Film Opening : Love Actually

At 0:00 to 0:21 seconds the universal logo and soundtrack can be seen on the screen. At 0:21 to 0:38 the Studio canal logo and soundtrack can been seen. After this Working title logo can be seen which lasted until 0:49 seconds. This is then when the music starts which is relaxing and soft to go with the genre of the film.  the film starts and it is set a t the arrival gate at Heathrow Airport, showing how happy people are greeting each other as they arrive . At 0:49  until 0:54 seconds the words' Universal pictures and studio canal presents', then after this ' A working title production' appears on screen from 0:54 to 0:59 seconds. ' In association with DNA films' is the next thing to appear on the screen. All of this is printed in a white font, suggesting to pureness of love and happiness, which is what the film is about. At 1:13 Hugh Grant's voice can be heard which continues until 1:58. at 1:50 ' Love actually is all around' appears on screen at the same time as Hugh Grant says it, and at 1:58 the words dissolve off the screen leaving only 'Love actually', the title, on the screen.

Things it did well :

• i like the speech hugh grant makes along with the footage. it shows what the film is going to be about, and makes us think about it in perhaps a different way to what we first might have thoughts

Things it didn't do well:

• it didn't stick to the conventions of film openings as it didn't introduce any characters or leading actors, however i really like this film opening as it provokes emotion from the audience and is very heart warming. You can tell from this opening that this is going to be a very good heart warming family film for all to enjoy and that's what makes it so appealing to me.

Film Opening :Se7en

In the beginning of the opening of this film from 0:00 to 0:15 seconds there is a man sat in his bed at 0:15 seconds a ticking sound starts and ends at 0:46 when the music starts, unfortunately this is not shown in the clip below as it is only opening titles. At 0:51 seconds ( when the clip below starts) the words ' New Line cinema presents' appears on the screen in Gothic style font suggesting to the audience that this film is eerie and scary, this last until 0:53 seconds. 1 seconds later at 0:54 the words 'An Arnold Kopleson Production' appears on screen which last until 0:55 seconds. Again the words are in a style of font which reminds the audience of the horror genre this film is, along with the music its gives the audience the feel for the scary 'factor' this film has. The next words to appear on the screen are 'A film by David Fincher' at 0:58 to 0:59 seconds. This film has a very good cast, with well known actors such as Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman playing the main parts. At 1:01 Brad Pitt's name appears on a blank screen this last for 2 seconds. At 1:05 Morgan Freeman's name appears,again lasting for 2 second. The tittle of the film appears at 1:11 until 1:15, the unusual spelling of the film title intrigues the audience as to what the film is about.

Other big name stars such a Gyneth Pathrow, Richard Roundtree and R.Lee Ermey also star in this film



What the film did well :

• creates suspense
• creates enigma  

What the film didn't do well:

• it did not introduce all main characters that star in the film

Film Opening :Angus, Thongs and perfect snogging

In the beginning of this film opening we can see from 0:00 to 0:20 seconds the paramount logo can be seen on the screen. the movie sound track starts between this at 0:15 seconds and continues until 1:01. after the first logo has appeared on the screen, Nickelodeon movies logo then appears straight after lasting between 0:20 to 0:33 seconds. At this point the film starts and the dialogue comes in 2 seconds later  at 0:35 seconds which last until 1:57. The film continues to play and at 0:50 seconds the words ' Paramount Pictures International and Nickelodeon movies presents' appear on the screen which last 3 seconds. At 0:54 the words 'a Gurinda Chadha film' appears on the screen letting the audience know that this film was directed by her.Tthis last for 4 seconds until 0:58. At 1:01 (as above said) the soundtrack stops and at 1:06 it starts again up until 1:24, when backing music can be heard from a radio/CD player in the background of the scene which stops at 1:50. 1 seconds later and the well known pop song 'She's So Lovely' by Scouting For girls comes on and continues to the end of the full 2:00 of the opening scene.

What the film did well

• sets the scene well, with the running through the town and the ocean shots
• keeps to the theme of the books, incorporating some lines from them

What the film dose not do well

• dose not introduce all main characters.

Film Openings:The Wedding Date

At the start of the film between 0:00 and 0:21 seconds the Universal logo along with the soundtrack is seen on the screen, this is then followed closely by the Golden Circle film logo which last from 0:21 seconds too 0:29 seconds. After this the screen goes blank for exactly 2 seconds.The blank screen is then followed by the writing 'Universal films and' from 0:31 - 0:35 seconds, after this for one seconds the screen is blank. At 0:36 seconds the words 'Golden Circle films presents' this last 4 seconds until 0:40 seconds, again for one seconds the screen is blank and then the music to to the film starts at 0:41 seconds,at this time 'a 26 films production' appears on the screen for 4 seconds. the film then starts at 0:45 seconds. At 1:11 the words ' In association with visionveiw LTD'  appears on the screen.

Later at 1:19 too 1:23 the lead actress Debra Messing's name appears on screen. 6 seconds later at 1:26 her co star Demote Mulroney again lasting 4 seconds on screen. The title of the film then appears on the screen at 1:34. The first dialect of the film begins 6 seconds later at 1:40. At 1:53 other leading actors/actresses names start appearing on the screen including Amy Adams which can be seen on screen from 1:51 too 1:53.

what the film does well: 

• introduces all actors who star in the film well
• sets the scene well, by having shots of the iconic New York skyline 
• provides context well through the use of the phone message and by the invite. we understand from the begging that the main character is going to a wedding and she has hired a date for it

What it does not do well

• dose not introduce characters very well, we know their names but not them fully

MacGuffin and Forest Gump

Firstly we were shown three objects: a cricket ball, chewing gum and a Buzz Light Year toy. We were then asked to write down what came into our mind when thinking about the 3 objects.

