Answer to evaluation question 7

Foundation Portfolio - Evaluation question 7 on Prezi

Answer to evaluation question 6

When using the camera I built on my skills. Before I started shooting I could only take basic shots however now I have finished shooting I can now use the pull focus feature on the cameras. I also learnt the importance of using a tripod in order to achieve a steady shot. As I do not own a mac I was not that confident about using it and the software. Now that I have used I am more confident dbout the programs it offers, but I found that the systems were lacking some more basic programs for example paint, or a equivilent. I used a PC to upload my pictures from my camera. The program to upload and edit the photos was easy to use which was helped by the fact that I already had experience using PCs helped. After using the program imovie to create our prelim task I had ironed out most of the problems I had experienced with using the proram, so when it came to editing our real task I found it considerably easier although I did have some technicle issues. I found that when I was assembling our animation peice the program had cut either side of our pictures which I had problems trying to retrieve because the program is not designed to work with animation but with video instead. All together I found that garage band was an easy program to use because I mainly used the pre-recorded sound tracks of 8 and 16 bars to create our peice of music however sometimes the different sound clips didn't tie together propably so I had to edit the pitch and notes slightly.

I used a microphone to recored the narration. The microphone I used was rather quite which ment that even when I turnt the voulme up on the sound clip it still wasn't loud enough. However the microphone I used overall worked to an ok standard, dispite problems with volume.

I used youtube to upload the prelim task, our presentations, our animatic and our film. By using this video site I found that it was easy to acess different films whenever I needed them even if I was not in school. Our final film took a long time to upload onto the site because it is a large file size however now it is up there it is easy for us to use whenever I need it.

Answer to evaluation question 5

Foundation portfolio - Evaluation question 5 on Prezi

Answer to evaluation question 4

Eq4

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Answer to evaluation question 3

What kind of institution might distribute your product and why?

My previous post link

 A distributor's role is to release films to the public either in a cinema or for home viewing, e,g, dvd. A distributor may release to cinemas directly if they own the cinemas or through theatrical distributors. In the UK New Line Cinemas do not distribute their own films, instead they used work with Entertainment Film Distributors, in 2010 this independent distributing company was taken over by Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. Warner Bros is a major company in the world of entertainment which proves that for smaller films to get the distribution they need they will need to approach the large companies. In the past the major companies did not support many small films but have recently widened their nets to have a greater spread across the markets.

Answer to evaluation question 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

This is my main character Olivia. In our film she is wearing a pink jumper and jeans which represents the stereotypical teenage girl. Also this look is similar to what the character Kate wears in the film 'My sisters keeper'.

This casual style is representative of a stereotypical teenage girl because teenagers generally do not yet have jobs which require smart clothing nor are the young children who love to dress up. With the character I tried to connote this because I felt it was important as a way for our audience to connect with our character and therefore follow the characters story.

Another stereotype I tried to play on is that teenagers are generally stroppy and up to no good. Although this is not common in all teenagers I know this is a strong stereotype that I have decided to use to connect our audiences to our character. Also I believed that this will give older women something to connect with as they can relate with the experiences that they had when they were teenagers or the experiences they know other teenagers are having whether its their daughter, their sister or just a friend of theirs.

One character theory I purposely subverted was Laura Mulvey's theory that stated that film places women as subordinates who are inactive. I wanted to subvert this because I felt that the theory was dated and I wanted to feature a female in our film. Also women now have equal rights compared with men so I wanted our film to be up to date and current.

Answer to evaluation question 1

Yr12mediaeq1

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My film opening

Please see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUb0FZ9ADLc

Editing day 4

My fourth day of editing was our final day. I did not have to much to do as most of it was just recording the narration and applying it to our film. I experienced a few problems whilst recording our film because the microphone picked up alot of background noise. To overcome this I recorded after school when there isn't any background noise. Once I had applied the narration the film was finnished and I was able to export it as a complete opening.

Preview of our rough cut

Unfortunately when I had to show our film to our class our sound was not working so I could not show them our film so far with our sound track that I had previously created also I had not yet recorded our narration. This was the main criticisms from the class. Another criticism I received was that in one close up shot of our film our character looked as if she was smiling where I was trying to create a sad feeling. To correct this I swapped this clip for another one which I had previously filmed. Overall the class said that they liked the idea of the the film and would like to see the whole film if it was made.

