Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Since doing the preliminary task i have learnt about lots of editing and camerawork rules that you must follow in order to have a successful film. I learnt that the 180 degree rule is key to making your opening sequence easy to understand, if you go over the 180 line then the audience will be confused as to what side your character is on and it can confuse your film entirely. We also had to work with continuity a lot because we had to film and edit on lots of different days we had to make sure that we were wearing the same clothes/shoes had the same hair and makeup etc. This would have been a big flaw in our opening sequence if we had not of concentrated on it as the film would have looked untidy and unfinished. We also had to concentrate on match on action shots to make the editing more appealing and to show a variety of cinematography skills. In our preliminary task our match on action wasn't up to very good standards as we hadn't edited the right amount of shots in. I developed my camera skills and editing skills since the preliminary task and made sure that everything was shot continuously and edited continuously to make our film flow and have no gaps that would not be understood by the audience. We made a mistake in our Preliminary task of not oncentrating on continuity. We had a character missing in one of our shots:
We made sure that in our final opening sequence that we didnt have any charcaters missing from shots and that it was a continuous piece of work.

Question6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

This is a Wordle of all of the technologies that we have used in our media romantic comedy opening sequence.

Question5. How did you attract/address your audience?

Question3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Production companies are responsible for the production of all new media. This company may will also be responsible for the raiing and funding for the whole production and may accomplish this through emissary. There are large and small production companies, for our film we chose to make our own production company 'Bad Seed'. We researched lots of different opening sequences to do with our chosengenre of Romantic Comedy and found that 'mirimax' was a common distributor of Romantic Comedies. We looked at the job roles listed in 'Angus Thongs and Perfect Snogging' and wrote them down. Jobs such as Cinematographer, actors, director were displayed. We decided to have our titles in importance order to draw the audience in imediately and make them not want to stop watching as thy already know the main/important names within our media opening sequence.

Question4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

Name: Elenya Grant

Gender: Female

Age: 17

Lives: Sutton

Watches what TV programmes: south park, heartbeat, family guy, american dad, silence of the lambs, songs of praise, antiques roadshow, agatha christie, eastenders, hollyoaks.

Visits what websites: Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, Spotify.

Does what when they go out: goes out with friends, listens to music and watches telly.

Listens to what music: Dub-step, R&B, Rock, Hip hop

Wears what clothes: dark colous, unless its summer because then she likes to look summery.

Reads what magazines: OK!, Heat,

Likes/is involved with which subcultures: goes to see bands perform live

Shops where: Asda Tesco Primark oxfam.

Aspires to be: A matress tester.

Has how much spare £££: not a dime.

Likes this particular genre because: she wants to get married soon, and like love films.

Question2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

In our opening sequence class is shown in a certain way. The class of both the male and female character differs hugely. The male character which Darren plays is very high and upper class, he works for a big company and gets a large salary. Being rich, and upper class it means he has a nice house to himself, on the other hand there is Emily's character who is a lot more middle class, and is very unorganised, crazy and a bit different. She is shown as clumsy to reinforce the fact that she is middle class, and to show that she is of a lower class than Darren's character. We also used costume to define the classes of the two main characters. We chose to dress Darren in a suit, and look very formal ready for work, whereas Emily's character was wearing a smart-casual outfit.

This is Darrens outfit, which is a suit, which is very formal clothing.

This is Emilys outfit, which is immature and scruffy.

Gender is represented in our media product as very stereotypical. The male character holds a lot of status and power often by the costume that he wears. He looks corporal and professional in what he wears as he wears a suit. Whereas the woman has a lower status, and looks less professional. By looking that way, she appears to have less power and is portrayed as a typical woman, not as important/rich as the male persona.

Both of the characters in our opening sequence are of a white ethnicity, which is stereotypical of a Romantic Comedy film. Most Romantic Comedy films have two main characters that are white. It is rare to see two main characters in a romantic comedy film that are both of a different ethnicity, or mixed racial couples.

Question1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

The title of the film:
The title of our opening sequence has a different specific type of font which looks like someones handwriting, and looks like it could have been taken right out of a diary. In a lot of the opening sequences we've looked at which were in some of the opening sequences of romantic comedies we looked at they also had this as it looked like it would have been written by the main character and looks personal to them.

Setting/ location:
The setting is in the characters households and in the surrounding areas, there is some shots of the local area and the two characters walking around the local setting. This is a common convention in romantic comedy films because they often have a personal touch by showing where the characters live and the inside of houses. By giving it a personal touch the viewers feel closer to the characters and feel more involved in the film.

Costume and props:
The female character is meant to be messy and unorganised, and the male character is meant to be anal and stuck up. The male character has to obsess over little things and is very anal in what he does. He likes to keep things neat and tidy and is very corporal with what he does, he has to look like a stereotypical business man. The female character has to look ditsy and a bit 'out there' she is the opposite the male character, which is a common convention of a romantic comedy, which is the idea that 'opposites attract', two people from two completely different backgrounds meet and fall in love/ get on really well.

