EMILY JOHNSON - Individual Blog

As a group we have decided to use a superhero themed opening for our children's film, with the genre being action. Me, Esther and Jade are the main characters in this as:

• Me- Playing the part of elastigirl. 
• Esther- Catwoman
• Jade- Lightning girl

As we all play parts of superhero's costume was very important in our opening. As superhero's usually have glamourous costumes, that slightly hide their real identification. We researched well into this, and found many inspirational ideas from different films. Such as the Incredible's. We took the idea of wearing something over our faces to hide our identity, and either a cape or tight clothing to make us look like superhero's. We do realise that if costume is not bought on the day of filming it would damage our final product and so we need to make sure that every item is bought in and worn correctly. As superhero's have two identity's, so the other identity would be a normal teenage girl. Obviously no special costume would be needed for this, as we could all just wear our normal clothes. 

The location of our sequence has to be limited to the college. Although we have not yet decided on an actual place, we know that we need the refectory, a place outside, and a room with a blank background. These will help create the opening sequence and help people decide on the genre of the film. 

STEVEN HEATH - Individual Blog

As a group, we have decided that 3 members of our group will be acting in the opening sequence and 1 member will be filming. The roles are as follows;

• Jade - Lightning Girl
• Emily - Elastigirl
• Esther - Catwoman
• Steven - Camera work

The costumes we will be using will have to fit around the Superhero genre and will include stereotypical superhero costumes. At the start of our opening sequence, before the superpowers are brought to the knowledge of the audience, the characters will be wearing every day clothes. Whoever is wearing the certain costume is responsible for bringing it in, except minor props and small costume items that other members of the group will bring in to share.

We will be filming in a number of places around the college site. We are unsure of how busy certain areas will be so we will decide on outdoor locations and a few indoor locations at the time of filming, so we can film in a quiet area for efficiency of filming. We have also decided to use the Refectory as the Establishing Shot of our opening sequence so the viewer knows it's a school which suggest the characters are normal students at first. We do not need permission to film in the places we have decided on, as students have permitted access to these areas during college hours. However, if on the day we decide to film somewhere that we need permission for, we will gain permission before entry.

ESTHER NORTH - Individual Blog

As a group, we have come to a conclusion that the actors within our group are going to be Emily, playing Elastigirl, Jade, playing Lightning Girl, and myself as Catwoman. Steven is therefore going to be filming. As the sequence is based around superheroes, we will need to bring certain specific costume, such as masks, capes, etc. to convey the idea of superheroes. We will also need to bring in costume to relate to our personal character, eg, cat ears for cat woman. We are all, therefore, responsible for bringing in our personal characters costume, with the acceptation of Jade bringing in a cat mask for me to wear.
However, in terms of props, the only things we plan on using are food and our personal mobiles phones, which we all regularly carry around with us so do not need to worry too much about finding and bringing them with us on the day of filming.
     For this particular task, we are required to film inside the college grounds, in which we are granted to film in most areas, as long as it is not disturbing anyone or somewhere where there is no pupil access, for example, the roof. However, the main areas of the college we plan to film in are the refectory and outside, both of which we are free to film in, and do not need permission.

JADE GILLETT - Individual Blog

For the task of shooting our children's film opening sequence we have selected three members of the group to become actors. This will be me; Jade playing Lightning Girl, Esther playing Cat Woman and Emily playing Elastigirl. We have decided that three actors will work the best to portray the overall narrative as too few or too many could confuse the target audience of young children. We will therefore be keeping all conventions simple and easy to follow. We have also designated the role of filming to Steven, as this is one of his strengths in the group it would be an advantage to use him to help maintain a high standard while helping to give our final product the best possible quality.

The costumes we will be using have been purposely chosen to keep within the action, superhero genre. This will be the typical red and blue colours for Emily and me while Esther will wear a cat mask to show her character. The costumes will be most useful to assist the reflection of the true superhero characteristics, as well helping the audience to establish an introduction to the main characters from the very beginning of the sequence. A side from this there will also be the use of normal, casual attire to aid specific shots where the girls will be playing typical schoolgirls. Props are going to be kept to a minimum but there will be the use of food and drink when filming the shots in the lunch hall and the use of mobile phones for certain close up shots. As a group we have decided that it is our own responsibility to bring in costumes and props but small items have been decided on to share amongst us.

