/// VODCAST3 First Shot

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/// THEORY4 Bechdel Test

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/// FILM OPENING EG7 Bridget Jones's Diary

• Medium Long-shot
• Central Framing
• rule of thirds - central protagonist
• Black taxis - providing exposition in where it is set (London/South England)
• Doesn't have hat or umbrella - provides exposition on her
• Blonde and female - possible dumb blonde stereotype 
• Tracking her - anchors her as protagonist and voice over
• Ellipses to little southern English village - stereotypically nice (now normative)
• Red telephone box to anchor where it's set
• 
  

/// FILM OPENING EG6 Hot Fuzz

• WT2 - pseudo indie - not indie but low budget
• Conventional first shot being outdoors but not in World's End
• Extreme Long-shot
• Straight cut - no fade in
• Rule of thirds - not concrete however light part is centered
• Giving some exposition
• Verisimilitude - props in mise-en-scene (folders)
• Sound of sirens giving exposition
• Doors opening alongside explosion sound effect (cuts sharply when doors open) - signifier of comedy
• Diegetic sound of doors opening - often exaggerated to create a larger effect
• Rushing character - connotes serious and taking job seriously - possibly central protagonist
• Junior company is represented by 'In association with'
• First cut using disguised cut (effective and something to think about for personal film opening)
• 31 seconds opening long take
• Exposition with close-up to focus on stern, serious expression
• comedic when badge comes out and shows exact same expression
• exaggerated walk links to comedy genre as well
• the long sustained note forces tension
• Camera is also tracking in
• 
  

/// THEORY3 Digitisation, Disruption and Convergence

Digitisation

 The ongoing but advanced process of moving from analogue (eg VHS, 35mm film) to digital production, distribution and exchange, which has reduced costs and led to convergence and disruption

Disruption

 Radical changes to the established methods of distribution, often leading to new competitors arising

Convergence

 The reducing gap between professional and amateur/consumer/prosumer level equipment; the shrinking distinction between audience and producers as old top-down approaches and passive audiences are replaced by active audiences (web 2.0!!!) and a dynamic two-way flow (UGC); the blurring of once clear divides between media industries - film and TV are notable, and think about how both now extend across web and smart devices too, plus VR

E.G

Film4 and the BBC are UK TV channels/producers with limited funds for film production. Where Amazon and Netflix spend billions worldwide, and over $100m just in the UK, the combined TV/film budget of all traditional UK TV channels (and their film wings) is far less than Netflix's UK spend alone. They pay upfront for rights to low budget films like Warp's output. This, combined with non-repayable grants from the likes of the UK Film Council(today that is the BFI) and its regional wings like EM Media and Screen Yorkshire(using government and National Lottery funding), or EU funds. These grants ensure cultural diversity in film production, which would be impossible on raw commercial terms - US movies would simply take up almost all UK screen time otherwise. What box office prospects does She, A Chinese or Tyrannosaur have?!

Warp generally struggle to get UK theatrical distribution for their movies, never mind international (let alone China...). However, you will see Optimem Releasing on several of their movies - a StudioCanal subsidiary that has now been relaunched as StudioCanal UK, forming an unlikely link with WT!

/// FILM OPENING EG5 About a Boy

• Fade up 
• Audio bridge to first scene 
• Diegetic sound from tv 
• Bird's eye view 
• Tracking shot 
• Protagonist - proppian archetypes 
• Rule of thirds 
• Narrative enigma - not showing protagonist's face 
• Intertextuality with tv show 
• Camera movement and zooming connoting tension 
• Anchored with tense music from tv show 
• Show foreshadowing events - most likely to be Jon Bon Jovi character connotes comedic genre 
• Voice over - inner monologue 
• Non-diegetic sound - guitar strings 
• Red Bull signifies youth, not sophisticated 
• Tea cup with saucer - sophistication 
• Cigarettes - negative connotations - complex preferred reading 
• Campbell's hero's journey/monomyth - all narratives center on journey and progression of protagonist 
• Big book - intelligence, sophistication 
• Lower case bubble font block white - connoting comedic genre 
• Navy blue slacks, gry blue crew neck jumper, blue shirt, grey blue monochromatic mise-en-scene - conservative guy 
• Large collection of books and LPs, electric guitar, speakers - rebellious

