Thursday, 18 December 2014
Wednesday, 17 December 2014
Sunday, 14 December 2014
Location Recci
Location 1: Park
Our first option for recording in a park is going to be Seven Kings Park. The reason that we chose this park is because it has a large field with a lot of space which is one of the criteria for our scene and would be very effective in long shots or wide shots for the scene where they are playing football together. However the downside to this location is that it isn't surrounded by very urban housing or flats which look rundown, which doesn't quite fit the idea that the film is trying to show. 
Our second option for the location is to record in Goodmayes park because it is relatively close to both of the other two locations and our houses and it, the good things about this park is that it also has a lot of space to record in and is able to show a variety of different shots and cutaways as well as the football scene. On the other hand this park are that this park would not fit the genre of British Social Realism as it would have a lot of children happy and playing in the park whereas we are trying to portray the opposite.
The final location is the park that is next to our school, Christie Gardens Park, the reason we chose this is because it is enclosed and surrounded but a housing estate and flats which definitely suits the genre that we are showing. As well as this it has areas where it gives the impression of a lesser quality of living and has a caged are where people can play football. On the other hand the park is much smaller than the other two so if there are other people in the park it will be harder to get a recording without other people in it.
Location 2: Alley Way
The first location we found for our scenes in the alley way was the one on Barley Lane. This would be a good place to film as it is wide and also you can see the estate houses and other things that look like they are owned by middle class people. The mise en scene in this location would be suitable for the genre. The drawbacks of this alley way is that as it is on the main road, there would be alot of cars driving past, therefore noise would be an issue.
The first location we found for our scenes in the alley way was the one on Barley Lane. This would be a good place to film as it is wide and also you can see the estate houses and other things that look like they are owned by middle class people. The mise en scene in this location would be suitable for the genre. The drawbacks of this alley way is that as it is on the main road, there would be alot of cars driving past, therefore noise would be an issue.
The second location we chose for the alley way was on Percival Gardens. We chose this location as you can see estate houses in the back and also it is in a quite area so it would make sense that gangs meet up there. However the drawbacks of using this alley way is that it is very narrow so it would be hard to show an attack as well as film there.
The last alley way we found for the attack scene is the alley way on Chadwell Heath Lane. We chose this alley way as it is close to our other locations therefore it would be easy to film there, however the drawbacks of filming on this location is that the alley way is also very narrow and it is next to an area that looks like where middle to normal class people live.Location 3: The Police Station
We needed the outside of a police station to film a scene of the older brother leaving the station after being released.The first location we used for a police station is Ilford Police Station and we chose this location to film at as it is easy to access. However the drawbacks of using this location to film at is that it is located in a busy area so we have to keep in mind the noise around us.
The second location choice we had was Ilford Town Center. We chose this as it looks old and like a traditional prison and that is good as we only need the outside of the location. The drawbacks of using this location is also about it being a public place so we have to make sure it is not loud or busy.
Sunday, 7 December 2014
Qualatative Data Analysis
After I conducted my research I found out that there where a few things I could use to improve my work. For example majority of my target audience feel as if females are shown very unfairly in films and would like to see them represented in ways that would connote that they are equal to males and not weak. However this is not the way females are stereotypically represented in BSR films. However, keeping this in mind, I think to improve, I should add some females into my film as this would make my film look even more realistic and would appeal to females more as well as males.
I also found out that my target audience feel as if themes such as crimes and gangs are under exposed and to improve my work I would show that gangs are a major issue in my film as well as crime. I will show this through the mise-en-scene.
Another way I found out that I should improve my production is that I should make my film appealing to a wider range of people and to do so I though that I could add a wider range of ethnicity in my film so that more people can relate to it.
I also found out that my target audience feel as if themes such as crimes and gangs are under exposed and to improve my work I would show that gangs are a major issue in my film as well as crime. I will show this through the mise-en-scene.
Another way I found out that I should improve my production is that I should make my film appealing to a wider range of people and to do so I though that I could add a wider range of ethnicity in my film so that more people can relate to it.
Data Presentation
What British Social Realist film have you previously seen. What did you like and dislike about it?
