take/attempt 1 of our opening sequence

This is our first attempt at our opening sequence, we have decided not to use this particular footage for our coursework due to the camera not to the quality that we wanted. We found that the footage is grainy and uses tapes meaning editing it is a long, hard process that could be avoided by using a digital camera such as the one we are now going to use. We decided to edit the footage roughly to give us a guide to our actual opening sequence and use it to find faults in our original idea. We have concluded that the lighting is too low key and we actually need the footage to be more funny by varying the shots more.

Storyboard

This is the song that we have chosen as a soundtrack to our opening sequence. We have chosen this song because our opening sequence is going to be a comedy training montage. We have researched famous training montages from the 70-80s because these film sequences are dated and to the newer generation are seen to be amusing and 'cheesy'. In the extract Rocky V1 the soundtrack uses the wailing 'cheesy' guitar solos similar to the song we have chosen above.

Feedback 9.2.11

Lads, good work so far. Please ensure that you publish all the posts - you have some in draft form. The storyboard must be completed before you go to film this weekend. Please show this to me tomorrow.

Mrs A

Props List & Costume Plans

The props will be typical to a dominant representation of a geeky teenager, there will be;

• fantasy movie posters
• old fashioned alarm clock
• retro Casio watch
• retro ghetto blaster/ radio
• Darth Vader ornament
• stand alone weights
• inhaler
• old computer

the costume plans are going to follow the dominant representations of somebody working out as well as sticking to the geeky representation such as ;

• sweat headband
• sweat wristbands
• long white socks
• tight shoe lased pumps
• glasses
• vest top
• tight shorts

Questionnaire research

1) Sex?

MALE; 6

FEMALE; 11

2) Employment Status?

STUDENT; 7

EMPLOYED; 0

BOTH; 8

3) What is your favorite film genre?

COMEDY; 9

ACTION; 4

HORROR; 0

GANGSTER; 0

ANIMATION; 1

THRILLER; 0

4) What do you find funny in a comedy film?

PEOPLE TELLING JOKES; 4

PEOPLE HURTING THEMSELVES; 10

5) What is your favourite comedy film?
SHAUN OF THE DEAD; 3
SUPER BAD; 2
HANGOVER; 7
HAPPY GILMORE; 1
ANCHOR MAN; 1

From this information I can conclude that looking at question 3, people who we have surveyed prefer to watch comedy films more than any other genre, this is a promising sign as we were told of the difficulties of doing a comedy film but if we do it properly this is a film that the audience will enjoy the most. Another promising sign is question 4 which ask the audience what they find funny in a comedy film, the majority of people said people hurting themselves. Our comedy is going to be a slapstick comedy so this question shows that it would be the most desired sub genre of a film for the audience. All the people that we asked this questionnaire to were teenagers, our film is going to be aimed at the teenage audience so the information that was discovered will help us to create an opening sequence that our audience will enjoy. We questioned both male and females this means sticking to the information provided will help us to please both sexes and allow the film to be more popular and in a real film release situation the film company will gain more revenue because they will be aiming there film at both sexes.

equpiment that will be used in the video task.

the equipment we will be using in our task will be

• camera - Canon MD235 Digital Video Camera worth £200.
• tripod for the camera to stand on when doing shots that need to be held still.
• iMovie for mac - this will be to edit the movie clips we take and to add special effects to the movie and make it fit in with the genre we have chosen.

opening titles research

i am going to analyse the opening titles of the film "Se7en".

- a "company" production
- a film by "film maker name"
- main actors name
- main actors name
- name of film
- name of actor
- casting by
-  music by
- costumes designed by
- edited by
-  production designed by
- director of photography
- co-producer
- co-executive producers
- executive producers
- written by
- produced by
- directed by

As you can see, from my last post when i researched the openin titles of the James Bond film, both films contain most of the same titles. This is because every film has to have basic planning and infrastrucutre to succeed.

Highest Grossing Comedy Film

This post looks at the;

Highest Grossing Comedy Films of All Time List

This is because our opening scene will be a comedy film.

Rank	Title	Gross Domestic Box Office	Adjusted Gross Domestic Box Office1
1	Beverly Hills Cop (Paramount / 1984)	$234,760,478	$433,887,669
2	Home Alone (20th Century Fox / 1990)	$281,493,907	$413,257,012
3	Tootsie (Columbia Pictures / 1982)	$177,200,000	$409,075,093
4	Blazing Saddles (Warner Brothers / 1974)	$119,500,000	$404,656,100
5	National Lampoon's Animal House (Universal Pictures / 1978)	$141,600,000	$383,297,700
6	Mrs. Doubtfire (20th Century Fox / 1993)	$219,194,773	$321,796,582
7	Three Men and a Baby (Touchstone Pictures / 1987)	$167,780,960	$310,095,167
8	Austin Powers 2: The Spy Who Shagged Me (New Line Cinema / 1999)	$205,444,716	$305,218,107
9	Beverly Hills Cop 2 (Paramount Pictures / 1987)	$151,663,265	$280,306,213
10	Meet the Fockers (Universal Pictures / 2004)	$279,167,575	$279,167,575
11	Liar Liar (Universal Pictures / 1997)	$181,395,380	$269,489,309
12	There's Something About Mary (20th Century Fox / 1998)	$176,484,651	$262,193,704
13	My Big Fat Greek Wedding (IFC Films / 2002)	$241,437,427	$258,059,625
14	Porky's (20th Century Fox / 1982)	$111,289,673	$256,917,795
15	Home Alone 2 (20th Century Fox / 1992)	$172,676,450	$253,503,724
16	Look Who's Talking (Tristar Pictures / 1989)	$136,950,770	$253,114,370
17	Bruce Almighty (Universal Pictures / 2003)	$242,589,580	$249,831,060
18	Big Daddy (Columbia Pictures / 1999)	$163,479,795	$242,873,093
19	The Waterboy (Touchstone Pictures / 1998)	$161,487,252	$239,912,879
20	9 to 5 (20th Century Fox / 1980)	$103,290,500	$238,451,303
21	Coming to America (Paramount Pictures / 1988)	$128,113,607	$236,781,399
22	Stir Crazy (Columbia Pictures / 1980)	$101,300,000	$233,856,134
23	Austin Powers in Goldmember (New Line Cinema / 2002)	$213,079,163	$227,748,985
24	Trading Places (Paramount Pictures / 1983)	$90,404,800	$208,704,018
25	Stripes (Columbia Pictures / 1981)	$85,297,000	$196,912,405
	TOTALS	$4,287,081,722	$7,169,107,020

