Font Research

Soundtrack Research

The Genre of or opening sequence, we decided, is romance. With this genre sound and music is very important and can really effect the overall result. We each researched a few ideas for soundtrack and have decided on one that fits our opening sequence perfectly and has matches the codes and conventions of the romance genre. Here are some of our soundtrack ideas.


This song has an overall emotional feel and would fit our genre well but it's too slow for the shot sequences we have decided on. We like the idea of a piano or acoustic guitar for the actual music piece but again this song is simple and although beautiful it needs more depth to represent the connotations of our opening sequence. Furthermore a piece of music like this focused on the sound of the piano is a very conventional trait of the romance genre and so we want to digress from that slightly to make our opening sequence unique but following some conventions.

This song we liked as it's modern and has a catchy feel to it. Also it starts quietly and builds witch is perfect for the voice over, but it may need to be slowed down as we thought it would be better for our character to speak slower to add emphasis on what is being said and how this connects to the sequence.Much like the other songs we chose but didnt like as much, the beat doesnt drop at the appropriate times and the beat and song itself stays the same throughout. On one and this could be good because we dont want too many instruments or different pitches etc but on the other hand we dont want the sog to be too boring or it will not be effective. Our class peers feel that with this song its a bit too up beat for the story line we are thinking about the opening sequence leading on to. The boy will be talking about loss and love for his girlfriend and we all feel that this song is a bit too modern and up beat for that. When the action starts and we see our characters walking towards eachother for example  we want the song to change so that the audience can interpret that something may happen. There isn't any way we would be able to adjust this song to fit our needs 

This is the song we have decided on using in our opening sequence. The way that the song starts is perfect as it has pauses and not over crowded sounds of instruments like some of the other songs we researched, only piano. At 0:31, the music drops slightly and as the song becomes more intense we will introduce our home video flashbacks, and aspect we are hoping to use in our opening sequence. From that point on until the next part of the music drops, there are small pauses inbetween where a drum can be heard. Being so equally spaced out we thought that this would be perfect for each home video to be shown so that it is all in sync making it more effective and emotional. A violin starts to be introduced as the song progresses making the song more emotional and effectively romantic. At 1:03 the song builds up a bit and it changes again, at this point we will be changing to a low mid tracking shot of our two characters, both girl and boy are walking. The shot will be showing their footsteps walking towards the ccentre of the screen and the camera will be rising up to a torso shot and then a full head shot as it zooms out. The audience will think, as the footsteps are in complete sync with the music which is building up, that the two characters are walking towards one another. At the point of roughly 1:24, the music changes again and slows down in pace as the audience notice that the two characters have infact walked completely past eachother like they dont even know eachother. This will make the audience try to interpret for themselves what is going on and what relations these two characters being shown actually have to one another. From this point onwards the music starts to fade and so the opening sequence begins to draw to an end. The character will start narrating again and when the music stops the character will continue to speak as he says in sync with the title of the film ''And the rest if history..''. As a group we felt that this song would be perfect for our genre and the emotions we are trying to portray and connect with the audience. After we told the class and our teacher what our plans were for the action and speak overs such as timings, etc, both the teacher and peers agree that this is the best song and our reasons are strong and valid. Everyone agree's that this will be the most effective song as it gives off the most emotion and will fit perfectly with what we want to do in our opening sequence.

DVD Cover/Poster Analysis of Genre

 On the DVD cover for the well known romantic movie 'A walk to remember' the main distinguishing feature that is commonly used on the covers for romantic film genres is a close up of an intimate moment between the two characters in the film on both the front and back cover. Another feature is the bright orange/yellow colour scheme. This could be associated with connotations of happiness and can effect the overall effect the cover has on the buyer. From just looking at this cover you can deduce the genre of the film along with the more serious plot as although the colours are bright they are more 'natural' colours rather that bright reds and pinks which are a clique of the romantic film genre.

 On this DVD cover for 'The Lucky One' we see it is very alike to that of 'A walk to remember' it has the same colour scheme and the same type of images with the characters. But the facial expressions of the characters is more serious and so gives a overall more realistic and dramatic idea of the film plot. Futhermore the colour scheme also contains alot of white and light is used in the front cover image. This conveys a number of ideas in the viewers head of an idealistic romance that is possible.

On the DVD cover for 'Valentine's Day' we can see that it is a conventional romantic film. With a pink and black colour scheme paired with the image of a heart with all the characters smiling faces, it is fairly obvious it is a typical romantic film which everyone is accustom to. With a general fun feel to it and a pretty simple layout it 

Romance Opening Sequence Conventions

Film Idea Planning 'Seven Years Bad Luck'

