Drive shotlist

SHOT LIST:

 

This is the shot list for the opening 'drive', we did this to see the different types of shots that are used and the timings they were introduced. We did this as it allowed us to to see the different types of shots that were introduced so that when we made our remake it would allow us to know what shots go where, for how long and when the titles appear.

 

The drive opening:

1.     Establishing shot – 0:01

2.     Close up – 0:11

3.     Over the shoulder/close up – 0:23

4.     Over the shoulder – 0:41

5.     Close up – 0:51

6.     Birds-eye-view – 1:01

7.     Close up – 1:17

8.     Medium shot – 1:21

9.     Over the shoulder – 1:26

10.    Medium shot – 1:32

11.     Close up – 1:34

12.     Long shot – 1:38

13.     Close up – 1:40

14.      Medium shot – 1:50

15.      Birds-eye-view – 2:02

16.      Over the shoulder – 2:22

Mainstream & Independent Companies Logo's

Mainstream

Mainstream companies are companies like Lions Gate as shown on the left. The backgrounds tend to be quite powerful, for example as you can see on the left the lion is portrayed to look powerful. The logos stereotypically have rather professional logos and are often animated. For Lions Gate have an animated it to make the lion roar and have an added sound effect on top of them to make it look professional and of good standard.

 

· The type of films they make tend to be very successful films and will be well known worldwide.

 

·   They film in locations that you would recognise which makes the audience feel more involved.

 

·  The type of actors are well known which as a result attract to a larger audience often referred to as a mass audience.

 

Independent films

The other film institution is Independent. Independent film companies often have logos which are consist of a simple design. Moreover, independent films do not often use any type of animation or sound over the top of their logo. This gives the logo a more simplistic look.

 

·   Logos tend to be smaller, like the one below.

·   Independent is a lot less due to not being given a lot of money in comparison to mainstream institutions.

·   Independent film companies often target niche audiences whereas mainstream institutions tend to target mass audiences.

 

 

 

 

This will help me to desgin my own logo as this gives me an understanding of what the large well known companies logos are like therefore this can help me to develop and desgin one that will look professional.

Type of institution

Type of Institution

The type of institution that we have chosen to be will affect the type of movie that we create, for example if you are were an independent institution, the movie that you create will be a lot cheaper however it will not be of good quality, whereas in comparison with other institutions that have a lot more money they will be able to spend more money and time on creating a better quality film and making it look a lot more appealing to the audience.

We have chosen to be an independent intuition this is because they have a good amount of money and have a reasonable. The second reason we have chosen to become an independent institution is that there should be 'as much' pressure to create an amazing, front paper film, as people will most likely expect less and possibly be surprised with what they see from the end product.

Extra research - Audience figures & Revenue

Audience figures and what films are popular

The films below are the films that are similar to our one as they are share the same genre which is comedy. We believe that if we look at the different films in the same genre as us it could potentially help to improve out film and see if we can take any notes on the parts we think we could potentially fit into our film. We believe the following films are popular in out genre and therefore decided to research how successful they were and the amount they made.

21 Jump Street

Storyline - “In high school, Schmidt (Jonah Hill) was a dork and Jenko (Channing Tatum) was the popular jock. After graduation, both of them joined the police force and ended up as partners riding bicycles in the city park. Since they are young and look like high school students, they are assigned to an undercover unit to infiltrate a drug ring that is supplying high school student’s synthetic drugs. Written by Douglas Young (the-movie-guy)”

21 jump street was released in 3148 theatres worldwide therefore it was always going to be a successful film. It also managed to make £201m in the opening weekend and was very successful globally and has very good reviews.

Shaun of the Dead

Storyline – “Shaun doesn't have a very good day, so he decides to turn his life around by getting his ex to take him back, but he times it for right in the middle of what may be a zombie apocalypse... But for him, it's an opportunity to show everyone he knows how useful he is by saving them all. All he has to do is survive... And get his ex-back.”

Shaun of the dead was released in only 607 theatres so compared to 21 jump street it is significantly less. Shaun of the dead managed to turn over £30m worldwide which is good considering the lack of theatres they released it in. compared to 21 jump street they made considerably less however Shaun of the dead is a smaller film.

