Story Number 1
This story is set in the city. The two main characters are a rich woman and poor man. It begins with the woman falling in love with a rich man and further on in the story meets the poor man but doesn't have feelings for him at first and doesnt like him. However the poor man experienced love at first sight with the rich woman and although he has no hope of being with her he decides that he has nothing to lose and might as well try, so he starts to pursue her. Eventually she starts to like him & makes him attractive so that they dont look so mismatched. But then he gets cocky because all the girls want him now that he doesnt look poor & ends up cheating on her.
Story Number 2
An office working woman meets a young attractive man in a supermarket & they get on really well, exchange numbers and go on a few dates. A couple of days later the woman sees the man in her workplace and while wondering what he's doing there she finds out he is in fact her bosses husband ! Nevertheless they continue the affair and have to try and keep the affair a secret from her boss through the film. At the end of the film they decide that for the sake of her job and his marraige they should go their seperate ways.
Story Number 3
The beginning of the story is in a engagement party, from the beginning of the sotry it is obvious that the man doesnt treat the woman right and she deserves much better. There is a man at the party who likes the woman and despite knowing she is attached starts to pursue her but she brushes off all his advances. During the film she find out her fiance has a girl on the side she is devastated and confronts him which results in them breaking up and cancelling the wedding. Her fiance begs her to give him one more chance and bothers her a lot. To show him she has moved on and is no longer interested in what he has to say she starts a relationship with the man from the engagement party who liked her, although she is still in love with her fiance she is just using the other man to make him jealous. At the beginning the man from the engagement party means nothing to her and she makes no attmept to hide the fact that she is trying to make her ex jealous however she never directly says to her new partner that she is just using him and is still in love. Her new partner is obviously bothered by the fact she wont stop mentioning her ex and confronts her and breaks up with her. But when he leaves her she realises she is in love with him and she has to make some sort of grand gesture to show him how she feels and the film ends with them getting together and living happily ever after.
Story Number 4
This story unlike the others is set in a university/ college type of environment and has slightly younger characters. The story begins with a geeky unattractive girl who idolises the popular boy and thinks he is just perfect. She cant believe her luck when he asks her out on a ate one day and she gets all dolled up for the night she had been dreaming about scince she set eyes on him. She ends up waiting out in the rain for him until realising he stood her up and never really intended on meeting her - it was all a dare. After this she and her gay best friend vow to make him pay ! They make her beautiful and plan to turn everyone against him.. When she turns beautiful everyone likes her and she is now popular and has the whole uni wrapped around her little finger. However instead of remaining humble she turns into the female version of the popular boy ! Soon everyone starts to notice and she changes her ways everyone kisses and m,akes up and they all go theyre sperate ways.
Sunday 6 December 2009
Monday 30 November 2009
Mine & Alisha's Continuity Piece
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Qukf5U4LOI
Our coninuity piece was simply a distressed girl telling a boy she's pregnant.
We had to do two coninuity pieces because on our first one we had a gap between shots where the screen just went blank because we watched the movie back before we had finished filming to see how it was going and our match on action wasnt right.
The film was supposed to show character a (Alisha) knocking on the door looking very distressed and then character B (Kieran) answers it. She then walks into the room very upset and then the camera follows them until they both sit down at the table. He keeps asking her whats wrong and she eventually tells him that she's pregnant and passes him a pregnancy test (this is the part where our match on action wasnt correct the first time around).
Making sure the match on action was correct was the most difficult part of filming as i had to keep moving back and forth to other sides of the room, but i think it turned out very good !
I messed the filming up a little bit because when Alisha's got her head on the table the angle of the shot was wrong and you could only see the top of her hair when in the plan the camera was supposed to have her whole head and the table in shot to show she had her table on the head because she was very upset. I moved the camera and it is quite obvious but because we had ruined the filming by watching the piece back last time we didnt watch it back until the end and then we couldnt have changed it.
Apart from that minor problem our conintuity piece is a lot better than our last one and i am very pleased with it :) .
Our coninuity piece was simply a distressed girl telling a boy she's pregnant.
We had to do two coninuity pieces because on our first one we had a gap between shots where the screen just went blank because we watched the movie back before we had finished filming to see how it was going and our match on action wasnt right.
