RESEARCH: ART OF THE TITLE 3

The film, Spring Breakers is a crime fiction drama and was released in 2012. The title sequence seems to be very experimental due to the various of flashing coloured lights in shapes of letters. The sequence is vibrant and full of life and the teenage focus point is made clear by the choice in soundtrack and distinctive use of bright neon colour, the pink font also makes it obvious the target audience is mainly females. 

The reason for the title being called Spring Breakers is because the film is based around four teenaged girls who spend their Spring Break (a weeks holiday for school and college students at Easter) partying and consuming alcohol and drugs. Nevertheless, the firework themed sequence of bright lively colour is relevant to the movie. But, the contrast between the dark endless black background and the bright electric colour may make people wonder there will be a variation in emotion in the film of happy and sad. 

Furthermore, the song choice is reasonably upbeat and is a well-known pop song called "Lights" by Ellie Goulding, but if you happened to listen to the lyrics carefully she speaks about making a wrong decision and using bright lights as a way of finding her way back home and having to almost re-establishling herself and who she is, therefore it may make the audience ponder whether or not there will be similar events occurring in the film. 

Except for the bright neon lights constantly flickering, everything else about the sequence seems somewhat dead, the background being a deep black colour and there is no variation in camera movement, it is just focused on the credits of cast and crew members in the centre of the screen. 

RESEARCH: ART OF THE TITLE 2

Vantage Point is a thrilling American film heavily involved with action and drama and the title sequence helps convey these genres. The opening scene is a black screen but slowing a birds eye view is revealed of various buildings presumably in Spain considering the film is based there. The colour of the picture is a saturated orange tint which creates heat and excitement, foreshadowing some emotions which are yet to come.

Furthermore, another way in which excitement is created is through the music used; the music is repetitive but slow yet still very much relevant to the politics and crime within the film. The repetition of the music builds tension with help from the images of weaponry and police vehicles which arguably will keep the audience intrigued and hints at the action based genre.

Nonetheless, the camera angles are somewhat secretive and distinctive and it makes it seem like it is being filmed by you as an audience member following what seems to be the presidents every move; an example of this is the shot between railings which makes you presume someone is being spied on. But then at the closing scene all the images break away and come together to create the title: Vantage Point. 

LES BLEUS DE RAMVILLE

In the lesson today we were shown the opening sequence for Les Bleus de Ramville which is an Canadian television series filmed in 2012. I have chosen to screenshot some of my favourite clips that are most effective in my opinion.

The clip is featured very early in the sequence and show's an Ice Hockey player taping up his stick. The shot is effective because it is an extreme close up which show's detail and thoroughness. The shot also adds to the montage of preparation to the match which is creating tension along with the help from the music that is used.

This clip is used for the credits for someone in association to the television series. This shot is a tracking shot and gradually slides towards the right forcing the hockey mask into the centre of the frame making it the main focus. The clip is effective due to the colour contrast between the white writing and black background which makes it easier to read and more bold.

Within this shot, the sequence incorporates authentic footage from the past which creates a connotation with history and makes the television series appear more purposeful. The clip emphasises a feeling of pride in ice hockey, as if the players have something to live up to and try imitate that shows discipline and professionalism.

The following clip is a low-angle shot aiming upwards at two players from opposite teams at the beginning of a match. The shot show's the emotion and readiness on the faces of the players and also includes the referee about to drop the puck onto the ice indicating the commencement of the match. The puck is seen to be dropped on the camera showing realism and interaction.

Similar to the shot above, this is also a low-angle shot aimed upwards that identifies the emotion. The emotion is shown on a member of the supporters after a team has scored in the previous clip. In excitement and adrenaline the man launches himself from his seat and cheers whilst his beverage is being thrown into the air along with him. The droplets of alcohol catch the light effectively.

The shot is a low-angle shot aimed low at the ice hockey boots of the players who seem to be marching out of the changing rooms nervously but proudly. This shot is effective because it creates verisimilitude. The clip also adds to the montage for the preparation of the match and mounts tension thoroughly.

