Tuesday, 25 January 2011
Main Post 6- Histroy of Chosen Genre
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humor. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (the black comedy being an exception). One of the oldest genres in film, some of the very first silent movies were comedies. Comedy, unlike other film genres, puts much more focus on individual stars, with many former stand-up comic transitioning to the film industry due to their popularity. While many comic films are lighthearted stories with no intent other than to amuse, others contain political or social commentary.
Genres of Comedy Films
Here is the website: http://movies.lovetoknow.com/wiki/History_of_Comedy_Films
Comedy has grown into a lush genre of many types of films. Below are the most common sub-genres of the comedy.
The Codes and Conventions of comedy:
More information from the following website:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090604210858AA4EhOK
1. Film Language
The secret of comedy is timing and performance. A person could analyse routines, gags etc. and see how they are used within a narrative feature. It would be interesting to compare a visual gag with a classic suspense sequence. Both involve a careful playoff between what we know as the audience and the awareness displayed by the character. Our pleasure comes from the gleeful anticipation of the humiliation of the comic character or our fear for the hero.
2. Representation
Possibly the most productive approach, analysis of character 'types' and situations should open up comedy films for student analysis. Comedy, like drama, depends on conflicts, in particular between weak and strong characters. Much comedy arises from the success of the weak in deflating the powerful. On the other hand, comedy is also a weapon against fear of the unknown or 'the Other', so that the basis for comedy becomes racism, sexism etc.
3. Audience
The advantage of comedy to producers is that it appeals across all audience groups. However, there are distinct differences in audiences for certain types of comedy. In the UK these are often class differences and age differences. The distinctions were particularly strong in earlier periods when genre production was still possible in British Cinema - e.g. the 1950s with Norman Wisdom (working class) v. the Doctor series (middle class).
4 Institutions
Comedy films may be quite good for studying institution. Historically, various cycles of films can be traced back to their origins in other forms such as music hall, radio and television and in the last twenty years, from club 'stand-up'.
Comedy has grown into a lush genre of many types of films. Below are the most common sub-genres of the comedy.
- Comedy of manners - A satire on the lifestyles of the social class
- Dark comedy - Based on taboo subjects such as murder or war.
- Fish out of water - The main character finds himself in a strange environment, such as gender-swapping roles or a rural chap in the big city (Crocodile Dundee).
- Gross-out films - Another popular style of comedy film in recent years, these movies focus on toilet humor and are often aimed at younger audiences.
- Parodies and spoofs - One of the most common types of comedies, these films satirize other genres or classic films with sarcasm and mockery.
- Romantic comedy - A comedy centered around a developing relationship.
- Screwball comedy - Most popular in the early days of films, screwball comedies are the most difficult sub-genre to define. They usually involve wacky, almost unbelievable situations and include lots of physical humor.
The Codes and Conventions of comedy:
More information from the following website:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090604210858AA4EhOK
1. Film Language
The secret of comedy is timing and performance. A person could analyse routines, gags etc. and see how they are used within a narrative feature. It would be interesting to compare a visual gag with a classic suspense sequence. Both involve a careful playoff between what we know as the audience and the awareness displayed by the character. Our pleasure comes from the gleeful anticipation of the humiliation of the comic character or our fear for the hero.
2. Representation
Possibly the most productive approach, analysis of character 'types' and situations should open up comedy films for student analysis. Comedy, like drama, depends on conflicts, in particular between weak and strong characters. Much comedy arises from the success of the weak in deflating the powerful. On the other hand, comedy is also a weapon against fear of the unknown or 'the Other', so that the basis for comedy becomes racism, sexism etc.
3. Audience
The advantage of comedy to producers is that it appeals across all audience groups. However, there are distinct differences in audiences for certain types of comedy. In the UK these are often class differences and age differences. The distinctions were particularly strong in earlier periods when genre production was still possible in British Cinema - e.g. the 1950s with Norman Wisdom (working class) v. the Doctor series (middle class).
4 Institutions
Comedy films may be quite good for studying institution. Historically, various cycles of films can be traced back to their origins in other forms such as music hall, radio and television and in the last twenty years, from club 'stand-up'.
