Genre.

from looking at the prvious genres i decided that i will be using the apocalyptic genre to create my film. this type of genre deals with the concept that the earth is coming to an end or that there will be a disaster which could destroy mankind forever.
examle films of this genre are Deep impact ,War of the worlds and The day after tomorrow.

a major part in the development of this genre came from films such as the original war of the worlds ,planet of the apes and metropolis.
war of the worlds was originally broadcast over the radio in america as a fiction story however caused scenes of panic throughout america itself.







conventions of the genre.



this type of film genre usually focuses on several areas rather than one story line or the same characters. the idea is to show different emotions from around the world and show the audience how the proposed disaster effects the world.



many of the films produced for in this genre usually have a main character or charaters as part of the narrative for example in the day after tomorrow the father who is trying to find his son.
this gives the film a storyline in which the audience can relate to and become emotionally involved within the diegesis itself.

the mise scene of the genre can really vary however thew general styles used are similar such as the use of iconic images for the locations in which either die or are saved and also the ending of earth always tends to have a gloomy dark setting with little lighting and a high angle shots or long shots which present the characters as lost or lonley but also vunrable to the effects that earth is going through.

a film which shows the other side to the genre is a film based on the sub genre post appocalyptic which not only presents the ending but also what happens next and is based around the idea of an outbreak.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbznuUZIbBQ

this link again is another trailer but is promoting the film of 28 days later and shows the low budget methods that are used when making the film.

this film is a big influencer in my film as i am really fond of this film also the methods used create the film under the pressures of a low budget.

the film uses many shots filmed using handheld cameras and little dialogue in many shots which is perfect to consider for my film as many of the actors will be media students who have never been in a performance before.
the genre really allows me to engage with the loss of life and take my camera to different locations in order to show the effects and how they are of a massive scale.

as a genre apocalyptic films are incredibly interesting to watch however with little special effects would never be able to make films like the hollywood films with high budgets which is why i am inspired by 28 days later as this focuses on the characters feelings and depression as oppose to the big buildings blowing up around them.
another film showing the conventions used is deep impact which is in the next post.

research other genres................

Film genres researched.

Film noir.

Film noir started in the early 1940s going on until the 1950s however the term noir comes from the French meaning of black film. The idea of the genre basically covered all forms of crime drama made within Hollywood.Various conventions and codes was developed through the noir period to make sure the genre works well but also the genre saw the arrival of femme fatal which presents the idea of a strong confident and sexy women who often has an attitude and is incredibly independent.

Noir films have a very particular way of selecting the mise en scene for each scene and they tend to frame the shots using very contrasting lights and the use of blinds and obstacles to present grid like shadows. The films are nearly always black and white and if not incredibly dark, also urban settings are the favorite choice for film noir. The characters always seem to have a rough past and tend to be either employed or ex employed from the police or some form of gang.

To highlight the conventions here is a clip from a modern version of the film noir and this is SIN CITY.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=01omivd4o3e

This clip is a trailer developed for the promotion of the film however does use all components from film noir and the sin city film itself.

The clip instantly shows the audience the use of a an urban setting with characters that have confidence and attitude all of which tend to have there own story. The mise en scene is as exactly as I said previously but also does use some colour especially when highlighting a particular character that the director wants the spectator to associate with.

action genre.

action never really started out as a genre but more a stylistic element of many genres as action has been used whithin many different genres such as thrillers westerns and adventure films.

the ction genre derives from many periods of time mainly starting in 1920s and 1930s when action was used in many adventure films then the arrival of war films throughout the 1940s and 1950s saw more action arriving on the big sreen from holllwood. the 1960s to 1970s saw a big rise in how action was percieved and how much it was becoming its own genre mainly through films such as the bond films. the 1980s however was the true home of the genre as many stars became icons through the genre of action films and the big budget films with little dialougue did very well right through to the early 1990s.

the action genre relies heavily on martial arts fighting and special effects either as props or edited in later on. there is no deffinate coventions for the mise en scene however it does contain much of iconic buildings as either the ending fight scenes or as part of the stunts used. also there tends to be either nice scenery or a sense of lonliness in a very idilic steeing.

