Story Board

Hazards For Chick Flick Opening

Here are the hazards that could occur in our opening:

Interview with a potential viewer

Here is an interview with my sister, Lizzie about the kind of person she is:

Chick Flick Survey

Here is our survey so that we can find out statistics about our target audience:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VVJQ6CW

Certificate Ratings

This means universal, therefore should be acceptable for audiences ages 4 and over. There is basically no bad language (possibly the odd "damn","hell", "bloody" or "bugger" but in a justified context). Characters may be seen kissing or cuddling and there may be references to sexual behaviour (ie to ‘making love’). However, there will be no overt focus on sexual behaviour, language or innuendo. It may include brief fight scenes but it will be over quickly to avoid young children experiencing emotional stress. (E.g.The Princess Diaries)

This means parental guidance but the film is suitable for general viewing but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children. It should not disturb a child of 8 or over. There may be mild bad language (such as ‘shit’ or ‘son of a bitch’) in a PG film, but the context and delivery are always important. For example, if the language is used aggressively or if there is too much bad language, a work may be passed at the next category. Sexual references are acceptable if the activity talked about or shown is implied and lacking in detail. There should be no detail of violence in a PG work, so while there might be some blood, we would not see how the injury was inflicted in strong                                                 detail. (E.g. Grease)

This means that anyone aged 12 or over can see the film unacompanied ( 12Aonly exists in the cinema). There may be strong language (eg 'f***') but it must be infrequent. Sex may be briefly and discreetly portrayed at 12 or 12A. Verbal sex references should not go beyond what is suitable for young teenagers.moderate violence is allowed but it should not dwell on detail (E.g. Mean Girls)

This means that anyone over 15 can watch the film. There is no upper limit on the number of uses of strong language (eg f***).Sexual activity can be portrayed and violence may be strong. (E.g. Bridesmaids)

These films are rated for adults. There is no limit on strong language and sexual activity can be portrayed. Violence can be displayed with strong detail. (E.g. Spring Breakers)

This is a special and legally restricted classification primarily for explicit works of consenting sex or strong fetish material involving adults. Films may only be shown to adults in specially licensed cinemas, and video works may be supplied to adults only in licensed sex shops. ‘R18’ videos may not be supplied by mail order.




I think that I will probably use a 12/12A for my film opening.

(Info from bbfc.co.uk)

Conventions of Film Openings

Here is a Prezi that I have made about the conventions of film openings:

Music Ideas

Here are some music ideas for my introdution:
http://www.freeplaymusic.com/volumedetail.aspx?volume=22155
-Hot Ash

Timeline Of An Introduction

Here is a photo of my timeline of Wild Child:

Iconic Sounds of Chick Flicks

Here is a link to a song that sounds very appropriate for a teen chick flick introduction:

It is happy and is quite uplifting and has a good upbeat rhythm!

There is normally a car in chick flick films, here is an effect of a sports car:

Here is another sound effect of high heels:

Chick flicks tend to have memorable, sometimes sarcastic quotes, here are some from Mean Girls, the music on this is very good too:

Audience Research About Chick Flicks

When I asked people what they would expect from a Chick Flick film, this is what they said...

Fay, 17 - Some elements of comedy, ends happily, normally some romance in the middle, massive stereotype but teenagers and set in a high school, Cheesy
Lizzie, 13- Girls, boys, romance
Sadie & Michael, 10- Girls and boys and love ( I asked these 2 because I wanted to find out what younger people thought they would see in chick flicks)
Cat, 21 - Good looking man
Shona, 16- Cheesy, girl falls in love with guy (.ie. predictable plot)
Philippa, 16- Laughing girls, having nails done 

Typical Synopsis of a Chick Flick

The Urban Dictionary says 'A film that has a happy, fuzzy, ridiculously unrealistic ending.'
It then goes on to explain the typical synopsis of a Chick Flick as: 
'Two people fall in love 
They get along fine 
There is some kind of misunderstanding 
They break up 
They get back together 
The end.'