I found out that most people are not familiar with the term British Social Realism however have seen films that fall under this genre. I had to list a few examples and found out that majority of the people have seen; Bend it like Beckham, This is England and Yasmin. I found out that Bend it like Beckham is liked by people as they can relate to the film through the uses and gratification of Personal Identity, as they like football or because they relate to the main characters situation. I also found out that what people did not like about the film Bend it like Beckham is the fact that the main girl is stopped from fulfilling her dream. Another film that people talked about was This is England. The majority of my feedback concluded that the film is liked as the reality of racism is denoted and also because of the violence and intensity of the film. However the parts that are disliked in the film are the way the film gets too graphic. Lastly, the reasons why people like the film yasmin are because the film shows different views on religion and also this could relate the audience to the film. People disliked the fact that the girl has to live two different lives secretly.
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What themes do you think should be explored in films more that are not already?
The most popular theme that was discussed as an under exposed theme was violence and crime. Most of my feedback received said that people would want to see females represented in a way thats equal to males. Also I found out that people would like to see more females in the dominant role rather than stereotypically only males being the powerful role. The theme violence and gun crime was also very popular during my research as my target audience thinks that this is under shown in films and they play a very key role due to being illegal in Britain so denoting these themes in our film would raise awareness. Another issue my target audience felt that should be explored more was sexual harassment and gangs as the generations now would be able to relate to it as society in the times now are very much engaged into how someone is branded such as their sexual orientation. Also I found out that bullying should be discussed more so the uses and gratifications would be to educate the audience on how to deal with such situations.
What do you think about terrorism as a theme in BSR films?
The feedback I received from this question was relatively positive as people said that they think terrorism as a major theme in films is a great idea as it is not shown enough or thoroughly in films and it would be a good way to raise awareness. My target audience ask said that having terrorism as a key issue in films would be interesting as very few films can link terrorism to a storyline. Some people also thought that as terrorism is now part of our culture, it should be shown through films and the reality too not just in the news.
What are the strengths and weaknesses of our idea?
After I pitched my idea to the audience I asked for some feedback on what was good about it and how I can improve my idea. I found out that my idea was a good way to show the reality of brothers relationships and how society is now days and also the way terrorism is linked into my story line.
However I also found out that I need to broaden my target audience range as my tim idea would only appeal to a small group of people.
I found out that most people are not familiar with the term British Social Realism however have seen films that fall under this genre. I had to list a few examples and found out that majority of the people have seen; Bend it like Beckham, This is England and Yasmin. I found out that Bend it like Beckham is liked by people as they can relate to the film through the uses and gratification of Personal Identity, as they like football or because they relate to the main characters situation. I also found out that what people did not like about the film Bend it like Beckham is the fact that the main girl is stopped from fulfilling her dream. Another film that people talked about was This is England. The majority of my feedback concluded that the film is liked as the reality of racism is denoted and also because of the violence and intensity of the film. However the parts that are disliked in the film are the way the film gets too graphic. Lastly, the reasons why people like the film yasmin are because the film shows different views on religion and also this could relate the audience to the film. People disliked the fact that the girl has to live two different lives secretly.
What themes do you think should be explored in films more that are not already?
The most popular theme that was discussed as an under exposed theme was violence and crime. Most of my feedback received said that people would want to see females represented in a way thats equal to males. Also I found out that people would like to see more females in the dominant role rather than stereotypically only males being the powerful role. The theme violence and gun crime was also very popular during my research as my target audience thinks that this is under shown in films and they play a very key role due to being illegal in Britain so denoting these themes in our film would raise awareness. Another issue my target audience felt that should be explored more was sexual harassment and gangs as the generations now would be able to relate to it as society in the times now are very much engaged into how someone is branded such as their sexual orientation. Also I found out that bullying should be discussed more so the uses and gratifications would be to educate the audience on how to deal with such situations.
What do you think about terrorism as a theme in BSR films?
The feedback I received from this question was relatively positive as people said that they think terrorism as a major theme in films is a great idea as it is not shown enough or thoroughly in films and it would be a good way to raise awareness. My target audience ask said that having terrorism as a key issue in films would be interesting as very few films can link terrorism to a storyline. Some people also thought that as terrorism is now part of our culture, it should be shown through films and the reality too not just in the news.
