My Film Opening Project: Genre and Group Members

Genre: Action Comedy
Group Members: Me, Jairo

Film Opening Research #2- Stand By Me

How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film?

Just two titles are displayed in the beginning, the film company (Columbia Pictures) that made the movie, and the actual title of the movie.

What images are prioritized in the opening sequence?

A car standing in front of a large kind of pasture is prioritized in the opening sequence setting up that the wilderness will be a factor in this adventure. The movie then closes in on a man in the car looking at a newspaper with murder on the headline. Then two kids on a bike pass by, making the man think of simpler times.

What connotations do the images carry?

The connotations that the images carry are that the man is reminiscent of the time he and his friends went out on an adventure to find a dead body, as not only told by the narration but also the newspaper, the establishing shot, and the kids riding the bikes.

How is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset?

The genre of this film is an adventure and a drama, which is demonstrated by the long establishing shot of the pastures and the shot about the murder of an attorney. The part where the audiences realize that these events are held in the present, and future events of the movie are in the past are also shown through the narration and the later 1950s setting.

How does the film establish an enigma from the outset?

By the narrator stating that he was in 6th grade when he first saw a dead body the audiences immediately become drawn in, since it is not everyday that somebody sees a dead body, especially an 11 year old kid.

What strategies are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience?

By having Columbia Pictures' logo show up in the beginning the audiences are already buying tickets because they know that Columbia Pictures has made good films in the past.

How has technology been used effectively? 

you might want to consider camera angles, transitions and editing techniques.

By contrasting the car and the bike we seen the difference in innocence of the narrator. Also through the old cars and strange cash register we know that the movie takes place in the 1950s. Other camera techniques that are used are an establishing shot, and a zoom in onto the narrator as he goes through a flash back.

Film Opening Research # 1- Monty Python and the Holy Grail

How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film?

 There are twelve titles used in the opening sequence, one for the company, another for the actual title of the film, and the others for the cast and the people involved in making the film.

What images are prioritized in the opening sequence?

A somewhat deep fog surrounding a castle, and a knight and his squire pretending to ride a horse with coconuts are the images prioritized.

What connotations do the images carry?

The connotations that the images carry are that this film is a parody of other films set in the medieval era, as the knight is not actually riding a horse but galloping while his squire is slamming coconuts together to make trotting sounds. The set pieces also seem realistic, so you're not really sure what type of comedy is going to be used.

How is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset?

The characters are dressed accordingly as a knight and a squire. The squire is in some kind of rag, while the knight is wearing armor with a crest in the middle. This with the castle as a setting reinforces that this is indeed set in the Middle Ages.

How does the film establish an enigma from the outset?

The audience is left confused by the film since a horse is replaced with coconuts. Through dialogue the coconuts are then mentioned as confusing and out of place, enhancing the comic tone. The audience is then further confused by the dry humor, with the characters now being aware that this move seems too good to be true.

What strategies are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience?

The dry British humor used ensures that the film appeals to its British audience, as a British comedy group created this film. The title itself also affectively attracts the audience because many people before this film was released were already familiar with Monty Python and their work.

How has technology been used effectively? 

You might want to consider camera angles, transitions and editing techniques.

Camera angles such as a high angle shot, where King Arthur is looking up towards the castle, makes the film's set pieces feel realistic and entices viewers by making it feel as though they too are in the film. The fog used also makes the film seem mysterious, and at the same time foreshadows the strange things that are ahead.