However there are different types of chick flick:
1) High School Chick Flick E.g. Mean Girls
This is where
New girl comes to school
Doesn't know how to fit in
Gets a few nice friends
Gets taken in by cool 'mean' crowd
Falls in love with meanest girl's ex boyfriend
Makes havoc with their lives
Turns into a 'mean girl' too
Realises how bad she has become
Gets with her love interest
Happy ending together
Cycle repeats


2) Adult Chick Flick E.g 27 Dresses
Always a bridesmaid
Meets man who writes wedding articles
Loves his wedding articles but hates him
Eventually falls in love with him
Finally Gets Married

3) Teen Chick Flick E.g. Sleepover
Girls having a slumber party
They invite the 'weird' girl 
Popular mean girls intend on going to prom
Popular girls boyfriend dumps her
Goes to other girls house
She demands a scavenger hunt
They have to go around and find items
Nice girl sees crush
They end up at prom
Nice girl gets with crush
It ends with them together

Production Company Logo Idea

9 Shot Analysis #2

Shot 1:
This lasts for a very long time (21s) and has the normal 20th Century Fox soundtrack to back it.






Shot 2:
This lasts for 11 seconds and has an upbeat soundtrack to back it. 






Shot 3:

This last for 2 seconds and sets up that the film is going to be about a wedding. We see a child's box covered in scrap paper to make it look home made. This shot slowly zooms into the box and then fades to the next. The sound continues from the previous shot. You could say that this is from a child's point of view


Shot 4:

We now get the first section of text and the shot shows a hand opening the box. The camera is still and the music continues. This is also from a child's point of view.





Shot 5:

In this shot we see the box being opened to reveal a lacy material which the audience can only guess is a veil. The music continues and we get more text on the screen. A hand then comes into shot and removes the veil from the box and the shot fades out. This lasts for 3 seconds. Continues as a child's point of view


Shot 6:

We now see some cake toppers of a bride and groom with actors names. The child is playing with them and moving them towards the camera. This shot lasts for 3 seconds and then fades to the next shot. Again this is from a child's point of view.



Shot 7:

We now see the child colouring in a picture of two brides along with the title of the film 'Bride Wars' the camera is generally still with a very slight movement . The music continues and this shot lasts for 4 seconds. This is also from a child's point of view.




Shot 8:

This is also from a child's point of view. It shows someone playing with the bride and groom cake toppers shown in shot 6. The music continues and the shot lasts for 3 seconds as it pans across the toppers and shows a credit. 



Shot 9:

This shot lasts for 3 seconds, it firstly fades in and is again from a child's point of view. It shows the child's hand digging into the box to find something. The music continues as before, it then fades out to the next shot.

9 Shot Analysis #1

 Shot 1:
This shows the name of the location where the action takes place and also emphasises 'for young ladies'  which the viewers will soon discover is not true. The sound is a backing track of the 'St Trinians Theme Song'. The camera is still then pans around to show a skull on a stick which already contradicts the 'young lady' aspect of the school. This lasts for 4.5 seconds.

 Shot 2: 
This shot is a view from the back seat of a very fancy, posh Rolls Royce which is driving along a road. We see mans back and a reflection of his sunglasses in the rearview mirror. He looks across at someone in the seat next to him who we cannot see yet. The music continues to be the same. This shot lasts for 1 second so the film seems to pick up pace here compared to shot 1.

Shot 3:
We now find out that the passenger is a young girl. Presumably his daughter from the same backseat viewpoint as before. She also looks back at her father which creates an enigma as the audience are not quite sure who these people are. The music continues as before and this shot lasts for 2 seconds.

Shot 4:
This shot shows the car carrying the girl and man and shows a viewpoint of possibly a watcher or just an overview of the surrounding countryside location. The music continues as before.The shot lasts for 5 seconds and pans along with the car whilst it is moving.

Shot 5:
This again show the location and the countryside in which the fancy car is driving through. It pans along with the movement of the car to show it travelling through some big metal gates. The music continues and this shot lasts  7 seconds which is quite long. 

Shot 6:
This shot seems to be on the ground showing the back of the car. It gives the idea that the people in the car are arrogant and upper class due to the height of the camera and the exhaust fumes blowing right in the camera. The music again continues whilst the camera pans along to show a very old, grand building whilst moving towards it.

Shot 7:
This shot shows that the passengers are getting out of the car because they have arrived at the destination and they are getting their luggage out which indicates that they are intending on staying. The emphasis on the closing of the boot shows this. This shot lasts for 1 second. The sound continues as before as well as a prominent sound of the boot closing.