What are the strengths and weaknesses of our idea?
After I pitched my idea to the audience I asked for some feedback on what was good about it and how I can improve my idea. I found out that my idea was a good way to show the reality of brothers relationships and how society is now days and also the way terrorism is linked into my story line.
However I also found out that I need to broaden my target audience range as my tim idea would only appeal to a small group of people.
Sunday, 30 November 2014
British Social Realism Film Treatmemt
British Social Realist Film Treatment
Title:
The title of the film will be "Intifada" (انتفاضة), and this means change in Arabic. We chose to use this word as the title as the fact that it is in Arabic connotes that the themes of the film is religion and also the word reveals that there will be some sort of change shown in the film. This will be that the older brother comes out of prison as a changed man and is trying to change the younger brother.
The title is conventional to the British Social Realism genre as it is less than 5 syllables and it is one word which is to the point. An example of a film title that uses the British Social Realism title conventions is Fish Tank.
It will appeal to the target audience as it is different to the other film titles and has a powerful sound to it. The title is in Arabic which would appeal to the audience as it creates enigma as the target audience would want to know what relation the title has to the film.
Target Audience:
Interests are important for the production of our film, we know that people that are going to be targeted are going to be people who have a brotherly relationship and religious extremism/crime as these are shown continuously throughout the film and people who have an interest in these areas or have come into contact with them in some point whether it be direct or indirectly, fulfilling the uses and gratifications - Personal Identity. Whether they have used them or not everyone who will have watched this film will be able to relate to the issues portrayed in the film.
The film will be produced for the people in Britain, as the genre, which is British Social Realism is mainly targeted towards the people of Britain. Our film will appeal to this particular location because it will be filmed inside a familiar setting to most people, however it will not be targeted towards all the people of Britain, more in particular people living in suburban and urban areas throughout the country, for example the location could be Essex, which is stereotyped with being a negative area.
British Social Realist films often take into account ethnicity as a controversial topic in their films, ours will do the same thing as the story is based about the extreme actions taken by religious extremists. Ours will show the negative affects of these people and how they are a negative influence on the rest of the world.
Our film will appeal to people who watch fast paced films as our own film will include a lot of action, which would engage the attention of the viewers. The unique selling point of our film is to show the negative affects of crime and religious extremists associated with the younger people in the country.
Technology:
During the production of our film we will use a wide variety of different technology and equipment as well as different techniques when filming and editing. Firstly the main piece of technology/equipment that we will use will of course be the video camera, due to obvious reasons, however we will use a lot of freehand recording when making our film as it will connote a very rough and gritty story line because of the seemingly low budget and quality recording.
In addition we will use a tripod when filming, not all the time but for establishing shots, used to represent the setting of the film, in addition this connotes that without all of the people who are present in the film that this area has a stable atmosphere and is disrupted by the drug abuse and crime that will be shown in the film.
When we have moved onto post production we will need a variety of other equipment, for example a computer and editing software. We will be using Mac OS X because of it's huge role in the entertainment industry as a brand for producing and editing music, film and creating graphics, so by using a Mac we will have access to all the same software. The editing software will play a huge role in the film as without this step the film would never be a film. We will use multiple techniques, mostly continuous editing in order to keep the flow of the film constant and to minimize confusion within the audience.
Narrative:
Our film revolves around two brothers, one aged 14 and one that is 22 years old, following the events of the older brother who is arrested after he joins a terrorist organisation or a group of religious extremists. The story will follow the younger brother who follows in his elder brothers footsteps after he is arrested, however when his elder brother is released from prison, he leaves as a changed man, rehabilitated. The film will then follow the plot of the older brother who is desperately trying to stop the younger brother from taking the same path that he took. Our Narrative Structure, based on McKee's Classic Narrative Structure
Representation:
The key characters in the film will be the two brothers, one who is 14 and the other 22 at the time of the first event in the film. The older brother is seen as the character who is closer to the protagonist, as he will be the person who is seen to be the better person in the film when trying to stop the other from following in the same footsteps as him. The film will follow the typical stereotypes that people will have on certain ethnic groups and he will be subject to discrimination by people who aren't part of the same ethnicity or religion inside the UK.
