Special effects explanation

Special effects (SFX) are used in the film/entertainment industry to create special effects which cannot be achieved by normal means, such as travel to other solar systems or huge explosions.




Why would a producer choose to use special effects within an opening sequence?

• Set genre
• Set production values
• provide entertainment and escapism for the audience

Films which use special effects

• Avatar
• Fast & Furious
• Batman
• Star Wars
• Iron Man
• Man of Steel

Special effects analysis - Guardians of the Galaxy/Kingsman: Secret Service

Guardians of the Galaxy.

The director would have chosen to use special effects as the film is set in a distant galaxy, so special effects are needed to portray the relevant setting for the action/comedy film.
The special effects denote genre by setting the scene, and showing life forms from the planet where it is set.
The audience therefore get a sense of context of the film and where it is set.
The special effects which are used are conventional of the superhero/action/comedy genres, showing a anchorage to the genres it falls within.



Kingsman: Secret Service.

The director would have chosen to use these special effects to represent the attack on the building in shot, so special effects are needed to portray the attack and show it in a fair amount of detail in this action/comedy film.
The special effects denote genre by setting the scene by being in the first few seconds, whilst being in the establishing shot. This sets the production values as being quite high, right from the off. The audience therefore get a sense of context of the film and where it is set.
The special effects which are used are conventional of the action/comedy genres, showing a certain anchorage to the genres of which it falls within.

Shot composition

Shot composition

• What kind of shot is it?
• Rule of thirds
• Background/Foreground
• Aesthetically pleasing
• Symmetry

Shot sequencing
Allows you to control the pace
Titles
Order that the shots are placed in to create a storyline
Links between shots

Wide shot - establish
Medium shot - Single out important aspects
Close up - The most powerful shot - significant detail
B-Roll - Secondary footage that adds meaning/connects shots

Shot sequencing intro

Wide shot, medium shot, close-up & B-Roll examples

Shot uses

Chess match - pace example

Gender representations

Sexual objectification and the male gaze (Laure Mulvey)

• Definition of voyeurism: Erotic pleasures gained from looking at a sexual object (who is unaware of being watched)
• Presence of women solely for the purpose of display (rather than narrative function)
• Female on display is passive and objectified for a male gaze regardless of viewers gender
• Voyeuristic treatment of female body in 'male' videos - use of dancers as adornments to the male ego
• The inclusion of women for display is a staple element in music videos - across all genres
• Women connote to-be-looked-at-ness and are the object of the male gaze

Post-feminism and the female gaze (1980's)

• A re-appraisal of feminist values
• Does not strive for 'equality' as this assumes men are 'the best' - they wish to surpass male achievements
• Objected to theories which position them as objects of the 'male gaze'
• Identifies a 'female gaze' - women actively desiring men
• Women began to assert their right to dress and be sexually attractive

Masculinity and violence

• One area that has been the focus of much study is the relationship between males and violence in the media
• Earp and Katz (1999) studies male representations in the media and found "a widespread and disturbing equation of masculinity and pathological control and violence"
• They claim that the media is responsible for a steady stream of images that define 'manhood' as connected with violence, dominance and control - and create it as a normal and accented part of masculinity

Types of cuts/tranisions

B-Roll.
Video footage that doesn't add anything to the storyline but fills in any gaps by showing more detail in a scene to hide a cut.

45 degree rule.
When swapping camera angles, make sure it is by at least 45 degrees so that there is a decent size jump between the two, so they are not too similar.

Cut on motion.
Motion distracts the eye from noticing cuts. Cutting from a turning head to an opening door looks smoother than a still head swapping to a opening door.

Change focal lengths.
It is good to occasionally change focal lengths during long scenes to make them more interesting. It also allows edits to be more subtle by 'covering them up'.

Cut on similar elements.
Where the first scene is cut to a secondary scene with a similar object on screen, for example, in Apocalypse Now, a rotating ceiling fan cuts to a helicopter.

Wipe.
By using a subject walking across the screen to wipe from one scene to another is a good way of hiding the cut.


