Genre

Angus Thongs and Perfect Snogging

This is a romantic comedy which follows a 15 year old girl’s ups and downs of teenage life, centred mainly on her growing relationship with a boy called Robbie. It follows all of the codes and conventions of a romantic film in that she falls in love with him, there is a problem along the way (threat of moving to New Zealand, they have a falling out) but in the end they get together and live happily ever after. It also contains some of the romantic iconography e.g. walks along beaches however it is not totally filled with love hearts and flowers etc. this is because it is a hybrid with comedy and a sort of coming of age sort of film therefore all of the iconography would be out of place.    

Titanic

This is a romantic film about a couple that fall in love but are separated by class and circumstance. You can tell immediately that this is going to be a romantic film because of the dramatic emotional music, high key lighting and the iconography – ballrooms, gifts etc. However, the film does not follow the typical codes and conventions of the romantic genre, in that Jack (the love interest) dies therefore ruining the usually happily ever after ending. But because this is a film based on a historical tragedy the audience expects there not to be a happy ending and therefore it is okay to go against the codes and conventions.     

500 Days of Summer

This is again another example of a typical romantic comedy film. However 500 Days of Summer breaks a few codes and conventions in that it is told from the boys perspective (whereas it is usually told from the girls perspective), the boy is the one who falls in love with the girl, and the girl and boy don’t end up together. But on the other hand it does have a happily ever after finish as the girl ends up with someone she truly loves and is happy and it is implied that the boy finds the one as well.  

Genre

Genre is a way to categorise films and other forms of entertainment. Different genres are created by codes and conventions which can change over time. Sometimes you can mix genres to create hybrids for example action thriller, romantic comedy etc.

The genre my group has chosen is romantic. The typical codes and conventions of the romantic genre are boy meets girl, they fall in love, there is some sort of disruption which is later resolved to end with a happily ever after. There is also specific iconography which comes with the genre which consists of hearts, flowers, chocolate, colours like red, pink and white and there is also usually an airy light hearted feel to the film, generally created by the use of high key lighting. 

Some examples of the romantic genre are as follows:

Grease

Grease is a typical romantic film about a boy and a girl who fall in love, they are faced with some problems put forth by their peers but in the end they put their differences aside and live happily ever after.

The Notebook

Again this is a typical romantic film in which a couple fall in love however they are unable to be together due to their differences in class. But in the end they get together and live happily ever after.

Initial ideas

After discussions at school the group have decided on the romantic genre. In which we have decided to stick to the codes and conventions of the genre and make it a typical boy meets girl film.
Main ideas:

• credits play during intercutting of boy and girl getting ready for a Christmas party
• boy and girl are introduced to each other under the mistletoe 
• camera pans up to mistletoe and the title is comes up

Use of Colour - Opening of Phantom of the Opera

The opening to the film ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ effectively uses colour, lighting and mise-en-scene to create a brilliant pretext to the events about to take place in the film’s narrative. Immediately from the black and white filter we get the sense of the film being in a different time period, it also indicates to us that the place is old and it also gives us the feeling that something bad has happened there (hints that the story to come may be dark).

This feeling is continued in the actor’s costumes; they are all wearing dark colours which have connotations of mourning and general sadness. This is also again shown in the main woman’s costume as she wears a black vale which again could be synonymous with death and mourning, or just general pain.   

During the beginning parts of the clip the director chooses to shoot some shots through the stairwell area showing us the dilapidated opera house filled with cob webs and broken railings, the shot looks out into vast hall area which shows us how this once grand opera house is now old and deteriorating, which implies to us that this may be an important part of the story.

The lighting in these shots is very low key and it is made to appear as if the light is natural, perhaps from holes in the ceiling which again presents the idea of ruin. It also help to create a dark and somewhat gloomy feel to the place, as if something bad has happened.

Suddenly when the chandelier is revealed the whole place is lit up signalling a new era, it also creates a sense of great theatricalism which is what the whole story is based upon, so it brings you into the film indicating that the main narrative is about to begin. As it slowly begins to rise, the whole of the theatre bursts into vivid colours whipping away all of the cob webs and showing us that we are going back to a time when the opera house was once full of life.

All of the costumes are now bright and elaborate; the main colours of the costumes are gold and red which connotes a sense of grandeur and magnificence. The characters expressions are over exaggerated, showing feelings of great optimism; this shows us the excitement and overjoy felt by the characters. The lighting is also now very bright which is also trying to portrays this feeling of optimism.

This huge contrast from the first part of the clip gives great dramatic irony because although they are making it out to be an amazing grand thing, we know that something bad is going to happen to ruin this, this is what makes this opening truly effective.

Mise-en-scene

Mise-en-scene is basically everything that can be seen through the camera, this includes the setting; costume and make-up; figure, expression and movement by actors; lighting and positioning withing the frame.