 

40 Year Old Virgin

Storyline – “Andy at the age of 40 still hasn't had sex. He lets his secret slip at a poker game with his buds from work. After the revealing all his friends are on a mission to help get him laid. Along the way Andy meets a nice mom: Trish who fall head over heels for each other. Written by Kris Hopson”

40 year old virgin was released 2845 theatres worldwide which is in between 21 Jump Street and Shaun of the dead. It also managed to turn over £177m worldwide which is a lot and is very similar to the amount 21 jump street made.

 

  

Timeline of film opening from chosen genre - Dumb & Dumber

Analysis of film opening - The Hangover

Analysis of film openings - The Hangover

Genre
I am going to be analysing the movie ‘The hangover’. Firstly, after watching the film opening I have noticed that there are a number of different genres that could be drawn from this opening , the one that I spotted straight away was romance, this is due to at the start of the clip you see two people taking flowers from the van to the house, also you see a cake which looks like a wedding cake, then a wedding dress and lastly people setting up the venue for the wedding therefore this links to romance making people think that this film could actually be a romance. However after 1 minute into the clip, the atmosphere all changes as the bride to be looks worried whilst on a phone call to a man who looks stranded in the middle of nowhere, this then creates a twist for the audience as it opens up questions for the audience members to ask themselves as it could be a romance or a mystery due to the fact one of their friends has gone missing at this point. Moreover, I only know from watching the film that it is actually a comedy.  When listening to the phone call numerous times the storyline is actually being  told when they bride to be and the man are on the phone however  the audience would not realise this due to the fact they would not have seen the film before.

Characters
The opening sequence gives us as the audience members a clear idea into what sort of characters are involved and what they are like as people. We know from the opening scene that there is a bride to be and 5 men who are on a stag do in Las Vegas, the fact that it is located in Las Vegas connotes that something bad is going to happen due to the saying “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas”. In addition to this we know that one of the characters has gone missing, he is likely to be one of the main characters due to the fact he is the one marrying the bride. All the characters seem to be hiding something in order to keep the bride happy as they don’t want her to get upset on her wedding day

Sound

The first piece of sound we here is a non-diegetic sound track which is calm and relaxing, it is played over the top of the camera panning down a long road. The type of music we hear is the type of music you would typically hear being played at a wedding venue, this creates a sad atmosphere as instead of the music being played at their wedding venue its being played to make the audience feel sorry for the couple that are yet to get married. In addition to this the lyrics that are used are very hypocritical as they say “I wasn’t born to make trouble”, but in actual fact the men have caused trouble as one of the friends provided the drugs which lead to the groom going missing. The second piece of music we hear is when the friend of the person who is meant to get married reveals that they have lost the groom, the music starts to slow down to very slow and get deeper, which connotes a sense of sadness, this suits the mood of the scene very well.

 

Themes

There are a variety of themes that can be found from the opening sequence of this film. The first one I found was distress, the bride to be looks upset and distressed as her husband to be has gone missing and she doesn’t know what to do as she’s preparing her makeup for the big day and has everything planned to make the day perfect. The next theme I found was death, this is because he man who is meant to be marrying the woman has gone missing as stated above and his four friends do not have a clue in the slightest where he could be as they took drugs the night before therefore this leads me to think that death could be one of the themes. Moreover, death is like a hidden theme in this film opening as it is a possible outcome but no one actually mentions it leaving me to believe it could be a theme. The last theme I notice was searching/hunting as they need to find their fiend urgently in order to get to the wedding on time to make bride happy.

Setting/Atmosphere
The film is set at a wedding reception/venue which is clearly shown in the very first location in the opening scene. The next location is at Las Vegas, this is shown at the start of my bit when they are having a phone call. These locations are good as they do not say how far away the wedding reception is from Las Vegas making the atmosphere tense and gloomy and also the fact that the bride to be is already situated at the venue and the man is nowhere to be seen in Las Vegas. Las Vegas is a good location as it is a popular spot for me to go on their stag do making the location realistic for the audience. Also the fact that the groom cannot be contacted on the day of his wedding creates a tense atmosphere within the opening and makes the audience want to know what is going to happen next.