Editing day 3

At the begining of the day I had the first minute of our sequence which is the falling pictures. I also had the last 30 seconds which is the sequence of shots that will occumpany our voice over. Today I finished editing the animation shots and placed them into a sequence. At first I struggled to get the right speed for the animation however after speeding up the pictures I found the speed which I wanted.

Editing day 2

On our second day of editing I worked on the begining minute of our film. This minute features photographs falling onto a surface. The photos are shown in a chronological order to tell the story of the girls life up to now. I found that the speed that I dropped the pictures was to slow so I had to go through and cut after every picture had fallen.
I also started to cut the pictures for the animation titles. I found this as a long process because every picture had to be edited and cut to the correct size. However I was not to accurate with our editing because I wanated the titles to feel as if a child had created them.

Editing day 1

On our first day of editing I uploaded our clips off of our camera on to the apple macs. Once I had done this I started to edit them into a sequence. After I put our clips into the sequence I noticed that their were two jump cuts which I had to remove. To solve this problem I used one of the close ups I had already shot for a different part of the sequence and inserted it into the space. However I could only do this for one of our jump cuts so in order to correct the other jump cut we had to shoot another close up of the characters face. This proved to be a problem because the new close up I shot had natural lighting where the rest of the sequence was shot in an artificial light. Se I had to go back and use a shot I had taken before.

Production day 3

On the third day I captured the scenes for the titles where we try to create the allusion that flowers are growing. I found this shot difficult as I am not very artistic however once I got the design I was happy with the process was rather simple. One problem I did find was that the card I was using reflected the light from above as I was just shooting it in my dining room. Also to prevent shadow I had to take the pictures on a slight angle this made part of the table show around the edges of the picture however I hope to correct this on photoshop. Overall I believe this day was successful as I got the shots I wanted and I can correct the problems.

Production day 2

In the second production day I shot the first scene which is the sequence of pictures falling onto each other. To ensure I didn't get the same problems as on the first day I collected an extra lamp to balance out the shadow of the camera. I conducted this shot in school as I had some spare time in the lessons. I found that shooting in a classroom limited us as I didn't have a great amount of space, nor time as I found that I had to be quiet whilst other people were filming which slowed our production as I had to wait to discuss our ideas. However overall I found that the day was successful and I got the shots I wanted.

How are production day went - Day 1

I started our filming in the beginning of January. I spent a day shooting the shots 4 to 14. I managed to get the shots completed that I intended to however we struggled to get some of the close ups as I found the stand was stiff to move and it jolted the camera around. Also I struggled with lighting as the room only had regular spot lights that I was able to turn however I struggled to get the balance of to bright or to dark in the corner where the actress was sat. When I conduct our next day of shooting one thing I will ensure is that I have appropriate lighting and that I do not have to many time constraints so we can reshoot things if they need doing with out having to rush as this could affect the final product.

Role definitions

Producer:
A film producer or movie producer is someone who creates the scenes and conditions for making movies.

Director:
The person who directs the making of a film.

Planning - Times and dates

Production day 1:
Beginning of January in the school holidays, Mid-morning until approximately 4 o'clock.

Production day 2:

Monday 14th February, in lesson time, between 9 and 12 o'clock.

Production day 3:

Sunday 27th February, from 3 o'clock until 7 o'clock.

Planning - sound

Narration (voice over):
Through out are opening we will be having the actress provide a narration to update the audience with what has happened so far in the girls life and the recent news.

Music:
We will have quiet music accompanying the film and narration. The music will be slow and emotional to emphasise the pain that the main character is feeling.

Planning - List of equiptment

• Camera
• Tripod
• Mains adapter - for camera
• Tape - for camera
• Props - Folder, Letter, Teddy, Photos

Planning - costume

The character will wear rather simple clothes as I just want her to look like a normal teenage girl, this will help our audience to relate to her. The actress will be wearing a pink hoody and jeans, as both of these items are what a typical teenage girl will wear. As the film continues the girls style will change as she matures and her situation changes.

My chosen location

I decided to go for the third option, which was the smaller pink bedroom. I decided to go for this room because it is representative of the age group that I hope to appeal to. The colour also shows how are character is immature and is still young for her age. I will be able to film in the room despite the size because I have found a way of getting are long shots from out side of the door looking into the room. I will be able to get our shots of the distance out of the window as the room is based in a countryside location.

