Tuesday, 29 December 2009
Thursday, 17 December 2009
Questionnaire results
I sent out a questionnaire on Facebook to about 30 people and I calculated my results in excel, to create pie charts showing all the data.
1. How often do you watch movies?
The most popular answer was once a week, which shows people have more time and are more interested in watching movies. This also means that films will gain a lot more publicity because more people will have time to watch them and tell others about them. This also means, however, that the film needs to be exciting and interesting to make sure people tell others to watch it.
2. Where do you watch them the most?
This data shows that most people prefer to watch films on DVD. This could be because it's a more family and friends, comfortable environment instead of a public cinema or because of the wide range of films and high quality you get from different DVDs. This data shows it may be more profitable to release films onto DVD earlier, instead of waiting for cinema viewings. One film opening I deconstructed, 'Stephen King's IT' chose to do this. After showing the film on TV, it went straight to DVD release and wasn't shown in cinemas. Some people cannot afford to keep visiting the cinema to see the latest films, so releasing them onto DVD earlier, would mean more people would get to buy it and watch it, because they can choose when and where to buy and watch it in comfort, giving them more freedom.
3. Why would you go and see a film?
According to the data, most people would choose to go and see a film because of the trailers. This means advertising and trailers are very important in publicising and attracting attention to a film. 'Jeepers Creepers 2' and 'FAME 2009' both used trailers and advertising a lot to promote the films and they were very popular films to watch. The buzz and hype from trailers attracts audiences because it leaves people asking what happens next, making them want to go and watch the film to find out. It's important that trailers don't give too much away though, otherwise people will feel that there is no point in going to watch the film because they know what will happen.
4. Do you have any particular film genre you enjoy?
The most popular genre here was comedy. Love Actually has moments of comedy in it and it is a very popular film. Comedy is a good genre to use as there are many types of comedy and some can be just for children or live stand-up comedy for adults. The film opening I am making is based on the horror genre (another popular genre) but the dancing and musical parts may make it funny for some people.
5. Do watch the openings of films closely?
This data shows that the opening of a film is quite important to most people. This means films need to have an interesting opening that won't spoil the rest of the film, but that will hold the audiences attention. The opening for 'Stephen King's IT' is a good example of this, as we see the main villain, Pennywise in the opening, but we have no idea what he is really like and what he has done. This keeps the audience waiting and watching to see what he'll do next.
6. What would make a good film opening?
The answer most people chose was: Something that I won't understand until the end of the film. This shows audiences like to be in suspense about films, not knowing what could happen next or why. It makes the film more interesting and leaving people asking, what happens next? 'Jeepers Creepers 2' is a good example of this, because although people may understand why and what he's doing from the first film, there is a big cliffhanger at the end of the film and a lot more questions raised about The Creeper, which leaves people waiting for the next film.
7. If the film has opening credits or titles, do you pay attention to them?
This data shows people are not really interested in the opening credits of a film and they don't pay a lot of attention to them. 'Love Actually' has the start of the film and action running behind the credits and they are not easily noticed, which will keep the audiences attention for longer, because they don't have to sit through credits.
8. What would make the opening credits of a film stand out more?
The data shows that people would prefer the credits to be clear, instead of arranged or designed in a different way. The credits for 'FAME 2009' and 'Love Actually' are set like this, to blend in with the action going on behind them.
9. What makes a film stand out and easy to remember to you?
The results from this question show that the whole film and the way it's put together are two of the biggest things that make the film stand out to people. This means it's important to focus on the entire film when creating it.
1. How often do you watch movies?
The most popular answer was once a week, which shows people have more time and are more interested in watching movies. This also means that films will gain a lot more publicity because more people will have time to watch them and tell others about them. This also means, however, that the film needs to be exciting and interesting to make sure people tell others to watch it.
2. Where do you watch them the most?
This data shows that most people prefer to watch films on DVD. This could be because it's a more family and friends, comfortable environment instead of a public cinema or because of the wide range of films and high quality you get from different DVDs. This data shows it may be more profitable to release films onto DVD earlier, instead of waiting for cinema viewings. One film opening I deconstructed, 'Stephen King's IT' chose to do this. After showing the film on TV, it went straight to DVD release and wasn't shown in cinemas. Some people cannot afford to keep visiting the cinema to see the latest films, so releasing them onto DVD earlier, would mean more people would get to buy it and watch it, because they can choose when and where to buy and watch it in comfort, giving them more freedom.