Titles
The titles that are displayed are good as they are come in the right order; however the one that isn’t is the one where the mina character comes after the film title when really they should really be put before. The font that is used throughout fits each section of the film opening perfectly for example when the wedding scene is playing at the start the font that is used for the titles is the type of font you would see on a wedding invitation, this shows that they have thought about titles before doing them. Also, when the bad news is revealed the colour of the font changes from white to red which connotes danger/death. This is good as it could be trying to tell the audience that some sort of danger or injury is going to occur during the film, however the audience probably wouldn't realise this.

 

Narrative

The narrative that is used is closed narrative as you can clearly tell that there is going to be a beginning, middle and an end. You plot is actually quite simple as someone goes missing on a big day and then they find him just in time for the wedding.

 

 

 

 

Analysis of film opening - Step Brothers

Step Brothers  opening analysis

To start the film opening there is a black background and then a quote, it says "Families is where our nations find hope, where wings take dreams." This is like a hidden meaning behind the film and makes the audience think that the film could be about family and how family is important in life. Next, another title appears and this one is the production company’s logo which is Columbia Pictures, in the film it was actually written in capitals which could be there way of trying to get the audience familiar with their production company logo. The genre of this film is comedy and you can tell this at the beginning as one of the men (who acts like a boy) is making a mound of food and the use of the clothing he is wearing which is bright and colourful suggest that this film is a comedy.

Furthermore, the use of non-diegetic sound of one of the men opening up a food packet and the use of the sound of what I seen to be someone rustling their food creates a rather calm/relaxed mood as when people are eating they tend to be relaxed as food is comforting. Whilst this is going on the credits are still continuing to run and then the camera moves to show a close up shot of one of the men’s hands who is filling his plate with nachos and cheese which is very kid like and the food is of course unhealthy food.

Next, the moves into the onto a close up of the microwave which shows the different dials on the microwave where we then see the character type In 1.10minutes which as an audience member will instantly assume that this person can not only cook but is rather lazy and somewhat useless. Also, this prop (microwave) is stereotypically associated with people who cannot be bothered to cook their food as they are lazy therefore the microwave helps the audience get a feel for who this person is and get to know a bit about him.

Then as soon as the character presses the start button the camera changes to show it inside the microwave and then we see the man looking inside which is very child like and what you would typically see of a young kid, this creates a humorous atmosphere as you wouldn’t expect an adult to do this and then this instantly suggests it is of a comedy genre. Moreover, also when he presses the start button on the microwave the use of non-diegetic music playing in the background starts playing. This song is upbeat and the sort of music you hear when you see what someone’s life is like therefore this music shows us that this is his day to day life and how he spends his days. Also, the use of the cereal bowl on top of his plate of food Suggests a genre of comedy as a normal person would hold them separate but this man puts his bowl on top of his nachos and cheese.

Furthermore, the camera then switches to the man smelling his clothing from the basket, the room has low key lighting to show the change in environment, this bit shows another man named dale picking up clothing from the unwashed basket and then he smells them which obviously means they aren’t washed. This scene then presents Dale as another lazy person who is basically the same as Brandon, someone who doesn’t really care as their parents do everything for them. This then tells the audience that dale is also really lazy and unhealthy. After Brandon has sat down, in front of him is his food on the table and the TV. When his mums said she is going to work now, Brandon changes the channel onto a woman who looks like is performing yoga and then he puts his hand down his pants which creates a humorous atmosphere for the audience as that is not something you would expect of an adult. In the next clip, the camera switches over to our other character dale who is also confronted by his parent who is leaving. The use of clothing and props in this clip connotes to the audience that dale is not your average adult as he is holding a gaming guitar and wears and shirt that is very childlike and doesn’t fit him well showing he cannot look after himself and also shows the audience that both of these characters are going to be funny as they are not stereotypically normal and people find that funny.

The camera angles that are used show us his surroundings. For example the close up/over the shoulder shot however the shoulder cannot be seen clearly of Dale shows us he is playing video games, this connotes his child like character.  Then there is a wide shot of the back of him and then a medium shot of him from the front. These have been chosen as they want the audience to see how he lives and what type of things he likes. In addition to this the medium shot that is used shows the contrast between himself and his father. The editing technique that is used is called a shot reverse shot which is used when Dale and his dad are communicating, it starts at his dad, then goes to dale and then returns bac to the dad, this connotes that the dad is more dominant over his son due to the fact his son is rather childlike.