Potential locations

I want a bedroom setting for the shots for the opening. I decided I want a bedroom for the setting as teenagers stereotypically spend a lot of time "locked" away in their bedrooms. I also want a house which is in the countryside so when I have the shot of the character looking out the window, there is a distance between her and and the outside world. This will signify the distance she feels since she found out she was adopted.

I considered three possible locations:

This first room was a potential location as it is a teenage girls bedroom. Also it is in a countryside location which is distant from other houses. However I decided to not go for this room as it has a mature feel and I want to display our girl as rather immature and naive.

I also look at this room as a posible location before I decided to change my plan. I thought this could be a posible location as it has a family environment and it also based in the countryside But with our change in direction we opted not to use this location as it no longer fitted our brief.

The final room I consiered had the younger feel however it would still be appropriate for a 16 year old girl. It also gave us a distant view out of the window. However I did find the room did not give us a huge amount of space so we may struggle when trying to shoot our film.

Plan for production

I are planning to shoot our film in three sections. I have decided to do this as it is most convenient for myself because I have to fit filming around work and other commitments.



Day 1:

I plan to get all of the shots with Olivia's character, to do this I need to organise getting the main character to my house as this is where I will be filming. I also need to ensure I have the props ready and also that it is not raining outside or that it is to sunny as we will have to postpone our shoot till another day.



Day 2:

I will be doing this shoot in school as it I will have some lesson time we can put aside. On this day I hope to get the shot of the falling pictures which will be the first thing our audience sees. On this day I will have to organise finding a suitable place to do the filming I will also have to find a suitable background which the pictures can drop on to.



Day 3:

In this shoot I will be using a digital camera to take still pictures, to create the feel that flowers are growing. This will be one of the most challenging and time consuming shoots as i am not overly artistic and it will probably take a few attempts.

Potential actors

In the opening of our film I one need one actor this is to play the role of our main character Olivia. I thought about different people who could play the role. For all of the potential actresses I had to review how suitable they would be to play the character.

I shortlisted the potential actresses so we had two to choose from.

1) Billie: Pros - Available for the dates I needed her, good acting skills.

Cons - Looks young, lacks experience.

2) Rhiannon: Pros - Suitable age, has some experience, good skills

Cons - Restricted for dates and times, is needed to do other jobs on the filming days.

I decided to use Rhiannon because she looks a suitable age for our character also she has more acting experience however we may struggle to complete all of the jobs required when filming. Overall i believe we have made the best choice and that I can ensure the extra work is done.

The blurb (film summary)

Olivia is the story of how one girls world falls apart, as she learns family life is not all as at it seems. The story follows her on a long quest to discover the truth, she has to battle her way to avoid meeting the wrong people and ensure she meets the right people. Everyday Olivia learns a new lesson and slowly matures from being a child to young children.

Shot list

1. Close up of pictures falling on to a table.

2. Continuous shot, same as before, more pictures falling on to a table.

3. Film titles appear

4. Extreme close up of characters eyes, This enables us to show her emotion.

5. Long shot of the character in a bedroom. The character will be sat on the bed. The room will have a pink colour scheme to signify that the girl is still young.

6. Over the shoulder shot, this enables the audience to be able to see what the character is seeing.

7. Close up of the letter that the character is looking at, the letter will be blurred as if its a point of view shot.

8. Medium close up of the character reading the letter.

9. Extreme close up of the characters eyes reading from the letter.

10. Medium close up of the girl sat on her bed holding a teddy.

11. Close up of the folder and its contents on the bed.

12. Long shot of the girl walking to the window.

13. medium shot of girl looking out of the window.

14. A pull focus shot looking out of the window.

Story Board

Change In Direction

I decided to change our opening as originally I was going to use a series of shots from outside of the characters house looking in through a window. However after some discussion I decided to change the plan. I was inspired by the opening of my sisters keeper where it features a photo montage to show key points of the characters life. Our new opening will feature images from the characters life so far. I will sequence the images in a chronological order so the audience can feel as if they know the character already.

Our Script

Originally I did not plan to have a script and just have non-diegetic music playing as the film starts, however after analysing multiple different drama films I discovered it is a convention to have the main character describing the story to update the audience to save having to display the complex beginnings. I adopted this idea and I am  going to use a voice over from the main character to describe the story so far.