The filming of the sequence has been limited to the sixth form grounds so as a group we have decided on places that will work well to present the establishment of location. We have decided that we will use the refectory for the lunch hall shots; this can show the typical school environment, which we will use as an establishing shot. For the starting interviews we will need to use a blank background, which we plan to set anywhere that is free at that time. The end of scene features a small shot in the forest outside, this can portray a contrast to school life, hopefully helping to show a more adventurous and action looking location. We do not need permission to film in the places we have decided on, as students have permitted access to these areas during college hours. If on the day we decide to film somewhere that we need permission for, we will make sure to gain permission before entry.

Risk Assessment

Soundtrack Planning

The genre of our opening sequence is a mixture of action and musical. Therefore, with the genre of musical, part of our soundtrack will be the digetic sound of a song sung by one of the characters, to convey the conventions of a musical genre. This is most likely to be an upbeat and dancey type piece, in which the character can relate to the lyrics and it is relevant to the narrative.

A film that this could be compared to is the opening sequence for the movie 'Hairspray'. Like our opening sequence, Hairspray opens the film with a song to set the scene, relating to the narrative. The opening song is also fairly upbeat, immediately grabbing the audiences attention and conveying the feel of the movie.

Mise En Scene

Costume: As the opening sequence is the introduction to the characters which are superhero's, costumes will play an important part with this. All the main three characters will have superhero costumes on, such as a mask to cover the face, and a top to show the logo of their superhero's name. As well as that the characters are normal students at college, so they will have normal everyday clothes. The superhero costumes will show and help the audience establish that the characters are superhero's, and although the superhero's wear masks to hide their identity, they are easy to identify when they're not in their superhero costume. 











Location: The location of the opening sequence is firstly in an interviewing room, where the superhero's are interviewed. It's just a small room with a plain background, so the audience can concentrate more on the characters and listen to what they are saying in order to understand the story. It then moves onto a college, as the superhero's are normal teenage students, so it can show them in their natural surroundings.  It's also a simple and familiar location to children, so they are able to understand. Although at the end of the scene, the superhero's meet in the forest as this is the location of their first mission. 

Props: Props such as food and drink, and bags and books are used in the college to show that it is a college and that the characters are normal everyday people. Not many others are used as it is just the opening of the film, and we want to make it seem simple and not too complicated with gadgets etc. 


A film similar to this is The Incredibles, although it is animated, the characters live two different lives, living normal lives and living the life of a superhero. The costumes used are also similar and the film includes some elements of our mise-en-scene.  

Lighting: The lighting used at the beginning when the superhero's are on screen is completely different to the lighting used when the superhero's are their normal identity. The characters when superhero's will have shadowing over their faces to make them seem more mysterious and sly. This will match the personality and their characters, as they are people with secret identity's. Whereas when the characters are sitting in college, the lighting will be natural normal lighting, to make the scene look natural. 

Children's Film Opening Sequence - Planning

Our Film Classification

The film classification we have chosen is a PG. We have chosen PG because our films is primarily based around the action genre. Because of the action genre use, there will be mild violence and one use of the word 'bloody'. The use of violence will be kept mild and there won't be blood on screen, this means the guidelines will fall within the PG rating classification.

Examples of films that fall into the PG film classification that are the same genre (action) are Spy Kids and Agent Cody Banks, except they are spy based and we are superhero based. These two films have fighting scenes and very low level bad language, which our film fits into well as previously stated.

BBFC

12A

• Only used in cinemas, not on DVD's. 
• These films contain films not suitable for under 12's but under 12's can go see it if accompanied by an over 18.
• 12A's include mature themes, discrimination, soft drugs, commonly used mild swear words, moderate violence and sex references.

12

• DVD's of 12A's are just 12's meaning that no one under the age of 12 can purchase them.

15

• Films in the 15 category contain more adult themes such as; hard drugs, commonly used swear words, moderate/strong violence, sex references and mild sex scenes.
• No one under the age of 15 can purchase or rent a 15 rated movie or game.

18

• 18's don't have a limitation on the bad language used, hard drugs are allowed freely and strong violence and sex scenes are commonly used along with non-detailed sex activity. 
• Adults only.

18R

• These can only been seen in licensed cinemas and sex shops.
• Films of an 19R rating are usually pornography.