The scene then changes and the location has been changed. The camera pans around what is seen to be a chandelier, the use of this angle shows the difference in lives between Dales father and himself as before we saw a Dale in his room playing on his game console and now we are seeing his dad who Is a high up professional conducting a speech to many people. Also In this scene we see an equal shot reverse shot and Brandon’s mum and Dale’s dad which connotes that they have some type of sexual connection in the film as Brandon’s mum keeps smiling at the dad.

To conclude, I can clearly tell that this film is a comedy due to the many generic conventions of a comedy that are displayed. Also the fact that both adults are very childlike which is meant to be funny for the audience. Also they aren’t that many other generic conventions of other genres in the opening therefore it must be a comedy.

 

Research into chosen genre

Research Into chosen genre

Our chosen genre is comedy, we have chosen this genre as we believe this is the best genre for us as a group as we feel that we know most about this genre in comparison to the other genres. We feel as though our film is most similar to run fat boy run as our is a comedy as stated above but also we feel we share the same sort of story line therefore we have researched into what makes run fat boy run as good as it is. We believe it is due to the different types of things they say, the characters often say one liners that make the audience laugh which is what we aspire to do. Also we believe the clothing is key to making our film funny as in this film they dress the characters to make them look funny e.g. the small tight shorts, baggy old t-shirts. Therefore we think that we it is important to make our characters look funny.

Also, the video that is placed to the left is a video of a scene in run fat boy run that we believe sums up why it is funny. Even though the storyline is rather simple it is however very effective. The simple but most humorous part is when the security guard is chasing the transsexual as the use of the facial expressions from the security guard makes people laugh as it is rather strange. Also the constant laughing and use of dramatic music makes people laugh as it is not seen to be normal therefore it makes people laugh.

Why we are doing a remake

Why we are doing a re-make

We completed a re-make of a well-known film opening called 'Drive', is because it will enable us to understand the running of a film and how much there is to consider when we have to make our own one. Moreover, not only that but it gives us further knowledge into what we have to include when making ours. Doing a re-make enables us to gain knowledge and a better understanding of how to plan a film. It also gives us an understanding of the types of shots and the way they filmed them. It also allowed us to gain knowledge about how they edited, and when the credits should be introduced. I also learnt the different types of transitions that are needed to create an accurate representation and the appropriate material to make the film opening successful. To conclude, the main reason we are re-creating the 'Dive' opening scene is to give us a better understanding on how to create a film opening of which will help us when it comes to creating our own in the near future.

Difference between Indepenent and Mainstream Film Openings

The difference between mainstream and independent companies is that, firstly, mainstream companies target a mass audience which is a large group of people whereas independent companies target a niche audience which is a small group of people therefore they both target different audiences. Mainstream companies will therefore create a film which will target that mass of people by not having a specific genre in order to satisfy the wide audience they want to attract. However, independent companies will have a more specific genre which will be less generalised as they are targeting a niche audience therefore it will be a small audience and they want to make their film specific to their needs.

When producing a film there a many aspects you have to think about e.g. production, marketing, distribution and exhibition. Mainstream companies tend to be a lot bigger and have a lot more money compared to independent companies who have a limited budget to play with. Mainstream can afford to hire the best cast as they have the money to do so whereas independent will have to get the best possible people with the budget they are given. Moreover, when it comes to distribution, this is where independent and mainstream companies are separated as due to the lack of budget independent companies cannot afford to distribute their film to as many countries as mainstream companies therefore they cannot make their film as big as they hope. An example of a mainstream company would be Warner Bros and mostly all the films they produce will become successful as they are such a large successful company.

 

Mainstream

On the left is a mainstream film called Fast and Furious 6 which was produced by Universal Pictures. It was released in order to attract a mass market of people. It was released in a number of cinemas  around the globe. It was also released on Netflix, DVD. Mainstream films are also advertised on a variety forms of social media such as twitter, Facebook and Instagram. They also advertise on YouTube, they would pay the person who makes the film to put s small 30second advertisement before the video. The genre of this film is action as they are lots of scenes that contain a lot of action pact film. Mainstream films usually hire a cast that are rather famous within the film industry, in this film they have Paul Walker, Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson. This would attract a large audience due to the popularity of the cast.  In a number of mainstream films some of the scenes have locations that are recognisable to the audience. This is good as it allows the audience to feel as if they are related to the film in some way.

