Final Idea

Our opening title sequence for a children's film would be for an animation called "My Little Firefly".
The plot is the story of one main character (yet to be decided) who has had to move away and start a new school; who finds settling in difficult and struggles to make friends. After one particularly bad day. they are crying in the far corner of the playground and a magical tiny firefly hears them from within his tree home. The firefly befriends him and together they conquer the bullies and the main character makes loads of friends. The bully apologises s and they all play tag happily ever after.

We hope to use a green screen and small toys to create an animation in iStop motion using still frames.
We will add our own sound and voices using garageband. Also the nature of this film,means it would probably be a certified U.

Here is our storyboard:

Analysisng Fantasy genre

Alice in Wonderland opening sequence


this clip contains the generic conventions of an opening sequence, such as:
a title sequence which also introduces the main characters of the film...

This shows Alice along with the title of the film...



here we can see more main characters being introduced before the start of the film along with the opening credits.


This shows the media company along with another character of the film.


It also contains a non diagetic sound track with lots of strings and choral voices, introducing the narrative and reinforcing the fantasy genre.

As the film begins we are introduced to one location, however this quickly changes..

...this shows Alice's reality world all be it animation

while this shot shows her traveling through to her 'wonderland' showing how it is a fantasy film.

The target audience for this film would be younger children probably aged 4+ as it is an animation with the fantasy becoming a contributing factor to the horror which later occurs. All content is appropriate for the target audience however some may still find it to scary.

Mise en scene:
The bright colours, upbeat music and the setting within the field and flowers all suggest a light heartedness of the fantasy. This then changes when Alice enters the 'Wonderland' as all becomes much darker, hinting at the sinister nature of the narrative.

Camera work:
There is an establishing shot of the field to show the current location of Alice and her mother. During their conversation there are many mid shots of Alice, to emphasise her importance to the story. The camera always tracks Alice to force the audience to follow her adventure.

Editing:
Alice gets the most screen time, showing her importance as the main character in the film. It is continuity editing to give a realistic feel to the start of the film and attempt to make it realistic in amongst the fantasy bring out the dramatic irony.

Sound:
The beginning sound track gives us an introduction to the narrative and sets the atmosphere for the film. This then goes into diagetic sound of bees and the voice of her mother reading to Alice. Throughout the whole sequence there is non diagetic music which changes to fit the changing emotions Alice is experiencing and communicating to the audience.

Preliminary Task - Final edited Clip

Our final  clip used a completely different script to the one we thought we would use. This is because we found some willing drama volunteers who were able to improvise.
Overall our clip came out well, except once filmed we discovered there was a defect on the tape; hence the distortion at the beginning of the clip. There was nothing we could do to alter this.
In editing our piece, we learnt to add titles over a piece of film. Also we added transitions to keep in style with the continuity. If we had had more time, we would have liked to add music to the beginning/ establishing shots.
We will do this in our next preliminary task.

classification of The Chronicles of Narnia

Criteria for Universal classification:
No discriminatory language or behaviour; no references to illegal drugs, unless for a clear educational/ anti-drug purpose; Mild, brief scary sequences with a reassuring outcome; infrequent use of very mild bad language; occasional natural nudity, with no sexual content; no potentially dangerous behaviour or emphasis on easily accessible weapons; mild sexual behaviour eg. kissing; sensitive treatment of thematic issues and mild violence/ threat or menace.

Classification for Parental Guidance:
Discriminatory language/ behaviour is disapproved of, or within an educational/ historical context; any references to illegal drugs must carry an anti-drug message; horror sequences should not be prolonged or intense; no detail of potentially dangerous behaviour or glamorisation of realistic/ easily accessible weapons; mild bad language only; natural nudity, with no sexual content; only implied sexual activity, but discreet and infrequent; moderate violence without detail if justified by context and where more serious issues are featured, nothing in their treatment should condone unacceptable behaviour;

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a classified PG.  We watched Aslan's death and before checking its classification on the internet, we discussed as a group and decided it was rated PG because although it did not contain any drug/sexual/bad language or nudity references there was a lot of prolonged horror and implied violence as well as imitable behaviour.


For example this is a brief emphasis on the Witches Knife, a fairly realistic weapon.


Here is an example of one of the fantasy creatures, which along with the setting is a mitigating factor in the horror. Also below is a shot of most of the evil fantasy creatures, chowing their threatening nature.


Despite the killing towards the end of the clip, this film is still classified a PG as you never explicitly see the point of impact. You only see the shot of the raised knife before:

..and the shot of Aslan's pain after..



Here is shown Aslan being muzzled, which could be seen as imitable behaviour for young children, especially as it is inflicted upon an animal, as opposed to a human. However this could then be argued that this is another reason why it is classified as a PG, in this clip, no violence towards a human is shown.

Overall, we think classifying films according to their content is a practical and necessary idea, which protects the audience and warns them of any "offensive" content so they know what to expect.

Preliminary task - Storyboard

continuity editing practical

we will be filming a short encounter between two characters, including a dialogue.
We will use outside the canteen for the establishing shot. with a back view of the character heading towards the door. Then after the close up and match on action, the rest of the scene will be filmed at a table in the canteen.

Here is our script:

C1: (slightly angry) Where have you been?!
C2: (panting)  Just escaped from the gym.. the instructor was gonna kill me! All those press ups -.-
C1:  (smug) Ouch and all while I've been eating chips!
C2: You'll be jealous when I'm hench! ;)
C1: Hmm I guess i shouldn't tempt you with any leftover chips then should I? (slides packet towards them)
C2: ahhh alright then!! (eats chip)

Preliminary Task

180 degree rule
refers to an imaginary line which cuts through the middle of the scene. To maintain continuity editing shots can not be reversed with a cut; only when the camera moves on the 180 degree arc can the viewers perspective change. for example if Peter was on the right hand side and Tom was on the left during a dialogue they would remain this way throughout the scene unless the camera pans around on the 180 degree arc this avoids disorientation and confusion.

Continuity editing
This type of editing style is used to keep the scene realistic and continuous for the viewer. for example mainly using cuts in a naturalistic scene such as 'Night at the museum'.

Match on action
Using a cut during an action to another camera angle but showing the action from the same point in time. for example following someone opening a door it would then cut to the other side of the door where the action would continue.

Establishing shot
This is usually a long shot which introduces the location and often a character to the scene. for example a long high shot of a house to introduce the main setting.

Reaction shot
After either an action or dialogue cutting to another character to see their reaction. for example a mid shot of a character after receiving some bad news in a conversation.

long shot
A long distance between camera and focus of scene this shot often shows the surrounding location of the scene. For example a view of an hotel lobby.

Shot reverse shot
cutting between two characters using over the shoulder shots so alternating characters are in the frame at any one time. for example in a conversation of two people sitting down in an interview.