The film was supposed to show character a (Alisha) knocking on the door looking very distressed and then character B (Kieran) answers it. She then walks into the room very upset and then the camera follows them until they both sit down at the table. He keeps asking her whats wrong and she eventually tells him that she's pregnant and passes him a pregnancy test (this is the part where our match on action wasnt correct the first time around).
Making sure the match on action was correct was the most difficult part of filming as i had to keep moving back and forth to other sides of the room, but i think it turned out very good !
I messed the filming up a little bit because when Alisha's got her head on the table the angle of the shot was wrong and you could only see the top of her hair when in the plan the camera was supposed to have her whole head and the table in shot to show she had her table on the head because she was very upset. I moved the camera and it is quite obvious but because we had ruined the filming by watching the piece back last time we didnt watch it back until the end and then we couldnt have changed it.
Apart from that minor problem our conintuity piece is a lot better than our last one and i am very pleased with it :) .
More Rom Com Research :)
In 2008 romantic comedies were a big hit in the box office with Mamma Mia breaking records and becoming the highest grossing film of all time in the UK. This makes it evident that romantic comedies are becoming increasingly popular which is good news for my group :)
Popular romantic comedies are usually from the US which brings up the question :
Are rom coms from the UK any good ?
Some of the most famous romantic comedies happen to from the UK including the smash hit Notting Hill which starred Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts two very well known artists notorious for starring in popular rom coms.
Popular romantic comedies are usually from the US which brings up the question :
Are rom coms from the UK any good ?
Some of the most famous romantic comedies happen to from the UK including the smash hit Notting Hill which starred Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts two very well known artists notorious for starring in popular rom coms.
Classification
All films shown in UK movie theatres have to be age certified with either a U, PG, 12A, 15, or 18 rating.
U: The film is restriacted as to what it can show. The movie cant have any violent content as young chilren will be watching and may be disturbed by the content. There cant be any foul language or sex and nudity scenes. It should not be offensive to anyone of any race or culture.
PG: There can be mild scenes of violence in a parental guidance film. Young chilren are suitable to watch the film however a adult must be present in case the child feel uncomfortable.
12A: People 12 years old can watch this film if accompanied by an adult. The film can have some bad language and mild sex and violence references. Drug use is also allowed to be shown in 12A films.
15: This is currently the most popular rating as there is a lot of stuff that can be shown in a 15 rated film. The film can have strong violent and sexual content.
18: Films with an 18 and over age rating dont usually have a much superior status in box office charts because there is only a few people who can watch them because of all the bad content. These films often have rude and offensive content and shcoking gruesome scenes.
U: The film is restriacted as to what it can show. The movie cant have any violent content as young chilren will be watching and may be disturbed by the content. There cant be any foul language or sex and nudity scenes. It should not be offensive to anyone of any race or culture.
PG: There can be mild scenes of violence in a parental guidance film. Young chilren are suitable to watch the film however a adult must be present in case the child feel uncomfortable.
12A: People 12 years old can watch this film if accompanied by an adult. The film can have some bad language and mild sex and violence references. Drug use is also allowed to be shown in 12A films.
15: This is currently the most popular rating as there is a lot of stuff that can be shown in a 15 rated film. The film can have strong violent and sexual content.
18: Films with an 18 and over age rating dont usually have a much superior status in box office charts because there is only a few people who can watch them because of all the bad content. These films often have rude and offensive content and shcoking gruesome scenes.
Romantic Comedy Research
Romantic comedies are movies with light-hearted emotion centredaround the idea of 'true love' or 'the perfect couple'. Romantic comedies are a sub-genre of comedy films as well as romance films.
The basic format of a romantic comedy film can be found in much earlier sources such as Shakespears Much Ado About Nothing. The basic plot is, two people meet, usually a man and a woman and then there is some sort of dilemma or obstacle that the couple must overcome if they want to be together. Almost always the couple will end up together in the end, there are few exceptions of this for example in 'My Super Ex Girlfriend' the two main characters are the initial couple but the 'true love' is between the main male character and his colleague. So instead of the main storyplot being centred around the two main characters compatibility and them living happily ever after, it concentrates on how uncompatible they are and him getting away from her.