The younger brother will be closer to the archetype of the lost boy in the film and not the antagonist even though he is seen as an extremist, he will be the person who needs to be saved from the situation that he is in and will also be subject to the same discrimination as the older brother although more extreme during the main events of the film.
The antagonist of the film is not a person in this case but more an identity or and idea, in this case it is the idea of religious extremism and radicalization, who will have twisted the thoughts and the mindsets of the two brothers.
Conventions:
Our film we use many different conventions that apply to British Social Realism. For example it will involve a very negative story and narrative during the film, giving the impression that there is no escape from the problems that they face. We will also follow the archetypes of a British Social Realist film as well, or as much as we can based on our story, we will have the lost boy, who would be the younger brother or the older brother depending on what point of the story it is, for example at the start the older brother would be the lost boy. The weak but aggressive man is more an idea in this case, the idea of religious extremity. The location and the setting is also going to be considered, for this convention we are going to shoot on location in a urban like area in the UK and the era will be set in the present day, as this reflects the current issues in the world with terrorism. In terms of acting in the film we will use non-professional actors, people without experience in acting, in order to make the film more believable as it is more natural.Style and Iconography
The editing will play a major role in this film, we will use a lot of cuts in rapid succession in order to give the audience the feeling that the film is very fast paced and over the top in terms of how negative or serious the scene is. We will also use color correction to get across the tone of the film, we will use a blue correction or hue on top of the film as the color blue connotes sadness and will put a darker color scheme on the film.
We will use props and costumes in the film to get across a specific theme or tone to the film for example we will use casual clothing that is typical of gangs that would involve hoodies and tracksuits, this will give the impression that the film is set in an urban area and that it isn't very nice due to the negative connotations associated with them.
Finally through the use of sound effects we will create a strong believable sound to the film as well. We will be using police sirens and muffled audio to create the sense of loss of sense or feeling and that there is a lot of crime in the film, however we will limit this because in this genre of film less sound editing can actually make it more believable rather than using them. This will be only dietetic sound only apart from perhaps the song that is played on the opening as it doesn't make the film very believable. We might use a sound bridge in order to connote that time has passed and that we are moving into a new setting.
Institution:
The institution will affect the distribution as we will show the film on independent cinemas such as The Stratford Picture House. Also the film will be shown on Film 4 and in Britain. We have decided to exhibit our film through the normal ways channel 4 films are usually shown to make if closer to the brief as possible.
Sunday, 23 November 2014
Sunday, 16 November 2014
Saturday, 15 November 2014
What's In The News
First Article
I thought this article would be a good basis for a British Social Realism film as the idea I would show through this article is a lost man who is struggling at work and releases all his stress through domestic violence and I would show how this would impact the lives of his family around him, for example how the children are scared of men in their lives because of their father and how the mother is distraught. I think this article would connote the theme of Domestic Violence through the actions of the father, the theme of Escape which is denoted through how the mother wants to get rid of the problem and also the theme of parenting which is denoted through the bad influence the parents display in the presence of their children. I think this would represent the dominant father figure in the film as a weak person as he would use a negative way to feel better. This article is set Britain is this is connoted as the family is British and this fits the British Social Realism criteria. The possible protagonist in this film would be the mother as in a way she did try to exclude the children in the horrific situation her family was in and this connotes the representation of the mother figure as someone who wants to keep her children safe.
Second Article
I think this article is also another good base line for a British Social Realism as it reveals the everyday struggle the mother faces. I think a good storyline from this article would be that the mother finds out her twin sons has a disorder and is personally impacted by this through an event in her childhood such as her father whom she loved a lot left her passing away due to a disorder and this could lead to her believing that her children would also leave her one day which results to her killing the children and killing herself as she thinks that if she can't be happy with them on earth then she would kill them so they can be happy in the after life. This film would connote the themes of Disabilities which is denotes through the children suffering through their disorder of SMA Type 2 and through the mental disturbance of the mother. Also the themes of parenthood and violence is revealed. The possible protagonist in this film would be the nanny as she tries to help the mother and doesn't give up. The setting would be in an estate home as the mother would be not working if she is staying at home and the father would be working all the time as he is unaware of the situation at home.