Film Name: Seven Years Bad Luck
We decided on the name 'Seven Years Bad Luck'. We liked this name in particular as out of all the names we brain stormed this one had many meanings and we couold easyly encorporate it into the film storyline. The idea of superstition is a prodoment theme thoughout the plot and ties in with the main event of breaking a mirror to cuse all these supernatural goings on. Also we simply liked the sound of it as it was catchy, simple and easyly conveys curiosity for the reader.
Genre: Horror/Thriller
Main Characters: Lana Saint, Lana's Boyfriend Ethen,  Demon/Ghost Vernon
Actors: Amanda Seyfried, Jerard Butler, Christopher Walken
The actors we decided that the best actor for Lana is Amanda Seyfried. We felt she was a good choice as she is well known for acting in teen films and more specifically horrors/thrillers such as Jennifers Body and Red Riding Hood. She also has the right look as we imagined her being blond with fair skin. The actor we decided for her boyfirend is Jerard Butler. He is a very well known actor and is known for acting in romantic/comedy films. One of the best known is p.s. I love you. The fact he has the stereotype of the 'good guy' in films he would fit perfectly as he is the one person in the film who believes Lana and fightsd for her. Lastly the actor we chose for the ghost we decided had to be Christopher Walken. His creepy voice along with the fact he has played in some horror/thriller films line Sleepy Hollow as the main bad character the Hessian.
Plot: Lana is a 25 year old who does not live the everyday normal life. She lives in a psychiatric unit, she was sent there on the 7th october, 1983. This was after her making claims that someone had been following her but he was not actually there, someone was whispering to her , trying to seduct her, but no one was there. Everyone thought she was lying. On her 21st birthday, she had a 'friend' over to stay. (This is a flashback shown to the audience so that they can understand what events led up to Lana having her bad luck and tragic events. That night she made the biggest mistake of her life. Her life changed forever. As she closes the curtains in the room her and Ethen are staying in, a small mirror positioned on her mantle piece falls off and smashes on the floor. Lana is a girl who is extremelly supersticious and small clips of her are shown to the audience, previously avoiding putting up umbrella's in doors for example and putting new shoes on the table. Her whole life she has been like this and once that mirror smashed, she knew that the worst was yet to come. The morning after she wakes up, the boy from lastnight has already left her home and all that is left is the mirror, remains on the floor, smashed. She picks it up and when she turns it over it has written in blood on the glass, ''The fun begins''.Over the period of the next 7 years, her life changes dramatically. Within the first year, she is placed inside a psychiatric unit with noone to support her, no family left to comfort of help her and only her boyfriend, Ethen, who she meets in the unit to listen to her. Starting from that very day that she smashed the mirror, every day is another day of living terror. She starts living with the constant shadow of a demon, following her around making every second hell. She starts to expirience supernatural activity in her small bedroom, situated in the phsyciatric unit, mirrors being thrown at her, writing appearing on the walls and the worst of it all, vernon begins his horiffic actions of rape and invasion of privacy. Her medical condition becomes progressively worse and her personality rots away rapidly. At the end of the film, Lana, with the help of her boyfriend manage to proove that vernon has been following her around as they use an old ouija board that they find in a closet in the unit. A camera, situated in the corner of the room manages to catch all the activity on its night vision and the truth about Lana's living hell for 7 years comes out and hits news all over the country.

Preliminary Task

Preliminary Task on Prezi

'Forest Escape' Film Genre Pitch

Original ideas

Forest Esacpe Genre Film Pitch

Opening sequence story board

Genre: Action/Adventure for a young audience

Narrative: Two children are playing in a park. when the mum is distracted they notice something in the forest. They follow it and it leads them into a magical land. But as time progresses they realise the plan of Evil Serpent and they have to fight for their life to get back home. Along the way they meet many friends and have a great adventure.

Characters:

The two children: Alfie and Lisa (brother and sister)

The Bad Guy: Evil Serpent

His Sidekick: Roofus

Their mum

The magical fairy that helps them: Leona

and varius other background characters that the childern meet.

Setting: The majority of the film is set in the forest and a small amount in the playground in the opening sequence. In the forest there are various locations such as the evil serpents cave, the palace and other locations the children come across along the way.

Target Audience: 6-10 year olds

Producer Reaction: We got mostly yes and one no. Our pitch went very well with our idea sheet and story board (above). It could have been improved in some aspects such as we could have researched possible actors, soundtracks and other films in more detail. I've learned that the more planning you do the better, also to really go into depth with every aspect of the project.

High Budget Film vs Low Budget

Brick (2005)

Main Institution: Focus features and Bergman Lustig Productions  

Budget: $475,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend: $83,574 (USA) (2 April 2006)

Gross: $2,060,589 (USA) (9 July 2006)



 Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)

Main Institution: Focus features and Studio Canal 

Budget: £20,000,000(estimated)

Opening Weekend: £2,814,860 (UK) (18 September 2011) (382 Screens)

Gross: $39,694,989 (Worldwide) (14 January 2011)

Focus Features

Focus features as an institution has dealt in a wide range of films from high budget films such as Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy on a budget of £20,000,000 and Atonement on a budget of $30,000,000 to lower budget films such as The Ground Truth:After the killing ends at a budget of $12,207 and On a clear day at a budget of $17,303. In Both High and Low budget films focus have become popular and thrived earning many awards for both high and low budget films.

Bergman Lustig Productions

Bergman Lustig Productions have only ever made one film which is Brick, at a low budget of $475,000.

Studio Canal

Studio Canal has been involved with a large variety of films ranging from high to low budget. But as an older company they don't produce many new films but when they do they are hight budget such as Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy with a massive buget of £20,000,000 and has won many awards.

Similarities and differences 

Differences:

• Brick has two institutions working on it, one very sucessful (Focus Features) and the other (Bergman Lustig Productions) which is much less sucessful.
• TTSS has two very large scale institution working whith it (Focus Features and Studio canal)
• TTSS was advertised much more due to the large budget and gross, making it a more popular film.
• Brick is very low bughet and didn't even hit cinemas
• The difference in buget between TTSS and Brick is huge.

Similarities:

• Both films are non-fiction
• With both films the gross out-weighs the budget
• Both are co-produced by Focus Features

The three institutions Focus Features, Studio Canal and Burgman Lustig Productions the main genre of films made are non-fiction or historical.

Genre Photos