Saturday, 22 January 2011
MAIN Post 5a: Macro/Micro analysis of an opening sequence from your genre.
I looked at two different opening sequences from our chosen genre 'comedy', the first one is Napoleom Dynamite', I have looked at the Macro analysis (Narrative, Representation, Genre) and the Micro analysis (Camera, Sound, Mis-en-scene, Editing, Special effects).
Here is the Macro/Micro analysis of 'Napoleon Dynamite':
- Comedy
- Each actors/actresses name seem to appear in all sorts of dishes, very colourful and medium paced, as next character name comes on.
- Some of the images are blurry when away from the camera and then becomes clear when closer to the camera, this shows that the viewers eyesight is not very good.
Here is the Macro/Micro analysis of the film 'Enchanted':
-Romantic Comedy, Part animated and part live action
-The whole opening sequence is animated
- Starts of close up with an image of book opened reading 'The End' and then slowly closing book, title of book reads 'Enchanted'.
- Very colourful again
- Medium paced as images go onto different shots.
- Branches start to appear on the book, the branch converts itself in to a font which reads cast and crew.
- The font seems to be fancy, changes colour, same size font all throughout however some letters are capital (bigger than) Lower case Letters.
- All different sorts of shot sizes throughout the whole opening sequence.
- Medium Long shots, E.g. animated horse pulling a carriage.
Here is the Macro/Micro analysis of 'Napoleon Dynamite':
- Comedy
- The first image that comes up on the opeining is a close-up of a picture of a plate being put down by someone on a surface (red background), Food on the plate, 'Fox Searchlight Pictures' written on plate by Ketchup to add effect.
- Close-up again, different plate plus white background, seems to be hand written font, colourful, eye catching.
- Mostly Close-ups
- Different colour background when everytime a new image is shown.
- Another image was quite effective, a close up of someone opening their wallet, two cards, first one, white 'U.F.O. Abduction Insurance' also reading 'Starring Jon Heder' and second identity card, picture of the actor at 'Preston High' and reading 'As Napoleon Dynamite'.
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- Each actors/actresses name seem to appear in all sorts of dishes, very colourful and medium paced, as next character name comes on.
- Some of the images are blurry when away from the camera and then becomes clear when closer to the camera, this shows that the viewers eyesight is not very good.
Here is the Macro/Micro analysis of the film 'Enchanted':
-Romantic Comedy, Part animated and part live action
-The whole opening sequence is animated
- Starts of close up with an image of book opened reading 'The End' and then slowly closing book, title of book reads 'Enchanted'.
- Very colourful again
- Medium paced as images go onto different shots.
- Branches start to appear on the book, the branch converts itself in to a font which reads cast and crew.
- The font seems to be fancy, changes colour, same size font all throughout however some letters are capital (bigger than) Lower case Letters.
- All different sorts of shot sizes throughout the whole opening sequence.
- Medium Long shots, E.g. animated horse pulling a carriage.
Main Post 5- Title Timeline
As a group we all chose to do the time line on the movie Napoleon Dynamite, we individually had to take notes of the exact timings that the titles appear, this is what i had produced:
Main Post 4- Group Meeting
GENRE DICSUSSION
2:50- Casey: I think either a comedy, action or rom-com would work well.
2:50 Tom: Yes, they would work best, and a comedy would be fun to produce.
2:51 Fathema: Its easier to do comedy so I agree.
2:51 Casey: it might be hard to get the comedy element across though..
2:52 Tom: comedy opening sequences aren’t always funny though, the opening sequence just needs to give the impression that the film will be funny, like Napoleon Dynamite.
2:54 Tom: I’ve got an idea of what we can actually do, when we’re filming, the way we’re presenting could be like a picture book.. Like with the pages showing the picture and the credits to set the scene.
2:55 Fathema: is that going to be ‘comedy’ though?
2:56 Tom: it’s different.
2:56 Casey: I think a Rom-Com might be easier to do, but if we did do a comedy I think we’d have to base it on something like ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid,’ a teen-comedy.
2:56 Tom: the opening sequence did make the film look like it was going to be a comedy.