Through research i have found that the opening sequence of a romantic comedy usually shows the two main characters before the 'meet-cute' (when the two main cahracters first meet and are attracted to one another) to show how miserable they are or to show there is something missing in their life but when the 'meet-cute' occurs it highlights how goo for each other they are and then the audience are rooting for the couple.
In the 'meet cute' the two characters are usually involved in am embarassing situation or an initial clash of personaility or beliefs. If one or both of the two characters are already attatched the writers leave clues throughtout the film to suggest that the two characters should be together (in the wedding planner, Matthew McGonahey saves Jennifer Lopez from a rolling rubbish bin and then they go on to start to really like each other then she finds out hes married). Similiarly if the two characters dont like each other in the beginning the writer must leave clues to show that they will inevitably end up together (What Happens In Vegas is an example of this).
Other Examples Of 'Meet Cutes:
. It Happened One Night throws away runaway heiress Ellie and world weary reporter Peter together in a dispute over the last seat on a bus.
.Sining In The Rain, the main character is trying to escape fans and find himself in the future love interests convertible
. Notting Hill see's High Grant accidentally spill orang juice over Julia Roberts which leads them into a conversation.
The dilemma in a rom com is usually something to do with the potential couple being of different temperaments or situations. The situation is usually overcome by one of the characters making a big display of his or her affection (America's Sweethearts when Cameron Diaz & Christina Applegate turn up at her love interests wedding). The character is usually trying to win or win back the affection of the other. The dilemma oesnt usually happen until over halfway through the film however the audience should know about the problem while it is uner the surface before the other characters know to create some anticipation of whats going to happen when all is revealed.
The attraction between the two characters must be extablished fairly quickly to avoid boring the auience and the auience should be able to identify with the main characters desire for one another without that the audience will not only lose interest but they will lose sympathy for the characters whihc makes the story irrelevant because the audeience wont care enough to be interested right until the end of the film.
Apart from the two main characters theres usually a best friend of sidekick to the main characters, this character is usually funny and carefree and gives the character love advice. There is also usually a nemesis to the main character who is standing between the two who are in love wether they are aware of it or not (Cameron Diaz in My Best Friends Wedding).
Even though the situation is humorous to the viewers the characters in the film must not fin it amusing. They are supposed to be esperatly in love and it needs to be believeable to the audience!
The basic format of a romantic comedy film can be found in much earlier sources such as Shakespears Much Ado About Nothing. The basic plot is, two people meet, usually a man and a woman and then there is some sort of dilemma or obstacle that the couple must overcome if they want to be together. Almost always the couple will end up together in the end, there are few exceptions of this for example in 'My Super Ex Girlfriend' the two main characters are the initial couple but the 'true love' is between the main male character and his colleague. So instead of the main storyplot being centred around the two main characters compatibility and them living happily ever after, it concentrates on how uncompatible they are and him getting away from her.
Through research i have found that the opening sequence of a romantic comedy usually shows the two main characters before the 'meet-cute' (when the two main cahracters first meet and are attracted to one another) to show how miserable they are or to show there is something missing in their life but when the 'meet-cute' occurs it highlights how goo for each other they are and then the audience are rooting for the couple.
In the 'meet cute' the two characters are usually involved in am embarassing situation or an initial clash of personaility or beliefs. If one or both of the two characters are already attatched the writers leave clues throughtout the film to suggest that the two characters should be together (in the wedding planner, Matthew McGonahey saves Jennifer Lopez from a rolling rubbish bin and then they go on to start to really like each other then she finds out hes married). Similiarly if the two characters dont like each other in the beginning the writer must leave clues to show that they will inevitably end up together (What Happens In Vegas is an example of this).
Other Examples Of 'Meet Cutes:
. It Happened One Night throws away runaway heiress Ellie and world weary reporter Peter together in a dispute over the last seat on a bus.
.Sining In The Rain, the main character is trying to escape fans and find himself in the future love interests convertible
. Notting Hill see's High Grant accidentally spill orang juice over Julia Roberts which leads them into a conversation.
