film opening technology standard;

The video camera used in my production was a Sony Cybershot point-and-shoot digital camera. This belongs to me and so it was very easy for me to use. The burst function on the camera was most useful for taking my photos, although even with the tripod I still felt I needed more hands to use everything at the same time and get better shots. I used a Gorillapod tripod, which is miniature and very flexible - very handy for stop motion.

While composing my shots I tried to use markers so when changing around my props I didn't move things too much, particularly with the more fiddly scenes. This seemed to work okay, but I guess I should have just used more blutack.

I recorded the dialogue on my camera as I didn't have immediate access to a separate microphone. The quality was not as good as it could have been if I had taken the time to organise this different method.
I gave up importing my images and sound almost right away on the school computers as I had a lot of problems with Premiere Pro, and in the end I decided it was best to do all my editing at home. The importing of my files - especially music/sound files went a whole lot smoother at home.

The song I used came from my large music collection, I spent a lot of time deciding what song to use, narrowing it down to a few choices and finally picking Hedonistic Me - Born Ruffians. I picked this song as it was just the right speed, and the guitar theme was perfect for what was happening in the storyline with the owl playing guitar. Sounds effects were slightly more difficult to find because of the new downloading law but after a wee bit of sleuthing I did find some really good free sound database sites and sourced my sounds from there.

My two major editing programs used were Microsoft Digital Image and Sony Vegas Movie Studio. Microsoft Digital Image played a massive role as nearly all my stills were manipulated in some way so I could fit them together and have them look as I wanted. Removing white backgrounds from all my pictures and making them transparent was a slow and gruelling process but at least it was something I was confident I could do and was previously aware of how long the process would be, having edited images countless times before. Each shot is usually made up of two still cut and edited together. I had never used a professional movie editing program properly before but after deciding on Sony Vegas I quickly picked up how it worked. I found the editing program easy to use and it was preferable to programs such as Windows Movie Maker as it had lots of great tools like the marker function which was absolutely perfect for aligning my music and sounds with the pictures - I believe this really made my film a polished product. I also used Audacity to make the dialogue recording clearer by removing the background noise. Audacity was also used to chop and change my music, cutting out a section in the middle so when playing from start to finish the ending was still included and the song sounded completed.

film opening review;

My film opening is completed, edited and submitted!

Some positive aspects of the process were how it cut together and fit very nicely. I was pleased with how I managed to get the whole film to move exactly in time to the music and/or sound effects. The photos of the letters and the recording of the clicking sounds of them were done seperately and I was unsure if this would work out but I'm impressed it did. I was also happy with how the fishing scene turned out because the props used were so tiny and it was difficult to get them to line up without moving between photos or without the blutack showing. After a few takes I had it looking smooth and effective and I liked this scene a lot.

I was satisfied with most the sunset transitions that I did, but because I did this in an editing program, photo by photo, it took me quite a while per picture and as a result I didn't get quite the effect I was after. I felt it was too jumpy and that made it less beautiful. If I had more time to do it again I would make more sunset shots so that the sunset was more seamless and polished. I also needed to pay more attention to lighting, because when the pictures were put on to the backgrounds there were subtle colour/shade differences between frames because I hadn't properly taken this factor into account. I needed to put a set flash on on my camera instead of leaving it on automatic, and I needed to avoid the sunlight hitting my props.

film opening crew and talent/art department/location;

crew: 
myself

talent:
narrator - Mummy
assistant - Eloise

art department:

• all pictures will be sourced from the internet, printed and then collaged.
• my owl and cat are handmade puppets that my great grandma made a long time ago.
• most/all of the images (backgrounds, boats, fishing rod, guitar, etc.) will be doctored.
• I use Microsoft Digital Image to edit my pictures, I have this program at home
• sound effects (waves, whale chatter, splashes) are found on free sound databases on the internet.

location permission
I give myself permission to use my computer, my bedroom and my brain. :)

film opening script;

The Owl and the Pussycat by Edward Lear

The Owl and the Pussycat
Went to sea,
In a beautiful pea-green boat,
They took some honey,
And plenty of money,
Wrapped up in a five pound note.

film opening treatment & style;

The film opens with a white screen and the title The Owl and the Pussycat files letter by letter onto the screen. There are the sounds of the clicking as the magnetic letters hit the board, the letter y hit the board sideways and then squeaks while turning the right way. Waves roll in as the voiceover of the narrator reads "The Owl and the Pussycat, by Edward Lear" This now cuts into a scene of the sea, with a pea-green boat on it, an owl and a pussycat are in the boat as well as some honey, money and a guitar that are visible. The waves move, accompanied by the sounds of waves swishing and crashing as the voiceover of the narrator reads the first verse of The Owl and the Pussycat (here).