Genre Research #2- PowerPoint

My Favorite Genre- Video

My Favorite Genre- Powerpoint

Film Viewing Practice Essay

Agent Carter

Agent Carter, directed by Louis D'Esposito is a short film that correlates with the motion picture Captain America: The First Avenger. Viewers realize this when the cinematographer uses parallelism to show Captain America on a plane, trying to stop a nuclear bomb from going off, and Agent Carter at a military base trying to talk sense into Captain America. These scenes happened at the same time but in different locations. The acting style of the actress who plays Agent Carter is more of a non-method kind of acting, because the actress' personality is apart of her performance. The actress showcases her connection and relationship to Captain America through her expressions of sadness when he is about to die. Some symbolism in the short film is a photograph. Captain America has one of Agent Carter, and Agent Carter has one of Captain America, showing again their romantic relationship. Some shots that take place in the film include an establishing shot that shows outside of Brooklyn. They also later use a long shot to show Agent Carter walking towards the villains. This shows that she seems harmless to the villains, so they encounter her without any worry, but they end up being knocked out by a suitcase. The setting of the short film also gave viewers a sense of dread and mystery, due to the dark, low- key lighting, which contains several shadows. Other editing techniques that are used include simultaneity when Agent Carter is walking towards the villains. The perspectives switch between Agent Carter and the villains, creating suspense in that we don't know how the spy is going to avoid being caught, or is going to get through the guards. Some types of sound that is used in the short film is synchronous sounds when Agent Carter is beating up the guards, however this can be also seen as post-synchronization dubbing as the sounds are added after the shots are filmed. These sounds would also be diegetic because the characters supposedly can hear the sounds witting the film. Other shots include a pan shot when the shot of the last guard turns to Agent Carter with a gun, and a cutaway after Agent Carter receives the call about Zodiac. Most shots that are used are very basic such as the eye level shot, or the medium long shot, which shows the subject from the knees up. During the introduction there is a leitmotif, which is the Marvel Studios theme for all of their films. This theme appears whenever the logo appears, telling viewers what they are getting into. Some more Mise-en-scenes that are important to the plot are how the producers made up the costumes. While the costumes are simple, and are basically just suits, we also know that this takes place possibly sometime in the 1950s, and that these people are professionals. We can also assume this is sometime in the 1950s by the staging, and props, such as the old-fashioned cars. Overall, from the clip that is shown viewers are enthralled finally in a world of superheroes, where the main character is just like one of us.

Film Elements Graphic Organizer

MISE-EN-SCENE

MISE-EN-SCENE: The Office- The Injury

Setting: The episode begins at the main office building of Dunder Mifflin Paper Company's Scranton Branch. This setting, while important for all episodes of the series is particularly important for this episode because it shows how bored all of the characters are. When Michael calls stating that he burned his foot, his co-workers finally find something that is amusing, so that they make their long day at work go faster. The setting is also important, because it is a basic setup for an office buildings, except its rather open instead of cubicles, making the viewers relate to the show. Many of the viewers have had or know someone with a similar office job, and can relate to the characters in the show by seeing the dull workplace that they too have experienced.

Lighting: The lighting in this episode also goes with the setting, because of the fluorescent lights. These lights make the office complex bland and abnormally bright as though to keep the workers awake while they sell paper. This unusually bright lighting also makes the office more welcome, and allows you to clearly see all of the characters of the Scranton branch for what they truly are. An example of this is when the lighting clearly allows us to see through the bubble rap that Michael Scott, had indeed burned his foot on a George Foreman grill, but it wasn't as bad as he made it out to be. This type of lighting is known as high-key lighting since many shadows do not appear, and the scenes seem bright and soft.

Costume: The costume design in this episode of The Office is very simple, but that is what makes the show work. Each character is made out to be an everyday man, or white collared worker that most people can relate to. These suits and ties, are not fancy, or anything close, but professional enough to make it seem as though the outfit was thrown together in a hurry at seven in the morning. The colors of these work suits are very bland, which contrasts with the personalities of the characters as they are anything but bland. This contrast also makes the show more funny, as you as a viewer realize that this is more than an office of boring people, but people that one is willing to spend time with. 

Staging: The actor's performance in this episode is very important to keeping the viewer invested in the plot. The plot is simple, the regional manager of a small paper supply firm burned his foot on the grill and no one is taking his minor injury seriously. Steve Carell, who plays the manager Michael Scott, provides the viewers with a great performance making it seem as though the character is in dire need of attention while also being funny instead of annoying, which most vain people tend to be. This type of acting is non-method acting, because you can still see that this actor is a major part of this character, unlike method acting where the character completely takes over the actor. The supporting cast does a very good job as well, to keep up with their boss' antics while almost ignoring him all together to help Dwight who suffered a concussion, and to get some work done. Without these great performances the well-written script wouldn't have come off as well-written, and this wouldn't have become such a popular show. 