BBFC

• No discrimination
• No drugs
• Very little horror
• No language
• No nudity
• No sex
• Very little imitable behavior
• Children's film genres - such as fantasy, adventure, comedy etc.
•   Little violence 

Examples of such films could be: The Incredibles, Finding Nemo, High School Musical. All these films fit the conventions within classifying films.

U Classification movies are suitable for everyone. It won't be inappropriate for younger children in any way. The film would usually have such a storyline that isn't normal and every day, but would instead be fantasy in a situation that children normally would pretend they are in as a game. This means the child would enjoy the children's film more as it's something they would like to see.

U Classification also wouldn't contain mature themes such as sex or drugs, and sex is rarely referenced and if it is, it is in a very subtle way that a child would not pick up on.

• Unlikely to see any discrimination
• If any reference to illegal drugs then an anti - drug message should be included. 
• No intense or extended horror scenes. 
• No actions or details which will be likely for a child to imitate or copy. 
• Mild bad language. 
• Natural nudity.
• Sex scenes should be discrete.
• No themes will contain unacceptable or serious behaviour. 
• No serious violence with very little detail.
• Don't make easily accessible weapons look good.

Examples of such films could be: The Simpsons Movie, The Haunted Mansion, Spy Kids. All of these films fit the PG BBFC Classification.

PG Classification movies should be watched with parental guidance as some scenes may be inappropriate for children under the age of 8. It won't be too inappropriate for younger children but parents may see some scenes that they aren't comfortable with their child watching, these scenes would include sexual references, violence etc. The film would usually have such a storyline that isn't normal and every day if it is aimed to children, but is more likely to contain believable story-lines than a U Classification. This means the film may contain more inappropriate for children scenes, but wouldn't contain anything too extreme.

PG Classification also may contain mature themes with occasional sex references being in most PG films, however these sexual references usually go over the child's head in the sense that they wont pick up on it and is instead aimed more towards the parents. These are common in PG films because children's films tend to contain jokes more aimed towards the parents that the child wouldn't pick up on.

Action Genres

Action films usually include a continuous high energy while having tremendous impact and lots of physical stunts and activity. This could be rescues, battles, fights, escapes and destructive crises.  The characters tend to feature two dimensional 'good guy' heroes battling the 'bad guys'.

The location is often set in a city location, or in a place with a large number of people, so there is a strong sense of suspense and defeat when the hero 'saves the day' causing maximum impact.

When observing the opening sequence of Spy Kids we noticed that we establish the location and characters while a lot of high action is occurring.

Musical Genres

Musicals usually include lots of songs and dance in everyday locations. The setting is usually just around normal everyday life, and not in eccentric locations that you wouldn't normally see. What makes musicals distinctive is that it is normal day-to-day routines with songs fitting in with what's going on in the storyline. An example of this is High School Musical where it is a normal school with teenagers but with songs and dancing periodically.

Musicals are also normally set around a small to medium sized group of main characters with other smaller characters appearing and then back-up singers. The size of the crowd depends on the storyline.

Agent Cody Banks

Agent Cody Banks title.

The title sequence for Agent Cody Banks introduces the family friendly neighborhood and that Cody isn't a regular teenager as he does a punching move as he gets out of bed. The text used is agent-like and is being typed as it comes on the screen as you would picture a 'spy'-like font to be. The music in the title sequence is quiet and slightly upbeat. It also portrays a happy mood and becomes louder as he does the punch getting out of bed.

Metro-Goldyn-Mager (MGM) Pictures Logo in Agent Cody Banks font.

The credits/media company logo is shown to the right. The logo for Metro-Goldfyn-Mager (MGM) Pictures is shown to the right. As shown, the font is used in the previously mentioned 'spy' font. It is produced in a modern way, looking uncluttered and professional.

Cody's punch.

Cody is the main character and is shown as an average teenager as he wakes up, looking lazy in bed and not keen to get up. However, as he gets up he does a fighting stance/punch which suggests he isn't a regular teenager as it isn't normal to get out of bed and to immediately punch.
Cody also has a normal, stereotypical family, he has a caring mother, a working father and a little brother that annoys him. This shows that he is in a normal family, but the way he is introduced as a 15 year old in a normal family but has irregular habits suggests he doesn't fit into his 'normal' family.

"Seattle" and time at the bottom, establishing the location.