*Will add examples at later date

Title sequence analysis - 4 comedy films.

Four Lions, Ted, Elf and About a Boy. 

What is titling and why is it important?

Titling shows us the name of the film, actors, corporations etc. It is important as it shows you what genre the film is through font and colour schemes etc.

For example:

Shaun Of The Dead 

white  - simplistic font 
           - binary opposition
           - doesn't give too much away
font - military style

Lighting mind maps

Audio Advice.

• Pick the music early on.
• Draw inspiration from others.
• Use sound effects.
• Let the music guide you.
• Use music to create contrasts.
• Use rhythm to match the visuals to.

Sound analysis - Four Lions (2010)

Glossary.

Non-diegetic sound - Sound added 'post-shot'

Diegetic sound - Sound that occurs during a scene being shot

Shot composition - How a shot is created - foreground/background etc. Negative space/symmetry/levels/rule of thirds

Iconography - When a prop has a symbolic meaning that is closely associated with the genre

Barthes - Enigma code - Mystery & unanswered questions to engage the audience.

Katz & Blumler - Uses and gratification theory - audiences choose particular media products to satisfy their uses & gratification (needs). Needs to for-fill: Entertained, informed, social interaction, personal identity

Strauss - Binary opposition

Audio.

Background music.
 + Emotion
 + Rhythm
Usually not meant to be noticeable.
Provides a tone or emotional attitude toward the story/character.
Foreshadow a change in mood.
Aid viewer understanding by linking scenes.

Dialogue.
 - Authenticates the speaker as an individual or a real person.
 - Tell the story/express feelings/motivations of characters.

Diegetic/actual sound.
Non-diegetic/overlayed sound.

Synchronous sounds.
Matched with what is viewed - see what is making the noise.
Makes it more realistic.
Different volumes in order to direct the audience to certain sounds.

Asynchronous sounds.
Not matched with the viewed source.

Production companies.

A production company is directly responsible for the production of a film. They are in charge of costs/budgeting, scheduling, scripting and hiring film crew and actors. They are the ‘big boss’ of the production, who the director reports to.

A distribution company is responsible for getting the film out into the public eye, getting it into cinemas or VOD (video on demand) services such as Netflix and iTunes. They are also responsible for the marketing/advertising of the film, they set the film up with different platforms and handle the press.

Warp films is an independent production company based in Sheffield. They are a relatively low budget producer. They have produced films such as ‘Dead man’s shoes’ (2004), ’This is England’ (2006), ’Four Lions’ (2010) and ‘Arctic Monkeys at the Apollo’ (2008). Their productions have won numerous awards –their debut film, Chris Morris’ My Wrongs #8245-8249 & 117, won award for best short film at the 2003 BAFTA awards, and their ‘This is England’ won many awards, including best film at the British Independent Film Awards and best British film at the BAFTAs (the companies third BAFTA). ‘Four Lions’ was nominated for two BAFTAs, winning one – the ‘Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer’. They have gone on to produce three sequel TV series’ of ‘This is England’ for Channel 4 and they are currently working with Channel 4, the BBC and Sky to bring television shows to these channels.

2 Films from the same genre (Comedy) - Grown Ups 2/A Million Ways To Die In The West

Grown Ups 2.

Sound -> Diagetic/synchronous sounds.
no music -> attracts the demographics' attention to what is happening on-screen, with less distractions from other sounds.

Lighting -> Bright, morning sun. No enigma created -> shows lots of detail as to what the setting is.
Bright colours - family home setting, relatable scene.

Editing -> match on action, no fast cuts -> shows the audience exactly what is happening and doesn't hide anything.

Shots have long screen time -> introduce characters and setting.

Iconography -> family setting - safety - relatable

Titling - corporation (Columbia/Happy Madison) comes up first before minimalistic titling, all within the first 30 seconds - keep focus on the video - No actors names come on -> unconventional - relying on iconic branding from the first film, the corporation and advertising to draw in viewers.