The waves get louder as it cuts into a time-lapse montage, accompanied by music - Hedonistic Me by Born Ruffians.Clips are of the owl playing guitar with music coming from the guitar, the cat then has a fishing rod, line goes out into the water, they wait for a few moments, then it the line comes back in with a fish, then with a whole pile of fish. Then they hear a chatter behind them, they turn around and it's a dolphin.One dives up, then another, then a third. they watch them dive. Then the two of them look up to the sky, they watch in the exact same position as the sky changes above them, sunset in colours of orange, yellow and pink, until the moon and stars come in and it is night time. The last frame we see is one of the silhouette of them in the dark on the water in their boat.

I want to do this sort of in the style of a children's picture book. Stop motion helps with this a lot as the lack of smooth flow is like the short break when turning a page.

film opening concept & research;

 

The Owl and the Pussycat

My film is going to be based loosely on the poem The Owl and the Pussycat by Edward Lear. 

My target audience is younger children, or big kids if you feel like :D I am planning to use stop motion and a handmade collage (using edited "stock images") to tell the story. 

I am beginning with the very first stanza narrated by my mum in the classic and original style of the poem and then moving on to a montage set to an assortment of songs. This montage will contain all the fictional adventures of the Owl and the Pussycat.

I have access to most of the equipment to make this happen, photoshop and other photo manipulation programs, a sony cybershot camera (with burst function), a narrator, a large collection of music and a flexible tripod. I need to learn how to use film editing software to complete this.I don't think this will have a high impact on the audience as not much attention is required to understand it. :)

I did my research by looking up the words to the poem and then by reading different picture book interpretations of the poem.

I searched sound effect websites for good ocean sounds and I then spent a lot of time on google images looking for pictures that I can edit into what I needed. I decided to use an origami boat in the end, because it was hard to find a boat that was mostly a straight colour.  I borrowed mum's magnetic letters from school.

horror genre conventions!

Morality;

Shown in: Psycho (1960), Halloween (1978) & Scream (1996)

 

A convention manipulated in the movies Psycho, Halloween and Scream is Morality. We are shown constantly that people who partake in things that are morally wrong will come to a grim ending.
In Psycho directed by Alfred Hitchcock, the lead character Marion steals $40,000. She is seen in her underwear in the first few minutes of the film and is sleeping with a married man. She is also seen close to naked in the infamous shower scene, right before she is brutally stabbed to death.
In Halloween, John Carpenter's 1978 film, Laurie's friends are constantly seen 'breaking the rules'. They drink, smoke, take drugs and have sex. Annie gives her babysitting job to faithful friend Laurie so she can go off and fool around with her boyfriend. She is seen in nothing but a shirt and underwear minutes before she is killed. Lynda, Laurie's other friend, has also just had sex in someone else's house and is drunk when she is killed, along with her boyfriend Bob. Laurie remains alive as she is not distracted by these other 'immoral' things.
Scream by Wes Craven consciously alerts the characters as they commit obscene acts, referring to the 'Rules of Horror Films', as is with the other two films; alcohol, drugs, sex and promiscuity lead to a cruel death.

Morality was used in these three films to reflect the ideas of society at the time, all the iniquitous acts carried out by the characters are things that were (and maybe still are) seen as extremely wrong by the people of that era.
This convention changed across the three films as the generation and the target audience changed. The scene in Psycho with Marion in lingerie was racy and scandalous at the time it was released, but our culture has got used to it as current broadcasting standards allow us to see more than that on the evening news. Halloween and Scream were also more directed towards a teenage audience with young adult leads that people could relate to. This meant that the crimes had to be worse and more shocking to appeal to the younger generation.

how you turn my world, you precious thing.