2:56: Casey: a comedy sequence would be do-able for us as well as it can be basic but also look really creative, unlike an action genre for example which would need lots of explosions and fast paced/ fancy/ high budget editing.
Tom: Comedy sequences incorporate the use of bright colours into it so it catches the audiences’ eye.
Fathema: Comedy films are often aimed at a family audience, so basing it in a school is something they could relate to.
Tom: Filming it in school would be easy and has a lot of potential. We can relate to it too.
Casey: I found a graph for one of the researching posts, which showed that last year the most popular film genre was comedy with 22%, so comedy is definitely a popular genre.
Fathema: And the results from the questionnaires suggested that comedy was the most popular/ most enjoyable genre too.
Tom: And it was also suggested that the audience wants to see more of them.
2:57: We all agreed on the concept of having a comedy genre opening sequence that would be filmed in the school.
PLOT DISCUSSION AND BASIC OPENING SEQUENCE DISCRIPTION.
School based.
Casey: who’s the main character going to be? He/ she should probably be a stereotyped character.
Tom: We could Americanize it a bit
Casey: A typical comedy is more likely to be a ‘nerdy’ character
Fathema: Like with glasses on, trousers done up high, ect.
Casey: there should be a bully as well.
Tom: in the opening sequence, we need to establish the setting.
This is our final sequence idea in a nutshell; in brackets are the names of the people of who came up with what.
(Casey) Nerdy character walking around with credits displayed over the top, name of film displayed in a 'doodle' style on a book. (Fathema) The main character will be holding books, wearing glasses, very stereotypical, and (Tom) narration over the top, something like (Tom) “this is the story of how I went from this..”(Casey) cut scene to a comical ‘fail’, “to the most popular girl in school. (Casey)” (Tom) Bell ring at the end of the sequence.
2:50- Casey: I think either a comedy, action or rom-com would work well.
2:50 Tom: Yes, they would work best, and a comedy would be fun to produce.
2:51 Fathema: Its easier to do comedy so I agree.
2:51 Casey: it might be hard to get the comedy element across though..
2:52 Tom: comedy opening sequences aren’t always funny though, the opening sequence just needs to give the impression that the film will be funny, like Napoleon Dynamite.
2:54 Tom: I’ve got an idea of what we can actually do, when we’re filming, the way we’re presenting could be like a picture book.. Like with the pages showing the picture and the credits to set the scene.
2:55 Fathema: is that going to be ‘comedy’ though?
2:56 Tom: it’s different.
2:56 Casey: I think a Rom-Com might be easier to do, but if we did do a comedy I think we’d have to base it on something like ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid,’ a teen-comedy.
2:56 Tom: the opening sequence did make the film look like it was going to be a comedy.
2:56: Casey: a comedy sequence would be do-able for us as well as it can be basic but also look really creative, unlike an action genre for example which would need lots of explosions and fast paced/ fancy/ high budget editing.
Tom: Comedy sequences incorporate the use of bright colours into it so it catches the audiences’ eye.
Fathema: Comedy films are often aimed at a family audience, so basing it in a school is something they could relate to.
Tom: Filming it in school would be easy and has a lot of potential. We can relate to it too.
Casey: I found a graph for one of the researching posts, which showed that last year the most popular film genre was comedy with 22%, so comedy is definitely a popular genre.
Fathema: And the results from the questionnaires suggested that comedy was the most popular/ most enjoyable genre too.
Tom: And it was also suggested that the audience wants to see more of them.
2:57: We all agreed on the concept of having a comedy genre opening sequence that would be filmed in the school.
PLOT DISCUSSION AND BASIC OPENING SEQUENCE DISCRIPTION.
School based.
Casey: who’s the main character going to be? He/ she should probably be a stereotyped character.
Tom: We could Americanize it a bit
Casey: A typical comedy is more likely to be a ‘nerdy’ character
Fathema: Like with glasses on, trousers done up high, ect.
Casey: there should be a bully as well.
Tom: in the opening sequence, we need to establish the setting.
This is our final sequence idea in a nutshell; in brackets are the names of the people of who came up with what.
