Genres
Romance - Romance films can be defined as a genre where the plot revolves around the love between two protagonists. This genre usually has a theme with love, including; love at first sight, forbidden love and love triangle. Whether the end is happy or tragic, Romance film aims to evoke strong emotions in the audience. Examples;
Slumdog Millionaire -Knowing the girl he loves is a fan of the show, an uneducated boy becomes a contestant on the Hindi version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire to win her over.
The Notebook -An old man who visits an elderly woman, reads a love story to her that centers around two lovers torn apart by different events.
Horror - Horror film is a genre that aims to create a sense of fear, panic, alarm, and dread forthe audience. These films are often disturbing and rely on scaring the audience through a portrayal of their worst fears and nightmares. Many Horror films include mythical creatures such as ghosts, vampires, and zombies. Traditionally, Horror films include a large amount of violence and gore. Horror film often overlaps into Fantasy, Thriller, and Science-Fiction genres. Example;
A Nightmare on Elm Street -Freddy Krueger, an evil being from another world, stalks a group of teenagers and kills them through their dreams.
Saw - Two men are held hostage by a psychopath, who is set on teaching his victims the value of life by putting them into demented life or death games.
Comedy -is a genre of film that uses humour as a driving force. Although the comedy film may take on some serious material, most have a happy ending. Comedy film has the tendency to become a hybrid sub-genre because humour can be incorporated into many other genres. Comedies are more likely than other films to fall back on the success and popularity of an individual star. Examples;
Groundhog Day - A grumpy weatherman finds himself living the same day over and over again.
The Princess Bride - A farm boy must save Princess Buttercup from a forced marriage to the nasty Prince Humperdinck.
Slumdog Millionaire -Knowing the girl he loves is a fan of the show, an uneducated boy becomes a contestant on the Hindi version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire to win her over.
The Notebook -An old man who visits an elderly woman, reads a love story to her that centers around two lovers torn apart by different events.
Horror - Horror film is a genre that aims to create a sense of fear, panic, alarm, and dread forthe audience. These films are often disturbing and rely on scaring the audience through a portrayal of their worst fears and nightmares. Many Horror films include mythical creatures such as ghosts, vampires, and zombies. Traditionally, Horror films include a large amount of violence and gore. Horror film often overlaps into Fantasy, Thriller, and Science-Fiction genres. Example;
A Nightmare on Elm Street -Freddy Krueger, an evil being from another world, stalks a group of teenagers and kills them through their dreams.
Saw - Two men are held hostage by a psychopath, who is set on teaching his victims the value of life by putting them into demented life or death games.
Comedy -is a genre of film that uses humour as a driving force. Although the comedy film may take on some serious material, most have a happy ending. Comedy film has the tendency to become a hybrid sub-genre because humour can be incorporated into many other genres. Comedies are more likely than other films to fall back on the success and popularity of an individual star. Examples;
Groundhog Day - A grumpy weatherman finds himself living the same day over and over again.
The Princess Bride - A farm boy must save Princess Buttercup from a forced marriage to the nasty Prince Humperdinck.
My group and I had based our idea for our film opening on the genre action. We wanted to make an action packed film including some of the typical codes and conventions used. I decided to research the elements used to make an action film. The action genre is one which uses one or more heroes to undergo a series of challenges that require physical action such as fight scenes which emphasize the action. The action genre appeals to a wide range of audiences. The genre is closely linked to the genres such a thriller and adventure film e.g. "The Hunger Games". New developments in CGI make it easier to create action sequences and other effects that require stunts also destructive disasters such as floods, explosions and natural disasters. The use of CGI in action films made us come up with the idea of an explosion for our film opening. Which will have high energy and high impact throughout making the audience to want to watch more.
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Action Film Opening Analysis
Die Hard: With a Vengeance
In the opening shot of Die Hard we see the long shot silhouette almost of New York City. This indicates where the film will be taking place, in a large well known city. The lighting is quite dark in shot as the only light source is coming from the sun which may suggest there is danger ahead. In the first few seconds of die hard we see many shots like this of the buildings in New York. Then we jump cut to people in the city walking around during the day. The long shot of New York city show the environment and its surroundings, which is quite busy full of people.
Then we jump cut to a long shot of a explosion in a building taking place in the middle of the street full of people. This is a typical convention of a action movie as an explosion has taken place it has caused mass destruction. The effects of smoke add to action and make the explosion seem more realistic as the audience cant see much which builds up more tension, also the car flipping over also suggest the huge effect this explosion has had.
This high angle shot of New York City suggest that the explosion dominates the shot as it stands out and is taking over. There are many diegetic sounds of glass breaking and people screaming which adds to the tension and action. The building sets are very simplistic with little CGI but creates a massive effect.