"It's November the 27th, the day after my 16th birthday. I received the worst present anyone could get. (pause) I found out i was adopted. See this letter here it's from my mum, my birth mum. All she keeps saying is hoe sorry she is and how it was never her choice to give me up.

All my life they have been lying to me, never telling me the truth. How just how could they keep this from me. My parents, wait I guess my adoptive parents keep telling me I wasn't ready before but they think i'm ready now, how can I be ready now, I may be 16 but i'm still a child, i'm too young for this, this heartbreak. How wold they have felt at my age.

I guess it's not their fault they were just trying to protect me. But she's out there somewhere, my mum, my birth mum.

Feedback from when we presented our film idea.

When I presented the first two minutes of my film to a group of people who were part of our target audience I found that they thought the soundtrack fitted the proposed story-line as it emphasises the emotion of the characters. Also they liked the idea of an adventure to discover the main characters truth. However they thought as I am having very little/no dialogue we should make are storyline clear through the props I am going to be using.

Treatment - Olivia

Its the 27th of November and Olivia has just been told some devastating news. She is adopted! After hearing this news she decides to go on an adventure to find her birth parents. However this journey does not go to plan. Soon after running away she finds herself out of money and luck, which leads her sleeping rough on the street. After meeting some obnoxious characters, which plan to lead her astray and persuade her to take drugs and commit crime, she is given a small amount of money by a passer by. Taking this money to a small café she buys herself a hot chocolate and starts talking to the waitress, Margret. After getting to know each other Margret starts to give Olivia free warm drinks everyday. They soon build up a very close friendship and start to talk about how Margret’s daughter once gave up her child when she was just 15. After discovering this news Olivia decides to reveal why she ran away from home. Putting the two tragic stories together they soon discover that Margret is Olivia's grandmother. Margret persuades Olivia to get in contact with both her real and adoptive parents.

My Film Certificate

I have conducted research into films and their certificates. From looking at the ratings of similar films I have decided to give the film a certificate of 15. I decided to do this as it fits the target age group and allows the film to develop more through out the rest of the film. Through out the film the character will be meeting some disturbing characters, and to be able to show a true image of this type of character I would like to be able to include the use of drugs/violence. I believe this will enhance the film by displaying the harsh truth of many young people living on the streets today however I will also display the good among this group of people as we do not want to stereotype. These scenes will prevent the age rating being any lower than a 15.

British Board of film classification - BBFC

The BBFC is an asscioation which gives films certificates which act as restrictions allowing or not allowing certain ages to watch certain fillms which wouldn't be suitable for them to veiw.

universal

Suitable for all It is impossible to predict what might upset any particular child. But a ‘U’ film should be suitable for audiences aged four years and over. ‘U’ films should be set within a positive moral framework and should offer reassuring counterbalances to any violence, threat or horror. If a work is particularly suitable for a pre-school child to view alone, this will be indicated in the Consumer Advice.

parental guidance
Parental Guidance General viewing, but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children. Unaccompanied children of any age may watch. A ‘PG’ film should not disturb a child aged around eight or older. However, parents are advised to consider whether the content may upset younger or more sensitive children.

12

Suitable for 12 years and over Exactly the same criteria are used to classify works at ‘12A’ and ‘12’. These categories are awarded where the material is suitable, in general, only for those aged 12 and over. Works classified at these categories may upset children under 12 or contain material which many parents will find unsuitable for them.

12A

The ‘12A’ category exists only for cinema films. No one younger than 12 may see a ‘12A’ film in a cinema unless accompanied by an adult, and films classified ‘12A’ are not recommended for a child below 12. An adult may take a younger child if, in their judgement, the film is suitable for that particular child. In such circumstances, responsibility for allowing a child under 12 to view lies with the accompanying adult. The ‘12’ category exists only for video works. No one younger than 12 may rent or buy a ‘12’ rated video work

15Suitable only for 15 years or over No-one younger than 15 may see a ‘15’ film in a cinema. No-one younger than 15 may rent or buy a ‘15’ rated video work.

18

Suitable only for adults No-one younger than 18 may see an ‘18’ film in a cinema. No-one younger than 18 may rent or buy an ‘18’ rated video work.