Third Article
This article could be a start of a British Social Realism film as I had an idea that the film could start off with a hit and run of this boy which would be a Smash mouth opening and later the film shows how he struggles to live his life due to paralysis. I think the film would connote the themes of violence as the hit and run would be quite graphic as well as escape as the boy wouldn't be able to do anything about his paralysis so he gets bullied in school. I think the setting would be a gritty area for example Dagenham. I think the possible protagonist would be the boy himself as he learns how to deal with his situation and picks himself up along the way. I think this would be a good idea for a British social realism film as it would denote the everyday struggles the boy will face and it will be a sad story.
I thought this article would be a good basis for a British Social Realism film as the idea I would show through this article is a lost man who is struggling at work and releases all his stress through domestic violence and I would show how this would impact the lives of his family around him, for example how the children are scared of men in their lives because of their father and how the mother is distraught. I think this article would connote the theme of Domestic Violence through the actions of the father, the theme of Escape which is denoted through how the mother wants to get rid of the problem and also the theme of parenting which is denoted through the bad influence the parents display in the presence of their children. I think this would represent the dominant father figure in the film as a weak person as he would use a negative way to feel better. This article is set Britain is this is connoted as the family is British and this fits the British Social Realism criteria. The possible protagonist in this film would be the mother as in a way she did try to exclude the children in the horrific situation her family was in and this connotes the representation of the mother figure as someone who wants to keep her children safe.
Second Article
I think this article is also another good base line for a British Social Realism as it reveals the everyday struggle the mother faces. I think a good storyline from this article would be that the mother finds out her twin sons has a disorder and is personally impacted by this through an event in her childhood such as her father whom she loved a lot left her passing away due to a disorder and this could lead to her believing that her children would also leave her one day which results to her killing the children and killing herself as she thinks that if she can't be happy with them on earth then she would kill them so they can be happy in the after life. This film would connote the themes of Disabilities which is denotes through the children suffering through their disorder of SMA Type 2 and through the mental disturbance of the mother. Also the themes of parenthood and violence is revealed. The possible protagonist in this film would be the nanny as she tries to help the mother and doesn't give up. The setting would be in an estate home as the mother would be not working if she is staying at home and the father would be working all the time as he is unaware of the situation at home.
Third Article
This article could be a start of a British Social Realism film as I had an idea that the film could start off with a hit and run of this boy which would be a Smash mouth opening and later the film shows how he struggles to live his life due to paralysis. I think the film would connote the themes of violence as the hit and run would be quite graphic as well as escape as the boy wouldn't be able to do anything about his paralysis so he gets bullied in school. I think the setting would be a gritty area for example Dagenham. I think the possible protagonist would be the boy himself as he learns how to deal with his situation and picks himself up along the way. I think this would be a good idea for a British social realism film as it would denote the everyday struggles the boy will face and it will be a sad story.
Wednesday, 12 November 2014
Monday, 10 November 2014
Production Log 5
What have been the key issues for your research this week?
This week I have learnt about sound and how the credits are presented. I researched into a British social Realism film that I have not yet analysed and found a scene that represents themes, characters and locations really well through the sound. The film I annotated was Kidulthood.
As I could not find the opening scene of the film I decided to annotate a scene that has sound. For my analysis I used Windows Live Movie maker to add captions on the video and uploaded it to YouTube.
The key issues I had with my research was that I realized that the sound in British Realism uses music in a way to connote themes. This could be the lyrics or the pace of the sound.
Also I already know that the opening sequences of British Realism Films have very less dialogue but the scene I analysed also had less dialogue so this could be throughout the film.
I also researched the opening credits in a British Social Realism film I had not analysed. The film I chose was Billy Elliot. I found the opening Institutional Credits of the film. With this film I realized that even though the there was a structure that the films generally follow to show the institutional information, Billy Elliot did not follow the structure. The credits denoted of only the Production companies and the producers of the film as well as the title of the film. There was no information about the cast, director, production design and the other roles in production.