5 Master Shots with Sound

Contrast

In our Contrast shot we added both non-diegetic sounds and diegetic sounds. The diegetic sound is the conversation between Jairo and Scott because both characters can hear it, while the non-diegetic sound is the voice inside Jairo's head while he's watching the video. This is non-diegetic because no one other than the viewer can hear these thoughts, except maybe for Jairo. These thoughts are also known as post-synchronization dubbing.


Parallelism 

The sound introduced in these shots is also post-synchronization dubbing. We implemented a warping sound that acted as a transition from Scott's id to the real Scott. We also took out the background noises so the only sounds in the scene are non-diegetic.

Simultaneity

In this scene we added both horror and jazz music. The horror music represented the serial killer getting closer, while the jazz music showed Scott reading, giving each shot a different meaning. Again only post-synchronization dubbing and non-diegetic sounds were included.

Symbolism 

We decided not to add any sounds in this scene because we already had dialogue, which is diegetic. We felt that it introduced a more sinister tone since nothing but all is quiet besides the conversation, which almost foreshadows that the serial killer is near.

Leit Motif

All of these sounds are diegetic because the characters can hear the music when it is being played. The music represents the fall of Jairo as he slowly delves in to his serial killer persona.

Bloopers

These shots also have diegetic music that makes the end of the film funny in an awkward kind of way, and with out the music, oh boy, I wouldn't want to watch this. It's already hard watching this with the music.

5 Master Shots in Film

1. Simultaneity

This scene from Inception shows the character Arthur fighting in the second dreamscape, which means he is in a dream within a dream. It also shows that he is asleep in the first dream scape, and as the truck that he is in topples over, the reality within the second dream begins to turn since he is now allowed to climb the walls. This is an example of simultaneity as the two shots are in separate locations but are related to each other.


                                                       2. Symbolism

This other scene from Inception is symbolism because mirrors are used constantly throughout the film to represent the many layers of the subconscious, and that we are always looking into ourselves. The mirror also is the only thing in a dream that seems to tell the truth, for while you can change so much in a dream it is only an illusion and you can't really change who you are.




                                                          3. Leitmotif

This is a popular leitmotif from the film Jaws. Everyone knows that the shark is near when the score plays, the music getting faster as the shark gets closer. Also, for a part of this scene we are given a point of view shot, making the viewers feel like they are the shark, which is part of the leitmotif, since the shot only appears when the shark is close.



                                                                 4. Contrast

This scene from the office shows a representative from a new company that bought Dunder Mifflin visit the Scranton Branch. Here he asks Tobey if there has been any sexual harassment, to which he lies and says no. It then cuts to scenes from previous episodes of Michael harassing his co-workers unintentionally, showing contrast.

5. Parallelism

This scene from 21 Jump Street shows parallelism because the jock and the Jonah Hill sit besides each other and while they are different, and their issues are different they end up at a crossroads together, and in a way they are the same.

5 Master Shots

5 Master Shots

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RImQFZbTSxE

1. Our first shot was contrast and showed that Jairo had indeed lied about watching the said television shows to my face. The shots go back and forth between Jairo watching the shows, and lying to me, and in the end I lost my trust for him and we can no longer be friends. The most important part of any friendship is honesty, and as I always say honesty is the best policy.

2. The second shot is a parallelism shot, because it shows that my past and present live in unison. With the shot of my photograph from a year ago, and the shot of me now, viewers can see that I have not changed.

3. The simultaneity shot shows Jairo playing a serial killer and how he is closing in to where I am. The shots go back and forth between Jairo trying to find out where I am, and me trying to catch up on my reading for AP Literature.

4. The symbolism used in these shots were of Waldo, or the wanted sign of the serial killer. It represented that while we cannot find the serial killer he is always there lurking amongst us.

5. Finally, we used Leit Motif to show the inner demise of the serial killer, and what pain had driven him to kill all those people. The somber music pertains to only the serial killer, and again goes back to the symbol of Waldo, as no one else can hear it, no else can see, that it was Jairo all along.

Review of camera angles in movie

                                                   Review of NFL Game Texans vs. Patriots
                                                                   From CBS (2018)




I chose to comment on this particular NFL game, because the only other one playing was Tampa Bay and the Saints, and I didn't expect it to be very competitive, or fun to watch. In order to make it feel as though you are on the field several different camera angles are used in NFL games, especially when a big play is made.
          The first angle shown is known as an extreme long shot, and is the most common shot used for football. It is the more common than the other shots because it shows the entire set up, both the defense and the offense. The shot allows viewers and fans to determine what plays each side will use, or if these plays will change. It makes the viewer feel as a though they are a bird.

