Title Research - Bullet Styling

For our title sequence we wanted to incorporate the speed and tension often associated with action films and allow the title to be effective.

We have selected to look at this bullet styling title sequence to help give us an idea of how a moment often shown in horror movies such as a bullet firing can be shown from the very beginning of the film to help infer the audience of the contents in the movies plot. The bullet helps add emphasis on the titles being presented to the audience and helps portray the action movie qualities to the audience. Once again the font is basic but also metallic which allows a contrast with other action movies with a similar title including films such as Transformers.

Title Research - DeanBear Chronicles

For our opening scene we want a tense sort of intro to help contrast the music we are planning on using which will require the opening title sequence to be quick and effective.

In terms of design, the opening title sequence involving the DeanBear Chronicles in which the constant fading in of letters allows the music and title to be emphasised to the audience. The font is pretty standard but it is also effective with the red stripe giving it added effect and allowing the audience to easily identify with the title of the film.

Vindictive - Update to Plot

In our opening two minutes, the scene opens with the main antagonist and another character in which they are engaging in a fight in which the antagonist is shown to be over powering his opponent who is in obvious distress. The scene cuts out and focuses on the two main protagonists in which they are shown to be walking in a residential district in which they are then contacted by who the audience assume is their designated boss. The boss instructs them to go investigate a crime happening in a house nearby in which they comply with the request and are seen to run towards the required destination.

The scene cuts back to the main antagonist in which it shows his final attack on the other character in which the other character appears to of been strangled to death. The protagonists are then shown to be running towards a house in which they enter to discover the body of the other character. After quickly checking for life signs, they are greeted with the grisly fact that he is in fact dead. One of the protagonists then checks out the window in which they see a man attempt to escape from the vicinity in which the protagonists split off with one following the escapee and the other attempting to cut off his route. The escapee and the chaser run through the rural neighbourhood across the various obstacles which they come across with the other protagonist in close pursuit.

They run up a muddy path in which the protagonist manages to catch the antagonist on a wooden bridge, in which the antagonist manages to retaliate and force the protagonist past him; after a stumble the protagonist regains his composure and gets ready to fight. The protagonist is then joined by his colleague in which they then face off with the antagonist with one on either side of the antagonist. They then engage in a close quarter fight between the three of them in which the antagonist depicts his individual skill after being disarmed and gains the upper hand before being pinned back by the onslaught of attacks by one of the characters.

He manages to substantially injure one of the protagonists with his weapon in which him and the other protagonist face off in a one on one fight, involving a lot of swift punches and tactics in which they try and beat each other. The protagonist eventually wins the fight in which he knocks the antagonist to the floor with the weapon and subsequently restrains him, he then attempts to tend to his friends wounds but to no avail as his colleague dies. Overcome by rage he raids the body of the antagonist for some sort of information on why this happened, he eventually locates a phone which then rings at that exact moment, followed by the scene ending.

Vindictive - Questionnaire Analysis

Looking at the results we got from our questionnaire about action films in general we found that our participants had various similarities between their results. We found that a common theme throughout our questionnaire was that the vast majority of participants selected an attractive girl to be a character they would expect to see in an action film which we can most likely relate to the majority of participants being male in our survey. We also found that all our participants experienced positive emotions after watching an action film including terms such as excited or intrigued and that the majority also watched films in general often. One answer stood out as being very popular which all of our participants answered yes when asked if they enjoy action films which is a positive sign for the film we have selected to make.

Some key differences we also saw in the results were the difference in category which our participants chose in terms of favourite type of action film; we found that participants were often split between war, gangster and spy films which helps emphasise the broad audience which watch action films. We also saw a split in terms of favourite films, we had some selecting a variety of war films such as Defiance, Saving Private Ryan and Enemy at the Gates as well as this we also saw star wars as a popular choice amongst our participants. We also saw a range of answers in terms of the participants willingness to watch an amateur action film with only one participant saying yes whilst the others were split between no and maybe which highlights the initial uneasiness of our participants at watching an amateur film.

Vindictive - Institution Research

The Institution has many steps to make the film complete

Pre-Production: Is the step where everything is being set up for the actual production to be filmed.

Production- Is the step where the film is going to be filmed and all of the actors would have to do there scenes and lines.

Post-Production: Is the Step which is after Production so it will focus on mainly editing the film and putting it all together. They will also add in the effects to make the film look better.