Cricket Ball

• sport
• bounce
• Australia
• Ashes
• summer  

Buzz Light Year toy

• Childhood
• Fun
• joy
• toy story
• space
• infinity
• Astronauts 

Chewing Gum

• sticky
• fresh
• minty
• tables
• school 

All these are connotations for these objects. Connotations: The non Literal meaning we interpret of something e.g. a box can connotate  feelings of excitement,, suspense and anticipation 

We then looked at the connotations of a feather, these are some of the ideas I came up with:

Feather 

• float
• light
• pure
• flight
• freedom
• peaceful
• beauty

After looking at the connotations a feather might have, we then looked at the opening 2 minutes of Forest Gump (1994). Here we see a feather falling from the sky and landing next to someones feet

Next we looked at MacGuffin, and I put the definition into my own words. MacGuffin : in fiction, a MacGuffin is a plot devise in the form of goal or desired object that moves the narrative along and also informs the audience what the film is about.

After this we looked at the feather connotations again and linked this to the film. we originally said that the feather is pure and peaceful, we know  from watching the film that Forrest Gump is also pure and peaceful and therefore we can see that the director has shown us the character of Forrest Gump through the use of a feather. We also can see from the clip that the feather goes on a sort of journey to get to the character of Forrest Gumps feet. we know from watching the film that Forrest too goes on a journey. This also creates enigma for the audience as we want to know what the journey is and how he got to the place that he is in now.

'Inglorious Basterds' film opening analysis

The Film opening we analysed was 'Inglorious Basterds' by Quentin Tarantino. The film is an action thriller with elements of black comedy that is a essentially a parody of war films.

After we had watched the opening of the film we deconstructed it into visuals and sound which can be seen in the photo below

In the first 0-0:30 seconds the universal logo comes onto the screen, this logo is in a old fashioned design suggesting the time in which the film is set in. At 0:36 seconds Quentin Tarantino's name appears on the screen and then 4 seconds later at 0:40 seconds the title of the film come on to the screen. The font that it is in stands out and makes the audience realize that this is the name of the film.

The soundtrack starts at 0:20 seconds and runs all the way through the opening title sequence until it starts to fade out at 2:00 minutes. The main cast all have their own names on the screen individually and other cast members have their names on shared screens expect for guest stars who are featured in the film who, like the main actor in the play, have their name individually on a screen Brad Pitt's name is the first to be seen on the screen at 0:40 seconds then comes other members of  the cast.

Editing

Editing refers to how shots are put together into sequences to make up media text

Three Areas

When analyzing editing you must break it down into three areas to help the quality of the analysis

• Transition- how one shot Moves to the other 
• Continuity- how one shot Merges into another
• Shot Duration- how Long a shot is

Transition

Different transitions can create slightly different meanings for the audience

• The Cut- The point where two shots come together
• Dissolve- The blending of two shots to communicate a passage of time and /or location
• Wipes- When shots change across the screen
• Cross Zooms- When it starts small and gets bigger on screen
• Flash Frames
• Jump Shots- Normally to do with props or objects.

When Creating  a short film The Cut and Dissolve are the best to use.

• Fade down ( of sound)- Gradual diminution of sound level
• Fade in (of Pictures)- Gradual appearance of the image
• Fade to black- gradual disappearance of image into black screen

Shot Duration

The duration of a shot will usually reflect the narrative context

• Short shot duration- conveys urgency
• Long shot duration- conveys detail and intimacy with narrative 

Continuity 

• 180 Degree rule- A rule which maintains that the line of action should not be crossed in the interest of fluid continuity. You can cross the 180 degree line, but you must show that you have moved. you can not just cut to the other side as you will confuse your audience
• Cross Cutting- Also known as parallel editing. alternation between two or more different  scene which are (usually) developed simultaneously
• Cut Away- a brief shot that momentarily interrupts continuity action by briefly inserting another related shot.
• Eye Line Match- a common convention to maintain continuity is a character looks at something and in the next shot we see what they are looking at.

Cinematic time-  The time a sequence takes to play on screen as opposed to 'real time'. In film time can be expanded and shrunk.

•  When you see Match on action in a film this is cinematic time and therefore real time.

During editing you can:

• Shrink time- Through a series of fast paced cuts we can see things that would take a long time in just a few seconds on the screen. Instead of watching a character get in a car and drive for 20 minutes we see then get in and get out, letting us assume that the journey has taken place.
• Expand time- The editor can expand time by adding additional details. For example, someone is sitting in a chair waiting for the phone to ring. in real time this might only last half a minute, but the editor can build up tension by including shots of the person's eyes, tapping fingers (to show impatience) etc, drawing the scene out to a minute or more. here we are looking at Film time not 'Real Time'.
• Finding Rhythm- Editing sets the rhythm or pace of a scene. this could be dictated by either the music used behind a scene or the mood that the editor is trying to create and the pace that you edit. To build up tension in a scene you might cut from one shot to another very quickly. however, in a relaxed scene the editing will progress at a much slower pace, dwelling longer on each shot.