R18

To be shown only in specially licensed cinemas, or supplied only in licensed sex shops, and to adults of not less than 18 years. The ‘R18’ category is a special and legally restricted classification primarily for explicit works of consenting sex or strong fetish material involving adults. Films may only be shown to adults in specially licensed cinemas, and video works may be supplied to adults only in licensed sex shops. ‘R18’ videos may not be supplied by mail order.

My target audience

My target audience is based on females around the ages of 15 to 35. Their life experience for example loss of someone close to them, or hard emotional experiences may help them relate to the story-line and the characters. Due to such a large age range I have used different theories to narrow down our target audience.

Mcquail and Katz theory of gratification states that audiences select the Media they use differently. They could use it for information, to define their identity, for social interaction and finally for diversion, play and entertainment. I believe our target audience will use our film to use the characters to help define themselves (identification) and for a connection with the characters on the screen (social interaction).

Another theory is Rubicam and Young's "4c's" which divides humans into seven types of people. They defined the seven types of people using Maslow's hierarchy of needs. From the seven different sections I will be aiming our film at four of them. These four sections are the explorers, suceeders, reformers and the mainstream types. I hope to make our audience connect with our main character so they experiance every emotion with her and for the audince to want her to achieve, this is why I feel our film appeals to so many different sections.

An explorer is drien by the need for discovery, challenge and new experiences. An explorer audience member would connect with the main character, Olivia, as she soon finds herself on an adventure to find her birth mother. They would also enjoy wathching Olivia as she goes from one challenge to another whilst on her journey to discovery.

A succeeder possess alot of self-confidence, and has a strong goal. They would connect with Olivia as she has a goal which is to find her birth mum and is determind the reach it. Also Olivia's confidence would appeal to them as she is only 16 and is already planning to face the world alone on a complex mission.

A reformer values are based on their own independent judgement, much like Olivia who dispite people telling her not to go she was determind and therefore she did. Also a reforemers core need is for enlightenment. They will be able to sympathise with Olivia as she is also searching for enlightenment.

Finally a mainstreem's core need in life is security, and they live their lives in the domestic and everyday. They are based around the idea that life should be more 'we' than 'me' and are all about family. They would connect with Olivia as they would want to protect her and provide her with security. Also they would want to take her under their wing and help to guide her through her journey to protect her from all of the bad.

Mood board

Questionnaire Results and Analysis

I asked 30 people to complete our questionnaire. From the results that I got I discovered that the majority of people asked were female and aged between 15 and 35. The results they provided showed us that our target market females aged between 15 and 35 enjoyed biography style films that follow a characters journey through different emotions and events. I also discovered that there is a common theme as all the drama films I listed were strong in emotion and all of them were favored when put in the questionnaire. Also when I asked what story line they would prefer, adoption was the most popular. I believe this could be due to adoption being key in so many lives and not many films are made to demonstrate this.

Textual analysis - Gone with the wind

Analysis from 02:34 to 06:57

The sequence begins with a medium shot of a sign showing the production company. The sign large, white and has a highly detailed edging, also the sign is supposed to be the name for a house. This sign signifies wealth and importance amongst the owner of the house. Also its colour, white, is significant as the film was made in 1939 where the segregation of different races was the law and whites were perceived to be the superior race because of the previous slave trade. Once again reinforcing the status of the surroundings.

The following titles are featured on top of different settings from the scene. For example we see a scene of non-white race people working in a field this signifies the idea that white people are more powerful as the do not have to do hard labour also it fits the beliefs of many of the American people at that time. The sky in the image is clear and blue. A clear blue sky connotes happiness and peace which contradicts the mood of the workers on the farm. All of the title are shown infront of countryside scenes, this shows the setting and where the film will be based. The titles run untill 05:48.

The opening shot is a extreme long shot of men driving cows acrossing cows across a field. Text scrolls from the bottom of the screen to the top. The text is explaining what has happened so far in the story so it dies not have to be shown as it is a complex storyline. This is common in drama films as the story lines are usually complex so intorducing the main storyline all along. However in more modern film this is usually presented to the audience through a voice over not as text on the scene.

One of the next shots is a long shot of three young wealthy characters. Both of the male characters are wearing smart trousers and jacket where the female is wearing a large white dress. The three characters are discusssing the news that there maybe a war. This reinforces the storyline of the film. The shot zooms into the young females face to display har emotionthe zooms out again to allow the audience to see the extravegant surroundings wuch connotes the characters are very wealthy.