Part C;

Category Four - Music;


The music used in the selected opening is titled Underground, written and sung by David Bowie. This piece was commissioned especially for the film soundtrack, but only a portion of the full song is used in my extract.
(for a link to the full six minute version click here)

Underground was a musical experiment for Bowie, but it did an excellent job of portraying the mood the way Jim Henson envisioned it.
The song uses a lot of electronically created sounds. In addition to the basic acoustic piano, blues guitar played by Albert Collins and a rhythm section, Bowie has made great use of the Hammond organ - an electronic organ used for jazz, blues and gospel music, amongst a few others.
Keyboard, as well as programmed xylophones, flute, drums and harp were used. Underground also featured a saxophone (in the extended version) and a large gospel chorus. The piece is heavily synthesized in some parts and also very ornamental, with the use of scales, trills, glissandi, etc.

The selection of instruments picked for Underground, whether they be live or electronic, echoed and mirrored the fantasy genre perfectly. Flute and harp used together effectively imitates old Celtic tunes, which has a very mystical and sometimes dark sound.The large gospel chorus used to back up David resonates the reflection idea in an aural form. The piece as a whole sounds magical and deep, and depicts the strong visual elements of the film opening perfectly.

you don't even know what an oubliette is!

Part C;

Category Three - Mis-en-scene/Composition;

There isn't a lot in terms of mise-en-scene in the opening of Labyrinth, but the use of space is very effective.
After we see the Tri-Star production logo, the actual opening begins with a swirling blue mist that whirls around the words. As the credits begin to roll the mist twists into a crystal ball which floats into the distance like a bubble and a barn owl flies from it. As the drum in the music beats a whole labyrinth (a maze) is projected quickly beneath the owl, sort of like a flash of lightning (as shown above). The owl then reflects so that there are three flying through the air. One flies out of view and the two still on screen, mirror images of each other, fly forward. Another flies out of shot and the remaining owl is shown in a close up shot as it flies toward the camera. This owl flies around as the credits roll and it is often reflected. The owl flies into the distance of the shot into what looks like an invisible pool of water, causing ripples to come from the centre as the title 'Labyrinth' appears. All of this is done in shades of blue on a black background.


After the animation of the owl flies into the scene there is a long/wide shot  to establish the setting. We are in some kind of park or meadow with a large pond but it is secluded and no one else is around. There is a bridge which is reasonably expected of this genre, as often in fairytales and other fantasy films trolls and similar fictional creatures live under or are somehow associated with bridges. Another reflection is used as the main character Sarah runs in over the bridge and she is reflected in the water. As we zoom in on her we see that the structures surrounding her are made of stone, another commonality in the fantasy world, evoking the thought of castles with moats. There is also a graceful white swan drifting downstream which is a fairytale reference. 

All these reflections, mists, crystal balls, swans and owls are codes of the fantasy genre. Putting them together in this context just creates one large symbol of the fantasy world. There are distinct differences from the real-world, but at the same time there are many points of reality. This overlap is the audience appeal as they have something they connect to in the film. Sarah is a big point of connection as she appears to be 'sitting on the fence' between fact and fiction. As she hears the clock chime in the distance, running off in the horror and disbelief that it is "seven o'clock!" we notice that underneath her beautiful costume she is wearing jeans with sneakers, quite a visible link between the two worlds.

for my will is as strong as yours, and my kingdom is as great.

Part C;

Category Two - Script/Dialogue;

There is no dialogue until we get to the beginning of the first scene, after the credits. Sarah runs in across a bridge, dressed in a typical costume that the viewers connect immediately with fantasy. She begins to recite a passage and as she speaks the line: "my will is as strong as yours, and my kingdom is as great!", thunder rumbles and she looks up losing her place, forgetting her line. She flicks through the red book up her sleeve, 'The Labyrinth', finding the line she can never remember, "you have no power over me."

This whole speech is recited and quoted time and time again throughout the film."I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the Goblin City.." comes back when she asks the Goblin King to take away her baby brother Toby, only to beg for him back when it actually happens. The line "you have no power over me." becomes very symbolic as once she remembers it she manages to break down the glass between the fantasy and the real-world, remembering she must save her brother.