What decisions did you make about the issues and why?
Regarding the sound, I decided that I will try and avoid dialogue within the opening sequence of my own production and I will try to incorporate music that would connote the themes of my film and create a representation of the characters shown through the lyrics and the pace.
I also decided that for my credits, to achieve as much marks as possible I will avoid what is show in Billy Elliot and include all the key roles in the institutional credits structure. I will make sure that they are easy to read but also on screen for a suitable time period as I learnt whilst marking past students work that they lost marks on their institutional credits.
This week I have learnt about sound and how the credits are presented. I researched into a British social Realism film that I have not yet analysed and found a scene that represents themes, characters and locations really well through the sound. The film I annotated was Kidulthood.
Also I already know that the opening sequences of British Realism Films have very less dialogue but the scene I analysed also had less dialogue so this could be throughout the film.
I also researched the opening credits in a British Social Realism film I had not analysed. The film I chose was Billy Elliot. I found the opening Institutional Credits of the film. With this film I realized that even though the there was a structure that the films generally follow to show the institutional information, Billy Elliot did not follow the structure. The credits denoted of only the Production companies and the producers of the film as well as the title of the film. There was no information about the cast, director, production design and the other roles in production.
What decisions did you make about the issues and why?
Regarding the sound, I decided that I will try and avoid dialogue within the opening sequence of my own production and I will try to incorporate music that would connote the themes of my film and create a representation of the characters shown through the lyrics and the pace.
I also decided that for my credits, to achieve as much marks as possible I will avoid what is show in Billy Elliot and include all the key roles in the institutional credits structure. I will make sure that they are easy to read but also on screen for a suitable time period as I learnt whilst marking past students work that they lost marks on their institutional credits.
Sunday, 9 November 2014
Conventions of an opening Sequence
Romeo Juliet (1996) — Art of the Title
Convention: Engaging Music
The opening sequence for Baz Lehrmanns's 'Romeo and Juliet' connotes music starting at 0:50. The music sounds like a religious piece when you sing in church and this connotes that the film is set in the time when religion was an important influence to peoples lives. The music draws the audience in as it starts very loud so suddenly and this connotes that it is important with the mise-en-scene. The music is very intense and that matches the montage of the riots and encounter of both families. The music represents the characters as religious. The audience expectations created from the music is where does religion and the church relate the two families and why does the music start so suddenly. The music communicates the the institutional information as when there's a loud beat, the graphic shows on screen at the same time and this engages the audiences attention. The music establishes the genre which is romance as religion is linked to romance immensely and the genre of the music is quite religious.
Convention: Super Imposed Graphics
This shot denotes a still of the video of the character playing Romeos mother and the super imposed graphics denotes her real name and the role she plays. Just like this, the other parents of Romeo and Juliet both have super imposed graphics. The typography of the graphics are white bold box writing and the sir names are written in capital letters to connote that they are part of the 'Montague' or the 'Capulet' and they are two different classes and that this feud between the families are very important in the film. The super imposed graphics represent the characters as separate communities. The graphics create enigma as the audience wonders why the parents graphics are shown and other characters such as the chief of the police but why doesn't the main characters, Romeo and Juliet has the graphics and this connotes that the sequence does not want to reveal the actors of the main characters yet. Also the lighting in the graphics of the parents denote that the actors are in the dark and this foreshadows the fact that the parents did not know about Romeo and Juliet.
Convention: Montage
The opening sequence for Romeo and Juliet denotes an action montage which is fast shots of different scenes put together from different places. The action montage starts at 2:02 and denotes a choir singing in the church and this represents the theme of religion. It also denotes a series of different shots of people shooting and this connotes the theme of violence. The questions the montage makes the audience think about are why are people shooting and how does religion relate to all of it. The montage represents the location as a
dangerous place as you can see people on the roads and the station shooting. The montage is connotes by very fast cuts and the mise-en-scene is overlapped by the music. The editing of the montage is quite smooth as each shot is shown after each other straight away. The montage also introduces man of the characters such as Tybalt and the Friar. Most of the shots are close ups and this connotes that they are mostly reactions of an event that just happened and this creates enigma as it makes the audience wonder what happened.
