film analysis (watchmen)

Watchmen 

Genre- the genre of this film is action/ super hero. I can tell this by the costumes that are worn in the film opening. The main protagonists are wearing superhero costumes. The use of weapons signify that this is an action film.

Narrative- The narrative of this film is based around superhero. In the opening you see how the superheroes go from being loved to be ing taken down/killed. One of the superhero retired and hd a family, however, some of the others weren't as lucky and were killed before they had the chance to settle down.

Character- The main protagonists in the film are the superheroes, there is also someone that is trying to take them down. We don't actually get a clear image of who the main antagonist is however we see many other people in the opening who are against that superheroes. Some of the superhero settle down however, some of the others are killed. The whole opening is of their lives being documented in the newspapers so that signifies that the superheroes are public figures.

Atmosphere- The atmosphere of the film opening is quite sinister. The audience is routing for the superheroes as at the start of the opening they were seen to be helping the world and then at the end of the opening they were being killed off.

Themes- The main theme throughout this film is change, within the first few minutes of the film the audience are shown a time capsule of the past few years and how so much had already changed. Not only were the heroes not wanted, they were also being killed.

Sound- The whole way through the opening the song "the times they are changing" is being played, this fits in with the narrative and signifies again to the audience that the narrative is about how much things are changing. There is also gun shot sound effects at the start of the opening, this also adds to the fact that one of this fits genres is action. The whole way through the opening the sound of an old fashioned camera is played, this puts emphasis on the fact that the superheroes lives are being documented.

Titles- The titles in the opening are yellow, this suits the whole colour scheme of the opening, however, it also looks like the writing from a comic.This ties together the fact that this film is a superhero movie.

This analysis has helped me because I now realise how much need to be considered when making a film opening and how you can use certain, font, colours and other features to signify different things.

Generic conventions of different genres.

Drama

• relatable characters
• relatable narrative
• naturalistic lighting
• presents real life situations
• exhibits the characters progression in some kind of journey(usually emotional)
• conflict
• climax/anti climax
• happy ending (most of the time)

An example of a drama film that follows almost all of these conventions is Cast Away.

Horror

• Blood and gore 
• weapons
• good vs evil
• low key lighting
• tension building music
• death
• the main protagonist is generally either the victim or the hero or the movie.

A horror film that follows most of these conventions is Saw.

Comedy 

• bright colours
• high key lighting(some times)
• the 'dumb' character
• camera angles make all characters equal
• funny diegetic dialogue
• upbeat music 
• occasionally slapstick props are used

A comedy that follows all of these conventions is Grown Ups.

Action

• Weapons
• fast cars 
• The main protagonist is often male
• intense music
• non- diegetic sound effects (gun shot, smashed glass etc.)
• explosives
• high and low angles used to show the hierarchy of importance 
• naturalistic or low key lighting mainly used.

An action movie that follows these conventions is James Bond Spectre.

This research has helped me think about what conventions my film opening may need when I make it.

what sort of production company we will be

We have decided that we are going to be an independent production company. We have decided on this because we feel that we don't have all of the resources that we would need if we wanted to a mainstream production company. If we wanted to be a mainstream company we would need a big budget so that we would be able to afford advanced special effects, big hollywood actors/actresses to star in it, lavish mise-en-scene. As we are an independent production company it means that we can add a bigger message to our film rather than it just being for entertainment value.

Jelly baby activity

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.

How does the certification of a film film affect the opening sequence?

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.

Certification notes

certification categories

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.

film opening independant research

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.