Independent

Below is the film opening of 'A walk among the tombstone', it was produced by a number of different companies but one company that is well known is Universal Pictures. It was released to attract a wide audience but in fact was the biggest independent film of 2014. It was also released in the cinema, Netflix and DVD. Independent film companies tend to advertise their film using social media as it is a free version of marketing and will give the film a bigger marketing campaign. The genre of this film is action as it contains a lot of fighting/gun scenes. Independent films do nor normally have a well known cast as they can not usually afford it but in this film they are lucky enough to have Liam Neeson. This would attract a wide audience as the popularity of Liam Neeson will make people want to watch it. However, in this film they have not filmed in locations that are well known whereas in the film above they have. This could mean that the audience do not feel as involved in the film compared to the one above.   

Audience Profile

 

When I search on 21 Jump Street on 'YouGov' it comes up with the type of person that would buy the product or in this case watch the product. I chose to type 21 Jump Street as when I was researching into films that are similar to the one my group are going to create therefore my typing in this film it gives me an idea of the type of audience that would watch my film and the type of person they are, including demographics, personality, brands they use and the type of entertainment they like. This is good for us as it allows us to see who we should target out film at and allows us to get an insight into their personality and the types of things they enjoy doing.

Audience Theories

Audience Theories

There are multiple different theories that surround the media and the way that they affect the audience. Below is a list of all of the theories:

The Effects Model

The first model is called 'The Effects Model', this includes the consumption of different media texts that effect or influence the audience. This is generally considered as very negative.

The audience that is affected are powerless and passive to prevent the influence of the piece of media.

Hypodermic Needle Theory

Another model is 'The Hypodermic Model', with this model the messages within the media text is injected into the audiences mind from a 'surgical' syringe by the media itself. The audience that are consuming the piece of media are powerless to resist, like the audience have been drugged by the media.

This model is seen to inject ideas from the piece of media and influence the audience, who are seen to be very passive and weak.

Passive Audiences

This theory suggests that the audience are like 'couch potatoes', sitting, consuming media texts - mainly television programs. This is said that this did not require an active use of the brain, as the audience accepts the messages and believes everything that they see.

 

Active Audiences

This theory implies that the audience are not 'couch potatoes', but rather, individuals that are active and like to communicate and also use the media texts fro their own uses. This is considered a more realistic model than that of the others.

Uses and Gratifications Model

This model sends the idea that audiences are a complex mix of individuals who choose media texts to best suits their own personal needs.

The uses and gratifications model implies that the media audience make active decisions about what they consume in comparison to their social and cultural setting and their needs.

Audiences selectively choose and watch programmes to make them feel good, such as soaps, or give them information that they can use, such as news.

 

Jelly Baby activity

 

 

Why did we do the jelly baby experiment?

 

We decided to conduct the jelly baby experiment to give us an idea of where the film title and the titles of the people who help produce the film such as the producers and co-producers will go in the film opening and when they should be introduced. Also, by using these jelly babies it allowed us to get a feel for what a film opening should be like.

 

 

How will it help you make your own film - this will help us make our film as it gives us in insight into what a film opening is like and where specific titles should go  and where titles such as institutional logo's should go.

Generic conventions - Run Fat Boy Run

Generic conventions - Run Fat Boy Run

0:10 – Firstly at the beginning of the opening it shows a rather unfit/large man running. He is dressed as a police officer/security guard. The security guard bloke is sprinting after someone, the person he is chasing you cannot see at this point in the clip. The security bloke has a facial expression that shows he is struggling to breathe and/or is just unfit and cannot meet the demands of his environment. This shows the generic convention of comedy as it shows an overweight man he is practically useless due to the fact he is struggling to keep up even thought that is his job to chase thieves. This is funny for the audience as people find it funny when people suffering and this is an example of someone suffering therefore this will be humorous for the audience.