3. Why would you go and see a film?
According to the data, most people would choose to go and see a film because of the trailers. This means advertising and trailers are very important in publicising and attracting attention to a film. 'Jeepers Creepers 2' and 'FAME 2009' both used trailers and advertising a lot to promote the films and they were very popular films to watch. The buzz and hype from trailers attracts audiences because it leaves people asking what happens next, making them want to go and watch the film to find out. It's important that trailers don't give too much away though, otherwise people will feel that there is no point in going to watch the film because they know what will happen.
4. Do you have any particular film genre you enjoy?
The most popular genre here was comedy. Love Actually has moments of comedy in it and it is a very popular film. Comedy is a good genre to use as there are many types of comedy and some can be just for children or live stand-up comedy for adults. The film opening I am making is based on the horror genre (another popular genre) but the dancing and musical parts may make it funny for some people.
5. Do watch the openings of films closely?
This data shows that the opening of a film is quite important to most people. This means films need to have an interesting opening that won't spoil the rest of the film, but that will hold the audiences attention. The opening for 'Stephen King's IT' is a good example of this, as we see the main villain, Pennywise in the opening, but we have no idea what he is really like and what he has done. This keeps the audience waiting and watching to see what he'll do next.
6. What would make a good film opening?
The answer most people chose was: Something that I won't understand until the end of the film. This shows audiences like to be in suspense about films, not knowing what could happen next or why. It makes the film more interesting and leaving people asking, what happens next? 'Jeepers Creepers 2' is a good example of this, because although people may understand why and what he's doing from the first film, there is a big cliffhanger at the end of the film and a lot more questions raised about The Creeper, which leaves people waiting for the next film.
7. If the film has opening credits or titles, do you pay attention to them?
This data shows people are not really interested in the opening credits of a film and they don't pay a lot of attention to them. 'Love Actually' has the start of the film and action running behind the credits and they are not easily noticed, which will keep the audiences attention for longer, because they don't have to sit through credits.
8. What would make the opening credits of a film stand out more?
The data shows that people would prefer the credits to be clear, instead of arranged or designed in a different way. The credits for 'FAME 2009' and 'Love Actually' are set like this, to blend in with the action going on behind them.
9. What makes a film stand out and easy to remember to you?
The results from this question show that the whole film and the way it's put together are two of the biggest things that make the film stand out to people. This means it's important to focus on the entire film when creating it.
Friday, 4 December 2009
Final Decisions and Camera use
I've finished making my decisions about plot, times, location, script, genre, costumes and music choice.
Plot: A person is lying asleep in bed, tossing and turning. They lie still for a moment and mutter some words. Zombies dressed masks are crouched in front of the bed. Music starts and the Zombies start dancing. The person in the bed jumps awake when the dance ends, thinking it's just a nightmare. The Zombies climb over the bed headboard to show its real. Title flashes up with tag line.
Times: It would be held in the afternoon/evening time to create a darker lighting effect. A small lamp will be used to provide enough light to see what's happening but not too much to ruin the effect.
Location: I have decided to film it in my house using my sisters room as its big enough to perform a dance routine in and it has a small lamp in and a blind to block out sunlight from outside which would ruin the effect.
Script: I made changes to my script to fit the plot, as my original idea was to have people walking around lost in the woods and to find an abandoned house and the people inside start dancing. However, this idea seemed to have too much comedy in it (especially at the start when its revealed they were literally walking round in circles) and it seemed like a rip-off of The Rocky Horror Picture show. I wanted dancing and music involved, so i changed my idea.
Genre: Horror has always been my main choice for the main task because it's easy to use and you can create any characters in any situation. I thought about mixing it with a dance routine and music after watching a YouTube video of a university campus who organised a huge routine to Black Eyed Peas: I gotta feeling. I also then thought about adding a comedy element in, after thinking about song choices. But I didn't want it to be a rip-off from other films, like High school musical, The Rocky Horror picture show etc. So I changed the ideas to fit in with the horror genre completely.
Costumes: I wanted fairly dark, identical costumes for the dancers and instead of re-doing make-up and hairstyles the same, I decided they should wear plain masks as it looks creepier and if any make-up runs underneath or their hairstyle falls out a bit, it won't be noticed easily. My final costume choice for the dancers is: plain white masks, a plain top (black or grey, dark colours) jeans (dark blue or black), black or grey socks and no shoes. The person asleep in bed will be wearing pyjamas and no mask, to signify their difference with the dancers.
