STOP MOTION ANIMATION

 Today in class we made a stop motion animation of a car driving across our company name 'speed media' by taking pictures and moving the car slightly between shots. We used a Hue camera which plugged into the mac.

MAKING A FILM OPENING

 PREP Write up an account of what you did in the lesson. Start your post by copying the information from the PREP post (about the research that you did). Then describe your filming. Add a photo if you wish.

In our last lesson, we filmed a table top style film opening. We laid  various items that all linked together to seem like a murder mystery on a table covered in black cloth and then filmed it. On our cloth we decided to place photos of people and cut out from news papers , and a map and passports to make it look like an escape was planned. The camera was held above the table and glided over the items stopping on important bits of information. In the end of the shot blood covered money was placed down and a candle was blown out to suggest death. After that, we did some live action filming where I acted out killing Eloise and edited it into the intro.

TABLE TOP STYLE

 PREP To prepare for tomorrow's practical work of filming an opening sequence, please watch the following two title sequences which are filmed in in a similar 'table top' style. 

• Delicatessen (dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 1991)
• To Kill A Mockingbird ( dir. Robert Mulligan,1962)
• Extension work: there are many other opening sequences on the website Art of the Title

For each title sequence, write three sentences about how the conventions of film openings are used. 

The title of your prep blog post is FILM OPENING CONVENTIONS

Copy /paste the lines above and add the two images below : 

• what titles and credits appear on screen?
• how is the film's genre conveyed? 
• what use is made of sound?
• what hooks the audience and makes us want to carry on watching?

Delicatessen:

The first title to appear on screen is the name of the programme, following that is the credits of the people who produced the film. The directors' name and many others are listed on sheets paper on the table. We can tell its crime and comedy horror because at the beginning of the opening someone is getting stabbed getting. There is also a camera on the table which could be used fir taking photos of evidence which suggest crime. The sudden sound of trumpets makes the audience feels tense because it almost make them jump and the eerie sound of creaking makes us feel uneasy. The audience is hooked by the murder that has no context and we are curious to find out more as to who was murdered and why.

To kill a mocking bird:

Unlike Delicatessen, the first title to come on screen is the name of the company that produced the programme which is Universal international and the name of the producer. We can tell its a coming of age story because the opening shows a child drawing and humming. The ticking of the clock on the table could show the passage of time or the sound of heartbeat. At the start we are hocked by the slow writing , we have to wait for the title to be finished.

CUFFS

 How different is its representation from (say) Little Bazeley in The Avengers? 

The representation in The Avengers is very different from the representation in Cuffs. An example of this would be that one of the main characters, Ryan, is a person of colour, where as in the Avengers everyone is white. When Avengers was written, black people where usually represented as criminals or clowns but now people of colour are represented in positions of power and respected. Another example of representation would be that Jake is gay and there are no gay characters in avengers. 

THE AVENGERS : SOUND

PREP Watch the first 10 minutes (after the title sequence is over) of The Avengers on Clickview. Analyse how sound is used in the extract to create meaning. You can use any part of the opening scenes - both the opening scene at the seaside at Little Bazeley or the scene in Emma Peel's flat

• first identify an example - use terminology such as diegetic sound, non-diegetic sound, dialogue.
• then give the example - " Little Bazeley is constructed as a seaside village through realistic sound codes such as..."
• "One example of how sound is used is when Steed makes conversation with Emma Peel..."
• then explain what meaning is created - "In the exchange of dialogue between the fisherman and the undercover agent who arrives from the sea they talk about...... which creates suspicion and comedy because....."
• "Steed's dialogue reveals his accent and shows that he is..." "What Steed says to Emma Peel suggests that he feels in charge because...." /  "Emma's comment about the coffee and cream show that..." / "Emma's throwaway comment about having just finished a scientific article shows that..."

 In the first scene of avengers we hear seagulls and the sound of waves which set the scene of a seaside village and immerses the audience into the world of the show. The sound of the waves and seagulls are examples of diegetic sound which create a sense of realism. This is accompanied by non-diegetic music which tells the viewer that something is off and not quite right with this villageAn example of dialog would be when the fisherman speaks to the spy, they talk about the weather which creates suspicion because the fisherman did not react to the agent who just came out of the sea.