Distribution- Where the film is going to be made into many forms so that people can view them. For example the film would be sent to the cinemas so that people can view them like an early access. The film is also sent to DVD's so that people can buy them after it is finished in the cinema.

There are many different companies that distribute films all over the world. Some examples are Lions gates, Warner bros and Paramount

Warner Bros are probably one of the most well known movies distributors in the world. They have distributed many famous films like all the Harry Potter films, The Batman trilogy, Matrix Trilogy and many more. They are all films that have been highly rated by movie reviewers and the public, so they are very successful.


Another film distributor is Paramount. Paramount is ranked as one of the six big Hollywood studios they produce loads of films and distribute it all over the world. They also make very famous films which are very well known to people for example Transformers and the G,I Joe film.

.

Universal is an american company that distributes films all over the world. It is one of the six biggest movie studios in Hollywood and the World. They have created lots of famous films for example E.T, Jurassic Park and despicable me. There are tonnes of other films that they have which are very successful.

Vindictive - Influences on Production

Our production was influenced by a variety of different action films across the genre which allowed us to compare the similarities of the films in the genre to help us pick a suitable plot to our movie opening. We decided to look at a range of opening scenes to various action movies including Getaway which offered us a unique opening scene incorporating flashbacks and the plot of the movie together to help emphasise the dialogue between the characters and helps add structure and effect to the film.

We also looked at various action films involving a fight or chase scene at the beginning of the film as that is what we are aiming for. Including films such as quantum of solace in which the scene opens with a chase scene between the main character and the first antagonist they have to battle. It also highlights the protagonists individual skills and allows the audience to relate more to the character as they can compare him to other action movie heroes in the genre.

Our main protagonist was influenced heavily by the stereotypical strong hero in action films including James Bond as he is shown as a strong but often quiet type in the film, we based Luke's character on this as we believed it would reflect action heroes in general and allow the audience contrast the characters in our film with other action movie heroes. We also decided that due to our film containing two heroes, we also looked at the role in which the other protagonist could play. We also looked at action movies which revolved around two main heroes including movies such as the other guys in which we are presented with characters which contrast eachother. We are planning to incorporate this into our film as we want to show this difference to help emphasise the characters relationship and allows us to relate more to the characters more in our film. We have thus decided to make the second protagonist a more light hearted character who may be used to relieve some of the tension in our opening scene.

Action Movie - Questionnaire Results

Participant 1:

1. spy/war
2. over the top action
3. attractive girls
4. excited
5. very often
6. yes
7. anyone
8. the Hunger Games/ Saving Private Ryan
9. not really
10. maybe
__________________________________________

Participant 2:

1. sci-fi
2. good storyline
3. attractive girls
4. tense
5. rarely
6. yes
7. anyone
8. star wars
9. yes
10. maybe
__________________________________________

Participant 3:

1. gangster
2. dramatic deaths
3. attractive girls
4. intrigued
5. very often
6. yes
7. friends/siblings
8. star wars/ wolf on wall street
9. yes
10. no
__________________________________________

Participant 4:

1. spy
2. fight scenes
3. attractive girls
4. excited
5. very often
6. yes
7. siblings
8. saving private ryan/star wars/ enemy at the gates/defiance
9. sometimes
10. no
___________________________________________

Participant 5:

1. spy/gangster/war/sci-fi
2. fight scenes/ good storyline/ car chases
3. sophisticated hero
4. excited
5. often
6. sometimes
7. anyone
8. Valkyrie/defiance/ taken
9. not really
10. yes
___________________________________________

Action Genre - Questionnaire

1. Whats your favourite type of action film?
- spy
-gangster
-war
-sci-fi
-martial arts
-other
please state________________________________________________

2. What do you look for in a action film?
- relateable characters
- good storyline
- over the top action
- fight scenes
- car chases
- other
please state_______________________________________________

3. what characters do you expect to see in an action film?
- masculine hero
- sophisticated hero
- damsel in distress
- crazy villain
- female protagonist
- Attractive girls
- other
please state_______________________________________________

4. How do action films generally make you feel?
- excited
- tense
- anxious
- curious
- intrigued
- bored
- enraged
- other
please state______________________________________________

5. How often do you watch films?
- very often
- sometimes
- rarely
- never
- all the time
- other
please state______________________________________________