Textual analysis - Slumdog Millionaire

Analysis from beginning to 1:30

The opening shot to this film is an over the shoulder shot of the main characters face. The camera follows the line of the police mans arm up to the level of the characters face. The close up of the characters face allows us to see his emotion and therefore experience the pain he is going through, which is a common feature in drama films. The setting is a dirty brown colour signifying that they are in the slums which ties in with the title. Also around the main character there is a yellow glow signifying holiness and innocence this encourages the audience to sympathise with him as he is the better character.

The next over the shoulder shot is of the police man. We see this character blowing smoke over the main characters face and therefore over the audience as this shot is almost a point of view shot. As smoking is now know as a bad habit and is deadly the audience believe that the police man is bad and possibly deadly. A sequence of shot reverse shots are then incorporated into the opening.

At 00:55 small white writing starts to appear on the left hand side of the screen. The writing tells the audience the location, Mumbai, and the year, 2006. Then a question appears saying, "Jamel Malik is one question away from winning 20 million rupees. How did he do it?"

The use of this question reiterates the idea that the film is based on a quiz show. The audience are then given some choices. At this point the background goes to black and the tick of a clock is introduced, the clock noise is easily recognisable as the one featured in the popular quiz show "Who wants to be a millionaire?" After the four choices are shown in the style of the quiz show the black background cuts from black to the image of a hand dropping 1000 rupee notes. this signifies how this amount of money among the rich is nothing and how to the people from the slums it means so much. The tick of the clock is still ticking which creates the feel of tension and anticipation, indicating that something big and important is coming. This could be the biggest decision of the main character life.

Another shot from the opening sequence of the film strongly contrasts the shot reverse shot sequence that we see earlier on in the film. This two shot consists of the main character and the quiz show host sat in the studio. A strong light moves from behind and between the two characters this displays that their is still a distance between the two characters. This signifies that the well off presenter and the poor character from the slums different classes and therefore can not mix. Also the main character is closest to the camera and is closest to the audience once again showing how the audience connect to this character more then any of the others. The main story line has still not yet been revealed to us but is starting to become clear through some of the main key points.

Textual analysis - The Ultimate Gift

This film opens with the sound of church bells and an eery tune in the background at this point on screen we simply just see the opening credits - black background, white text. We then see a man sat down in front of the camera, the camera almost seems to be a little shaky, it zooms in and out focusing on the man the whole time. It almost seems as if he is creating a home video. The man in shot seems to be getting increasingly annoyed and flustered

by the lady doing his make up and the man with the lint roller. He seems like he just wants this to hurry up and end. The man's shirt is red which may symbolise danger. The shot shows him sat in front of a bookcase this could symbolise his knowledge, if this is right he must be incredibly smart by the vast amount of books in the background. We then go to another black screen with credits on, however this time we hear a telephone ring and a wom

an's voice answer. As we don't see this we feel a sense of mystery. As the conversation continues we have an establishing long shot of a city landscape, it is night time and rush hour by the amount of traffic on the roads. We then have a long shot of a dark room, within stands a man who we can just make out due to a bit of light entering from a window casting a little outline on the objects inside. The man has his back turned to the camera suggesting he is a private man and keeps himself to himself, not letting anyone in. A woman come into shot now, creating a two shot. She is dressed all in white showing

the audience her purity and innocence, her age also suggests she is wise. She speaks softly to the man telling him of a death. This shot shows focus on the man - a narrow depth of field - he is more important then her. He is of black ethnicity and wearing a smart black suit, this shows he has money as the suit looks expensive. There is an aspect of Levi Strauss' theory of opposites to this scene as obviously they are of opposing gender, she is in white and shown in the light whereas he is in a black outfit and in the shadows of the room. This may connote the goodies and baddies of this film. Each is now

shown in separate shots as the woman expresses her sympathy and regret for his loss. We hear the voice of the man on tape at the beginning of the film, the audience realise this is who is dead. Then we see a black background again, this time it shows the title of the film in a simple white font. The audience is now focused on the slow, sad orchestral music playing. It almost sounds regal possibly suggesting the dead mans importance and power he had. After we see the title of the film, we have a low angle shot of a grave ston

