Soundtrack On Garageband

In a previous lesson, we learned how to use the program Garageband, which lets you compile a range of sound-bites, from guitars to synths, to create our own soundtrack that could be used in our intro films, as we are unable to use copyrighted music due to legal issues. By the end of the lesson, everyone played a segment of the music they would use in their films. My goups film genre is teen comedy so we centered the music around a more youthful sound, like pop/punk or indie as this is the stereotypical type of music, heard in teen comedies like, 'Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist and 'Sex Drive'. So we had a prominent bass line to start with, then we added in drums and a guitar riff, and inserted a synth bite to finish it all off. It has an over the top feel to it, but this just adds to the ambience, and would probably work quite well in certain scenes.
Another groups ensemble for a romantic film, featured a lot of acoustic guitar, backed up by string melodies, almost always found in this type of film, as this pulls on the heartstrings of the viewer. If we take the film 'P.S I Love You', as an example, it has a opening piece that contains these features, from this we know what's most likely to happen.

Horror was quite popular in the class and featured the very familiar sound of low chello's, violins and bass, that builds up tension, by transmitting a darker and more sinister sound. An example of this would be the shower scene in 'Psycho', where the strings slowly build, then swell when the shower curtain is pulled back.

Overall the lesson was a great success as it has given my group the chance to focus on what sort of sound we would want in our production, that would accurately tell the viewer what genre our film is, and help them to indulge into the narrative.

Music Used In Teen Comedies

In most of the teen comedies I have researched, the music that is usually either has a indie rock, orchestral uplifting or dance punk feel. The music in the scenes used isn't subtle, it's very loud and obvious and usually compliments the scene in which it's being used.

In Nick and Norah's infinite playlist most scenes are complimented by a indie rock song, an example of this is during a live event by 'The Jerk-Offs".

In Kick-Ass the comedy uses more of a dance punk and orchestral soundtrack, an example of these being The Prodigy's Omen, and the track Flying Home from the original score.

Textual Analysis - Scott Pilgrim Vs The World

As research for our practical, we had to do a textual analysis of a film, that corresponded with the genre our group wanted to emulate. I chose Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, as it is one of my favorite teen comedies. The first thing we the audience sees, is the distribution company logo with accompanying music, for this film the Universal logo and orchestral track are parodied, being put into a retro game 8-bit styling, this tells the audience the general feel of the film, like a video game.

After the distribution logo, we hear an opening narration, with almost a transcript in bold black letters, appearing on a white background, the narration is comical as it describes Toronto, Canada as a 'mysterious land'. Following this is a tilt shot, which is a very effective transition from the transcript, the shot stops on a medium/long low angle shot of a house, which sets up the scene. We can also tell that the setting is cold, as there is snow on the roof and on a tree, there's also icicles hanging from a roof. We hear a characters voice before the shot changes, to a medium/long shot of the characters in the kitchen, this aids in the transition, because we haven't just automatically changed scene, we are intrigued by the voice, and so it lets the director change scene to show us where the voice is coming from. The medium long shot lets us establish the setting and the characters in it, we see three characters sat down at the table, who are well lit, and one stood up and darker, from this we could interpret that the character standing up is different from the others, a black sheep character, this could also be shown by the fact the other characters are looking at him. While there is a conversation between Scott (character stood up) and Kim (character sat down), an over the shoulder high angle shot is used (over Scott's shoulder), we could say this puts Kim in a weaker position, and that she is not the character we should be focused on. Low angle shots of Scott show he is that he should be the focus of our attention, and that he is important/powerful than the others. The other two characters Stephen and Neil are shown at relatively eye height, this could show the relationship between these two characters and Scott, because being guys they'd probably have similar interests, while Kim being the only girl might feel left out, so she is shown in high angle shots. There are close ups of each of the characters faces while Scott talks, showing there reaction to what he says, we could interpret this as almost a point of view shot. This then switches to an over the shoulder high angle shot of Kim, we could say that she might be jealous (the topic of conversation being about Scott's new 17 year old girlfriend Knives Chau), this may lead her to be weakened by her jealously, because she speaks in monotone and is quite expressionless, she tries to carry a 'tom boy' façade. A medium shot of the group shows that the attention is still on Scott, and shows the emotions of Kim and Stephen, but Neil is blurred in a narrow depth of focus, this could show he's not important.