6. In particular, do you enjoy action movies?
- yes
- no
- sometimes
- not really
- other
please state______________________________________________

7. Who do you like to watch films with?
- parents
- friends
- siblings
- strangers at the cinema
- other
please state______________________________________________

8. Whats your favourite action movie?
please state______________________________________________

9. Do you generally look for music in an action film?
- yes
- no
- sometimes
- not really
- never
- other
please state______________________________________________

10. Would you watch an amateur action film?
- yes
- no
- maybe
- other
please state______________________________________________

Vindictive - Soundtrack Research

We have looked at a range of different soundtracks to attempt to compliment the film we are making and its individual qualities. We researched specific non-copyrighted soundtracks by using the available filters on the websites we were using, there were a wide array of moods and genres available under the action category which all had different tempos and rhythms to it. For our opening scene we will need at least one soundtrack which will accompany the chase or fight scene we are planning to achieve and as we are mainly focusing on non-diegetic soundtracks to help add emphasis to the on screen actors and the plot of the movie, we may require a slower quieter soundtrack to play in the background to help add tension to the scene we are portraying. To find these soundtracks we will be looking on the website - http://incompetech.com/music.

When choosing the soundtrack for our film we chose to stick to percussion or acoustic music to help emphasize the main chase and fight scene in our film, however we will add other elements to our music to add structure and tension to our scene. It also gives our audience an obvious indication of its action genre and allows them to compare our movie to others of the same genre.

When choosing the specified website we ensured that we were given appropriate choices of different genres appropriate for our type of film. The genres we looked into particularly were suspenseful, action, chase scene and tense, we chose these because the main scene we looked into to be accompany was the chase and fight scene we are incorporating into our action film. We also looked into a slower more ambient type of music which could be used to play in the background behind the production credits and the introduction.

1. Volatile Reaction by Kevin Macleod - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3Jr9t_jFcE

After choosing our options for our possible soundtrack, the website gave us some selected soundtracks which fitted towards what we are expecting in our soundtrack, from the options that we had chosen from. The first music we selected was Volatile Reaction, we chose this because we believe it would be suitable for our chase and fight scene as it begins slowly and the tempo then increases dramatically which could emphasize the chase between the antagonist and the protagonists of our film.

2. Feral Chase by Kevin Macleod - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJbYhwyK8tc

The second option we deemed acceptable for our film was feral chase as we believe it would offer us a substantial good starting area in the film. We believe it would be best suited to use during the production credits and introduction scene to our movie to help make the atmosphere tense, which helps our characters in the film stand out more with the dialogue they are reciting and allows the audience to become easily immersed into our opening scene.

Vindictive - Title Research

OPENING TITLES

The opening title for an action film are usually very bold and stand out. A good example of a action title is The expendables. The Expendables title is very bold and stands out, this is used to show that there is going to be a lot of action in the film. Also the title looks like it is made out of metal, this shows manliness and strength this will make the target audience think that this will have tonnes of action in it.

The Die Hard 2 title is very bold as well, it stands to the audience because of the color of the words. The dark blue represents cold just like the people are in the actual film to the main protagonist.  It is big and bold because they want to make the audience feel like they are trying to make the film look big and explosive, so that it stands out to people.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles title is a very good example for a action movie title. You can tell because of the color, the font and the size. The color represents the what the characters are like, they are green, giant turtles so represents it very good. The font size is Asian style in someway because the "T" and the "S" have a sword spike at the end to make it look more like a katana sword. The size of the  title shows that they are bigger then the usual size of a turtle, this shows that they are mutants and not any normal turtles.

Our own title will be a very bold font so that it will stand to the audience and give them the feeling that it is powerful like a soldier. We want it to make it stand out so that it looks more dangerous like there is going to be danger and like you are close to death. Also we want the title of the film to sound like it is dangerous and meaningful, like it has a story to tell for example "Revenge" tells you a short story that someone is going to get revenge and kill someone. The background color would be most likely to be black because then the title will stand out to the audience more.  