Opening sequence analysis

This opening sequence analysis is taken from the film Hot Rod which is a slapstick comedy. Films reassure the audience by demonstrating the conventions of the chosen genre. The characters of a comedy genre are usually ordinary people with nothing really out of the ordinary going for them and they are usually inferior characters that the audience find amusing. The character in this extract is wearing clothing that is associated with the superhero/stuntman clothing. The main character is wearing a boiler suit with a golden cape. The amusement in this extract is with the juxtaposition, this is because superheroes are supposed to be strong, dominant characters that wear suitable serious clothing. While this character is amusing because he is thin and wearing accessories that are very much inferior and dated with the stick-on mustache trying to make him look more manly and strong while his crash helmet is an old fashioned wrestling helmet that wont really protect at all, which makes the audience laugh as they understand that he is being naive to the dangers of falling. The other characters in this extract are the main characters friends, in comedy films they are also ambitious friends that are of the same stereotype as the main character, in this case they are geek stereotypes with them wearing polo-shirts tucked into there high waisted pants with amusing accessories such as the open top cap, that very few people would wear unless they were oblivious to the latest trends. These characters sat on the chair are reassuring the stuntman that he will be alright while they sit there in there old fashioned deck chairs looking on hopelessly this will amuse the audience because they are very much serious characters.

Locations of a comedy film are usually a suburban landscape this is to allow the audience to relate to the stories and feel like they are at the scene themselves.The locations of a comedy are usually open spaces, this gives the main characters space to hurt themselves. In this extract it is set in a suburban American street with a large ramp that the character is going to "attempt" to jump. The large size of the ramp and the inferiority of the main character makes us believe that he will not be able to land this jump and he will hurt himself, because knowing that comedy story lines usually consist of the main character recieving injuries the audience can tell from the start that this will happen and this builds tension and increases the humor. The lighting in a typical comedy is natural lighting as they are supposed to reflect everyday life and are not artificial, this is shown in this extract with the natural outdoor lighting.

The props in this extract are inferior and these don't help the main character but even increase the protagonists chances of hurting himself, this is evident in most comedy films with the main character making decision that worsen there chances of injury. Such props that decrease the protagonists chance of safety is mostly evident with the motorcycle that he is riding. The paradox is used here with the main character revving the engine showing the smoke emitting from the exhaust portraying that the bike is normal until he sets off to the jump and we notice that it is and old fashioned pedal operated motorcycle that makes the audiences prediction of him hurting himself almost certified as it is very slow and will not gain enough speed to reach the other side. The audience also have the knowledge that the takeoff ramp is not secure because they didn't have enough time but he still tries it anyway, this also leads the audience to believe that he will fall.

 Common ideologies of a comedy are usually ideologies that the audience will find strange and amusing. In this extract the main character has an American badge on his boiler suit this portrays that he will have the dominant ideologies of an American. This would be the idea of patriotism and the idea that he is making the world a better place by doing stunts, the American ideologies are seen as amusing to the Uk audiences because we have different views. The stuntman also has ideologies of believing in his golden eagle which is the sign of the American ideologies too and this is amusing and different from the audiences ideologies as they would see the eagle as a figment of his imagination and would become to believe he is strange. I also get the impression that the stuntman doesn't really value his life and is prepared to hurt himself in order for fame which is amusing.

Enigmas are usually set up, this hooks the audience so they watch the rest of the film in order for these enigmas to be resolved. This is present in this extract as there are such enigmas as to; why is he attempting to jump the large ramp? The audience would expect to see such elements of a comedy such as the main character hurting themselves which might be done using special effects or stuntmen, in this sequence it is likely SFX was used to show the man hurting himself. In films there is also an establishing shot to show place and time, in this extract this comes at the end when there is a tracking shot of the man riding along the motorway on his bike.

researching titles in opening sequences.

I have been given the task of researching how titles are used in opening sequences.

First i will research the opening titles of the James Bond movie, "Casino Royale".

•  Starts how all bond films start with the gun being shot at the screen
• "Company Production Presents"
• Main stars name
• Part the main star plays in the film
• Film Name
• Starring, actors name in order of appearence
• Free running stunts by "actors name"
• With, "actors name"
• And "actors name"
• Associate Producer
• Production Executive
• Camera Operator
• Sound Director
• Script Supervisor
• Publicity and Marketing
• Promotion
• Assistant Producer
• Visual Effects
• Supervising Art Director
• Property Master
• Construction Manager
• Post Production Manager
• Unit Production Manager
• Second Unit Production Manager
• Casting
• Stunt Co-Ordinator
• Music By
• Screenplay By
• Produced By
• Directed By

This is the order the titles are featured in the latest Bond Movie, my next post will be the same research of a different movies opening titles.