e in the shape of an angel, the audience assumes this next scene is set in a graveyard. This observation is correct as we receive a long shot of a burial site. A black car is parked up and a large number of people are gathered around one place with their umbrellas open. As we get closer we see the coffin and shot as of friends and family, their closeness is felt by the types of shots used. The rain represents the emotions of the people - their tears. The camera tracks over the sea of black coloured umbrella to a single pink umbrella which clearly stands out from the others. The colour pink suggests it

is a female holding it and its size suggests a child. Our observations become clear when the pink umbrella is put down and we see a little girl's face. In this high angle shot we see a close up of her smile as she looks up towards the sky. This suggests she is different, thinking positively at a time of sadness. Thinking that the man in the coffin will be up in heaven looking down on her, making her feel happy as someone is always looking out for her. The rain could act as his own tears pouring down as he looks down upon his friends and family he has left behind. The editing of this opening sequence stayed rather cons

istent throughout. Comparing it to other films of this genre i would say it is pretty typical as their was a voice narrating through parts and it started with a home video which is common amongst drama as it gives you an insight into the character's life, or what was left of it in this case.

Textual analysis - Conviction

Just before anything appears on screen we hear the sound of a police siren. Instantly after we have a close up of a man's legs. He is running really fast as the ground is almost blurring beneath his feet. We then move to a close up of his body, his arms are pumping in shot. The audience wonders why the man is running but assume it is away from the police due to the siren we heard at the start of the film. We receive as long shot of a churchat the bottom of the road in the direction the man is running. The camera zooms into the stained glass window depicting Jesus. Inside the church we see numerous extreme close ups on people's eyes, ears, mouths, books, crucifixes, guns and glasses. All are significant to this film. This series of extreme close up shots builds tension in the audience as they they are expecting something big to happen next. We are then brought back outside with the running man. We have a series of point of view shots where the audience are put inhis shoes. Everything is blurry. This is connoting his exhaustion. Back inside the church once more we watch as more extreme close ups are shot. We are brought to focus on a man's lap where he is holding a pair of glasses. As he unfolds each leg of the glasses we hear the sound of a gun loading. Once they have opened all hell is let loose. People are shooting each other inside the church walls, people are falling injured in the aisle. This scene seems to have been shot in slow motion as to induce more excitement (commonly used in an action film). As guns are firing a bullet is shot through the stained glass window of Jesus, with this we watch as a jump cut follows straight after to see a man in bed having suddenly woken up from this nightmare. This may have been the man's flashback haunting him from the past. The man is of black ethnicity and we can see in the background the 80s styled curtains of his bedroom setting the era this was filmed. The man looks at the clock on his bedside table and lights himself a cigarette as he walks into the bathroom. It is in here we see him look in the mirror and down at his scar under his chest, a war wound perhaps gotten from his flashback or in a gang fight. The editing in this film opening thought was very fast paced building tension for the audience, this was made further effective by the use of the extreme close ups of the characters. I think this film starts fairly conventional for a drama film as you witness the drama straight away with the shootings in the church. It almost feels as if it starts already part way through the story which is common of this genre to do and is narrated to the audience to keep them up to date which I'm sure this one will do a little further in.

Textual analysis - Boy In The Stripped Pyjamas

This film starts with a quote "childhood is measured out by the sounds and smells and sights before the dark hour of reason grows" - John Betjeman. This gives the audience something to think about and to relate the film back to. The opening credits appear on screen on a red background. The colour red signifies passion, danger and blood. As the titles near an end the red colour becomes a part of the Nazi flag. Instantly the audience understands this film is going to be set in world war II. As the shot unravels we are subjected to a panning shot of the city's square. This establishes the setting further. This panning shot becomes a tracking shot as it follows four young boys racing around, playing and having fun. The boys are all fairly skinny, and wearing typical 1940s clothing. In world war II rations were put in place so this could be why they look so small. Each child has their gas mask around their necks too. The four are running about pretending to be planes echoing the fight planes of the war. The camera continuously follows them throughout the opening of the film using a mixture of tracking shots, close ups and two shots to see their cheerful expressions and their close friendships. While we see these cut aways to the four boys the audience is made to focus on a house. We watch as the house is cleaned and tidied and prepared for an important person's arrival. We see men and women cleaning cutlery, rolling up old carpets, dusting mirrors, etc. A well dressed woman drives up to the house and we watch as she enters, big box in hand - present? - and shepaces up the stairs high angled shot. At the top of the stair she becomes out of shot. While this is going on on screen the audience can hear an upbeat piano and violin accompaniment playing however the tone is lowered around a corner when we see a group of soldiers rounding up women and children into the back of a car to be evacuated. We witness one solider shoving a woman as if to tell her to hurry up and get in with the others. This makes the audience feel sympathetic towards the people but feel cold towards the soldiers because of their harsh behavior. Possibly the house being cleaned is for the arrival of an evacuee child however it could also be for the invitation of the leader of the soldiers. This film is similar to many dramas as it is centered around a certain topic - war, and starts with a heart felt quote for the audience to make a judgement on instead of the usual narration.