 Shot 8:
This shot is quite a long shot which lasts 11 seconds, you see that they 2 main characters have both got out the car and carrying luggage. You see the girl in school uniform which shows that she is going to a school. There is some dialogue in this clip as well as a desk falling from the sky (a window) and the flutter in sounds of paper falling from the desk. The backing music remains as before.

 Shot 9:
We now see the characters opening a door and entering into a room with a very suspicious box saying 'Deposit all contraband items here' which causes the characters to look scared worried. The camera pans around the room along with them walking and the girl complains that it is 'low rent'. The background music continues as before.

The History Of Chick Flicks

I would say, and so would Mrs Williams, that Chick Flicks are all a version of Cinderella where a poor, lonely girl experiences a transformation, normally with the help of a friend (Fairy Godmother) and meets the man of their dreams in an unlikely situation (The Royal Ball). 



The first Chick Flick could be Cinderella however, it was made into a film by Disney much later than it was published as a book. According to IMDB (Internet movie database) 'Gone With The Wind' is earliest example of a Chick Flick which was released in 1939. 

http://www.examiner.com/article/history-of-chick-flicks
The history of the Chick Flick genre started when Hollywood made its entrance to society. They were originally called "Women's Pictures" supposedly named due to the obvious aim to appeal to women. The producers, directors and writers of the stories began with the simple, "boy meets girl, girl and boy fall in love, boy finds her again just in time for the credits to roll". Despite the fact that all the films were the same and very predictable, the box office still earned more money with this genre than anything else in the theatre!

The top grossing Chick Flick of all time is 'Sex and The City' which on the opening weekend domestic gross of $56,848,056 - almost 20 million more than any other chick flick to date!

I could use the 'Cinderella-esque' approach to Chick Flicks, and the way that they follow the simple boy meets girl method where the storyline is simple but effective. They are all generally orientated around the colour pink, especially 'Sex and The City' and the lighting is bright and happy to create a pleasant atmosphere which I will very carefully consider in my own introduction.

Chick Flick Collage

Ideas That I Like...

Just a quickie!

I really like the idea of having crews names on items in a bedroom. Animation could also be used such as opening a scrap book.

Key Conventions of A Chick Flick

Chick Flick Films are:

• Generally aimed at a female audience as the characterisation and storyline appeal to them.
• Usually a female protagonist who has to overcome a problem (commonly between money or love)
• An 'unavailable' man is essential in these films due to the love theme and the attraction of women.
• The male character is usually described as a heart-throb
• They are commonly tear jerking films
• The protagonist is an empowered woman

Directors

The First Director That I Have Chosen is MARK WATERS!

• He was born on 30th June 1964 in Michigan (Age 49)
• He has won a 'Franklin J. Schaffner Award'
• Some films that he has directed are 'Mean Girls', 'Mr Poppers Penguins', 'Freaky Friday', '500 Days of Summer' etc
• He is a graduate of the American Film Institute
• His Brother Daniel Waters is a Screenwriter
• He often directs light-hearted friendly films
• He has 2 daughters
• He is a director and producer

• "I think its that I just I think that women will always be a mystery to me. There's still like endlessly fascinating and worth exploration."

Secondly I Have Chosen AMY HECKERLING!

• She was born on 7th May 1952 (Age 59)
• She Studied  Film and TV at New York University and got a Masters Degree in Film from ‘The American Film Institute.’
• Other films are 'Gossip Girl', 'Vamps' etc
•  Award Awards: NSFC for Clueless, Crystal Award, Franklin J. Schaffner

• "My daughter wrote all these sketches and built these puppets with moving parts and she’s downstairs shooting with her friends,” she said, “and I know that all around the country there’s tons of women making their own projects in a doityourself kind of way.”

Personal Channel + New Video!

I haven't posted my personal Youtube Channel on here yet and I thought that I could as more people could get to see the other kind of things that I enjoy and can edit together! 

Here is the link to my Channel: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5fhMMIgplAN_tdy-1tr3GQ

Here is the link to the newest music video that I have made!