Lastly, the closing shot of the sequence is of the title of the television series, Les Bleus de Ramville. The shot is filmed with StopMotion and shows the orange object what could be a puck being gradually coloured in. The title is also seen to enter the clip dramatically so that is it clear what the title is to the audience. This is a shot I will be capable of imitating. 

PLANNING: iDENT

This is the iDent my partner and I created using iStopMotion. We were precise and detailed in attempting the capture the right footage we had in mind and we feel it was successful. I am proud with what I have achieved. It took up to three attempts and was rather time consuming and tedious at times but we are pleased we carried on and our outcome is what we had hoped for. We named our iDent Apollo Production and includes a space rocket giving it quite a sci-fi and space-like theme. Whilst filming, we encountered some problems with things like lighting but fortunately we are now aware about these problems for future references.

DISTRIBUTION: Pride

Attracting and Addressing Audiences
The official Pride website is the predominate way in which the movie tries to attract and address audiences. The website enables those associated or who have an interest in the film to conveniently find numerous facts and information to do with the film; the website is also there for those who have little knowledge of the film and are looking to gain extra understanding of it. As shown on the screen shot below, the website allows anybody to listen to the soundtrack, or purchase/find tickets and it even includes the trailer and all the cast details. In the top right corner of the website it links you to the official Pride Twitter and Tumblr accounts so that you can keep up to date with the film on a daily basis.

Pride is a film that is advertised on common movie related websites such as Rotten Tomato's and IMDB. But, the main source for the distribution for Pride is through its very own website. Those who are unaware or uninterested in the film can simply check the website for any queries or information. If any audience members haven't even seen the trailer it is made possible to access it on the website as a way of encouraging and advertising the film. Furthermore, the colour's yellow and red on the website are relevant to the film due to it having connotation with power and love; the film is about gay activists working to help miners during their lengthy strike of the National Union of Mineworkers in the summer of 1984. The colours yellow and red are clear bright and flamboyant colours which arguably could relate with the homosexuality difficulties in the film.

DISTRIBUTION: What We Did On Our Holiday

In class, we looked at the distribution of one particular film which was What We Did On Our Holiday. The genre is a comedy and it is described as a "heart-warming, uplifting comedy for all the family" on the BBC Website in order to advertise the movie as one of its distributors. The trailer is also linked on the website and it is successful in strengthening the BBC's quote. In order to emphasis the point of it being a comedy the distributors have included "from the creators of Outnumbered" on both the advertisement poster and trailer; Outnumbered is a well known television series which is commonly known for the comedy produced in it and by mentioning the series it is a way of trying to attract more audience members. Cast members such as Rosamund Pike, David Tennant and especially Billy Connolly will also have a huge impact on the footfall of What We Did On Our Holiday because of their previous achievements in the film and television industry. Expectedly, the film is aimed at a national audience due to it being referred to as a 'British' film, so there are no expectation of this film expanding on a international level.

The ways in which What We Did On Our Holiday is distributed is through companies such as BBC Films advertising it and also various newspapers such as The Times. Furthermore, famous film related business' such as IMDB and Empire Cinema's also advertise the film, this is a technique used to try attract more audience members and develop profits. The target audience is aimed at families which is conveyed well in the trailer. But, like every other film, it has a rating, which is 12A and this again identifies a audience.

RESEARCH: Representation

Roland Barthes Mythologies (1964)
In class, we studied Roland Barthes 'Mythologies' as a group activity. The book was published in 1957 and is gathered of essays taken from Les Lettres nouvelles. The book as a whole examines the tendency of contemporary social value systems in order to create modern myths. Debatably, it is easier to grasp how images can be manipulated, and photography of all media apparently has the most 'truth' within.

Nonetheless, Fiske  says that 'denotation is what is photographed, connotation is how it is photographed' (Fiske 1982-91). For photography terms, denotation is the number one attraction at the expense of connotation.

The cover of Paris-Match is a accurate example of the ideology of Roland Barthes famous myths. The image convey's a young black boy who is wearing a French uniform and is saluting with pride and honour. This one image is significantly powerful; it portrays the equality in France and show's without any toleration of discrimination, all citizens are proud to serve their country. The image purpose is an attempt to stabilise the political arguments of racism which has been causing overwhelming emotions for many years and the young boy represents the influence of the French society and youthfulness.