Camerawork and editing:
We used split screen in the opening of our film to show the difference between the two characters involved and to show that they are from the two extremes of society. By using the split screen it reinforces the convention of 'opposites attract' by showing that they are two very different people, that are similar in some way.

Title font and style:
The title font and font of the opening credits are meant to look like handwriting, as if it came straight out of a diary/ address book. This relates to the film because the film is called A to Z, and it is based on the male character finding the address book that the female character drops, and that is the main prop involved in the film, so by using the handwriting effect font it shows the audience that someones personal belongings are going to play a big part in the film. The personal handwriting also relates to the typical convention of a romantic comedy, which is that they are normally personal films and you learn a lot about the characters straight away.

Story and how the opening sets it up:
The opening sequence starts as the two characters are getting ready, and it shows shots of the two characters doing the same thing but in their different ways in their own houses. By showing the two different people doing different things it accentuates the 'opposites attract' idea within this opening sequence. This is a common convention of a Romantic Comedy style film. A lot of films that we analysed and looked at such as Bridget Jones diary, shows the woman in her home in the opening sequence so that we get a glimpse of her personality and by using her home it gives the film a personal touch.

Genre and how the opening suggests it:
You immediately know the genre of this opening sequence as it is clear to the audience that involving a female and male character isn't likely to be a thriller/horror and looks bubbly and fun to watch. By using the boy and the girl character side by side shows that it is going to have an essence of romance later on in the film.

How characters are introduced:
The opening sequence shows the two characters as a typical male character which is very smart and clever and rich. The female character is a stereotypical ditsy, clumsy woman.

Questionnaire analysis.

Analysis of Second film of Chosen Genre.

The title of the film 'Bridget Jones diary' appears in a girly/romantic font and its a pale pink colour which is common of a romantic comedy, that is mostly aimed towards women. The bold and simplistic font also means that the audience can follow what is going on behind the title font instead of just focusing on what the fonts say, as in the background of the clip there is the woman singing into a hairbrush which is comical.

Costume and Props: Bridget is sitting in her room on the couch being over-dramatic by singing into her hairbrush and sitting in her pajamas. By using the hairbrush it adds a comical touch to the film, and shows the audience that it is going to be a romantic comedy, instead of just playing on the fact that the woman is sad.

Interesting Camerawork or Editing: Some interesting editing has been used in this particular clip as the main titles fade in and out over the top of the woman singing in her bedroom. The fading could show that the actors that are listed are going to fade in and out of her life throughout the film.

Titles and Font style: The titles and font is written in a girly, and attractive font and colouring. It is pale pink which reinforces the genre of Romantic Comedy and the audience already know what sort of film they are paying to see. It is important that they show the genre through the titles and font style because the viewer knows exactly what sort of film they are purchasing.

Story, and how the opening sets it up: The opening is set up by showing a woman crying and looking upset, watching tv. She looks like she has been through a heartbreak and this sets the story that it is going to be a film based on relationships and her relationships with other people. When the diary is introduced it is clear that the film will be based around her diary.

Analysis of Memento 2.

Why is this film a thriller?
This film fits into the typical conventions of a thriller movie. The music used in the beginning of the film and throughout the film is very eerie and orchestral which is typical of a thriller movie. The music slowly crescendos and this is a sign that you are reaching the climax of the tension in that scene, it means the audience are on the edge of thier seat and they know something bad is going to happen, which is common of a thriller film. Another convention that makes it clear to the audience that its a thriller film is the title font and colouring. The title font is damning and depressing, and because of the colouring it looks like it isnt upbeat and introduces the film as a thriller film and not a happy film. Because of the dark colours such as the blue font on a black background it uses all the colours that are related to night time, and night time is conventially scary, and is when the worst kind of things happen. The blue colour of the font looks isolated and lonely against the black background which gives the impression of being alone in the dark.

Parts that interested me - micro elements:
- Cinematography.
on of my favourite shots within the film was the shot with the 'bad guy' looking through the eye piece of the doorway, and the shot is in black and white. The shot is used through a door way peek hole so that the image is distorted with the effect that a fish eye lens has on a camera. This makes the mans face distorted and it makes the films cinematogrpahy interesting and different instead of sticking to the usual, and doing normal shots without much effect added to them.

-Sound
The opening track sets the scene of a typical thriller movie, it is an eerie soundtrack which makes the audience fearful of what the opening scene will set. The audience automatically know what type of film they are going to be watching and they know what to expect with the film.

-Mise-en-scene
One of my favourite props is the gun that is used, it plays such a huge part in the beginning opening sequence of shots. It shows the immense effect that the gun has; the injuries, the blood and other conventions that are typical of a thriller movie.