Music choice: It took me a while to decide what songs to use for the dance and for the introduction. I thought about using 'The Time warp' as the speaking part at the beginning of the song is creepy and funny, and the dance is easy to perform. However, this would make it too much like The Rocky horror picture show. I then considered using 'thriller' by Michael Jackson because the song is very creepy and also has an easy dance routine. But there is no speaking part at the beginning and I wanted to use an original song. I had been listening to Rihanna's new album Rated R and liked the song 'Madhouse' because the speaking part at the beginning is extremely creepy and effective, but the music at the end is too slow for the routine i was thinking about. I still decided to use the start of 'Madhouse' for when the dancers first run in and line up in front of the bed. I then listened to some of the old album, 'good girl gone bad' and liked the fast pace and creepy horror style of the song 'Disturbia' so i decided to use it for the dance routine. 'Madhouse' and 'Disturbia' are my final song choices.
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Camera Use: In the preliminary task, i practised using the camera, trying different shots and angles. I tried Long shots, mid shots and close ups. We also used wide angles and angles from above characters.
Plot: A person is lying asleep in bed, tossing and turning. They lie still for a moment and mutter some words. Zombies dressed masks are crouched in front of the bed. Music starts and the Zombies start dancing. The person in the bed jumps awake when the dance ends, thinking it's just a nightmare. The Zombies climb over the bed headboard to show its real. Title flashes up with tag line.
Times: It would be held in the afternoon/evening time to create a darker lighting effect. A small lamp will be used to provide enough light to see what's happening but not too much to ruin the effect.
Location: I have decided to film it in my house using my sisters room as its big enough to perform a dance routine in and it has a small lamp in and a blind to block out sunlight from outside which would ruin the effect.
Script: I made changes to my script to fit the plot, as my original idea was to have people walking around lost in the woods and to find an abandoned house and the people inside start dancing. However, this idea seemed to have too much comedy in it (especially at the start when its revealed they were literally walking round in circles) and it seemed like a rip-off of The Rocky Horror Picture show. I wanted dancing and music involved, so i changed my idea.
Genre: Horror has always been my main choice for the main task because it's easy to use and you can create any characters in any situation. I thought about mixing it with a dance routine and music after watching a YouTube video of a university campus who organised a huge routine to Black Eyed Peas: I gotta feeling. I also then thought about adding a comedy element in, after thinking about song choices. But I didn't want it to be a rip-off from other films, like High school musical, The Rocky Horror picture show etc. So I changed the ideas to fit in with the horror genre completely.
Costumes: I wanted fairly dark, identical costumes for the dancers and instead of re-doing make-up and hairstyles the same, I decided they should wear plain masks as it looks creepier and if any make-up runs underneath or their hairstyle falls out a bit, it won't be noticed easily. My final costume choice for the dancers is: plain white masks, a plain top (black or grey, dark colours) jeans (dark blue or black), black or grey socks and no shoes. The person asleep in bed will be wearing pyjamas and no mask, to signify their difference with the dancers.
Music choice: It took me a while to decide what songs to use for the dance and for the introduction. I thought about using 'The Time warp' as the speaking part at the beginning of the song is creepy and funny, and the dance is easy to perform. However, this would make it too much like The Rocky horror picture show. I then considered using 'thriller' by Michael Jackson because the song is very creepy and also has an easy dance routine. But there is no speaking part at the beginning and I wanted to use an original song. I had been listening to Rihanna's new album Rated R and liked the song 'Madhouse' because the speaking part at the beginning is extremely creepy and effective, but the music at the end is too slow for the routine i was thinking about. I still decided to use the start of 'Madhouse' for when the dancers first run in and line up in front of the bed. I then listened to some of the old album, 'good girl gone bad' and liked the fast pace and creepy horror style of the song 'Disturbia' so i decided to use it for the dance routine. 'Madhouse' and 'Disturbia' are my final song choices.
.jpg)
Camera Use: In the preliminary task, i practised using the camera, trying different shots and angles. I tried Long shots, mid shots and close ups. We also used wide angles and angles from above characters.
Thursday, 3 December 2009
Extra to first decisions (Film deconstructions)
Finished Questionnaire and handing them out tomorrow. Finished script and plan idea completely.
I'm still planning timing, location, dance routine ansd costumes.