Convention: Introduce Themes/Ideology
The first shot denotes a close up of a television screen showing a news report and you can see an image of a ring with a cross in between it and this connotes that one of the major themes of the film is romance and this is also shown by the news reporter saying "star-crossed lovers" which connotes that the romance was forbidden. Another way the theme of romance is connoted is through a graphic which also denotes "A pair of star-crossed lovers".
Also the title denotes 'Romeo and Juliet' and this connotes the theme of Romance as it is a very famous story written by William Shakespeare. These denotations create enigma as you don't see who Romeo and Juliet are so the audience does not know how their romance story actually is like.
Another theme revealed in the opening sequence is Religion. This is denoted by the graphics as the 'T' letters in the graphics are replaced with a cross. Also there are several shots denoting the church and these connote that religion will have an influence on the romance.
Another shot denotes the parents of Juliet standing in a mid shot in natural dark lighting wit reflections of the police red and blue lights. This connotes the theme of Parenthood as in the opening sequence you see the parents on screen the longest and this means they are important characters in the film. Also this represents the parents as people who failed in their job as the constant fighting with each other and the police results in the death of their children.
Convention: Establishing Shots
The opening sequence denotes an overlook of the city of Rio De Jenerio. This connotes that the film is set in that country. The establishing shot of the building represent the location as busy and a normal working class area. The establishing shot makes the audience question why the film is set there. This establishing shot denotes two tall building that stand out the most with 'Montague' and 'Capulet' written on them and separating the buildings is a statue of Jesus and it connotes peace between the two families.
Convention: Production Company (0:05)
The production company is shown at the start of the opening sequence as a graphic in the television. The production company denotes "Twentieth Century Fox" and then the graphic changes to "A Baz Luhrmann production". The graphics are small but on the black screen you can see the white typography very clearly. Also the fact that the production companies are denotes through a television connotes that the companies incorporated the idea of media into the story of Romeo and Juliet. Also as it is shown first, this connotes that the production companies are important.
Convention: Introduce Characters
The opening sequence of Romeo and Juliet introduces the characters through a close up still in the video which focuses on their faces and super imposed graphics. The first character introduced is Juliet Father followed by Juliet's mother. You then see Romeos Father and then his mother. You also see the chief of Police, The governors son and Romeos best friend.
These characters are crucial to the film. However you also are introduced to the Montague's and the Capulet's through a close up of a newspaper article denoting the family members on separate sides. This represents the characters as a feud going on between them and very stern. The audience expectations the characters create is it makes them want to know why there is a feud between them. This also creates enigma as it is not revealed in the opening sequence. The lighting in the graphics also foreshadow the story and the parents who are in dark lighting did not know of Romeo and Juliet being in love, whereas the chief had an idea and Mercutio (Romes best friend) did know of Romeo's and Juliet's love.
Convention: Minimal Dialogue
The opening sequence denotes the prologue of Romeo and Juliet as the news reporter speaking. Other than this, there is no dialogue except for a voice over repeating the prologue. This connotes that the director does not want to give any thing away in the opening sequence and this creates enigma as it makes the audience wonder what the prologue has got to do with the film. The fact that the prologue is repeated represents the importance of it in the film.
Convention: Smash Mouth opening
The opening sequence of Romeo and Juliet does not start as a smash mouth opening however there is a point in the opening (0:54) where suddenly the music and the video starts and this connotes that the film starts of with interesting action and this catches the audiences attention.
Convention: Engaging Music
The opening sequence for Baz Lehrmanns's 'Romeo and Juliet' connotes music starting at 0:50. The music sounds like a religious piece when you sing in church and this connotes that the film is set in the time when religion was an important influence to peoples lives. The music draws the audience in as it starts very loud so suddenly and this connotes that it is important with the mise-en-scene. The music is very intense and that matches the montage of the riots and encounter of both families. The music represents the characters as religious. The audience expectations created from the music is where does religion and the church relate the two families and why does the music start so suddenly. The music communicates the the institutional information as when there's a loud beat, the graphic shows on screen at the same time and this engages the audiences attention. The music establishes the genre which is romance as religion is linked to romance immensely and the genre of the music is quite religious.