Shooting Schedule.

Story Board

This is the story board for our opening sequence. The boxes seem quite empty next to the picture because there is not a lot of dialogue that we use.

Script.

In our opening there isn't very much dialogue because having too much dialogue in a film like this can make it appear cringe-worthy and not look professional. Also our plan is to make the piece look more realistic so we had a basic script which the actor and actress can interpret on and change to make the scene more believable. After watching opening sequences from films such as Bridget Jones' Diary, and Angus Thongs and Perfect Snogging we noticed they do not have a lot of dialogue in the opening sequence.

A TO Z

Sound

http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=110093

This alarm clock sound is going to be used for the woman's alarm clock which signatures the beginning of the opening sequence.

http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=26474

This is an alarm clock sound which is going to be used for Darren's alarm clock at the beginning which is a corporate sounding alarm clock.

http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/120701

Song Title: Tea and Crumpets
Artist: Nick Leach

We choose this song as it is upbeat and fun. the genre is brit-rock as we wanted to relate the song back to the country.

http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=110093

This alarm clock sound is going to be used for the woman's alarm clock which signatures the beginning of the opening sequence.

http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=26474

This is an alarm clock sound which is going to be used for Darren's alarm clock at the beginning which is a corporate sounding alarm clock.

Casting

Darren: we chose Darren because he is a keen actor and looks the eldest out of our group, so fits the role of the character which means we keep the suspension of belief. Also he felt more comfortable playing the role as there are some awkward shots and he knows the other actress, which will make the opening sequence more believable.

Emily: We chose Emily as the actor because she best suited the female role. She was the oldest looking in the group and she has done acting in the class before. She also knows Darren so the awkward scenes within the film will not be as hard to film.

The reason we chose the font for these titles is because it suits the characters and the personalities of the characters involved. Also it suits the genre of romantic comedy, and later on in the film you realise why the font is handwriting as there is an address book involved and the address book is one of the main components of the film.

character descriptions.

Darren: darren is going to be a high class character who works for a large expensive corporate company. He will be walking around acting quite snobby (walking with his corporate umbrella.) He is going to be roughly 22, hes a of a white ethnicity and is quite short for a male.



Emily: I am going to play a ditsy, crazy character. I am going to be stressed out and act quite immaturely and unorganised. I am 20 in the opening sequence that we are filming, i am white and im an average height. I have long blonde hair that looks sort of scruffy so that i look like i do not care about my appearence too much.

Props, Costume and Location.

Props:
The main props used are two seperate alarm clo0cks, one being a high class, expensive phone or blackberry, and the other being a cute ditsy pink/fluffy alarm clock. When the alarms go off its going to indicate the beginning of the film. The coffee cup is the next most important prop of the film, which is spilt down the front of my character. This coffee cup being spilt is going to be key to the humorous part of the film, because it makes an awkward situation for my character to be in. The next important prop is the address book that the woman actor drops and the man picks up because it shows how the man is going to find out who she is.

This is one of the props we are going to use, the address book:

Another main prop for the opening sequence is the coffee cup, which contents gets spilt on the main character (Emily)

Costume:
The woman is going to be dressed oppositely to the man she is going to look middle class and the man is going to look higher class. He will be wearing a smart full suit whereas the woman is going to be wearing a sort of scruffy suit. This type of outfit will reflect that she is a bit airheaded andshe doesnt really care about the small things like her appearance and other things.

Location:
The titles will appear whilst the two actors are getting ready in thier bedrooms and then go and have breakfast in thier living rooms/dining rooms/kitchens. By showing where the two actors live it will introduce the wayu they live and where they live to the audience and they will make assumptions about what they are going to be like. Another location will be where they bump into eachother which will be in front of shops.

shot list for our Rom Com.

synopsis.

Darren and Emily come from different backgrounds and have completely different personalities; Darren has a top job and owns his own company and thinks very highly of himself whereas Emily is easy going and isn't tied down to any particular job. They are two people who wouldn't meet but destiny got the better of them and their lives clashed when they knocked into each other on they're way to work. After an embarrassing recovery of their knock Darren takes a shine to Emily but he is to 'upper class' for her liking and she dismisses him and they both set off on they're ways but Darren realises she forgot her address book and before he can call her back to give it to her she's gone. The film shows Darren searching through some unusual contacts of Emily's found in her address book, throughout his search he learns a lot about Emily and decides he is going to win her over. Will he find her? Will they get together?


For the opening sequence we will show Emily and Darren's journey to work with the title's, this footage of them will show their personalities and how different they both are. We will then show about 30 seconds of them bumping into each other and the comical side to it, we hope this will get the audience wanting to watch the rest and asking questions like; will they end up together? and, how will they meet again?

