Mood Board

This is a picture of the mood board that my group made. We went for a darker theme for our crime film, and decided to use 'Kidnap' as our key word. After playing around with a few ideas, it was decided that using a theme of jealousy and mistrust we would create a crime film that involves a kidnap being provoked by lust and anger.

This could be a good idea for our crime film. We decided that by making the crime happen in the opening sequence, would keep the audience interested for the rest of the film. 

Functions of a Title Sequence

A Title sequence is the method in which cinematic films or television programmes present their title, production and cast members. 

What is the main function of a title sequence?

• Gives an insight to the plot
• Shows the title of the film and the genre
• Main characters are introduced
• Shows who's in it/who made it
• Gains audience interest

The order of people introduced;

- Producer/Production Company

- Highest billing (most famous: actor or director)

- Director (if not already used): usually "A ____ film"

- Title of the film

- Main Actor/Actress

- Important cast

- Crew

- Final name = Director

The purpose of the title sequence is achieved through; visual style of the titles, use of sound, transition of titles and the plot, character and setting introduction. 

Here is an example of some film titles I enjoyed:

Se7en

The Dog Problem

These both use the main functions and achieve it using the visual, sounds and transitions.

Conventions of the Crime Film

Most sub-genres of crime films have specific conventions which enables the audience to relate to the genre and understand certain parts of the film. Some sub-genres of crime films include, Film Noir, American Gangster, Detective, Spy and Police. 

Typical conventions of;
Film Noir - black and white, voice over (narrative), innuendo, 'The Male Gaze' where the Femme Fatale is a threat to the man and is usually the cause of the murder.

American Gangster - the 'family' act outside the law and see themselves as the authority, slick costumes, all about respect and getting justice or vengeance.

Detective - usually in the countryside, in an upper/middle class manor house, the detective is usually different to everyone else, or not what you'd expect to be a detective (e.g. Miss Marple)

Spy - the spy is always one step ahead of the enemy, a sense of the unknown, anti-hero, often British, the hero always wins.

Police - (British) - lots of action, uniforms, within the law which creates limitations and lack of power, there are usually sharp cuts and uses of montage.

            - (American) - less formal, no uniform and less realistic than British Police films.

British Police: 'Hot Fuzz'

American Police:+ 'Starsky & Hutch'

This clip of 'The Godfather' shows good use of the conventions of 'American Gangster'.

Prelim Video!

Our Preliminary task video.

Preliminary Exercise

The Preliminary task which we had to do involved filming and editing a short sequence. This included, a character opening the door, crossing a room and sitting down on a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he exchanged a couple of lines of dialogue. This task enabled us to demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule.


During the Preliminary exercise I was able to get used to using the camera, tripod and editing suite. Three things to target ready for the main task would include;

• smoothness of cuts 
• more shooting material
• using a wider range of camera angle to create atmosphere

Smoothness of Cuts - In the prelim, the cuts between shots weren't as smooth as we has first hoped. In our main task, we will ensure that cuts and transitions and more fluid, to create a better affect for the audience. 


Shooting Material - When editing our prelim, we discovered that the clips we had filmed weren't long enough, which caused problems. While filming our main task we have decided to keep the camera rolling at times, to try and get as much editing material as possible.


Camera Angles - During the preliminary task, we used similar camera angles throughout. However, when filming our opening sequence we will need to use a variety of shots and angles to create affect for the audience.

Welcome

Hello and welcome, 

This blog will chart my progress of my AS Media coursework. From my Research and Planning, the construction of my main task, through to the Evaluation of my final product, which will be the opening to a crime film.