Textual Analysis- Creep

We watched several sequences of the film "Creep" and analysed them,and identified techniques and elements we could imitate and utilise in our own coursework, hopefully to similar effect.
The opening sequence is very blurred and the camera moves in a laboured way, which adds an enigma as the audience cannot fully see what is happening as the camera moves over implements of torture. The colour is quite saturated, which brings out certain highlights and gives a more surreal effect, which detracts from the feeling of realism.

Focus Group Results

When showing the three trailers of the films, Keeping Mum, Severance, and Shaun Of The Dead, we found out what people of the lower end of our target audience age thought about the comedy horror genre.

• The general conclusion of the group on the subject of comedy and horror as a combine genre was that good films should strike a relatively equal balance between the elements. The group also generally liked a combination of physical/slapstick comedy and verbal humour. We noted that they responded better to the trailers for Shaun of the Dead and Severance- they felt that Keeping Mum concentrated more on the comedy and was perhaps too lighthearted.
• The group also agreed that gore, when done either well or in a comedy, over the top way, was an essential element in horror films and that it helped fit the conventions of the horror genre.
• The group thought that protagonists should be likeable, compelling and possibly physically attractive to add to their appeal. They also in general seemed to prefer human villains but possibly with some problem-a disfigurement or psychopathic tendancies. However they also told us that for a comedy horror, a particularly inept or stupid villain provided humourous elements.
• We also asked the group on their opinions for comedy horror soundtracks- they particularly liked the music in the Severance trailer- they thought the rock music set the pace and mood needed. They concluded that in some parts, the music should fit the genre and action onscreen and sometimes it should contrast in order to fit the conventions of both genres.
• Members of the group also responded well to the editing in the trailer for Shaun of the Dead- they felt the quick transitions between shots set the pace and made the sequence more gripping.

The group listened to our description of our opening sequence and felt that it had the potential to fit the genre well and be a suitable opening sequence for the comedy horror genre. We took general suggestions for what elements we could add to the sequence- the group felt that romace elements would add to the comedy considering it would contrast even more with the horror elements, and also that added action would compliment the horror to make the sequence even more enthralling.

Thankyou to- Jake, Annie, Luke and Charlotte!!!!!!!

Textual Analysis

Today we have studied several sequences from "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" and "Misdirection"- we watched and analysed these pieces in order to gain ideas for shot types, editing and mise-en-scene to use in our own coursework films.

There are elements in the Harry Potter sequences which we found particularly effective and may imitate in our piece-
The use of tracking shots during the dementor attack helped set the pace for the sequence and also created tension- we feel that if we choose to film a more fast moving sequence we could imitate this style of shooting hopefully to the same effect.
The way the director has made it evident that the dream sequence is not, in fact, reality, provided some inspiration. Our group has decided to use a dream sequence at the beginning of our coursework film, and may use elements of this to a similar effect. Though our dream sequence will be a more lighthearted, comedic one, we can still take note of some of the techniques used- for example, the use of sound is prominent in this part of Harry Potter. We could use sound effects to indicate the detatchment from reality.
The quick transitions and disjointed clips also detract from realism- we may use this in flashback sequences within our piece.
When Voldemort enters towards the end, the camera work becomes jerkier and less fluid- this adds realism and a more suspenseful effect- we could utilise this technique for the more serious, tense parts of our coursework.

Focus Group- Trailers for discussion

We will present these three trailers to our focus group and discuss our findings later on in the week.

Keeping Mum - http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=bPaWmavImDo

Severance - http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=wgPHmmiHhQ0

Shaun of the Dead - http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=yfDUv3ZjH2k

Storyboard

We have finished storyboarding our coursework piece- see planning folder for details.

Questionnaire

Section one:

Age:

Gender:
Male
Female

Section two:

What is your favourite genre of film?
Horror
Comedy
Children’s
Thriller
Romance
Action
Fantasy
Sci-Fi
Drama

What do you particularly like about this/these genres?

What, if any, horror films do you enjoy watching and why?

What, if any, comedy films do you enjoy watching and why?

What would you expect from a horror film?
Violence
Death
Tension
Blood and Gore
Psychological elements
Other please state

What would you expect from a comedy film?
Slapstick
Subtle humour
Parody
Satire
Visual humour
Other please state

Section 3:

Which comedy horrors have you seen and what are your views on comedy horrors?

How would you expect a comedy horror to start?

Are there any other comments or suggestions you would like to make to help us with this genre?

Fiction Film

For our main piece we have to create the opening sequence of a fiction film that will last around 5 minutes.
We have decided to mix the genres of Comedy and Horror, we have begun to plot out a storyboard for this piece. It so far consists of approximately thirty two frames involving the protagonist waking from a dream, getting dressed, going and making a cup of tea, and watching a news report on a current event that will be the catalyst for the next part of the narrative.

PPE Productions

Hi and welcome to our new blog from PPE Productions. It stands for Purple People Eater Productions. In our blog we will document and record our progress as we work through our media studies coursework creating the opening sequence of a fiction film. So far we have filmed a preliminary exercise in which we familiarised ourselves with the process of generating ideas, storyboarding, planning, filming and editing a piece of film. The brief we were given was to film a short sequence in which someone comes into a room, sits down opposite another person and exchanges a few lines of dialogue, and within this we had to include shot/reverse shot, match on action, an eyeline match and demonstrate the 180 degree rule. Our film showed Olivia entering a room, being told by Tom to take a seat, watching a short dance, and then beginning an interview. Shot Types- We started with a shot of Tom through some banisters, in order to give a voyeuristic and more involved feeling. This then cut to an over the shoulder/ tracking shot of Olivia as she entered the room. As she sat, we used a low angle shot of Tom and he began to dance. We used the match on action as we cut to a different angle of the dance. We used an eyeline match as Olivia watched him, and then we used a birds eye view as Tom finished his dance and sat down. We then used shot reverse shot as the two exchange brief lines of dialogue. Sound- The sound we used was largely diegetic, and because of the place we used to film there was a little background noise, but this was to be expected and we would make sure to avoid this when filming our main coursework piece. We used one piece of non-diegetic sound- the song "Lets get it on" is played over Tom's dance to add humour to the scene. Editing- We used very simple transitions to add realism and so as not to detract from what is happening on screen. We are particularly pleased with the accuracy and timing of the match on action, as we felt this was successful. We also used simple titles- the title, "The Interview", is in sophisticated handwriting style font, which lulls the audience into a false sense of security- the seemingly formal titles suggests a more serious film and therefore makes the comedic aspects unexpected.