Initial Ideas.

We straight away decided to have our movie genre as a Romantic-Comedy as we wanted to change from the usual genre of Thriller. Our group decided it would stand out more if it chose a more original, yet different genre. We decided at first that we were going to do the filming in Sutton, and around Sutton showing the journey that our characters were making. We thought that using the take-away coffee cup as a main prop would be good and effective as it reminds people of a business man. We all came together and discussed the type of openings there were on all the romantic comedy films we had watched before, we then decided what was most common in them and tried to apply that to our romantic comedy opening sequence.

Questionnaire.

Romantic Comedy Settings.

This is a place on holiday in cornwall called St Nectarns Glen. I think this picture suits the romantic comedy style because it shows greenery and a waterfall. Waterfalls are traditionally romantic, and the greenery gives it a summery feel which is one of the main conventions within a romantic comedy film. By using water there is always the chance that something funny could happen, possibly the main actors involved both getting drenched in water.

This was another place in cornwall, near to where we stayed in newquay. The sunlight used is beautiful, and it takes over most of the picture. Because it is really bright it looks romantic, as romantic films tend to be bright and open rather than closed spaces and dark. Also the greenery once again relates the audiences mind to summer which is generally a hot, romantic time of year.

Angus Thongs and Perfect Snogging (Rom-Com)

The title of the film appears very youthful and flamboyant. The title is in a feminine font, it looks young and bubbly. It is in a large font size so that the audiences eyes are drawn to the title. The title appears over the top of the scene being filmed, where the main character 'Georgia' is running down the middle of the road dressed as an olive. The character 'Georgia' appears to be chasing the title which says 'Angus Thongs and Perfect Snogging'. This depicts that in the movie the character 'Georgia' will be chasing the title, and the things involved. Using this type of font immediately gives the film a womanly romantic film. The audience can tell that it is not going to just be a romance film because of the olive costume she is in, which is comical.

Secondly, The setting is revealed when she is walking down the road dressed up as an olive and her dad is driving beside her. The setting is revealed because you see all of the houses down her street, her street looks clean and clear which shows the audience that it is an upper class area. It also shows a feel of the genre, because it is a bright sunny clear day, it immediately removes the idea of it being a thriller/horror/action film. Because of the way the streets are set out and the cars and outfits you can tell that the film is also set in the UK.

The main character 'Georgia' is dressed as an olive for a fancy dress party, this further develops the idea of having a comical theme throughout the film. The audience can see from her funny costume that the film is going to be a teenage romance love story with a comical twist. The other characters are dressed as more mature teenagers, even though it is fancy dress they look more mature. This shows that the character 'Georgia' may be quite immature compared to her friends. This makes the audience wonder why she is dressed so differently and the questions asked are about how funny the film will be, and whether they can relate any of the film to their childhood, or life n0w.


Some of the interesting camera work used is when she is running away from the party in her olive suit, and the camera goes to an extremely high angle and then tracks her as she is running. Using the camera to track her running makes it look like everything is moving in 'fast forward' and you can feel the frantic embarassment of her running.





The titles in the film are in a large swirly font, this type of font you would associate with young teenage girls. By using this font it means that the audience know it is going to be a teenage based film, and that it is going to be cute, and loveable but because of Georgia running in an olive costume in the background it also shows there is going to be an element of comedy in the film too. By using a simple white font it doesnt over dramatise the opening credits, and means that they blend into what is happening in the background. By doing this it means the viewer can follow the film entirely.



The story starts by having a character called 'Georgia's dad drive alongside her to a party for safety. This shows the audience that the character in this scene is a young teenager because although shes going to a party, her dad has to take her there. This also shows that throughout the film, her parents over protectiveness may become an issue. When she gets to the party she has a go at her friends because they have not come as food like her, and the girls say that 'boys dont like funny.' By having this line in so early in the film it shows the viewers that the film is going to be 'boy' based. The usual sort of chick flick/ romantic comedy storyline where the young girls are oblivious to men and want to find ways to impress them.

One way the genre is suggested is by the colours used in the opening sequence. There are lots of bright, young amd feminate colours used at the beginning, all the streets and houses are pastel coloured and look clean. This is typical of a romantic comedy and it shows the audience that it doesnt involve dark dusky colours that would be most likely to appear in a horror/thriller film. Secondly the music used is modern and up beat which shows that the filom will not be gloomy.
The character Georgia is introduced as outgoing and also quite immature. Her dad drives her to the party, which shows immaturity and because she goes to a party dressed as a massive olive she looks silly and comical, which represents her as outgoing yet immature. Her friend group is then presented as quite shallow. They decided to lie to Georgia and say they were going as food too, and then they ended going as more mature characters because they thought thats what boys wanted. This shows that the film is going to be based a lot around trying to impress boys.