Love Actually

I was watching this film the other day after never seeing it before (It's now one of my favourite films) and I thought about this introduction and I really liked the simplicity of it and of how the title of the film is used in a sentence which then leads onto the rest of the film. I think that a voice over is a good idea, however this may be difficult to do. Here is the introduction which takes place at Heathrow Airport: 

Possible Genres For Movie Introduction

• Action
• Comedy
• Family
• History? (maybe not...)
• Sci-Fi (would be very difficult)
• Adventure
• Fantasy
• Horror
• News
• Sport
• Western
• Documentary
• Biography
• Drama
• Game-Show?
• Musical?
• Romance
• Thriller

The genres that I would like to investigate more are: Adventure, Sport, Documentary, Game-Show, Drama and Thriller.

REPRESENTATION: Children of Men Essay

'Children of Men' is a text set in 2027 and is about how the chaotic world manages when women and men have become infertile so the population is decreasing and Britain is the only nation which is still living.

The city of London is being represented in the future however despite the futuristic 'floating' televisions and the animated signage on the shop fronts it seems more like the film it set back in time rather than forwards. This is principally due to the way that the 'mise en scene' is used, the characters and the location are shown in dull colours which not only portrays the sadness of everyone because of the death of Baby Diego, but also provides the extract with a depressing feel, it makes the audience feel sad and upset too. London is  also presented as dirty, as soon as the camera comes out of the coffee shop the audience gets a clear view of how dusty and filthy the city has become. As the audience, we can see a huge pile of rubbish bags which show how polluted the earth is becoming as well as how people seem to not care about how looking after the earth and the 'green' aspects that so many people care about today. This representation is finally concluded by an explosion in the coffee shop which once more, provides the extract with a negative feel. Similarly the lighting is dull, dark and dreary which shows how depressing the time is and it also makes the audience feel this way too and that North East London in 2027 is not a particularly nice place to be.

In the short extract, because it is the opening of the film, the audience do not know whether the character with the main focus is a hero or not. This is because he is not shown as a stereotypical hero but not so much in peak condition and slightly older than the average hero. He is dressed in ordinary clothes as a normal businessman and just going around doing normal pre-work things like getting his coffee and watching the news. However due to the fact that he is usually in the centre of the camera shot and he seems to be the main focus of attention, the audience tend to see him as the main protagonist of the text.

The women in the text are represented as very emotional and affected by Baby Diego's death. Women are stereotypically depicted as sentimental people who care about children and other emotional issues. The director may have wanted to show how the people have not changed emotionally, but have become more careless and have changed in the way that they treat nature. There is one woman who is shown at 3:06 who may be seen as completely insane as she has small toy ornaments around her desk in the office and is sobbing extensively. Therefore the director may be trying to exaggerate the emotions of woman at such dark times in the future. The women who watch the film may feel this way too about similar (but not quite so extreme) stories in the news to they can relate to how the women act in the film.

The future is represented as having a contrast between the technological animations on the city buildings and the simplistic lifestyle of the rickshaw 'cars' and the coffee shop. It is presented as polluted and the whole city is covered in dust and black smoke from the rickshaws. It almost seems as if people do not care anymore about how the earth. Technology could have taken over, as some people say it will, to the extent where there is no more new ideas, hence the simple rickshaws.

The police are also being represented in the short clip, they are shown as rather the same as they are nowadays in the same uniform and with the same smart manner. The BBC are also represented however as the 'BCC' and the logo is in circles rather than squares. This could have been used to show how times have changed however the things that still exist are changing too, until all things are unable to differentiate anymore.

The camera work in this short extract is rather shaky and therefore must be a handheld camera which provides the clip with a human like perspective on things, almost as if we see what the main actor is seeing, but also seeing him in the shot, like he has a follower. The clip could be considered as 'documentary style' due to the following, human aspect. This may scare the viewers as they believe that everything is really happening and not imaginary, it worries them and makes them think about how they would cope in such situations.

There are lots of different types of editing in this short text extract, the first noticeable edit that the we can recognise is a very long shot of the coffee shop at the beginning of the clip, this shot lasts for 22 seconds which is a lengthy clip and makes the audience worried about what has happened, it may also make them tedious due to the lack of knowledge about what is happening. Continuity editing is also used to maintain a continuous and clear narrative action. Shot reverse shot is also used where the camera switches from one character to another, it is first used when in the office at 3:06 and changes from the main male protagonist to the sobbing female office worker, it is used to show both their reactions to each other and the death of Baby Diego. These editing techniques make the film seem more like real life and again like a documentary. The editing changes pace when the explosion occurs as the camera seems to run away from it, just like a natural human and on the television screen the pace changes due to the clips of Baby Diego growing up.

