Opening Two Minutes of Children of Men

•  The first two minutes of this film set the tone very well and give us an introduction to the world in which it is set.
•  Before any images are shown on screen, reporters and news readers are heard describing world events such as the ‘siege of Seattle’.

•  This implies that the world is in a state of disaster or panic; it is the first suggestion of a plot.
•  The first shot we get is of a group of people watching a television and listening to the news report. A man walks into the crowd, forcing himself into the middle of the shot.

•   Being the only character in the scene to move, we focus on him. It is implied he is the main character.
•  After cutting back to the shot of the crowd, we follow the protagonist out of the building and onto the street.
•  Because the camera follows the character, it solidifies that he is the main character.
•  The shot of the street is an establishing shot. It gives us a chance to take in the environment and immerse ourselves in the dystopian world.
•  The shot goes back to the protagonist. Once the camera is done panning around him, we see a large explosion go off in the café.
•  The explosion is unexpected and surprising. It draws you in and makes you want to know what’s happening.

What Are You Doing Here?

  This is the first video we have made for this course, an its also the first video any of us have made at all. For the video, we focused on using different camera angles, and also the quality of the editing.
  To film the video, we used a small, non-professional GE DV1 camera. Though we weren't too worried about it being HD, I think this camera has a good balance between quality and ease of use. To improve the quality of the filming, I think the camera could have been held steadier.
  To edit the footage, we used Adobe Premiere 10. Similarly to the camera, the software strikes a good balance between being simple to use and professional enough to get a good quality final product. During editing, we used tools like titles and cuts.
  The sound in the clip consists of no non-diegetic sound. We chose to leave the title without sound or music for dramatic effect, as it matches the simplistic style of the titles themselves. As far as diegetic sound goes, it consists of the repetition of the line "What are you doing here?". This is a good example of how the same line can be used to have multiple meanings, i.e in the first clip it is used to show surprise, in the second it is confusion, and in the last it is a threat.
  The main thing we focused on in the video was the camera angles. The three shots we used were an over-the-shoulder, a low angle and a high angle. I think we were successful in our use of camera angles, because each shot gives a different feeling. the low angle makes the characters look big, the high angle makes them look small and insignificant, and most effectively the over-the-shoulder shot gives a sense of mystery as to who the other character is.

Opening of a Horror Film- Drag Me To Hell 2

  Weather or not this film looks awful is above the point, it is a great example of extremely cliché horror conventions.
  To start we have the music: slow and eerie with a hint of angelic choir. This is exactly what you would expect of a horror film because it sets a creepy and generally uncomfortable mood for the viewer, in short it builds tension.
  Next up we have the characters. They are, as far as stereotypes go, the kind of people you would expect to see in a film of this kind. As racist as it may be, the film industry often associates Romanian gypsies with curses,and this gives us an insight into one of the themes of the film.
  A number more horror clichés are present in the clip,these include an old mansion, ritualistic chanting and a fly. The fly is a very strong indicator of the genre as they are often associated with death. And we all know death is a big part of horror films.
  The scene continues to build tension using non-diegetic music until it reaches a breaking point. This is where we know we are watching a horror film; this is the jump scare. While not the best example of a jump scare, this is most definitely one because it is a release of tension that the audience have been waiting for.
  A great example of a camera shot used in the clip is when the child is running from the 'monster', the shot is a zooming shot towards the boy's face. While this on it's own could suggest horror, this shot also twists as it zooms. This implies panic and drama.
  Something else dramatic in the scene is the lighting. This is especially evident near the end when the boy is being 'dragged to hell' and his shadow is cast up the wall and on to the woman above. Shadows are often used in horror films to add dramatic effect of intensity.

Opening of a Sci-Fi Film- The Terminator

The Terminator: One of the most popular action/science-fiction films ever made. Intense action and impressive effects, for the time at least. This film sets the scene very well in only the first few minutes.

Even before the images appear, the text on screen has a robotic, computer font. This is the first indication of things to come. As the text fades away, the scene fades in. A desolate wasteland, dusty and battle-worn; it's east to tell there has been a battle here. The text reads 'Los Angeles 2029A.D.', we know this film is set in the future. This as well as the font suggest that this will be a sci-fi film.

If there was any doubt of the genre, it is washed away by the lasers that come blasting through the frame, followed by the futuristic, albeit obviously plastic, robot ship. So we know this is a sci-fi film, but there's more to it, it's not purely sci-fi.