The dilemma in a rom com is usually something to do with the potential couple being of different temperaments or situations. The situation is usually overcome by one of the characters making a big display of his or her affection (America's Sweethearts when Cameron Diaz & Christina Applegate turn up at her love interests wedding). The character is usually trying to win or win back the affection of the other. The dilemma oesnt usually happen until over halfway through the film however the audience should know about the problem while it is uner the surface before the other characters know to create some anticipation of whats going to happen when all is revealed.
The attraction between the two characters must be extablished fairly quickly to avoid boring the auience and the auience should be able to identify with the main characters desire for one another without that the audience will not only lose interest but they will lose sympathy for the characters whihc makes the story irrelevant because the audeience wont care enough to be interested right until the end of the film.
Apart from the two main characters theres usually a best friend of sidekick to the main characters, this character is usually funny and carefree and gives the character love advice. There is also usually a nemesis to the main character who is standing between the two who are in love wether they are aware of it or not (Cameron Diaz in My Best Friends Wedding).
Even though the situation is humorous to the viewers the characters in the film must not fin it amusing. They are supposed to be esperatly in love and it needs to be believeable to the audience!
Wednesday 11 November 2009
Making The First Video Thing :S
When filming our short piece me and alisha had a bit off difficualty trying to figure out how we would film the whole sequence because there was only two of us and we neeed two people in the sequence and one behind the camera. eventually we figured it out and found some other people in our class who were willing to act for us.
we managed to film the whole film without much difficulty, we found setting up the shots, figuring out how to change things in a shot (that didnt make sense) and directing the actors fairly easy and enjoyed amking the film.
however because we watche the film back during filming there is a gap between scenes.
we managed to film the whole film without much difficulty, we found setting up the shots, figuring out how to change things in a shot (that didnt make sense) and directing the actors fairly easy and enjoyed amking the film.
however because we watche the film back during filming there is a gap between scenes.
Friday 30 October 2009
Media Half Term Homework :)
The genre my group have decide to work on is romantic comedies, i have analysed 3 films of this genre an one thriller. I chose to analyse the films 27 Dresses, 50 First Dates, The Wedding Singer & Phonebooth. This is what i found ...
27 Dresses
The film started with a close up of a bench in a church as the camera moves out creating a bigger shot it becomes evident that it is a bench in a church on someones wedding day, there is non iagetic sound, viloins playing an there is also diagetic sound , the people chatting and laughing.. The shot shows a lot of people all mingling and then the camera i on a young girl all on her own just watching everyone, its a medium close up. The camera switches between shots of the young girl an shots of the whole wedding and people running around being busy getting ready. There is then a long shot of the girl trying to find her way through all of the people, eventually she reaches a man and speaks to him and takes over tieing up her little sisters hair bow, there is then a close up of the dads face which shows hes sad. the shot then switches to a medium long shot of the young girl looking in the mirror playing with her dress. there is then a close up of the young girls face whilst shes holing the brides train, the shot then fades into a close up of the actress in the present day the shot moves out to how mthe whole scene.
There was invisible editing throughout the whole opening sequence except for the fade into the initial shot of the bench and the ending shot of the young girls face.
The only visual images in the sequence was when the name of the film appeared on the screen, the font was floaty, feminine, bright and joined together.
The narrative was:
The young girl didnt like weddings and was just walking through the wedding and sees her father, who is struggling with the bow on his youngest daughters head so she takes over, the father looks sad and the narrator explains that his wife and the girls mother had died and their father was in a bad way. The narrator is looking at herself in the mirror when the bride bursts in and is ibviously upset because shes ripped her dress, the young girl then fixes the tear using the bow, saves the day and proceeds to hol the brides train whilst she walks down the aisle. When it switches to present day the woman who is the narrator in the beginning is in a wedding dress- the immediate assumption is that it is her wedding dress but then a phone call comes and the auience realises that it isnt her wedding and she is just trying the ress for someone else, the real bride- who couldnt make it and they were conveniently the same size.
The audio in the sequence was mainly non- diagetic as the girl speaking over the sequence was narrating all of the events which made it obvious it was a flashback. The violins were non diagetic as there were none showed being played. The diagetic sound was of people talking. laughing and taking pictures.