(Casey) Nerdy character walking around with credits displayed over the top, name of film displayed in a 'doodle' style on a book. (Fathema) The main character will be holding books, wearing glasses, very stereotypical, and (Tom) narration over the top, something like (Tom) “this is the story of how I went from this..”(Casey) cut scene to a comical ‘fail’, “to the most popular girl in school. (Casey)” (Tom) Bell ring at the end of the sequence.
Main Post 3a- Further Look At Opening Sequence
Since we have chose to do the genre 'comedy' i have decided look at further details on Comedy title sequences. The film i have chosen to look at is 'Enchanted', the reason why i chose this is because it is a animated and real life based movied mixed together and thought that it can relate to the project that we are doing.
Enchanted:
It begins with a non-diagetic sound
Starting Visuals- 'Walt Disney Pictures Presents'
The opeing title starts of with a animated book with the title 'Enchanted on it.
Happy, cheery light music playing in the background,
Colourful, eye-catching
The book opens up with a 3D pop up of a castle and narrator saying' Once upon a time...'
Narrator telling a short stroy on what the movie is going to be about.
It gives an audience on how they can expect the film to be a traditional fantasy film.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Non-Diagetic sound plays staright away
Visuals- Characters name appearing on the middle of the screen
The process of the chococlate being made (animated) in a chocolate factory,
Chocolate labelled 'Wonka Golgen Ticket'
Loud upbeat music, fast paced.
Near to the end of the opening title, directors and producers name on screen.
As soon as the film starts, Narratoe starts to talk about the beginning of the film.
Lasts approximately about 2 minutes.
Enchanted:
It begins with a non-diagetic sound
Starting Visuals- 'Walt Disney Pictures Presents'
The opeing title starts of with a animated book with the title 'Enchanted on it.
Colourful, eye-catching
The book opens up with a 3D pop up of a castle and narrator saying' Once upon a time...'
Narrator telling a short stroy on what the movie is going to be about.
It gives an audience on how they can expect the film to be a traditional fantasy film.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Non-Diagetic sound plays staright away
Visuals- Characters name appearing on the middle of the screen
The process of the chococlate being made (animated) in a chocolate factory,
Chocolate labelled 'Wonka Golgen Ticket'
Loud upbeat music, fast paced.
As soon as the film starts, Narratoe starts to talk about the beginning of the film.
Lasts approximately about 2 minutes.
Research into Opening Sequence Designs
Kyle Cooper Interview:
Kyle Cooper Interview (Part 1)
Kyle Cooper Interview (Part 2)
His interviews suggests that when watching the title sequence 'You forget about everything else and you don't want to be anywhere else', drawn to the screen, making you excited and expecting what will happen to the movie when getting a first introduction to the film.
Kyle Cooper has done over hundred film title sequences, among on of the memorable ones were:
-Dawn of the Dead
-SpiderMan
-SuperMan Returns
The music must be catchy and relate to the genre of the film so the audience will know what to expect. It is also important that the typography and the font has to relate to the plot.
He also mentions that looking at the title sequences can help the movie and can tell the back story and can put you where you need to be in ahead of the film.
Overall Kyle Cooper had given me some clear information abou the title sequence and to produce such title that will bring audiences eyes to the title sequence. so we need to make sure that the visuals and sound related to the plot to make the atmosphere more realistic and feel that you're a part of the opening title sequence.
Kyle Cooper Interview (Part 1)
Kyle Cooper Interview (Part 2)
His interviews suggests that when watching the title sequence 'You forget about everything else and you don't want to be anywhere else', drawn to the screen, making you excited and expecting what will happen to the movie when getting a first introduction to the film.
Kyle Cooper has done over hundred film title sequences, among on of the memorable ones were:
-Dawn of the Dead
-SpiderMan
-SuperMan Returns
The music must be catchy and relate to the genre of the film so the audience will know what to expect. It is also important that the typography and the font has to relate to the plot.
He also mentions that looking at the title sequences can help the movie and can tell the back story and can put you where you need to be in ahead of the film.
Overall Kyle Cooper had given me some clear information abou the title sequence and to produce such title that will bring audiences eyes to the title sequence. so we need to make sure that the visuals and sound related to the plot to make the atmosphere more realistic and feel that you're a part of the opening title sequence.
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