Textual analysis - The Notebook

Analysis from beginning to 02:58

The beginning shot is a long high angle shot of a sun setting over a lake and a person rowing in the lake. We see long shot of the person rowing through the lake for about 20 seconds. The shot is very calm and still which is also represented by the non-diegetic sound which is a simple tune played by a single piano. The calm of the music and of the image relaxes the audience and enhances the fact that this will not be a action packed movie but a sensitive emotional one.

The next two shot are a medium long shot followed by a medium shot of the person rowing the boat. The identity of the person has not yet been revealed to the audience but already we feel as if he is going to be playing a key role with in the movie.

After a sequence of different shots of the lake we see a establishing shot of a large white house which is overlooking the lake. The colour of the house is particularly interesting because up to now all of the other settings have had an orange/brown feel due to the sunset so the house is immediately brought to our attention. Also the colour white signifies naivety and gracefulness.

Soon after we see an over the shoulder shot of the lake. We can see the character in the foreground has medium length grey hair. Grey hair is often associated with age and maturity. We can also see that the character is a woman and we associate her as one of the lead roles due to the fact the we see a close up of her face and this is the first introduction to a character we have had. The character has a vacant look which signifies she is shut off from the outside world and the only experience she now has is when she looks out of a window over the lake. People are usually shut off from the outside when they are in prison or in a mental institution, and as the house is not displayed to look like a prison we assume that she may have something wrong with her.

As the film develops we discover that this is the case.

Textual analysis - 'The Bucket List'

The bucket list is a drama film that is set around two older men both with very different life styles who meet due to one common factor in both of their lives, cancer.

Analysis from beginning to 1:28
The opening shot in the film is a long helicopter shot of a mountain range. The high angle shot signifies that we are up among the clouds looking down on the earth as if we are in heaven. This shot is long in length and last for around 14 seconds. This unusually long shot emphasises the surroundings, displaying the harsh and challenging terrains. This connotes the idea that life is a challenge and that once the challenge has been accomplished you have reached the top, the top which is heaven. Which re-introduces the importance of the high angle helicopter shot showing that a character has reached the top, so has died, and we are now seeing life from their point of view.

Diegetic sound is not used in the opening of this film but non-diegetic sound is. The opening features a voice over which the audience assumes is one of the main characters voices. The voice over is a mans voice which tells the story of a man who has died. At this point all that can be seen is the mountain shot so the audience has not yet seen a character. This builds the mystery to who are the main characters and who has died.

At 00:56 we see a medium close up of the legs of first person in the film. This little reveal shows that one of the characters are alive but we do not yet know who the character is nor if it is their voice in the voice over. Also it signifies that this character is now climbing the challenge of life and is rather near the top, so could be near to death. This conveys the emotion that a drama film thrives on to allow the audience to connect with the characters.

After the medium close up there is a cut to a long shot then fade to an extreme long shot of the character climbing the mountain. This could show the distance building between the character and the rest of the world as he is climbing closer and closer to heaven and therefore to death but closer to the character featured in the voice over, Edward, as we know he has died and maybe the character climbing the mountain is climbing to get closer. The shot then fades to a black out to end the opening and go back in time to where the story began which is a technique often used in drama films to reveal the imminent ending at the beginning.

Typical drama actors

Some of the typical actors and actresses in drama films are:

Cameron Diaz

Will Smith

Morgan Freeman

Kiera Knightley

All of these hollywood stars are famous for apperaring in films such as 'pride and predudice', 'My sister's keeper', 'The pursuit of happyness' and 'The bucket list'.