The location is established as soon as the scene starts. As the first camera shot is shown, it comes up with "Seattle" and the time in the bottom right corner. The neighborhood is also shown with normal sized houses and a family community with people going to work, dogs barking, mail being delivered and joggers going past, nothing out of the ordinary with nothing bad expected to happen.

The theme tune/soundtrack is low tone as the scene is introduced, and only speeds up and gets louder as cody does his punching stance. This suggests that the location is also fairly normal without anything major happening otherwise the music would be more upbeat.

The film genre is established quickly in the film. This is done through the location of the family friendly neighborhood and through his stereotypically normal family, these conventions show the family genre, and being aimed towards families with younger children (5+) as it doesn't have a very complicated storyline. The storyline opening also shows that Cody is the main character and that he isn't ordinary.

A Muppet Christmas Carol Opening Sequence

The title sequence starts with credits in red and bold writing, it also establishes the media company. As the credits are being shown they coincide with the main action being shown, with a camera shot going over the top of the rooftops, also establishing the main setting within this. The mise-en-scene of snow on the rooftops also establishes the setting, illustrating the symbolism of winter and christmas. The characters are first seen in a street setting having a conversation while in the background there is a sound track which is backed up by the christmas genre. This is happy and up beat as you would expect for a children's film, and also uses the symbolic bells of santa's sleigh. From looking at the narrative we can tell its leading up to christmas which gives the audience an idea of what follows.

Preliminary Task

In the making of our preliminary task for the Children's film unit we have learnt how to use Final Cut Express, we used this to edit sound and film conventions more efficiently and easily, also making the overall video more appealing to the audiences purpose.




The characters in our preliminary task were Superman, Villain 1 and Villain 2.



In our preliminary task we went to film in locations around the college, primarily outside the main hall and inside the main hall. We chose this location because it was empty and had a large look to it, which was perfe3ct for the long shot type. It also gave a good proportion size to characters, helping them to fit into their stereotypes of looking big and looking small when appropriate.



The shot types we used were mainly to make the characters look either superior or inferior depending on the situation. For the establishing shot, we used a high shot to show the camera looking down on the villains, helping to contribute to their bad guys look. We also used over the shoulder shots for conversations between the character of Superman and Villain 1, sticking to the 180 degree rule and eye line match.



The music accompanying the scene also contributes to showing the villains looking suspicious and deceiving. The music we used for our Preliminary task was the Pink Panther theme tune which is commonly associated with the stereotypical children's film 'bad guys'. We chose this so there wouldn't be confusion as to who the two villains were as the scene opened. To improve this in our main film sequence the characters could wear costumes, therefore making it more obvious to who is who in the film.



From watching the finished task we have realised which shots have worked well while also spotting elements for improvement. This could be the lighting as some shots look duller and lack liveliness. Also the sound used for dialogue isn’t as clear as possible so in our main film sequence we will make sure this is clearer so is heard over the music soundtrack.



The roles were as follows:



• Jade Gillett - Villain 1

• Esther North - Villain 2

• Steven Heath - Superman

• Emily Johnson - Camerawoman

Preliminary Task Storyboard

 






























This is our preliminary story board that we have produced for filming in the coming lessons. This will help us to find the strengths and weaknesses of camera shots and mise-en-scene so we can then use or adapt them to improve for our main film production. We have produced a short story containing close ups, long shots and a over the shoulder conversation.

Film Opening Sequence Conventions

The two film openings we watched were from Agent Cody Banks and Monster's Inc. One difference we found between the two was that Agent Cody Banks seemed to introduce and focus on the main character from the very beginning, giving the audience an introduction to the main character and other featured characters in the film. 

Monsters Inc focused more on the location and main story line, therefore giving the audience an insight to the overall narrative. From watching the first few minutes of the opening sequence we realised there was no introduction to main characters as such.

Similar features in both opening sequences is the music soundtrack, as both matched the genre of the films; Agent Cody Banks being an action genre and Monsters Inc as an adventure, comedy. Looking at the title sequence and credits, both films fit the credits into the genre. In Monster Inc these were brightly coloured and bouncy, which corresponds with the narrative of the film, making it more appealing to a younger audience.

The credits was also put before the film started in Monsters Inc which made it fun and energetic, also grabbing attention of the audience and building up to the start of the film unlike Agent Cody Banks, which included the credits while the opening sequence was playing, these were subtle and dully coloured alongside the film so the audience can concentrate on the establishment of the conventions.