/// VODCAST2 Titles

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/// VODCAST1 Idents

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• Include information on 'Big 6' instead of 'Big 5'
• When talking about low budget movies, compare them to tentpole movies
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/// VODCAST: Tutorial

VODCAST

• Always identify what the clip is 
• title and then in brackets (date + directors)
• Exceptions are just as useful as typical examples
• Try use shorter clips (reduces possibility for copyrighting)
• Doesn't always have to be continuous image (can always use a still image)
• For a movie - Name of movie and then in brackets (Wachowski sisters, 1999)
• Come up with a script and consider possible semiotic terms
• + assemble any clips you are intending to use
• Stay focused on the point
• Cover a good level of detail
• Library for conventions research
• If voice is too low, you can double up the audio
• Usually you should have a short bullet point list of what is being covered
• Give short breathing spaces
• Show possible influences 

/// VODCAST2 preparation: Titles (NOTES)

THE RAW NUMBERS

• Usually see around 3-4
• Total time can vary as some go up to 2 minutes but other can end at around 20 seconds

THE SPECIFIC WORDING + ORDER

• When referring to a company, the text will usually say 'In association with' or 'presents'
• When the director is mentioned, it might say 'a film directed by'
• Actors will be referred to as 'introducing', 'starring' or 'featuring'
• If the director is an auteur, their name is likely to be either first for emphasis, or last

THE DESIGN

• The fonts change based on the genre 
• Usually serif fonts would be associated with horror/slasher/thriller style of genre
• When there is a bigger star, they will earn a bigger title as the aim of the production is to bring more people in with the star power
• if it is an auteur director, their name is likely to be larger and have a greater focus on it
• Upper case fonts usually bring a larger focus to them, so the important parts might have a large upper case font
• The upper case font also depends on the genre as it doesn't fit with genres like romance
• Colour also depends on the genre
• A horror might have a red or blue tint (intertextualising Halloween if blue)

FX, ANIMATION

• Zombieland is an example of a movie including interactive titles
• This is a countertype as most titles are static

/// VODCAST1 preparation: Idents, Companies, Production Context (NOTES)

WHAT ARE IDENTS?

• Idents are placed towards the start of a movie
• They identify all companies mainly involved in the production of the movie
• Average length of around 6-7 seconds per ident
• Adds up to around 20-30 seconds in total
• The typical ident is a simple style
• The standard is to have 2-4 idents before the opening of the film
• This alters for indie movies as they can occasionally have none
• When the conglomerate is larger, they will have more screen time for their idents (Big 5)
• Big 5 don't usually use audio bridges either
• Idents can also be altered depending on the genre

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Idents examples from LouisHodges3

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/// FILM OPENING EG4 Scream Main Titles

SOUNDS: 

All unsettling

• Female scream
• increasing fast heartbeat
• Crash sound effect
• phone ring
• Wolf howl
• Knife slashing sound
• Gunshot 
• Crash
• Strings (violin)
• Audio bridge

IDENTS:

• 'Dimension' ident has blue tint - intertextualises the Halloween opening

/// THEORY2 Postmodernism deconstructionism intertextuality and simulacra

POSTMODERNISM

There is no ultimate reality. Argues that all the 'isms', eg capitalism, communism, are now meaningless - the meta-narratives no longer have the power to explain the world or reality. It is of course self-contradictory: postmodernism is an ism!
Strinati argues there is a collapse in the high/popular culture divide - all are now equally valid.