"Myth has in fact a double function: it points out and it notifies, it makes us understand something and it imposes it on us..." - Roland Barthes - 1964. 


Rhetoric of the Image (1977)

Roland Barthes turns to this advertisement; the image contains a grocery bag with Panzani and various vegetables and fruit in and around it. The objects are fresh and include packaging which includes brand names printed on it. The purpose of the advertisement is to provoke us as customers to purchase the food and the ways in which it does this is through inciting our temptations and desire. The layout of the advertisement is appealing to the eye due to the red background colour representing freshness and natural preparation. The advertisement has a creative and persuasive meaning through connotation.

Pride (2014)

I have analysed representation using a frame of Pride. The shot below show's an elderly lady dressed in a long, patterned dress who is dancing with a male of younger years. The male presented has his hands spontaneously placed on the older women's hips causing her to squeal in excitement. Whereas, she has her hands gently placed on top of his which show's some intimacy and shock. Those standing in the background help to create an enjoyable atmospheric feel of the shot due to them happily dancing along individually.

The female represents a stereotypical domestic women in a conservative attire that show's little revealing and provocative features. From this shot I am forced to presume the women is within her 60's due to her appearance, however the enjoyment and natural happiness shown in her face begs to differ.

Unfortunately, there is nothing distinctively different between the three women in the shot; they all look like house-wives who play a domestic role. But, there appearance allows us to get an understanding that they are out of their comfort-zones and are feeling somewhat adventurous. The male is pictured as a hero in this shot, he is generously treating the three women to some light-hearted fun forcing a smile upon their faces.

NOWHERE BOY: TEXTUAL ANALYSIS

In class we briefly watched Nowhere Boy in preparation for our exam analysis.

In the film, Nowhere Boy the opening scene shows a teenage boy who goes by the name of John Lennon, he is running past a historic building in joy and self-confidence. The initial shot at the beginning of the film is called an establishing shot which is used to allow the audience to get the full understand of the surrounding. The shot is brings a daunting effect and shows this huge historic building which belittles John. However, the tracking shot after presents the attitude John has towards being intimidated by this building which show's that he isn't phased by this and in desperation is running joyfully.

Suddenly, there is a cut scene where John is pictured curled up in bed whilst his aunt, 'Mimi' is attempting to wake him up abruptly by nudging him whilst yelling at him requesting he gets himself ready for school immediately. This scene allows the audience to soon establish there is a clear difference in personalities between John Lennon and his aunt Mimi. Whereas, John and his uncle are quite the opposite, whilst eating breakfast they are seen sharing banter and the uncle gifts John with a harmonica which to me indicates love and appreciation.

Nonetheless, we see a variety of different types of camera angles in the movie; these include: tracking shot, establishing shot, shot reverse shot, two person shot and also over the shoulder shot. These allow the movie to greatly progress and achieve a more professional outcome. The types of shots previously listed also present the casts emotions better and more efficiently, for example, there is a scene when Aunt Mimi confirms the death of the uncle and due to suddenly feeling of unprotected and lonely he hugged Aunt Mimi from behind, the camera angle during this shot show's the two people and also the contrast in emotion.

RESEARCH: THE ART OF THE TITLE

The Walking Dead is an American TV Series presumably set in present day. The title sequence enforces the plot by including an eerie and haunting atmosphere, involving some disturbing clips of a graveyard and an environmentally degraded locations for example.

The title sequence creates a gripping and mysterious aura by completely draining the pictures of any distinctive colour and making them look terrifyingly dead and greyscale.

Nevertheless, the music used is somewhat intriguing and lures you in closer so you feel more involved, it almost brings a manipulative effect to the sequence. I also noticed one of the scenes consists of a centipede slipping into and out of a dark area without being easily seen; stereotypically the sight of a centipede means you could potentially be about to get involved with something shady and dubious. All these features correspond to make a more developed and hysterical experience for the audience when watching this title sequence.