Openings I used for Deconstructions:
Stephen King's IT (1.18 minutes to 3.13 minutes on the video):
In the opening of this scene, we only see three characters, one main character and two small characters. These three characters interact with each other in the start of the film. The camera angle starts as a wide angle, looking down at the town of Derry from the cinema sign and turns into smaller angles with close up shots of some objects and two of the characters. There is no voice over, just music playing that builds tension. The only voices are the voices of the characters. There are some titles that appear over the opening scene. The colours are fairly plain and greyish, making the mood seem dark and dreary. All these things create a slightly unnerving mood, putting viewers on edge because it looks like an ordinary town but there is always the feeling that something will happen.
Jeepers Creepers 2 (0.14- 7.22):
We see four characters at the start of the film, three main characters and one small character, who each interact with each other. The camera shots and angles are a mixture of wide and long shots and smaller, close-up shots. The sounds we hear at the start are the characters talking to each other and the various sounds from the farm setting.
Love Actually (ignore the first 50 seconds):
The opening of this film is shot in an airport arrivals gate. The shots and angles used are close, personal ones showing people greeting each other. There is music in the background and a voice over, talking about the world today and love. The titles are playing over this scene and the main title of the film ‘Love Actually’ is also shown at the end of the scene. The colours are normal everyday colours. All of these things create a relaxed, happy mood and assure viewers that the film will be a happy and calm one.
The only video i couldn't find was the opening scene from FAME 2009.
This opening shows a lot of characters as students, travelling to and attending auditions. The camera angles and shots used are generally close up, small angle shots. We hear some music over the top at the start, which gradually merges into the noise and voices of the characters. There are titles playing over the scene. The main colours used are plain, school/city type colours, browns and greys. This opening creates a feel-good, relaxed mood and signifies to viewers that this film will be an enjoyable, realistic one.
I'm still planning timing, location, dance routine ansd costumes.
Openings I used for Deconstructions:
Stephen King's IT (1.18 minutes to 3.13 minutes on the video):
In the opening of this scene, we only see three characters, one main character and two small characters. These three characters interact with each other in the start of the film. The camera angle starts as a wide angle, looking down at the town of Derry from the cinema sign and turns into smaller angles with close up shots of some objects and two of the characters. There is no voice over, just music playing that builds tension. The only voices are the voices of the characters. There are some titles that appear over the opening scene. The colours are fairly plain and greyish, making the mood seem dark and dreary. All these things create a slightly unnerving mood, putting viewers on edge because it looks like an ordinary town but there is always the feeling that something will happen.
Jeepers Creepers 2 (0.14- 7.22):
We see four characters at the start of the film, three main characters and one small character, who each interact with each other. The camera shots and angles are a mixture of wide and long shots and smaller, close-up shots. The sounds we hear at the start are the characters talking to each other and the various sounds from the farm setting.
Love Actually (ignore the first 50 seconds):
The opening of this film is shot in an airport arrivals gate. The shots and angles used are close, personal ones showing people greeting each other. There is music in the background and a voice over, talking about the world today and love. The titles are playing over this scene and the main title of the film ‘Love Actually’ is also shown at the end of the scene. The colours are normal everyday colours. All of these things create a relaxed, happy mood and assure viewers that the film will be a happy and calm one.
The only video i couldn't find was the opening scene from FAME 2009.
This opening shows a lot of characters as students, travelling to and attending auditions. The camera angles and shots used are generally close up, small angle shots. We hear some music over the top at the start, which gradually merges into the noise and voices of the characters. There are titles playing over the scene. The main colours used are plain, school/city type colours, browns and greys. This opening creates a feel-good, relaxed mood and signifies to viewers that this film will be an enjoyable, realistic one.
First Decisions
I decided to work alone for the main task and make a horror/musical and dance opening. I've almost finished the script and sorted out whose involved and helping.
I deconstructed 4 film openings (putting the videos in next blog): Stephen King's IT, Jeepers Creepers 2, FAME 2009 and Love Actually.
I know how to use the camera with the different shots and angles.
Finished the changes to the script, the plot now involves someone asleep, having a nightmare and waking up for the audience to realise it's real.
I deconstructed 4 film openings (putting the videos in next blog): Stephen King's IT, Jeepers Creepers 2, FAME 2009 and Love Actually.
I know how to use the camera with the different shots and angles.
Finished the changes to the script, the plot now involves someone asleep, having a nightmare and waking up for the audience to realise it's real.
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