analysis of a production company which makes thrillers

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer






This company is arguably most famous for making all of the James Bond action thrillers.
The lion that roar's can connote that the film can scare the audience like a roaring lion would. Also the sound of the lion roaring can suggest that the content within the film could have a lot of tension building scenes/ sounds which thrill the audience.
The company shows the variety of genre's of films they make by changing the lion to a character within a film they've made. For example, when they made the cartoon Tom and Jerry, the changed the background from black to a royal blue and they made the writing more simple to match the audience who usually watch it.

Titan AE

Titan AE

How do sound and music represent:

Character - The music makes the characters seem tough and resilient, it also helps to convey the emotions that would be associated with the loss of a home planet.

Narrative - The sound effects from the beginning of the clip are broadcasts warning of a threat to the planet which then happens accompanied by appropriate sound effects of destruction. The music helps to give an idea of the narrative as the music is dark, tense and fast paced.

Genre - The genre is Sci-Fi/ Action this is evident by the use of sound effects, such as blasters, explosions and spaceships. The music also helps emphasise this by sounding electronic and being quiet and tense.

What atmosphere is created by the music?

A dark and moody atmosphere is created by the music which fits the theme of the film.

Initial ideas

What classification will you use and why?

We are making a PG film, the target audience will then be broader meaning we can include a more complicated story line. There will be more option of plots and character types.

Will you use live action or animation or why?

We are using live action as we are doing film inside college. If we did animation, we would have to create the settings and characters outside of college this would take up a lot of time. I-stop animation may also take up a lot of time, leaving us little time to edit or correct any problems we may have.

What is the outline of your story? What is the moral?

Planet A wants to take over Planet B, they then fight to save their planet and come to an agreement that they should be happy with what they have and planet B wins for being the better aliens.
The moral of the story is to not take what you have for granted, and is about how greed is bad.

What role will each group member have?

We will all be acting in the film. We will be aliens, two from planet A and two from planet B.

We are all going to be filming parts of the movie. Props and costume, Charné. Editor, Ashley and Charné. Sound, Ben. Director, Samanda. Script, Samamda.

Dark Crystal

The Dark Crystal

The Dark Crystal is controversial as when it was released it was a PG despite the dark tones and the Skeksis, the evil creatures,  who are very creepy and quite disgusting.  The film also shows death, destruction and deceit, because of this it is very controversial to be a PG and still be that dark.

Mr. Bean

Mr. Bean.

Mr. Bean is represented as an irresponsible adult by his actions which are emphasised by his lack of speech which even when used is pronounced in a comedic fashion, this makes him appealing to children as it implies that they don't have to grow up ever and no matter what situation they get themselves into they will always be able to get out of.

The clip shows a very typical Mr. Bean scene which shows him making a new serving hatch during the clip Mr. Bean is shown pretending the drill is a gun and also not properly planning things. Children can relate to this as they have active imaginations and tend to rush haphazardly into things instead of properly planning. There is very little music during the clip as most of the sound is a laughter track, there is also no dialogue during the clip which allows a wider audience to enjoy the clip. 

Toy Story 3

The opening of Toy Story 3 fits the conventions of a children's film by having quite a lot of action and also by having each character have some kind of super power and it being unrealistic which reflects the genre which is fantasy. This reflects the fact that the whole story is being seen from a child's perspective and is generated through a child's imagination which allows for the amount of creativity seen. the opening also links back to Toy Story's opening which has the same plot, but doesn't include the characters which were picked up in Toy Story 2, but the Toy Story opening shows what is actually happening instead of through Andy's imagination.

A link to the clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKA2xaqSTVc&feature=related

Sci-fi genre

Planet 51



Planet 51 follows conventions of sci-fi through many means, such as the content of Aliens, outer space, visiting new planets etc although it has a new take on the conventions as the aliens are being visited by a human, which makes is contrasting as the human is classed as the alien.

In the opening sequence of the film, the genre is made clear straight away as the aliens are introduced first. This is different from the stereotypical sci-fi film because usually the humans are introduced first because

Small Soldiers

Analysis

Small soldiers fits the action genre because it has numerous battles during which explosives and weapons are used, it also contains a group of commandos which turn out to be the bad guys.

The cinematography helps to indentify the genre in many ways i.e. the camera shots are quick when action is taking place, also the appearance of the animations is emphasised which shows the strength of the characters, i.e. their muscles. The commandos are also always shot from a low angle which makes them seem more powerful and superior to the humans.

The music is mainly fast paced and tense which builds on the action and tension within the clip. The voice over is stereotypically deep and powerful which matches the genre this engages the target audience, who are children over the age of 8 and is aimed more towards boys.

Jumanji

How does the clip address the opening sequence conventions?

The opening sequence of Jumanji contains credits, it also gives an overview of the plot in a flashback which introduces the board game during the flashback, set in the 1860's , tension is created as it is dark and there is eerie diegetic sound. This contrasts the next scene, set in the 1960's, which is bright.

How does the clip meet the conventions of an adventure film?

At the beginning when the two people are burying the board-game shows that the genre is adventure by the music. This is because the music was suspicious and tension-raising. Also, the way the characters appear makes it seem adventurous by the fact they're in dark colours which are also tatty and the fact that they are covered in dirt also gives a sense that they have been on a stereotypical adventure. The dialogue implies that the board-game will come back and, supposedly, 'haunt' them.

The Lion King

How does it attract the target audience?
It attracts the target audience because it has a compelling story and interesting personifications of the animals. The story also appeals because it has good triumphing over evil albeit eventually.

Why is this film memorable to you?
This film is memorable to me as it is one of the first films i ever saw and the main character, simba, loses his father which i think also deepened my connection with the film as my parents divorced when i was younger so i think i was able to connect to simba.

What is the moral in the film?
The moral in the film is never run away from your past as it will always catch up and also to stand your ground and stand up to oppression.

Preliminary Task

In this task we had to create a video using certain cinematography elements. We then had to add text, use video filters, video transitions and sound. 

Whilst doing the project we learnt to edit a video, apply effects and use certain shot types to make the video flow. We also learnt how to add a soundtrack to our short film.

The task was pretty simple although it took time to sort out the soundtrack due to the fact we couldn't move the clip from final cut to garageband.

Preliminary task

Preliminary: Continuity task 

This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot, and the 180 degree rule. 

Students will take out a camera in their groups in order to shoot a sequence. 

Establishing shot;

Clip of establishing shot from Finding Nemo. This shot at 0:00-0:12 sets the location, giving the audience the idea of setting and genre. It introduces the main character 'Marlin' and his wife 'Coral'.

Close-up;


There is a close-up at 1:17. This shows what the characters are looking at in detail. They can also be used to show emotion more clearly on the characters, such as at 1:54 in the clip. 


Match on action;


Match on action shows the character doing the same thing from various different angles, for example 2:12-2:17. It allows the sequence to be more interesting and flow more. It is sometimes used to create a sense of pace.


Reaction shot;


2:11-2:15