50 First Dates
The film starts off with hawaiian music and the opening shot is of a beach the camera then beings moving slowly to the right and the picture fades into the image of a pineapple on a kitchen counter. Then there is a medium long shot of two women speaking about one of the womens holiday in hawaii. The camera then begins to flick back and forwards between around four different women who are all finishing each otheres sentences but obviously dont know each other as the settings around all of them are completely different. The camera then moves to a girl who wasnt part of the jump cuts and after all of the other women have said the name of the man they were talking about (they were all talking about the same man) she says his name but then asks him a question which makes it clear to the audience that she is with him. The camera then jumos to a medium close up of the man.
The narrative presented in this sequence is obviously based on 'Henrey Roth' and shopws that hes got a reputation for being a player and has messed around with loads of girls. This makes the auience want to know whats so special about him.
The auio in this sequence was diagetic in some parts and non diagetic in others. The begining shot with the hawaiin music was non diagetic and after the music fades into the womens conversations all the soun is diagetic and is either, cars beeping, win howling, water running etc.
The only visual image was of the title, it had used a very bright block font.
The Wedding Singer
The film began with blue font with a black background. The letters had starts on the ends of them to create the feeling of celebrities glitz and glamour. There is uptempo music playing and the first shot is of people ancing in a wedding, there are a mix iof close ups of people acing and long shots of many people dancing. The cuts are short and snappy, the camera keeps switching and between the cuts the shot goes back to the original screen of balck with blue writing and the actor producers and directors anmes are there. The shots then switch to the singer instead of the people dancing the camera is tilted slightly upwards to show that he is on a stage and higher than everyone else.
The sequence uses only diagetic sound of people chatting and wedding music.
Phonebooth
The film begins with the sound of a choir singing and the image of rushing through clouds then font beings to appear and its igital looking font. After rushing throught the cliuds the shot appears to be in space there are satellitea are around the camera then beings to move rapidly towards earth and shows the inside of a mobile fone and the shot emerges froma guys cell phone, after that there is a long shot of the city and the camera rushing towards it, there are many close ups of phones and medoium close ups of danergous things such as drugs guns and people who looks like criminals. The shots are short and snappy, ont stay on one person for too long , so none of them are main characters. There is non iagetic soun and iagetic sound palkyed throughtout the digital sounds are dialling tones an ringing where non diagetic but the car horns and conversations in the city were diagrtic.
27 Dresses
The film started with a close up of a bench in a church as the camera moves out creating a bigger shot it becomes evident that it is a bench in a church on someones wedding day, there is non iagetic sound, viloins playing an there is also diagetic sound , the people chatting and laughing.. The shot shows a lot of people all mingling and then the camera i on a young girl all on her own just watching everyone, its a medium close up. The camera switches between shots of the young girl an shots of the whole wedding and people running around being busy getting ready. There is then a long shot of the girl trying to find her way through all of the people, eventually she reaches a man and speaks to him and takes over tieing up her little sisters hair bow, there is then a close up of the dads face which shows hes sad. the shot then switches to a medium long shot of the young girl looking in the mirror playing with her dress. there is then a close up of the young girls face whilst shes holing the brides train, the shot then fades into a close up of the actress in the present day the shot moves out to how mthe whole scene.
There was invisible editing throughout the whole opening sequence except for the fade into the initial shot of the bench and the ending shot of the young girls face.
The only visual images in the sequence was when the name of the film appeared on the screen, the font was floaty, feminine, bright and joined together.
The narrative was:
The young girl didnt like weddings and was just walking through the wedding and sees her father, who is struggling with the bow on his youngest daughters head so she takes over, the father looks sad and the narrator explains that his wife and the girls mother had died and their father was in a bad way. The narrator is looking at herself in the mirror when the bride bursts in and is ibviously upset because shes ripped her dress, the young girl then fixes the tear using the bow, saves the day and proceeds to hol the brides train whilst she walks down the aisle. When it switches to present day the woman who is the narrator in the beginning is in a wedding dress- the immediate assumption is that it is her wedding dress but then a phone call comes and the auience realises that it isnt her wedding and she is just trying the ress for someone else, the real bride- who couldnt make it and they were conveniently the same size.