This second camera angle is known as full shot that shows the main character from head to toe. This scene was important since it was at first believed that Deshaun Watson did not throw at a target to avoid the safety, which would have been 2 points for the patriots. This scene made me feel Watson's frustration as he was not given time by his offensive line to make a play.

This shot here is a cutaway shot that was used to quickly show another player's reaction to the particular foul. This was an important segment, because it again showed the Texans' inability to prevent the Patriots' pass rush. The cutaway even shows the surprise of many players, as New England's defense has improved from last season despite them acquiring a lot of unknown veterans.

This is in particular a follow shot that follows the Patriots pass rusher, as this time he is able to secure a sack on the quarterback. The shot actually, for me, invoked fear as I imagined my self being hit by a 300 pound linebacker.

Finally, this shot here is known as an over the shoulder shot. As you see the camera is looking over the referee as Watson is sacked for a second time. More than any other angle does this shot make me feel like I'm actually on the field with the players experiencing the intensity and importance of the first game of the season. Overall, while finding the different camera angles was fun, I should of watched Tampa Bay, because this was game was really boring.

Classmate Video Reviews

The first comments I made were on Jairo's blog

•   His extreme close up shot made me feel the very fear that the character felt, and for a moment I could even see the reflection of what he was looking at, which gave me chills.
• The freeze frame shot took me by surprise because I thought the video was buffering, because it looked so real.
• The choker shot made me feel like I was trapped, and had nowhere to hide, as I felt that I shared his character's obstacles.
• The final shot I commented on was the point-of-View shot, which made me realize that everyone sees life with a different perspective.

Then I commented on Owen's bog

• I very much enjoyed Owen's head on shot, because I almost felt what the character was going through as he contemplated and then punched Jairo.
• The point-of View shot was fun to watch, and now I'm going to everyone trying to come up with cool handshakes like the one in this shot.
• The full shot was interesting, because it was of Jairo and Jairo's full shot was of Owen, so I was able to see two sides of one world.
• The establishing shot was also nice because it allowed me to take a break from my daily life and become a mailman. 

12 Various Shots

 1. My first scene was an establishing shot, so that I was able to give the feel of the location and set the mood for what was to come.

2. This scene here is known as a pan shot, which allowed me to get a good look at the studio.

3. My third scene was a tight shot where the toaster (amplifier) took up the the whole camera.

4. Now you would think that this point of view shot was difficult to shoot, because I had to carry the camera with one hand, but really that's just a myth it wasn't difficult at all.

5. This close shot here was of the subject from the waist up, although some may argue that the shot is of the entire subject, but that was only because the subject is unusually short.

6. There's a lot of controversy surrounding this extreme close up, many of the editors felt it was too much, but I felt it was necessary to show the true passion of this moment. Some also felt the description of the " eye of death" was strange, but I think it's a metaphor for the true deadliness of the Christopher Robin Effect.

7. This low angle shot, in particular, was actually hard to do, because I had to lie on the floor for almost a minute, and now I got this pain in my neck, but it was worth it.

8. The high angle shot was definitely the most dangerous shot that we took, since I had to stand on a bed, and I was being forced to look down. Of course we all know that when we are on a high ledge, we must never look down. Again the risk was worth it.

9. The tilt shot was personally my favorite, because no one really knew what was going to appear as the camera slowly lowered, and when it was revealed I was astounded. 

10. You can tell that this is campaign commercial contains a cameo shot judging by the dark background behind Oinkers.

11. The close up of the stapler (it's a close up because I'm focusing on a certain angle) actually was supposed to be a reaction shot to something scary, but no one could figure out what we could do to scare the viewers, so we just went with the stapler.

12. The final scene, is a follow shot, as I follow an orange ball across the room. At first the orange ball would not cooperate, but in the end, thankfully, we got it to roll.

Why I want to be in this class

Week 1: I have chosen to take AICE Media Studies so that I may be able to pursue my AICE diploma in order to receive the Bright Futures Scholarship. I also think that this class will be fun due to my past experiences with T.V Production.