Before the text begins there is a black screen shown with a newscast voiceover, this helps the audience to understand the circumstances that the people are suffering. There is also a high-pitched ringing sound bridge which helps to move the scene on to the next clip. It also makes the audience suffer along with the characters as they may think that it is coming from inside their heads. There is not much music in the short extract of film, it acts as a bridge as it plays, stops, then plays again in the part where Baby Diego is being shown on the television the computer screens. This music could be heard as a slightly cheesy news broadcast however it is the kind of thing that we would see on television today. The music  mainly provides a sad atmosphere and makes the audience feel emotional as well as the characters.

The locations have been created by two different means, by real life locations such as Regents Street and an office but also by CGI (Computer Generated Image). CGI is especially used on the building such as the one that says 'Niagara' the signage seems to be animated and must be added on by CGI as this is not possible to do in the real shop windows.

This first clip may cause the audience to think that the film is a thriller or action however it is in fact a mixture of these two genres as well as science fiction and adventure. The explosion, death, murder and armless woman all suggest these genres. These genres are created by the dark colours used and the way that the sound and cinematography work together to create a somehow mysterious atmosphere.

The way that the narrative is structured in the film is that it begins slowly with a black screen and voice over of a newscast. We are then shown a normal situation and are introduced to the main character quickly and receive the impression that he is on a journey and will do something good  later in the text. We then witness and explosion which makes the audience jump as they are not expecting something so drastic to happen in such a normal, everyday situation. We then are taken to the office of the protagonist where we see lots of people crying about Baby Diego. This could be considered as a rather normal film opening except for the long shot right at the beginning which is not normally seen in films.

'Children of Men' would mostly appeal to adults and teenagers, especially if they like almost realistic, quite scary films. It seems a rather male orientated film due to the violence and scary feel. It could be considered a political film so people who are interested in politics might like it as the whole world has gone into anarchy due to one major crisis. It is quite a serious film therefore more lighthearted people would not enjoy it as much. People who enjoy fights and major occurrences like bomb explosions may enjoy this film, mainly because of the large amount of dramatic events such as the bomb explosion in the short extract that we watched.

The messages that are being transferred to the audiences are that the audience are seeing how people would behave at the end of the world and how savage the world would become. The directors are trying to show current issues such as political and social issues along with murders. Another message that they are trying to put across are that people need to look after the world or else it will become into disarray. 

Finally this film was made by Universal Pictures which is an enormous film distribution company who have to make films for a very large audience. This film appeals to a small amount of people who like the certain genre, actors or director. Therefore this film may cause less people to view it, only because of the niche market of people that it appeals to.

What I Learnt Today: Editing

Today I learnt that editing is a vital part of making a film which often goes unnoticed. I also learnt how so many shots are used then edited together to create more of an atmosphere and make the audience feel like part of the filmic world. Here are some other short points about things that I learnt about editing:

-Film editors connect films most commonly by  a straight cut, fade out, dissolve, wipe cut or jump cut.
-The shorter the clips used are the more tense the scene becomes (e.g. In Hot Fuzz when the residents were shown very quickly made the audience become frightened)
- How the film is edited can either shrink or expand time and can also set a rhythm to the scene.
- We watched a clip of 'Jack' by Breach and counted the cuts...There were around 300! Way more than you would think just by watching it in a casual situation.

-We also watched a clip of Tangled and estimated the number of times editing is used and then counted, there were around 46 which is a lot more than we all expected to be in such a short clip.

Media Homework: Sound

Here is my media homework from over the weekend: to watch a film/TV programme and analyse the sound.

Digetic & Non-Digetic Sound

Diegetic Sound
This is sound that is visible on the screen of a film or sound made by something that is implied present, for example:
- People Talking
- Sounds made my objects
- Music created by instruments in the story

Here is an example including diegetic sound from one of my favourite films: '17 Again' 

Non-Diegetic Sound
This is sound which is not visible screen or implied to be present in the film, for example:
- Commentary (by a narrator)
- Sound effects added for dramatic effect
- Mood Music

Here is an example including Non-Digetic sound in another of my favourite films: 'The Lucky One'. The majority is mood music.