DECONSTRUCTIONISM

The ironic use of existing conventions in a knowing way; the audience is assumed to be in on the irony. E.G: in Scream the Matthew Lillard Character cries out dramatically "I'll be right back", an old horror trope being that this denotes a character will be killed. The other teens at the party respond with that in mind, in a scene where they're sat watching Halloween. Craven is poking fun at the very genre he helped to create with 1972's The Last House on the Left.
This occurs across all media - this Depeche Mode video is a classic example, deconstructing the band's poor tawdry image and the male gaze.

via GIPHY

INTERTEXTUALITY

A simple but profound concept originating with Kristen - the preferred reading (Stuart Hall) of two texts are linked; the viewer needs knowledge of the earlier text to be able to follow the preferred reading of the newer text. TV shows like The Simpsons are built on this, and there is a strong vein on this running through the slasher genre.
John Carpenter cast the daughter of the 1960 scream queen as his final girl, used to help get publicity.

SIMULACRA

There is no ultimate reality, we live in an endless chain of signifiers. Everything is a signifier of a signifier of a signifier. An example of a simulacra would be 'Scary Movie', it exemplifies the ideas above, taking intertextuality to a new level. 'Scream', had the working title of 'Scary Movie', and this film is a satirical remake, quite literally signposting the conventions (eg Carmen Electra scream queen sees a sign giving the options for either death or safety... and runs up the stairs where the death sign points to, as the dumb scream queens tend to).

These movies have been much analysed, not least for gender representations. Baudrillard might argue that this leads nowhere as there is no ultimate meaning behind an endless sea of signifiers: Scary Movie is an expression of many exisiting ideas or signifiers, which cannot be tracked back to any concrete 'true reality' or meaning.

/// IDEAS6 Updated Film Opening Pitch

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'Sleep well' pitch (1) from LouisHodges3

Changes made further into the production:

• Introduce a postmodernism element
• Changing the news article to a news broadcast 

/// FILM OPENING EG3 Grimsby

Grimsby Film Opening Analysis

Several idents because:

- One might be distributor 
- It is an unpredictable risky business therefore co-production spreads the risk


Low budget films often have BFI, TV channels idents.

Working title occasionally don't show their ident as they don't have control. This is because they are a subsidiary of one of the conglomerates in the Big 5. Working Title are considered the junior company.

Had to change the name of the movie as it did poorly in distribution, due to the lack of international understanding (continuous references for a UK audience) 

• Immediate Audio bridging
• Columbia (owned by Sony) are the conglomerate of this working title movie because of first look
• Working Title ident is missing
• First shot: No narrative enigma on character + doesn't begin with establishing shot. Narrative enigma on location Starts with big close-up on two characters kissing + shallow field of focus.
• slight high angle
• R&B music (not seen as sophisticated)
• Heteronormative
  
• Thick wide sideburns connote a working-class character + hints at the comedy element.
• Male's head is larger than the females + male is on top. Connotation of who is the central character.
• Potential red filter could hint at porn or the past
• Further exposition through the mise-en-scene (England tattoo on protagonists back). Specific to England's football team, clear reading on the character + tattoo done poorly (clearly working-class). The fact that it is football is important as if it was a posher sport, the exposition on the character would be incorrect.
• Beer can gives further anchorage of working-class
  
• Anchorage on the genre (comedy) 
• Typical Working Title production as it has a poor stereotype of working-class (but works as a comedy)
• The narrative enigma ended with a shock to the audience, as the intimacy was taking place in a store
• Sale (89.99 pounds) - cheap bed (working-class)
• Single mothers taking children out - stereotype that a working-class mother must be single + smoking a cigarette further hints at it + tracksuit (chav)
  
• Potential intertextual reference from This is England 
• 'Columbia Presents presents' - usually denoting distributor 
• fast-paced editing (short takes)
• Proppian archetype hero/protagonist achieved through more close ups

/// IDEAS5 Scary Character in Film Opening

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Scary character in film opening - L+J from LouisHodges3

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/// FILM OPENING EG2 Halloween

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Halloween film opening analysis L+J from LouisHodges3