RESEARCH: AUDIENCE QUESTIONNAIRE

I used Google forms as a medium to ask my audience questions as to what they wanted in  a film and to find out their common ways they watch films and their favourite genres in order to see if our film would appeal to some people. 
Google forms is a very simplistic method for those to take the questionnaire and the interface is very easy to use. Through the use of Google forms I was able to collect data (consensually) about my audience which will be easy to represent visually and graphically in order to gain quantitative and qualitative information.

These are the questions I intend to ask on my Google Form:
What is your gender?
What age are you?
What are your favourite film genre? (You can choose multiple)
What medium do you prefer to watch films?
What are three recent films you have watched and enjoyed?
Do you tend to watch the trailer before the film?
Which of the following influences your opinion on watching a film?
And I included some trailers related to then genre of my film.

Here is the link to my form

PLANNING: MY TARGET AUDIENCE

I had to plan how to reach my target audience for my film piece. I also needed to know who they were. I researched age, gender, ethnicity and social class. I researched what their media needs were so that I could produce a product that they will want to watch so in theory my film would succeed. Finally, in order to market our movie, I had to know how to reach them. I researched popular social networking sites used among the age group of my target audience. I will show how my research has influenced my planning by answering the question below along with pictures to help support my answers.

1. Who is my primary target audience?

My primary target audience is unisex 15 - 35 year old's from Britain. 

2. What kind of films and television are they likely to prefer?

Films would include Baby Driver, Dunkirk, Darkest Hour, Kingsman and Murder on the Orient Express 

TV shows would include ones like The Grand Tour on Amazon Prime and Silent Witness on the BBC iPlayer

3. What platforms do they choose to watch films and where are they likely to see information about films?

Frequent cinema visitors with a love for old fashioned style of film viewing. High quality cinemas, like the Everyman is their favourite way to watch a film. They are embracing the future with an account on Netflix and/or Amazon Prime. They are familiar with many of the new streaming brands available to them in this new age of Internet Streaming. They are not afraid of these new challenges they have to face to watch their favourite films

4. What brands do they prefer?

Apple, Nike, Adidas, Playstation, Coca - Cola, Spotify, Audio Technica, Disney, Metro

5. What makes my film stand out from the competition?

It is an old style genre film being rejuvenated and brought back into the 21st century after spending too much time in the shadows

6 . Why should my audience watch my film? 

It's a change from the norm. Too many films these days are franchises or sequels. This film is unlike any in cinemas right now and for that reason it should entice the audience.

My target audience from TomHutchinson24

ON THE SET

This record is about what I realized and what hardware we used when we have demonstrated the best way to utilize the Canon cameras and Manfrotto tripods. 

Cameras and tripods. We passed the camera around in groups and each of us practised managing the camera, inserting the battery and memory card. You should say 'yours' and 'mine' when you pass the cameras around to avoid the risk of dropping it.  We learned how to set up a tripod and use the spirit level to' bubble' it to help balance and focus the camera. We explored the camera such as how to focus.  The exposure on the camera is adjusted by moving the dial up and down. 

White balance (WB) is the process of removing unrealistic colour casts to make white objects in the image. Proper white balance camera should take into account a light source's "colour temperature," referring to the relative warmth and coolness of white light. You adjust it by selecting the ‘WB’ on the camera, it will then come up with little pictures representing difference colour tones that are used in different lights which will give a more realistic effect.

Rule of 180 degrees. We learned about the rule of 180 degrees.  The 180-degree principle is a guideline for cinematography that states that two characters in a scene should have the same relationship between the left and the right. When the camera passes over the invisible axis that connects the two subjects, crossing the line is called, and the shot becomes what is called a reverse angle.

On the set We learned the terminology that was used on set in the film industry. Before filming, the director shouts' Standby' to make sure everyone is ready and when they are, they'll answer' Stand by.'

When the director shouts ' rolling,' everyone on the set must be quiet, then he / she shouts action telling the actors to begin. The director said the last cut after the shoot, he/she will say' strike the kit' which is the cue of the film crew to pack away, charge the batteries, and make sure the footage is uploaded.

Good practice in editing. We are using Adobe Premier Pro on the iMacs in the media studio. When uploading our footage, we should create a folder to keep the shots. These folders are called bins and the unedited footage from cameras are called rushes.

RESEARCH: ART OF THE TITLE (SPLIT)

The title sequence to SPLIT is very effective at showing the genre of the TV series as being psychological horror. This is done by the use of non-diegetic sound and the effects used on the text that appears on-screen.

The opening to SPLIT gives the audience a good introduction to a fractured mind and a very twisted and disturbed character. The title is sinister and sophisticated and the title sequence has an enigma/mystery aspect to it which is something I would like to incorporate into my title sequence. The main drive to this title sequence is the music, accompanied by the white text on a black background. This all gives the title sequence a slow and eerie pace whenever the soundtrack in the background of the title sequence reaches a climax the credits appear on-screen usually breaking up the flow of the live-action scenes in the middle of the sequence. The soundtrack acts as a cue for each of the credits, with the oscillating sound being echoed throughout the title sequence. It could be viewed as the sound helping to connote the ideas of underlying the characters' terrifying half-consciousness, and this gives a very unnerving and eerie effect as the audience will be very sceptical about the sounds that are given off. The soundtrack changes from two different sounds, a low almost growl and far off screeches that create the idea that creatures are moving around as if it is a living nightmare and this further gives implications towards the psychological aspect of this title sequence. This type of sound will be very effective for the type of title sequence and film opening I'm trying to achieve.