The audio in the sequence was mainly non- diagetic as the girl speaking over the sequence was narrating all of the events which made it obvious it was a flashback. The violins were non diagetic as there were none showed being played. The diagetic sound was of people talking. laughing and taking pictures.
50 First Dates
The film starts off with hawaiian music and the opening shot is of a beach the camera then beings moving slowly to the right and the picture fades into the image of a pineapple on a kitchen counter. Then there is a medium long shot of two women speaking about one of the womens holiday in hawaii. The camera then begins to flick back and forwards between around four different women who are all finishing each otheres sentences but obviously dont know each other as the settings around all of them are completely different. The camera then moves to a girl who wasnt part of the jump cuts and after all of the other women have said the name of the man they were talking about (they were all talking about the same man) she says his name but then asks him a question which makes it clear to the audience that she is with him. The camera then jumos to a medium close up of the man.
The narrative presented in this sequence is obviously based on 'Henrey Roth' and shopws that hes got a reputation for being a player and has messed around with loads of girls. This makes the auience want to know whats so special about him.
The auio in this sequence was diagetic in some parts and non diagetic in others. The begining shot with the hawaiin music was non diagetic and after the music fades into the womens conversations all the soun is diagetic and is either, cars beeping, win howling, water running etc.
The only visual image was of the title, it had used a very bright block font.
The Wedding Singer
The film began with blue font with a black background. The letters had starts on the ends of them to create the feeling of celebrities glitz and glamour. There is uptempo music playing and the first shot is of people ancing in a wedding, there are a mix iof close ups of people acing and long shots of many people dancing. The cuts are short and snappy, the camera keeps switching and between the cuts the shot goes back to the original screen of balck with blue writing and the actor producers and directors anmes are there. The shots then switch to the singer instead of the people dancing the camera is tilted slightly upwards to show that he is on a stage and higher than everyone else.
The sequence uses only diagetic sound of people chatting and wedding music.
Phonebooth
The film begins with the sound of a choir singing and the image of rushing through clouds then font beings to appear and its igital looking font. After rushing throught the cliuds the shot appears to be in space there are satellitea are around the camera then beings to move rapidly towards earth and shows the inside of a mobile fone and the shot emerges froma guys cell phone, after that there is a long shot of the city and the camera rushing towards it, there are many close ups of phones and medoium close ups of danergous things such as drugs guns and people who looks like criminals. The shots are short and snappy, ont stay on one person for too long , so none of them are main characters. There is non iagetic soun and iagetic sound palkyed throughtout the digital sounds are dialling tones an ringing where non diagetic but the car horns and conversations in the city were diagrtic.
Friday 23 October 2009
Task 2: Research into Exisiting Products
In a Textual Analysis you must comment on:
-Mis En Scene
-Diagetic Sound
-Non Diagetic Sound
- Camera Angles
-Camera Shots & Movement
-Editing
-Special Effects
We have been studying the openings of romantic comedies, thrillers and horrors and commenting on the conventions in each genre, this is what we found:
Romantic Comedies
- Friendly, rounded font in the introduction
- Always a man and a woman
- Up tempo in the beginning reflects the tone of the movie
-
Thrillers
- Creepy music - no words
- Shows events that create questions in the viewers mind.
- Introduces the main character and lets you know that something was going to happen
-
Horrors
- Dark opening
- Built up tension by showing the setting
- Writing is usually bloody
- Usually introduces victim first
- Dark & gloomy scene
- Lets you know something bad's going to happen or already has happened
-Mis En Scene
-Diagetic Sound
-Non Diagetic Sound
- Camera Angles
-Camera Shots & Movement
-Editing
-Special Effects
We have been studying the openings of romantic comedies, thrillers and horrors and commenting on the conventions in each genre, this is what we found:
Romantic Comedies
- Friendly, rounded font in the introduction
- Always a man and a woman
- Up tempo in the beginning reflects the tone of the movie
-
Thrillers
- Creepy music - no words
- Shows events that create questions in the viewers mind.
- Introduces the main character and lets you know that something was going to happen
-
Horrors
- Dark opening
- Built up tension by showing the setting
- Writing is usually bloody
- Usually introduces victim first
- Dark & gloomy scene
- Lets you know something bad's going to happen or already has happened
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