Quantum of Solace film analysis.

Electric guitar opens the sequence as the unnatural colours appear on screen, with a shadowy figure. Although not clear what sort of film it is, it is clearly not a low budget film, and the electric guitar and fast editing would suggest a action film.

Close up of the main actor, and titles come across the screen, changing from the name of the actor to the name of the character played. This notifies the audience of the characters importance, due to him being first on screen.

The camera follows the bullet shot from the handgun, (iconography – action film) and pans around. This again is unnatural filing and the audience get a sense of what the film is like to come, action packed and perhaps a little far fetched.

The camera tracks the bullet over what appears to be a desert, perhaps indicating to the audience the setting for the film? The titles keep coming across the screen, always in different places – this keeps the audiences attention as well as the ever moving camera angles.

As more figures appear on screen, the viewers again get a sense of importance of the character – so far he has been the only one to appear. Always armed with a handgun, the film is clearly an action but with the smooth vocals in the background and character in a suit, the audience could presume the film will have aspects of class and wealth as well, not just an average action with explosions.

Se7en film analysis.

Film sequence opens with sketchy writing and a creepy, uncomfortable sound track screeching in the background. It immediately puts the audiences on edge, also the extreme close ups makes it uncomfortable for the viewers as it if difficult to focus on what is on the screen.

Disturbing images follow, with the jumping music track carrying on. This is the first image after the one of the book, so straight away the audience gather that it is a weird opening focusing on a deranged person due to the images they are looking at.

The sequence continues, with extreme close ups to disorientate the audience. It also makes the viewers feel uncomfortable as they feel too close to the action on screen, which is creepy and unordinary. Dirty hands scribbling multiple lines in an open book make the audience think the person is organized and methodical,  which makes the whole situation scarier as the person is obviously someone with a degree of intelligence.

Sketchy editing and almost child like writing across the screen help disorientate the viewers, it is difficult to understand what is going on, which makes the audience intrigued as they want to find out what is going on. The jumpy, screeching soundtrack continues in the background, this increases the feeling of unease.

More disturbing images follow, these really make the audience disturbed yet want to carry on watching to see who it is who is so intent on collecting and organizing these vile images and clippings. The way each image is stuck in a book, or the way the notes are written neatly, increase the awkward feeling of discomfort for the viewer. The fast, uneven editing adds to the awkward atmosphere, it is generally difficult to watch yet draws the audience in with intense close ups and disturbing images.

Coraline film research

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The opening of Coraline, although animated, is how I would like my own titles to be shown. It opens with a screen showing the company of the film, and fades out to the next screen. The background does not change for the next few shots, so the audience are only concentrating on the titles across the screen. There is a simple music track; in a minor key with steady tempo implying the film is building up to something bad.

The film opening changes to actual actions on the screen, the titles fade in and out of the screen, each with small patterns and in an appropriate font. The colour goes with the film, and the titles only come up once a small bit of the film has played, giving the audience chance to focus on what is going on.

The titles are always slightly to the side of the action on screen, enabling the audience to watch what is going on and read at the same time. Due to the enchanting music playing and the bizarre actions taking place on screen, the opening 2 minutes of this film capture the audience’s attention easily.

The oddities in the background, covered in cobwebs, give the audience a feel of unease – also, there is awkwardness in watching the little doll become unravelled and essentially destroyed.  The creepy chanting music in the background adds to this unease as the audience watch as some sort of robot type machine cuts up and transforms the doll.

The sequence ends with the doll being transformed. The audience are positively confused by the strange events on screen, and that, along with the mystical background music, engage the audience and keep the interested in watching the film.

Film Evaluation cont.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

I learnt many skills whilst in the process of filming; such as different camera’s and ways the camera used can eventually effect the atmosphere the film will generate to the audience. For example, by using a hand held camera whilst Sarah is on the phone, I believe it gives the sequence a more urgent or uncomfortable feeling – had I used a smooth tracking camera the scene would have been more dull without the aggression she portrays coming through to the audience. During the editing, I learnt many skills such as being able to edit various pieces in one go, being able to move many cut pieces of film together at the same time, and adding sound tracks and sound effects. I also learnt that the titles for the films are a lot more complex than I originally thought – there are many different fonts, styles, colours and positions on screen which your titles can sit, also the way in which they leave the screen (I used fading in and out). Some difficulties I came across would be editing the motion picture and sound track at different times, I often edited the film without the sound, creating lapses in the film and sounds, which had no picture to match. I also found that once cutting the sound, it was crucial to get it to match the motion picture at the right place, otherwise the voices and movement on screen would be out of sinc.

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Looking back over my preliminary task, I feel that my full product, although perhaps not as aesthetically pleasing as I would have liked, is a lot better than my preliminary task. Besides the fact that it has extra titles and a musical soundtrack, I feel the editing is a lot better. I have a wider variety of camera shots and angles and used different ways in linking my shots together. Because had a greater knowledge of how Final Cut Express works, I felt more comfortable filming, as I knew where and how I would cut the film.

Film Questionnaire

Film Questionnaire

1.    What age are you?

12-17                        18-25                        26-35                        36-45                        46-55                        56+

2.   What Gender are you?

Male                        Female

3.   On average how many films do you watch a week?

1-3                        4-7                        8-10                        11+

4.   What is your favourite genre of film?

Action                        Comedy            Drama                        Horror                        Sci-fi                        Other

If other please state your chosen answer.

5.    How do you usually watch films?

Cinema                        The Internet                        Videos/UMDs/DVDs                        Other

If other please state your chosen answer.

6.   What usually prompts you to watch said film?

Trailers                        Billboards                        Posters                        Magazine Articles

7.   Do you enjoy genre hybrids such as horror/comedy?

Yes                        No

8.   What sort of length do you like the films you watch to be?

80 mins                        100 mins                        120 mins                        140 mins

9.   Do you usually watch films by yourself or with other people?

By yourself                        Other people

10.                  What sort of age group do you like the main actors and actresses to be in films?

15-18                        19-23                        24-30                        31-36                        37-45                        46+