Vindictive - Opening Credits Research

The way that we are going to introduce the opening credits are that when we start off the film and do the introduction, the names are going to show up at the bottom of the screen. This will show all of our names at the bottom and will let the audience know who is playing who. This also  used in many famous action films for example Kill Bill. This is shown when she is in the bed and is struggling to breath, it then shows who helped make the film for example the martial art adviser Yeun Wo-Ping this will then give credit to the person and people will then know his name. Also the actors names are shown at the beginning and  are said which character they are playing, which is a good way to introduce the characters. Also it is a good example of the an action film introduction because they let the audience see what happens at the beginning and how it turns out later on, which is good to keep the audience looking forward to the next part, kind of like a cliff hanger.

Vindictive - Soundtrack Analysis of Action Films

The sound which is in action films is very loud for examples explosions, gunfire, punch and shouting. This is mainly because it is the fighting which uses it so that it makes it look better. 

In martial art films they mostly uses hand to hand combat and to make it look good they need to add some sound affects. What they would use are different punching sounds and impact sounds. This makes it sound more realistic and doesn't make it boring for the audience to watch. 

Gunfire sound would make the scene sound more exciting and realistic for the scene.When someone is firing a gun the audience is expected to get adrenaline from the gunfire this is a sound which is definitely needed if guns are involved in a film.

Explosions - There are many different types of explosion sounds which are in  action movies, for example car explosions, petrol station explosions, explosions from missiles. Shots being fired from a helicopter. This all affects the scene and film because if the explosions sound the same then it will get repetitive and will become a bit boring. This will also make it more exciting for the audience to experience and would give them adrenaline.

Shouting - Shouting in an action movies is needed to make it seem more intense for the audience. For example if soldiers are in a middle of a battlefield to make the scene look more intense and realistic for the audience.

Blog Post Check List

	Done?	Comment?
RESEARCH
Genre Research and mind-maps (3 posts)
Uploaded YouTube videos of openings – analysed (10 openings)
Opening titles analysed in detail – font researched
Uploaded YouTube videos of similar genre openings analysed in detail (3 posts)
Costume and location research – google earth and pictures you’ve taken. (At least 2 posts)		Setting – pictures of the setting, maps/google images Costume research – explaining the characters costumes and how the audience would identify with their costume.
Actors and props photos and interviews
Soundtrack research (non-copyright music)
Audience Research and Profiling (typical audience member and similar films)		Action Movie target audience – could you include the statistics of an action film audience from the Pearl and Dean website?
Institution research (Paramount etc)
Certificate research
PLANNING
Own film idea brainstorm
Own film treatment	Yes
Relevant Online Tutorials (on filming and editing) and Comments (At least 2 posts)	No
Documenting of influences on production
Shot lists	No
Consideration of representation in your film and stereotyping – use theory from G325.
Questionnaire (and feedback) Get some feedback on your initial ideas!	No
Diary of filming/editing etc with photos and screen grabs (At least 3 posts)	No
Mood board
Script
Practice titles created and uploaded	No
Storyboard – animatic.	No	Storyboarding - animatic, scripting and location research is lacking and I am expecting video diary posts to show me how the filming is going
Time Management Schedule – what you did& when, problems you encountered& solved	No
Codes and Conventions featured in your Opening Two Minutes
Ensure that all posts have a title, detailed comments and relevant pictures which are commented on.

 

Vindictive - Primary Plot

Location - London
establishing shot
over the shoulder shot
dialogue between bill and conor - "they've crossed the line for the last time, deal with them...........i've got business of my own to tend to"
bill leaves conference room and calls luke/matt
luke/matt answers phone call - "you've got a shipment, meet at the designated area"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
location - wooded area
dialogue between matt and luke - "somethings not right here, where is the shipment?"
conor enters secne
dialogue between matt, luke and conor - "i'm afraid there wont be a shipment"
"conor? what are you doing here?"
"just............doing my job"
conor pulls out a weapon but is quickly disarmed
fight scene ensues
fight ends with conor being defeated
luke picks up phone from conor
phone rings
dialogue between bill and luke - "you've messed with the wrong people"
"that's where you're wrong i'm afriad"
"what do you mean"
"have you checked on your family recently?"
luke and matt leave wooded area
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
location - suburban housing complex
 dolly shot of entering the house
forward following shot of matt and luke looking into the houses various rooms
shot from the inside of a room of luke and matt entering the room
medium shot of luke
blood shown on the floor
shot follows luke and matt movement around table
close up of luke
shot of a dead family member
luke breaks down
phone rings; with unknown number shown on the screen
end.