Convention: Super Imposed Graphics
This shot denotes a still of the video of the character playing Romeos mother and the super imposed graphics denotes her real name and the role she plays. Just like this, the other parents of Romeo and Juliet both have super imposed graphics. The typography of the graphics are white bold box writing and the sir names are written in capital letters to connote that they are part of the 'Montague' or the 'Capulet' and they are two different classes and that this feud between the families are very important in the film. The super imposed graphics represent the characters as separate communities. The graphics create enigma as the audience wonders why the parents graphics are shown and other characters such as the chief of the police but why doesn't the main characters, Romeo and Juliet has the graphics and this connotes that the sequence does not want to reveal the actors of the main characters yet. Also the lighting in the graphics of the parents denote that the actors are in the dark and this foreshadows the fact that the parents did not know about Romeo and Juliet.
Convention: Montage
The opening sequence for Romeo and Juliet denotes an action montage which is fast shots of different scenes put together from different places. The action montage starts at 2:02 and denotes a choir singing in the church and this represents the theme of religion. It also denotes a series of different shots of people shooting and this connotes the theme of violence. The questions the montage makes the audience think about are why are people shooting and how does religion relate to all of it. The montage represents the location as a
dangerous place as you can see people on the roads and the station shooting. The montage is connotes by very fast cuts and the mise-en-scene is overlapped by the music. The editing of the montage is quite smooth as each shot is shown after each other straight away. The montage also introduces man of the characters such as Tybalt and the Friar. Most of the shots are close ups and this connotes that they are mostly reactions of an event that just happened and this creates enigma as it makes the audience wonder what happened.Convention: Introduce Themes/Ideology
The first shot denotes a close up of a television screen showing a news report and you can see an image of a ring with a cross in between it and this connotes that one of the major themes of the film is romance and this is also shown by the news reporter saying "star-crossed lovers" which connotes that the romance was forbidden. Another way the theme of romance is connoted is through a graphic which also denotes "A pair of star-crossed lovers".Also the title denotes 'Romeo and Juliet' and this connotes the theme of Romance as it is a very famous story written by William Shakespeare. These denotations create enigma as you don't see who Romeo and Juliet are so the audience does not know how their romance story actually is like.
Another theme revealed in the opening sequence is Religion. This is denoted by the graphics as the 'T' letters in the graphics are replaced with a cross. Also there are several shots denoting the church and these connote that religion will have an influence on the romance.
Another shot denotes the parents of Juliet standing in a mid shot in natural dark lighting wit reflections of the police red and blue lights. This connotes the theme of Parenthood as in the opening sequence you see the parents on screen the longest and this means they are important characters in the film. Also this represents the parents as people who failed in their job as the constant fighting with each other and the police results in the death of their children.
Convention: Establishing Shots
Convention: Production Company (0:05)
The production company is shown at the start of the opening sequence as a graphic in the television. The production company denotes "Twentieth Century Fox" and then the graphic changes to "A Baz Luhrmann production". The graphics are small but on the black screen you can see the white typography very clearly. Also the fact that the production companies are denotes through a television connotes that the companies incorporated the idea of media into the story of Romeo and Juliet. Also as it is shown first, this connotes that the production companies are important.Convention: Introduce Characters
The opening sequence of Romeo and Juliet introduces the characters through a close up still in the video which focuses on their faces and super imposed graphics. The first character introduced is Juliet Father followed by Juliet's mother. You then see Romeos Father and then his mother. You also see the chief of Police, The governors son and Romeos best friend.These characters are crucial to the film. However you also are introduced to the Montague's and the Capulet's through a close up of a newspaper article denoting the family members on separate sides. This represents the characters as a feud going on between them and very stern. The audience expectations the characters create is it makes them want to know why there is a feud between them. This also creates enigma as it is not revealed in the opening sequence. The lighting in the graphics also foreshadow the story and the parents who are in dark lighting did not know of Romeo and Juliet being in love, whereas the chief had an idea and Mercutio (Romes best friend) did know of Romeo's and Juliet's love.
Convention: Minimal Dialogue
Convention: Smash Mouth opening
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