We then see a jump cut from the explosion to a police station which shows the progression in time and the importance of the event as police are involved. Also it may suggest the impact the explosion has had on New York City. There is panning around the police station to show the chaos the police men and women are going through with the diegetic sounds of phones ringing.
From this over the shoulder shot of this police man on the phone, the audience get to see the conversation the police man is having with the baddie. The camera slowly pans around the police man and zooms in to the side of his face. This is to show his expression and emotion while he is being told there may be another explosion if he doesn't do as he is said. The police man dominates the shot which suggest he may be a important character. The phone conversation is very important as it reveals more of the story and making it more exciting as there is more action ahead.
Skyfall
In this opening shot of Skyfall we see Daniel Craig getting ready to fight with his gun pointing towards the direction he is moving in. The lighting in the shot is very interesting since it creates a silhouette kind of feel which is a typical James Bond movie thing along with giving the place a mysterious feeling. The shot also foreshadows an upcoming action scene that may take place and therefore help the audience prepare for the thrill or in some instances also makes the audience question why he is doing this From this I realised that I should try implement shots which foreshadow or question the audience causing them to become more engaged in the film.
Here is a long, establishing shot, this is the first time the audience see this exotic location. The use of the long shot gives the audience an idea of where the main character is situated and what they will be expecting from him over there. I have also seen these kind of shots in films such as 'Hidden' where these shots are mad the most out of by using them to show the credits as well as the location. From this I thought about putting establishing shots in my opening which can also be used for credits.
Here is a jump cut from the 'Field Work' to the 'Headquaters'. These kind of jump cuts in the beginning of the film help build the story and slowly help narrate the story to the audience as well. It also helps gasp the audience as it is slowly revealing things about the characters present in the film making the film more exciting. It also helps bring up questions in audiences minds which engage the audience, forcing them to watch the whole film.
This wide angle long shot clearly helps represent all the major conventions involved in the 'Action' genre. From the above mindmap just this single shot covers many conventions. For example the shot shows hi-tech cars, a chase, the 'goodies' and the 'badies' and a motive/mission to be completed. From this I learnt that it is vital for me to have shots that clearly represent the 'Action' genre to my audience.
From this wide angle shot we see that people in the background are hiding from the gun shots and trying to protect themselves were as Daniel Craig the 'hero' is fighting the person shooting at everyone which shows to me how the main characters in my action opening should be 'bold, confident and skillful'. We also see how he is the only one in focus, showing he is the most important one as the foreground oranges and background people are all blurred out. This is referred to as a 'shallow depth of field' allowing the audience see only what the film makers want them to see. I think this is a very useful technique and will help me engage my audience as I have the ability to do this since I will be shooting with my own DSLR. After this shot the editing also became very fast-paced along with upbeat music from which I learned that the editing and sound have a big effect on the audience so for me to achieve a good effect on the audience our group will need to do good editing and find sound relating to our shot.
These are some other shots which help represent the conventions of an action film from the clip I have analysed. I have not focused on them in too much detail since these require big budget equipment to do and so is not possible in my film opening
Transporter 2
This shot shows Jason Statham (the transporter) being held at gunpoint, this closeup allows the audience to see the contrast between the two characters emotions. Jason Statham is seen to be remaining calm whereas the curly haired lady is has a more serious look on her face. This shows a convention of action films (how the hero knows what he/she is doing) as the hero (Jason Statham) is not worried about the change in stimuli which is possibly a life threatening situation.
The medium shot that is established in this scene presents the audience with the 'typical gang of thugs', about to steal the hero's car. The car itself is pretty sophiscticated and the gang that is about to steal the vehicle looks pretty rough therefore representing how the hero (Jason Statham) is out of place. The group and I were discussing how an establishing shot like this can be of use in our film opening as it will establish the scenery in which the action will be taking place.
I think this is a very important shot as it reveals to the audience how calm the hero is moments before battle. The fact that the hero is seen surrounded by many 'thugs' and he takes the time to remove his blazer represents how the hero tries to remain dominant. It is clear that in this shot, the hero is outnumbered but the fact that he remains calm shows the true bravery of the hero, thus showing another connotation of action movies.
Personally, I believe that this shot is very important as shows how serious the hero can be. The group had agreed that we have to establish a shot where our hero is presented to be serious. This over the shoulder (OTS) shot shows the hero holding a thug at knife point. Although the camera is pointing down at the hero, he is still seen to be dominant as the blade he is holding is also shown. This scene also shows the contrast between the heroes previous emotions (remaining calm).
Flash Point
This mirror reflection shot of Donnie Yen is used to convey his day to day life. Eyes are very important in any form of interaction as it gives away many connotations about the persons characteristics and also emotions. This shot also gives a a sense of context. Hence making this opening rather interesting when coming into location. The famous martial art star (Donnie Yen) is presented from the opening scene as it will attract the action based fans instantly just from this opening scene of him. Obviously this shot gives a wide image of the city and it seems as if it is a very industrial and working class city. As it is based on eastern background it means that it has something to do with gang corruption. The actor Donnie Yen is associated with action and crime. Hence the actor himself gives the movie a genre and a setting before the story is fully introduced. The chinese credits also supports my idea of eastern setting. As the movie progress you find out that it is based in Hong Kong. Giving us a sense of gang activity and under round crime.
In the opening, the main character is talking about justice and how physical pain can help people to understand. This is coming from a cop himself. Therefore it gets the audience very excited about what is to happen. This is clever way of character development as the short interview scene gives a look into his personality first hand. This will interest the audience as it gives insight to his tyrannic and heck tick personality which is reflected in his life style. This aggressive thought will surely get the audience entertained and will be looking out for scenes referring to his personal introduction.
This shot of Donnie Yen (the detective) in the training area shows that he is very physically active person as implied by his job. The dark complicated lighting gives a idea of his personality. The positioning of the character in a isolated ring is used to show his power as everyone moves away from him as he walks into the martial arts gym. The white shirt he is wearing gives connotations of good and purity. It also makes him stand out of the dark backgroundWe could then come to a dim conclusion he possibly "purifies" the world through his job as an detective, This is also based on his martial arts skills. The black trousers gives connotation of somewhat dark and complicated character. Almost as if he has two contrasting lives. One at his job and another in different field.
This scene is very interesting as a introduction to the movie because it creates a sudden atmosphere of tension. Hence making it rather interesting from the beginning. This complex martial arts move "flying arm-bar" brags the action and martial arts genre audience as this move looks very sleek and is also very difficult to pull off. In mis-en-scene terms the gradient lighting creates a contrast between calm and angry. The blue lighting could be associated with the "calm" and the good character in the scene, whom is in control of the situation.
Distribution and Production Companies
Warner Brothers - is a self distributed production company which is a producer of american film, television and music entertainment. It has produced and distributed many successful films such as Harry Potter, The Hobbit and Gravity. In 2009, Warner Brothers became the first studio in the history to gross more than $2 billion domestically in a single year, showing just how successful and popular their movies have become.
20th Century Fox - is one of the six major american film studios. They have distributed many big blockbusters such as Avatar, Die Hard franchise, X-men and Star Wars. There have also been many famous actresses to come out of this studio such as Marilyn Monroe. There films tend to be a range of different genres which are aimed at a large audience. This may be a suitable distributor company for our film opening as it has released many successful films over the 20 years. They distribute their movies on a wide scale with billboards and poster, which will help our movie gain a larger audience and raise more awareness.
Paramount - ranked as one of the largest top grossing film studios. Distributing films such as Shrek, G.I.Joe, Star Trek and The Godfather making a domestic gross of $133,698,921 showing how triumphant the film was at box office alone. Meaning when thinking of a distributor company for our film opening Paramount may be a good choice.
Target Audience
After deciding a genre for our film opening. We decided to think about our target audience. We researched many different action films which helped to gives us an idea and therefore for our target audience we decided that we would like our film to be rated at 12A. Meaning mainly consisting of teenagers and adults that are into action movies. However action appeals to a wide range of people therefore our movie has a large target audience. Films such as "Die Hard" and "Transporter 2" both have 12A ratings therefore giving us the idea for our movie ratings. As "Die Hard" is a similar representation of our film opening 12A would be a suitable option. Due to the violence of our film it would also be appropriate to make our film a 12A as we don't want to appeal to younger children as our opening does has disaster related action which may be harmful to younger children. As for example the popular american action film re-make RoboCop was rated 12A due to intense sequences of action including gun violence.
Film Survey
My group and I decided to do a survey to find out how to make the best outcome of our film opening.Our sample size was 20 students some from our media class and some outside of class, this was because we didn't want the whole of the sample size to be from our media class as they results would have been biased. Therefore asking a range of different people would help us get accurate results.
When asking people what films they mainly watched, action seemed to have the most result meaning it was the most popular genre. Therefore when choosing a genre for our movie we have picked the correct choice.
From this question we discovered that people mainly prefer kidnapping in action films and fight scene was second highest. Giving us the idea of including a fight scene within our film as a kidnapping wasn't one of our main ideas for film opening. Also explosions tied with fight scenes adding to the idea of incorporating an explosion also into our film as it is preferred in action films.
When asked which location people preferred in action films - big cities was the most popular answer. This gave us the idea of filming in London as its a huge well known city and make our film seem more professional than amateurish.
From this question we analysed that people prefer fast pace music. This is a suitable idea as fast pace non-digetic music adds to the tension and builds up more action which will make our film opening more appealing.
Students prefer 'suit and tie' as the main costume for the action genre. As it is the traditional clothing of action heroes such as Daniel Craig in 'Skyfall'. Uniform which could be a second option, was the second highest choice. It gives the action hero a background and story which makes him more realistic. Which may be an option for us.