Codes and Conventions - Film Opening Sequences

As mentioned, your coursework will consist of you developing your own 2 minute opening sequence of a feature film. In order to do this, it is essential you understand the conventions of film openings so you may apply these to your own work.

TASK:
Undertake research to establish the codes and conventions (elements you usually find) of opening sequences. You should reference a minimum of 6 feature length films. Below are some sequences you may choose to use.

Legally Blonde Opening
Amadeus Opening
Pride & Prejudice Opening
Hulk
Cabin in the Woods
Kung Fu Panda

You may choose additional title sequences - but be careful not to use trailers or ending credits. It must be the first 2 - 4 minutes of a feature film.

As you watch, make notes on the usual elements that are found in an opening sequence. You should consider:

• CONVENTIONS OF CREDITS - what information is given in the text and what order does it tend to be in (e.g. production company? Actors names? Writers? Director? etc...)
• NARRATIVE - what is introduced to us in these first few moments? Are we dropped straight into the action? Is the setting of the film established? Are we introduced to main characters?
• STYLE OF FONTS - is any consideration given to the print style of the fonts? Does it fit with the genre or tone of the film?
• SOUND - consider how sound is used in an opening. Is music used? If so, how is it used/what purpose does it serve? Is dialogue used? Again, think about how and to what purpose. Is a voice over used?

As always, you should be considering carefully how to present your findings. There are many ways you may wish to approach this task - annotated screengrabs from the various films (see below), a Prezi using the 4 areas you have been asked to look at as your headings, a talking heads video (you speaking to camera and using inserts of your screen grabs) etc...

EXAMPLE:

 Having watched a variety of film openings, I have found one common convention to be displaying the production company's logo at the very start of the film. Furthermore, the production company logo appears to be used in such a way as to establish the genre and tone of the film.

 For example, the Dreamworks logo to the left starts with a Chinese style figure jumping on the moon. This turns into the familiar DW logo. This indicates the martial arts aspect of the film - but also an element of fun.

ETC....





OR a PPT with grabs and text boxes:

Here are some screengrabs from last year's students:

This is the opening of a Prezi presentation

This student used screengrabs

Camera Movements - Filming Task - Due October 5th

Your next research task is to use as many of the camera movements taught to you in this week's lessons to create a promotional video for Oakgrove Sixth Form. This task should build on your new found knowledge of shots, angles and framing. The video should be shot in a way to best highlight the positive aspects of Oakgrove's sixth form.

There are many ways in which you may choose to do this video - e.g. an MTV Cribs style video, a journey through sixth form (following a student), a presenter guiding us through sixth form etc... IT'S UP TO YOU!

Here is a list of the movements - the minimum you need to include is 5. Extra points if you manage to include all of them!

PAN - TRACK - TILT - ARC - CRAB - ZOOM - DOLLY ZOOM - CRANE (you can't do this one!)

CLICK ON IMAGE!

Groups:

1. Rachel, Tori, Connor, Sam, Siham, Abbie (camera 4)

2. Jade, Georgia, Freya, Sophie, Mika, Amy (camera 1)

3. Jordan, Kate, Penny, Junior, Ella, Leona (camera 5)

4. Toby, Cody, Vinny, Ellie, Aimee (camera 2)

Representation in Blockbuster Films - Due September 28th

Click on image for link to Indiewire article

Image Analysis - Oakgrove Sixth Form Task

DUE ON BLOGS MONDAY, 19th SEPTEMBER

Rule of Thirds - Due Friday, 16th September

Create a post that outlines the basics of the rule of thirds and include some examples. Why is it important in film making?

Camera Shots & Angles - Due 16th September

Your first research task will aim to familiarize you with the basic building blocks of cinema. Your task is to produce a document that not only outlines the different shot types and angles used in film, but to also consider why these shots might be used (e.g. what they may communicate to the viewer).

The shots and angles you must include are: Establishing shot, extreme long/wide shot, long/wide shot, medium shot, close up, extreme close up, over the shoulder shot, cowboy shot, neural angle, high angle, low angle, Dutch tilt/canted angle, bird's eye view.

Here is an example of how you might set out your post:

Close up

This shot tends to focus on a specific feature (such as a face). This image will fill most of the screen. This shot allows the audience to easily read facial expressions which may not be as noticeable in a wider shot. It can also draw the audience's attention to a specific object which can be integral to the plot.

Your post should be made up of a mixture of original images and found images. The text needs to be your own (not copied from elsewhere as this is plagiarism).

DUE ON YOUR BLOG 16th SEPTEMBER 2016

Welcome to Media Studies

Hello and welcome to media studies at Oakgrove!

First things first - you need to set up a blog as all of your coursework will be logged and presented in this format. This blog is viewed by me and is also viewed by the examiner. It is essential it looks professional and engaging.

Below are the instructions for setting up a new Blogger account:

CLICK HERE!

Additional information:

• Once you have an account and have clicked to start a new blog, you need to call it something appropriate (e.g. Pete's AS Media Blog). You will also be asked to create a web address for it. It is essential that you end your web address with 'ogs' to ensure the blog isn't blocked by the school's filters. For example, petesmediablogogs.blogspot.co.uk.

• Once all this is done, you can choose a design.