.12- Paramount pictures presents
0.17- A Steve Tische/ Wendy Fireman production
0.22- A Robert Zemeckis Film
0.27- Tom Hanks in
0.32- Forrest Gump
0.37- Robin Wright
0.42- Gary Sinise
0.47- Mykelti Williamson
0.52- and Sally Field
0.57- Casting by Ellen Lewis
1.02- Co-Producer Charles Newirth
1.07- Executive music producer Joel Sill
1.12- Visual effects supervisor ken Ralston
1.17- Costumes designed by Joanna Johnston
1.22- Music by Alan Silvestri
1.27- Edited by Arthur Schmidt
1.32- Production designer rick Carter
1.37- Director of photography don Burgess
1.42- Screenplay by Eric Roth
1.50- Produced by Wendy Finerman Steve Tische Steve Starkey
2.02- Directed by Robert Zememicks
Se7en
0.03- Newline cinema presents
0.06- an Arnold Kopelson Production
0.10- a film by David Fisher
0.13- Brad Pitt
0.18- Morgan Freeman
0.24-'SE7EN'
0.30- Gwenith Paltrow
0.33- Richard Roundtree
0.38- R. Lee Ermey
0.42- John. C. McKinley
0.46- Julie Araskog Mark Boone Junior.
0.53- John Cassini Reginald E. Cathy Peter Crombie
0.57- Hawthorne James Michael Massee Leland Orser
1.04- Richard Partnow Richard Schiff Pamela Tyson
1.10- Casting by Billy Hopkins, Suzanne Smith Kerry Borden
1.16- Music by Howard Shore
1.21- Costumes designed by Michael Kaplan
1.24- Edited by Richard Francis- Bruce
1.26- Production designed by Arthur Max
1.35- Director of photography Darius Khondj
1.40- Co-producers Stephen Brown Nana Greenwald Sanford Panitch
1.43- Co executive producers Lynn Harris Dan Kolsrud Anne Kopelson
1.52- Written by Andrew Kevin Walker
1.58-Produced by Arnold Kopelson Phyllis Carlyle
2.03- Directed by David Fincher.
Making these timeliness has helped me because when it comes to making my own film opening I am now more aware of the order that the titles should be in.
The difference between a title sequence and a
trailer
A title sequence is a scene or few scenes at the
start of the film that give recognition to the main cast and production
members. The titles are superimposed on top of the scene/s. its important that
the scenes are still clear to see as it is the start of the film. The title
sequence often gets mixed up with the credits, however they are completely
different things. The credits name everyone involved in the film and are at the
end and the title sequence is at the start and only names the main few.
A trailer includes a montage of clips from the film
that is advertising. It doesn’t give away too much, however it gives enough
information so that viewers get an idea of the genre and the narrative.
Sometimes the trailer lists a few of the main cast but not always. A trailer
has a limited amount of time as it has to be able to fit in between TV shows
etc. It is made for advertisement purposes. At the end of the trailer there
will be information about when the film is coming out.
Researching into the differences between a film opening and a trailer has helped me because now I won't mixed up between the two when I am creating my own film opening.
Genre-
The genre of this film is action/comedy this is demonstrated through the sound, the non diegetic soundtrack is what I would usually expect to hear over a cartoon such as Tom and Jerry, this gives the film a comedic tone. The mise in the opening suggests that the film is an action, it moves reasonably fast and the fact that they're is a chase going on leads me to believe that there must be some form of action.
This screenshot shows the is a demonstration of the main protagonist hiding/ running away from the other character. This suggests to me that there is chase.
Narrative-
The narrative of the film involves a chase, the opening tells me that the main protagonist must go on an adventure to escape who ever is following him.
Characters-
The characters in the film include the main protagonist (who is male), I can tell he is a male by what he is wearing. there is also a woman in the film, it is likely by the film genre that she will have some form of love affair with the main protagonist, however, she could also be the enemy or person initiating the chase.
I believe that the main protagonist is male because of the shape of 'his' body, it is a lot broader than than what is seen to be the women in the opening. The image to the left shows both the 'male' and 'female' characters standing next to each other, i felt that this was a clear representation of the differences between them. The image to the right includes a still of the 'main protagonist', I have also come to the conclusion that he is male because of what he is wearing; he is wearing a suit and doesn't appear to have any hair.
Atmosphere-
This film has quite an adventurous atmosphere, you know straight away that there is going to be some form of journey and therefore this may make the viewer feel tense as the film starts to meet its climax. The background colour changes quite a lot in the film opening, each colour could signify a different tonal mood throughout the film.
The first image is black and pink, pink has connotations of love, this also links to the fact that there is a woman with the main protagonist in this still. The image in the middle is black and red, red can have connotations of danger, this also signifies that this film is potentially an action film because action films usually include some form of danger. The last image is black and green, green has connotations of safety, this could signify that there are lots of twists and turns throughout the film, or perhaps that everything turns out alright in the end.
Themes-
The main themes demonstrated in the film opening are, adventure and chase. The film opening suggests that the film is about somebody running away from someone or something. Because there is a chase going on this leads me to believing that there is some form of adventure that we have to follow when watching the film.
Setting-
The film opening has multiple settings such as; the airport, around a swimming pool, in a hospital and a few others. We follow the main protagonist whilst they travel to all of the different locations.
The fact that there are multiple different locations signifies that the main protagonist is going on an adventure.
Sound- The music used changes its pace a few times, this could be a representation of the film and how on edge the main protagonist may be at times. The soundtrack is quite comedic.
Titles-
All of the titles fit in with the setting. This is so that you can see the necessary information, however, you can also follow the journey of the main protagonist and keep your focus.
Analysing this film opening has helped me to consider what I should/ could include in my film opening to convey certain meanings.