This particular speech creates meaning effectively throughout the film because it is repeated. The audience remember it well as it is introduced at the very start and then is referred back to again and again, so they can draw easy connections. Most of the time this will make them want to watch to the end of the film, so they aren't left hanging.

sarah, go back to your room. play with your toys and your costumes. forget about the baby.

Part C;

Category One - Transitions/Colour;

The opening of Labyrinth is animated and therefore all in one shot. There are no shot transitions as such, but the way the director has run all the visual information is smooth and seamless. Jim Henson has used the swirling mist and the barn owl as transitions between the names in the credits. The mist at the very beginning twirls around revealing the producer's information. As the credits roll the owl sweeps through them, often changing the words as it flies over. The owl flies into the distance of the shot into what looks like an invisible pool of water, causing ripples to come from the centre as the title 'Labyrinth' appears. This is all enhanced by the music with accompanying scales/glissandi on the xylophone that add to the overall magical effect, enchanting the viewer.

All this is done to reinforce the genre and mood, reminding us that Labyrinth is a fantasy film.
The colour used most in this title sequence is a semi transparent blue. This is the colour of the mist and the crystal ball and labyrinth (maze) that come from it. It is also the colour of the water ripples and the font used for the title and credits. This blue against a spacious black backdrop effectively makes the opening mystical, as we wonder what hides behind the mist.

The most important transition in my chosen film opening is the link between the actual credits and the very first scene of the narrative. The barn owl that is predominant throughout the credits swoops across the screen, flying directly into the story. It lands on a perch to the right of the frame as our main character runs in. The audience are meeting her for the first time.
The barn owl is symbolic of the link between fact and fiction. Sarah lives in her own world a majority of the time, in between real-life and her imagination. This film is the story of how through a slight disruption in the real-world, she is pulled toward her fantasy world.
The owl also alludes to Jareth, the Goblin King. A barn owl is his other form and when we first see him he is in this form. The transition into the scene cleverly symbolises him 'flying' into her life and world.

you have thirteen hours in which to solve the labyrinth.

Part B;

The tone set by Jim Henson, the director, is within the fantasy genre. The owl you first see lets the audience know immediately that it's a fantasy film, as owls are associated with magic and witchcraft.
The mood of this film is fantastic reality, meaning it's partially real-world, partially fantasy. Right from the very beginning we know that it has many mystical elements, the reflections of the owl show us that's we're not in the real world.
The director creates the tone and mood with the music. Underground by David Bowie is a darker, magical sounding song. He also uses reflections to give the film a fantasy world feel.
The opening appeals to the audience because it takes them away from the real world, which is often the reason these type of films are made.

it's a crystal, nothing more.

Part A;

 
In the opening scene of Labyrinth an owl flies around the names in the credits, accompanied by David Bowie singing 'Underground', which he wrote specifically for the film soundtrack. The owl then flies into the first scene, landing in the far right side. Sarah, the main character, begins to recite a speech from the book The Labyrinth. This passage is heard many times throughout the film, and the line she forgets initially becomes symbolic.
The film opening aludes to the fantasy genre of the whole film, with the owl, mysterious music, the reflections and the costume worn by Sarah when we first see her.

This film is one of my all time favourites and has been ever since I first saw it when I was young. I picked it because I think it's cleverly made, despite the time and technology. I love Jim Henson's work and his sense of humour, it was an easy choice for me. (Also, it stars David Bowie! :D)

it's only forever, not long at all.

the first four minutes of Labyrinth, my chosen film.
apologies for the average quality.
:)

this video doesn't load at school, but the following link does!
here c:

you remind me of the babe!

First post on my Media Studies blog!
Hi Ms. Kazimi *waves* :3

When I heard we were to do an assignment on the opening of a film my first thought was to pick my favourite film; Labyrinth. (click here and here)

 
A 1986 film starring Jennifer Connelly as Sarah and the lovely David Bowie as the Goblin King, Jareth. Directed by Jim Henson, the mastermind behind The Muppets and produced by George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars, lots of famous names here. :)