Setting

• can establish time and place; when and where; links to costume and props - effects understanding
• can establish the sense of genre
• can show the mood of the film

Costume and Make-up

-Could be considered part of the set and they indicate:

• the period
• the state of society
• social class
• cultural backgrounds
• character traits

When characters change costumes it can signify important events such as the character going from rich to poor, or maybe even the removal of clothes linking to the lowering of their defenses.

Figure, expressions and movement

The positioning of characters within a frame and their figure and expressions are extremely important to showing the film and giving insight into who the character is and what they are feeling, as this is more what the audience focuses on.

• Body language
• Appearance
• Facial expressions
• sound elements
• the way the character stands and moves
• moving against stationary background- draws attention to them

Lighting and Colour

Lighting

Lighting is very important in showing the mood or atmosphere of a scene. Three point lighting is the most common way to light a set and it can create either high key or low key lighting.

-The Key light is usually the brightest and most influential light.

-The Back light helps to counteract the effect of the key light and makes the object in shot appear more rounded.

-The Filler light(s) helps to soften any harsh shadows created by the key and back lights.

Low key lighting is created by only using the key and back lights, therefore creating sharp contrasts between the areas of light and the darkness of the large shadows which will be formed; this is thought to be more expressive.

High key lighting is created by using more filler lights which makes the scene appear more realistic, but can also be manipulated to create a more glamorous feel or add a catchlight (twinkle in the characters eyes).

Colour

The colours in a film can help to signify certain things:

• black and white - could show time and place (or maybe suggest a flashback)
• warmer colours - could link to genre (usually in romantic films)
• Colder colours - could link to genre (usually in horror films)

Also colour can act as signifiers:

• Red - danger, aggression, violence
• Pink - femininity, romance, calm
• Blue - peace, cold, cleanliness
• Black - power, death, mystery

Positioning within the frame

The positioning within the frame is incredibly important and can hint to much deeper meaning, for example, if a character is placed in the foreground they might be considered more important than a character in the background. Also the distance between characters may indicate the characters feelings toward each other, like a sort of emotional distance, e.g. if characters are close together it could show that the characters a quite friendly; whereas, for example, in the very famous standoff in the film The Good, The Bad and The Ugly the characters could not get much further apart, showing their resentment for each other.

Harry Potter Sound Evaluation

1. What style or feel of music did you use for the credit sequence and why?

We tried to create a mysterious feel to the music to try and connect to the genre and general feel of the Harry Potter films. We did this through the use if one continuous mysterious synthesiser and some parallel sounds, for example as we pass through the Warner Brothers sign we tried to make it sound like you were actually going through something, to give it that sort of importance and to draw in the audience. Also when the Harry Potter words first appear we out in some diegetic thunder to give a sort of dramatic feel to it. Then as we go through the clouds the synthesiser fades out along with some thunder. This is all to give the mysterious feel to the opening which is synonymous with the Harry Potter films.

I would say our Harry Potter credit sequence and titles, on a scale of one to ten for effectiveness, are an 8.

2. What style or feel of music did you use for the playground sequence and why?

As we go into the proper scene we played some diegetic traffic and general city noise to set the scene, admittedly this transition from the titles could have been smoother. Then as we move into the actual into the actual playground part we tried to make the music more soft and day dreamy - contemplative, this was done to try to link to the  character, in that on screen we see him sitting on a swing, it would seem, deep in thought. We also added cricket sounds at the beginning in the grass to show that it's getting into the evening time. We could have added more and layered the noises, but we were trying to get a simple and soft feel to it.

I would say our Harry Potter playground sequence, on a scale of one to ten for effectiveness, is a 7.

3. What style or feel of music did you use for the sequence when the Dementors appeared and why? How do you feel the music and feel changed? To what extent do you feel you managed to convey the change in mood?

 For this part we tried to give the feel of danger. However we did not finish the piece. But what we did do at the beginning of this section was use both diegetic and non-diegetic noises to both portray danger and a bit of the characters dread and anticipation that something bad is going to happen. As the shot goes dark we used thunder noises which immediately brings up that idea that something bad will happen and heightens that sense of danger. Then as the camera showed clouds we used a more deep sudden noise which we used to show the significance of the clouds and on coming danger. Then as the camera showed the playground we used a more suspenseful sound to match the movement of the camera and to again give that sense of danger. Finally we used a more urban bass sound as the were running to pick up the tempo a bit but still keep it dark and suspenseful. This is as far as we got.

I would say our Harry Potter Dementors sequence, on a scale of one to ten for effectiveness, is a 6 as we did not complete it, but I think what we did do was quite effective.

4. How pleased are you with the final sequence overall?

Overall I think the bit that we finished was quite good in creating the feel we intended and also were reasonably smooth. However I think with more time we could have really improved the sound and made it flow a lot better and be perhaps more acoustically interesting.


I would say our whole Harry Potter sequence, on a scale of one to ten for effectiveness, is a 7.

Harry Potter Sound Exercise

Our own music dubbed over a clip from Harry Potter - unfinished.