0:24 – At this stage of the clip we are able to see who the security guard is chasing. The person that the security guard was chasing was a black transsexual that was wearing brightly coloured clothes. The reason the security guard was chasing the person was because she stole a pair of what looked like underwear. From this it shows some traits of comedy as it shows the man struggling to breathe which will be found funny by our audience, also the fact that the woman is dressed the way she is will be found funny by our audience as what she is wearing is not seen to be normal therefore. In this opening scene you can see the why it is a comedy as certain things are put in place (simple thing, like the dress sense) to make people laugh and they have achieved this as when I was conducting my research I found out that this was a rather successful film.



0:51 : At this particular section of the clip it Shows the security man walking back to the shop where he works. He is giving the stolen underwear in the shop. He has a rather awkward facial expression on his face, this shows traits of a generic convention as he ran all that way chasing the transsexual just to return a pair underwear, the woman he stole the underwear looked like she didn't care that she stole them and you could see that she was taking the mick out of the security guard.

Notes on/Impact of Certification

The impact of certification

Certification of films is put in place to restrict people from watching content that could be potentially harmful or have a bad influence on them. It is also there to make they know what they can and cant watch. Certification has an impact on films as films are categorised into different categories according to their content. A company/organisation called  BBFC are the people that will give your film a certification rating which is given according to the content in the film, whether bad language is used, nudity, sexual content etc. The creators of the film will show the BBFC their film/film opening for them to assess what classification it should have. When creating a film you have to be careful as if your intended target audience is 12 and your film fits into the 15 rating then this could potentially cause problems as you may have to take out parts that fit into the 15 criteria or produce new scenes in  order to meet the classification criteria. Or instead they would have to change the intended target audience of the film. Moreover, the BBFC must be careful when classifying films as if they rate a film lower that it should be then potentially people might be harmed by the content and therefore they must be very strict when classifying. On the other hand the film makers should also try and produce the film so that it is given the rating they want it to get.

Furthermore, film institutions must make sure as stated above to follow the rules and regulations of the BBFC to ensure they target their intended target audience. They must make sure they do not release content that could be deemed as unsuitable for children. Without the BBFC it would mean that movies would not be given a rating according to their content and this can cause children to be exposed to movies that will not be suitable for them at all and people will also not have any idea if the film is suitable for their children to go and watch which in the long run could cause parents to not let their children go and see that film which would decrease audience figures and revenue of that film

 

 

 

 

Certification

Notes on Certification

Certification is put into place in order to protect children from the world of media. Also, to protect children from unsuitable and potentially harmful content in films and videos. This is put into place to give users information they might need to be aware of before making there film. Certification is in place to give the potential viewers an insight into the type of film they are thinking of going to watch before deciding whether or not they want to view it. The company that are in charge of certifying a film before it is released are a company called BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) , they basically assess the film and then place an age rating to the film. This predominately ensures that the film is suitable for viewing. Once they have decided on a certification then they will place a small symbol like the ones below to show people the rating. The ratings are listed below:


All ages admitted, there is almost nothing unsuitable for children aged over 3.


All ages admitted, but certain scenes may be unsuitable for young children. Should not disturb children aged 8 years or over.


Films under this category are considered to be unsuitable for young children. Cinemas are only permitted to supply tickets to see a 12A-rated film to children under the age of 12 years if they are accompanied by an adult, aged at least 18 years. However, it is unlikely to be suitable for children under the age of 12.



It is suitable only for persons aged 12 years and over, not to be supplied to anyone below that age. It is illegal to knowingly rent or sell a 12-rated VHS, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, UMD or game to anyone under the age of 12.



Suitable only for persons aged 15 years and over, not to be supplied to anyone below that age. It is illegal to knowingly rent or sell a 15-rated VHS, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, UMD or game, or supply cinema tickets for a film with this rating, to anyone under the age of 15.


Suitable only for persons aged 18 years and over, not to be supplied to anyone below that age. It is illegal to knowingly rent or sell an 18-rated VHS, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, UMD or game, or supply cinema tickets for a film with this rating, to anyone under the age of 18.



It is illegal to sell a film with this rating to anyone under the age of 18, and it is illegal to sell a film with this rating by means of mail order, or online or by telephone.

Certification will help us and our film as it allows us to to know what category of certification we fit into and gives us an insight into how films are placed into the different categories.