As the lasers continue to fire, an explosion goes off. We see a close up of tank treads rolling over human skulls. As well as the obvious implications of death to humans, the effects also imply this is, in one form or another, a war film.

A lone human soldier is seen running across the battlefield. Being the only human in the scene, as well as being the only one we see, it is implied that this is our protagonist, our hero. Weather or not this person actually is the hero is irrelevant, because even if he isn't, we know that we are rooting for humanity.

Opening of an Action Film- The Dark Knight Rises

   The Dark Knight Rises is established as an action film from the very first shot. A group of four serious looking, soldier-type men in a jeep. Even those three things strongly indicate the film's genre, as they are all conventions of action. If that wasn't enough, the next shot is filled with a huge army-type plane. It is also shot from a low angle which makes it seem bigger and implies it is important.
   Throughout the scene there is non-diegetic music that is tense and fast. This builds up excitement and implies that the scene is building to something.
   As the scene progresses, we begin to get an impression of the characters. Firstly, we have the CIA agent played by Aidan Gillen. From his superior and obnoxious attitude, we can assume that he is going to get killed. After a bit more shouting and intimidating, we are introduced to our antagonist, Bane, played by Tom Hardy. It is plain to see he is the villain because ha has an English accent. While this doesn't automatically make him a bad guy it is strongly implied.

Target Audience of Horror Films.

Gender: Either
Age: Mainly teenagers. 14-25, but largely dependent on certificate
Interests: Fans of the horror genre will generally be thrill-seekers.

Horror films appeal to their target audience by being scary. The fans of horror films watch them because they want a thrill, so the scarier the film, the more of a kick they get from watching it. To appeal to teenagers, the genre often has characters that are basic and archetypal, and therefore the film is fun to watch on a basic level and not take too seriously.

Target Audience of Action Films

Gender: Male
Age: Depending on the certificate of the movie, action films are usually aimed at ages 12-35 or 16-35.
Interests: These films will usually be aimed at what you might call a 'stereotypical male'; cars, guns, fighting, attractive women, maybe sports.

The action genre appeals to these types of people by being everything they want to be. Action films are about ridiculously muscular, testosterone fulled men shooting guns and killing terrorists, this is everything your average male could ever want. They are effective

Conventions of Romance Films

• A rleatable, single, professional, thirty-year-old main character
• The main character will be flawed, often clumsy and unlucky in love.
• A 'nice guy' love interest, who the protagonist rejects throughout the movie, but will end up with in the end.
• A 'bad guy' love interest who the main character is with for a majority of the movie, but realises how wrong she was by the end. He will often end up in an embarrassing situation.
• A happy ending.
• Over dramatic romantic gestures.
• A clumsy best friend for comedic relief.
• Ending with a kiss.
• A number of times the characters are about to kiss but something interrupts them.
• A negative event near the middle of the film which turns the characters against one another, only to reconcile later.
• Crying and eating ice cream.

Target Audience of Romance Films

Gender: Female

Age: Adult, usually twenties of thirties

Class: Middle class, upper working class

Relationship Status: Single

Romance films appeal to their target audience by having a relatable main character. The protagonist will usually be a single, professional in her thirties, but will have a number of love interests fighting for her affections. This is often just what the target viewer will want to happen in their own life, so they are attracted to the film.

Conventions of Horror Films

Conventions of Action Films

•         Protagonist gets shot in the stomach; perfectly fine.
•        Evil henchman gets shot in the foot; instantly dead.
•         Unlimited ammo.
•         A bomb is diffused with one second left.
•          Explosion with no adverse effect to anyone.
•        Unnecessarily chiselled good guy with a six pack made of concrete.
•         Equally unattractive bad guy. If he’s ugly he must be evil!
•          Big guns.
•         Car chases.
•         Veteran cop/solider.
•         One last mission.
•        Women being useless.
•         Women being objects.
•         Conversely, women being badass and beating up 7ft bodybuilders.
•         The hero ‘dying’ only come back at a crucial moment.
•         Happy ending.
•         Having a weak/useless yet loveable sidekick who finds his courage.
•          More explosions.
•         Villain capturing hero and explaining his plan, only to have the hero escape.
•         British/Eastern European villains.
•      Enigma codes.
•         Villain falling into/off something while screaming something along the lines of ‘This isn’t over!’