A Million Ways To Die In The West.

Sound -> All non-diegetic - sets the tone of the vast landscape & focuses attention on the establishing shots of the desert to introduce the context of the film.

Lighting -> Bright natural light.

Editing ->  slow/continuous establishing shots - gives the audience a feel of the vast landscape

Iconography -> Desert

Titling -> Corporation (Universal/MRC) comes up first before the video begins with titling of actors, directors, producers etc. Western font - misleadingly sets genre (suggests western, but it is a comedy).

Django (1966)

Focus pull -> Sense of enigma -> trains viewers eye on the important subject

Editing -> Provides perspective on characters action and setting.
             -> Enigma -> Builds suspense
             -> Slow pace is anchored with Django's heavy walk -> sense of struggle

Mise-en-scene -> sludge - setting - sparse/difficult -> anchors to character -> Establishes character status/job.

Narrative theory. Finding Nemo example.

Title sequence analysis - Back to the future (1985).

Enigma created - surroundings (setting) but no person.

Props* are used to hint at narrative - just enough for audience to have an insight.
* - Newspaper cut out
   - Tv report

Foreshadowing through symbolic props** - hints at narrative.
** - Man hanging from clock finger
     - 1950's cat clock
     - radio advert

Continuous editing - slow paced, allows the audience to absorb key details and get a sense of size.

Camera shots.

Types of shots include:

Different types of cuts include:

Different kinds of camera angles include:

Different types of lenses:

• Standard
• Macro
• Telephoto
• Wide/fisheye

Different types of movement:

• Pan - horizontal
• Tilt - Vertical
• Zoom in
• Zoom out
• Dolly/track - smooth camera movement - follow subject
• Crab - follow subject sideways
• Arc - Mix of crab and track
• Whip pan - Fast pan
• Crane shot - high
• Steadicam - Point of view
• follow shot - over the shoulder

Different types of compositions:

• Over the shoulder
• Face to face - side on
• Point of view - see what they see
• over the head - high angle

Types of shots include:

• Extreme close up - focus on significant detail -> create tension.
• Close up - Bring attention to key details in scene.
• Mid shot - Waist up -> small bit of headroom.
• Wide shot - show character in setting.
• Extreme wide shot - establishing shot -> show setting.

Different types of cuts include:

• Cut in - Move from a wider shot to a closer shot -> direct audience attention.
• Cut away - Move from close shot to a wider shot .
• Two shot - Vertical symmetry -> aesthetically pleasing -> 2 characters on scene.
• Point-of-view shot - from the characters point of view.
• Weather shot - Show the weather -> pathetic fallacy.

Different kinds of camera angles include:

• Eye level - height/vision of human eye -> real life perspective -> verisimilitude.
• High angle - power in balance.
• Low angle - subject gains power.
• Undershot - Look up at action -> unnatural view.
• Overhead - look down from directly above action.

Other videos.

Over the summer, on NCS, I filmed/edited some videos to advertise what we did.

This is the music video to our parody of the song Shut up and dance, "Say YES to NCS".

This was the opening sequence to our "NCS in a nutshell" programme.

This was the opening 'flash back' scene.

We did interviews to get peoples' opinion on the 4 weeks, here is the end result.

Here are the bloopers.

Conventions of the genre I am going to create - comedy - mood board

What is genre?

The ‘category’ that the film is in. films in the same genre share conventions – a set of patterns/forms/styles/structures. Genre is part of the ‘frames of recognition’

Setting/location, characterisation, themes and concerns, style, plot and structure, pleasures/expectations and narrative address.

Why is genre important?

Genre is important for:

                      Marketing purposes – So demographics know what they’re about to watch and can choose from their preferred genre.

                      The generation of expectations of the film.

                      Pleasure of the audience, if it does or does not match their ideals.

                      Content/structure/themes/issues the film deals with.

Conventions of a film opening. Ted (2012), Kingsman: Secret Service (2014)

Setting:

Introduce key characters/Insight into storyline

Titles: