Breakfast Club (1985) - Film Opening 3

This film opening successfully establishes the location with an establishing shot but also with dialogue over the top of this. The music within this opening is quite upbeat yet laid back.
In terms of mise en scene this opening scene portrays some aspects excellently. For example the school setting showing stereotypical aspects such as, graffiti, cafeteria, lockers, school newsletter, notice boards, trophy cabinets, litter, classrooms, changing rooms
 etc. Also the consideration of the phrases written for example 'I don't like mondays' which illustrates the students in a negative way, also 'help' taboo words like 'fag'.
With the upwards tilt shot of the BMW we are able to detemine that the people in the vehicle are quite wealthy, we again are able to confirm this with the appearance of them. For example the father is wearing a checkered scarf, and a smart suit, with a cashmere type sweater. His hair is also combed over to one side suggesting he likess to take care of his appearance. Through the dialogue we also get the impression that the daughter has been somewhat spoilt by her father, he says 'I'll make it up to you' suggesting that he is doing something wrong by making her attend her saturday detention when all she did 'ditch class to go shopping'. The expression on the girls face makes us think that she is a spoilt child and maybe quite stuck up.
Whereas the mother in the next shot seems to conform the stereotype of a mother whose child has done wrong by saying 'is this the first time or the last time you do this?' she also says to 'use the time to your advantage' which again illustrates the way in which she would like to raise her child with good morals. Also the setting is very different from the father and daughter in that the car seems to be more cramped with the addition of a younger sibling.
In regards to codes and conventions the film opening doesn't have any opening titles, however it does establish the location and gives us some of the storyline but still doesn't give too much away. We are lead to think of what the students have done wrong and why they are in detention. We assume that this will be revealed throughout the course of the film.

Breakfast at Tiffany's- Film Opening 2

At the beginning of this film opening it establishes the location. It further goes to confirm that the film is set in New York City when the yellow taxi appears. In terms of mise en scene when the woman gets out of the taxi we can see that she is dressed in smart and elegant attire, her hair is done up neatly and quite extravagantly. She is also wearing a rather expensive looking necklace which gives the viewer the impression that she is wealthy. We see the woman looking up towards the Tiffany & Co sign suggesting that she appreciates where she is. She is almost enticed by the store. As we see her looking through the glass at the jewellery we see that she is very engrossed in the items.
The music is very mellow and has a delicate nature to it which shows some sense of innocence to the woman. The simplicity of her actions of just admiring, eating and then strolling away fits perfectly with the mood of the music.
When the woman brings out the pastry and drink it intrigues the audience as it subverts the stereotype that we as an audience had set for her. When you see her appearance you don't expect her to be eating simple food, outside the window of the store.
In regards to codes and conventions of film openings, this film fits perfectly with many of them. It establishes the location, shows the main character, includes title sequence. In addition to all of this it doesn't give too much of the storyline away but shows us just enough for us to want to watch more.
At the end of the scene we see her just outside what seems to be her apartment, the camera angle is quite high and tilted downwards which ultimately gives us the impression that it is very small and confined, which completely contrasts to the open space she was just in a while ago. It also doesn't conform with her appearance as she doesn't give the impression that she lives in a small apartment.

Se7en- Film Opening 1

This film opening consists of a lot of extreme close ups. By doing this we are able to focus in on one particular thing. It also keeps us intrigued without giving too much away. In terms of codes and conventions of this film opening it includes the title sequence with all the key cast and crew.
In regards to mise en scene the opening includes props that are considered dangerous and harmful which leads us to believe that the genre of this film is something of that nature. Throught the flashback photographs and use of drops of blood we are able to identify the genre as Horror. Also the use of black and white images leads us to believe that the setting/storyline of the film has aspects of the past in it, we can also determine this from when the person begins to stitch the pieces of paper together, any film set in this day and age wouldn't require the use of a needle and thread to put paper together. The music used is very slow with a steady beat which ties in with the genre. Towards the end of the clip the music's intensity begins to increase along with the movement and action within the clip.
The cuts from shot to shot go with the rhythm of the music. In addition to this they all seem to be of the same length, showing thee different aspects to the opening for the same amount of time. This keeps the clip consistent and begins to make the viewer identify a routine and rhythm. The lighting is artificial and quite high key which illustrates the genre. The sharpness of the lighting links with the content of the clip.

What I have learnt about the state of the film industry 2014:

The huge demand of the film industry has lead it to be one of the most profitable industries in the world. In 2012 the UK box office took over £1 billion. 646 films were release in the UK in 2012, with over 12 new titles being released per week.

Throughout the course of last year and much of this year I have learnt that the quality of production practices and marketing play a huge part in the overall success of films. The film industry pays out massive amounts of money each year to raise awareness and create a buzz about the latest upcoming films. With the emergence of New Media Technologies, the quality of the products are improving vastly, which is increasing the media consumption. Many film companies that have expanded over the years have grown in terms of finance resulting in them being able to use high-tech hardware, for example cameras which can shoot in 3D. This then results in it being exhibited and distributed to larger audiences, thus generating more profit. In addition to this 3D quality costs more therefore ticket prices increase again generating more profit.

In regards to marketing, the film industry is hugely reliant on the the quality of it's marketing and production practices. The film industry pays out incredible amounts of money to raise awareness and create a buzz about the latest upcoming films. Posters, flyers, trailers, advertisements, facebook pages, twitter accounts, interviews, articles, appearances, soundtracks and many more are all key aspects to the success of a film in the highly competitive film industry. In 2012 over £300 million was spent on prints and advertising by film distributors. New Media Technologies have also played a huge part in the success of films in this day and age. With the emergence of IMAX, synergy, convergence, apps, video games etc the film industry is able to get the most out of the technology we have to increase the success and quality of their films.

The release dates of films also play a big role in the overall success of a film. Saturday is the most popular night amongst cinema goers with about 24.1% contributing towards box office figures, closely followed by Sunday with 17.6%, Friday 16.4%, Wednesday 13.5% and Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 9.4%. The importance of knowing cinema going habits is very significant. With new knowledge of statistics etc the major conglomerates are able to determine the best days to exhibit their films. In addition to this, statistics on cinema goers and target audiences also contributes to the success of the film industry. 29% of cinema audiences are aged 15-24 making them the target audience for most films. More than half 15-24 year olds visit the cinema more than once a month. Action is the most poplular genre with 34.5% contributing towards box office figures.

However with just 4% of all film viewing being in the cinema the film imdustries are at a huge disadvantage. With piracy, streaming and illegal downloads becoming easier to access the film industry have to compete with the use of enticing trailers and successful marketing strategies in order to create a big enough buzz so that people can't wait to watch the film. When a film is becomes a DVD the profits do not alter that much. 14% of retail buyers bought a film they had previously seen at the cinema.

Mrs D

You have chosen a good eg but you need to make sure that your other RMAs don't have such big budget production values as you cannot compete with these type of film openings. You also need more specific detail regarding technical codes like camera etc.

Film Opening- James Bond Quantam of Solace.

I feel as though this is a good example of a film opening. It relates and links to many of the codes and conventions of a film opening. For example. the opening establishes the location of the scene very well by panning across the area. Also it establishes the genre very well as it is a high speed car chase which is very cliche in the genre of action. The music also builds the intensity of the chase again shwoing us that it is an action film. In addition to this the use of weapons such as guns also links to the action genre. The producers have chosen to show all of the action first and then cut to the title sequence. This again links to the codes and conventions in that it shows us the names of the cast and crew. They also make us aware of the key actors and in the actual film opening we see a lot of Daniel Craig who plays James Bond which is significant to the film and story line. It also captures the audiences attention without giving too much away with the high speed car chase ending just before the titles where it shows James Bond revealing the man in the boot.

Preliminary Task.

Research Task 1- Codes and Conventions.

Codes and Conventions of a Film Opening: Genre (Crime Drama)

·         Title sequence

·         Key actors- Protagonist/Antagonist

·         Establishes genre

·         Flashback

·         Establishes location

·         Real Media Artefacts

·         Directors

·         Captures audience’s attention but doesn’t give too much away

·         Props that are considered dangerous and harmful such as knives, guns etc

·         Vulnerable character

·         Villain

·         Betrayal

What I learnt Whilst Making Swedes.

Media Coursework: Moving Image

Task 1:

What I learned from making a swede?

·         How to use final cut pro

·         Editing on the macs

·         How to render clips

·         How to put together different clips

·         Filming techniques

·         Applying different camera angles and shots throughout the filming process of our swede e.g. mid-shot, close up etc.

·         How to make an animatronic storyboard

·         How to make posters in serif

·         Blogging what we completed throughout in order to publish our work

·         Different types of marketing techniques e.g. social networking sites, posters, merchandising etc.

·         How to get clips and soundtracks from YouTube and edit them into our swedes.

·         We also learned how to manipulate the sound of our voices in order for them to sound more masculine etc.

Technology we used when making our swede:

·         Serif- To make the posters and advertisements for merchandise

·         Final Cut Pro- To edit and make our swedes

·         Serif Movie Plus- To make our animatronic storyboards

·         The scanner to scan in our animatronic storyboards

·         GarageBand- to record our voices for the animatronic storyboard and our swede.