The typeface used in the title sequence is also very effective, each credit before being shown is sliced up and put on a 24 grid frame before coming together to show the person involved in the TV series. This is very effective as it is reflecting the fractured mind of the character involved and the title of the series. This title sequence is solely driven on the typography and this is rare as many rely on CGI. The use of this in the title sequence is effective as it is reflecting the uncontrolled nature of the character and the difficulties they might face in the series.

There are a variety of shots of a person who has been attacked in the title sequence, which adds a mystery effect to the title sequence. We see in the beginning of the title sequence a man in a mask attacking the screen in a POV shot. The mask is a visual code for someone who wants to hide their identity, which can further persuade the audience to assume that he is going to do something wrong. The use of the POV shot is effective as it shows the audience that they are the person being attacked in that short scene, it has further implications in making the audience wonder who that person is. Further on in the title sequence, we are shown the identity of the girl. It makes the audience wonder who she is, why she is there, and who attacked her. We are shown a low angle shot of her on a hospital bed which is a visual code for someone who has been injured so badly to the point they can't walk. This, therefore, suggests that the attack this girl suffered was extremely brutal. There is little mise en scene in this title sequence which further adds to the suspense of the title sequence and the enigma which accompanies it. There is use of a Gaussian blur which changes the camera's focus to that of focusing on her face, to nothing at all. This could suggest that the girl is fading in and out of consciousness and is struggling to stay awake. This further shows the audience that she is in danger and further causes the audience to feel sympathy for her.

PRACTICE FILM OPENING

We viewed Delicatessen's title sequence (1991, Jean-Pierre Jeunet) and To Kill a Mocking Bird (1962, Robert Mulligen)  and focused on how the tracking shots were created to reflect a meaning. A story is told and a theme is represented throughout. The camera cuts into different shots throughout the title sequence, zooming in on food products which are visual codes for a restaurant of some description.This was successful because it told the audience that the story is about food on an ongoing basis. As many of the food items have French words written on them, this leads the audience to assume that is where it is taking place. 

In addition, credits were added to product labels and old recipe sheets to enable the audience to understand who created the film and behind it the production team. The camera, however, also adds different parts of the body to the shot, showing the audience that the film is about murder and mystery.

We then used it as an inspiration after viewing the title sequences to create an original title sequence, following the same theme of 'Tabletop'. We did this in groups and set up the table, which followed a theme to create the same enigma. This was created by choosing a set soundtrack for the sequence using props from the range we had. We decided to set the Nostalgia soundtrack by Emily Barker (the song of the Wallander theme).

After choosing the music and choosing the props, we started to start the top of the filming table. We decided to use cash, a brief case, a pistol, a snake, bottles of alcohol, etc. After that, we selected some objects and put them on the table in a way that suggests a story. What we decided to go with was a story that involved a assassination attempt and the enigma being who it was. We utilised a picture of the victim and a large red circle around their face, this was used to act as a stereotypical visual code for a victim who is targeted with the intention to kill.

We didn't want our table top scene to be too static nor did we want it too active. We decided to include 3 examples of movement within the opening: the briefcase to reveal the victim and payment (connoting intent), the snake (suggesting betrayal) and the gun loading (showing the possible end to someone's life and the end of the tabletop sequence).

By adding live action to help viewers visualise the reason behind the story, we continued our filming. We decided to add the sequence at the end to add to the suspense and enigma style of genre. As we saw in Delicatessen, having the live action at the end of a silhouetted figure walking away added a question which we led the audience to have their own questions about.

With the credits, we came up with the idea to try to replicate what we saw in Delicatessen and to try and make the credits flow effortlessly into the opening of the film. Unfortunately we found this to be very time consuming. We found enjoyment in syncing the visuals with the lyrics and the audio of the song, such as when a door is mentioned the live action scene cuts to the man walking towards the door, which i thought was very successful.

Scoop.IT

I created my own ScoopIt! account so that I could find different film openings, in order to aid in me in providing ideas to create my own film opening. By using ScoopIt! I can curate my board to be specific to the genre of film opening I want to do, therefore making my thought processes much moee effective

RESEARCH: TITLES

Fight Club (1999):

• Production Company – fox 2000 pictures & regency enterprises, Linson film production
• Director - David fincher
• Starring – Edward Norton , Brad Pitt, Helen Bonham Carter
• Title - Fight Club
• Starring – Meat Loaf, Jared Leto, Zach Grenier, Holt Mcallany, Eion Baliey
• Casting - Laray Mayfield
• Costume designer - Michael Kaplan
• Special make up effects supervisor -
• Sound designer - Ren Klyce
• Music - The Dust Brothers
• Film editor - James Haygood
• Production designer - Alex McDowell
• Director of photography -Jeff Cronenweth
• Executive producer -Arnon Milchan
• Based on novel -Chuck Palahniuk
• Screenplay -Jim Uhls 
• Producer - Art Linson, Cean Chaffin and Ross Grayson Bell
• Director - David Fincher

Black Panther (2018):

• Production Company – Marvel Studios (presents) Walt Disney Pictures
• Director - Ryan Coogler
• Chadwick Boseman , Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o
• Title -Black Panther
• Casting - Sarah Finn
• Costume designer - Ruth E Carter
• Special make up effects supervisor -Daniel Sudick
• Sound designer - David C. Hughes
• Music -Ludwig Göransson
• Film editor -Debbie Burman, Michael P. Shawver
• Production designer -Hannah Beachler
• Director of photography - Rachael Morrison
• Executive producer -Louis Desposito, Victoria Alonso, Nate Moore
• Based on novel - Stan lee and Jack Kirby
• Producer - Stan Lee
• Director - Ryan Coogler