the 1980s saw the rise of action as i previously said but also creating the new setting to action such ascitys like san fransisco new york and los anglese.

one film highlighting this is DIE HARD.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qxbxm7zutm

the clip again is a trailer for another hollywood film however again is a leading example of the codes and conventions used in a action film.

notice the use of high buildings to create the sense of lonliness and also the iconograpghy of the buildings as these are obviously sky scrapers and items of national identity for America.

another genre u i looked at was the appocalyptic genre.

the idea behind this genre was because this was the genre i was most fond of and so beleived i should research this one last as to keep an open mind whilst reserching the genres for my film.

the other two genres had inspired me to use certain characteristics such as black and white filming from the film noir but also trying to keep the characters on their own when filming as to ahow the vunrebility and lonliness thats shown in the action genre.

apart from this the genres still never really seemed to be what i wanted i wanted and so i looked at the appocalyptic genre looking at the film 28 days later aswell.

Analysing a small film.

Analysing a small film.

The film in which I am going to analyse is called first time it hits and is directed by Jason Budge.

The sequence starts with montage editing at a fast pace and has inserted animations in within the frames describing the production details and the name of the film.
The mise en scene of the this sequence is very dark urban and rough. This establishes the setting and co notates the depressing feeling of the area. Also in the montage sequence itself you are introduced to the two characters from the film briefly which again helps when establishing audience expectations.

When You see the main character of the sequence which is the boy.
He is positioned centre of the frame and filmed at a low angle which immediately shows the audience the dominance of his character within the sequence.
This also allows the audience to view the character as the director intended by the use of mise en scene, for example the boy is dressed in mixed black and white clothes and looks fairly innocent also with the light above his head this creates the sense of innocence surrounding the boy.

The female is portrayed very differently however with gothic clothing little lighting plus she smokes and is wearing badges containing adult content. the audience is then meant to be able to establish that the girl is rebellious and with the use of close ups of the cigarette bubble gum piercings and porn star badges this highlights her rebellious ways. then you see her like the boy captured from a low angle giving her dominance however she is sat down relating to how she is clam at this point.

When the audience first see the characters together there is use of a two shot but also there is a trolley placed in the scene as part of the mise en scene which I believe is meant to show how she could be trapped within this life and how the boy sees him self freeing her.
There is also use of close ups when the boy enters focused on the girls face showing her eyes following the boy however the girl is relatively un phased by his entrance.
At one point there is a two shot of the girl drawing on the floor and the boy is in the shot as well however there is some graffiti on the wall which says “bizarre dwarf porn” and I believe this subliminal messaging allows the audience to reflect on what she thinks she is to him as he is obviously besotted by the female.

Also another subliminal message I believed used in this sequence is when the camera pans up to the boys face because it starts the shot focused upon a hawk sticker on his skateboard and this could co notate the boys desire to hunt for the female.

There is also a series of teenage pop art animations in place to show the audience briefly how the boy is in love with the female character and how he intends to perform a trick to impress her. This animation cleverly uses pop art which immediately reminds the audience of the boys age and how its just a teenage crush.#

When the boy starts his trick there is a series of close ups used in order to create suspense on the trick in which the audience are going to see but also use of a depth of field shot in which is close to the skateboard and shows the distance to the female.
The trick is then performed again using different angles of camera shot heightening the audience suspense to see if the character does it well.

When the trick then goes wrong in the background there is another subliminal message which says”wime” which I believe is short for “why me” and co notates how the boy feels.
There is then use of an eye line match from the boy to the female and this shows how the boy is concerned and then there is use of cartoon like love music played for a short time. This shows again the true age of this boy and how he quickly gets over the girl.

Task.

My task is to create a short film in its entiety that reflects ideas behind the creation of meaning within a sequence.



for this task i need to look at the history of short films and how they achived there desire to create meaning within the sequence. Also i will be following this shedule as shown underneath.


the first part is to look at some other films made in the past by different directors to see how they achieved there aims.

the first film i will look at is...The first time it hits by Jason Budge.