When Scott answers the door for his girlfriend Knives she is shown in high angle, she is shy so this might reflect the weakness that comes from that, but this could also be a point of view from Scott as she is shorter than him, and vice-versa for Scott. When Stephen comes into the frame we are in an over the shoulder low angle shot from Knives' point of view, this most likely represents her shyness and stature. When Stephen shuts the door to talk quietly to Scott, we zoom in to a two shot close up, this probably represents that the conversation is meant to be isolated from the others, and to show the characters emotions.

As I can not get the clip uploaded as it is not online, I've linked the trailer to prove it exists:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_RrNCqCIPE

A Variety Of Genres

The opening two minutes evaluations by the class, on different genres. Western: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Mise-en-scene: cigarettes, unshaven, hat, horses Camera: long shot (establishing scene), still close-ups Editing: deep bold colours, slow transitions, not much happening (an anticipation build-up) Sound: flute, guitar - traditional western music, an ery silence (anticipation again) Generic Conventions: quiet, not much going on - building of tension at the start Horror: Scream Mise-en-scene: average house, doors and windows with no curtains - voyerism Camera: close-ups of facial expression Editing: slow, speeds up with introduction of bad guy presence (over the phone) Sound: quiet - too quiet... Generic Conventions: bad guy, attractive woman - victim, blood, knife Romance: P.S. I Love You Mise-en-scene: normal couple, normal appartment (high up) Camera: over-the shoulder shots - the distance of the relationshop of the the couple at this time Editing: production credits straight out of the way Sound: slow, easy-listening Generic Conventions: a couple, conflict (usually not at the start, but is at the start of this film), ongoing questions for audience to htink about before the plot unravels Adventure: Pirates of the Caribbean Mise-en scene: costume (accurate to set the period of time the story is set - conventionally in the past) Camera: low angles of boat, and of Elizabeth Swan - showing the importance of them Editing: name of film straight away, with no distracting cast names during introduction - signifying the serious plot aider at the beginning Sound: quiet violins, gradually building up, they get more clunky, dawnting - something about to happen Generic Conventions: mystery, starts further back in time, giving a bit of back story, then to return to main event Sci-Fi: The Running Man Mise-en-scene: headset - technology, uniformed costume Camera: close-up of face - reaction shot of character recieving conflicting views Editing: quick-pace for action aspects, the colour red forshadowing the danger, a backstory written down in rolling titles - detail about the sci-fi universe the film is set in Sound: tense, futuristic Generic Conventions: the backstory written down in rolling titles - the detail of the sci-fi universe film is set in, is set at a different time to present (may be future, or past) Drama: The Persuit of Happyness Mise-en-scene: pyjamas, soft toy = child, afro + sideburns = 1980s Camera: low angle of the USA flag - the authority and respect of the nation Editing: slow transition, left to right - the daily routine (ordinary), the 'y' in the title suggesting the solution (of the title question) is mathematical Sound: delicate, violins, contrast to image on occasion Generic Conventions: relationships, relatable, real Comedy: Bean Mise-en-scene: silly things in the mirror Camera: close-ups of funny expressions Editing: quick pace - over-exaggeration of sequence of images Sound: over-exaggeration to whats happening, dramatic for trivial images Generic Conventions: recognised actor(s), funny action, facial expression British Realist: The Full Monty Mise-en-scene: dark, bleak, REAL Camera: up above - watching/spying Editing: establishing setting with small screen, just a small introduction, put credits underneath it Sound: upbeat in promotional advert, quiet in factory - dying industry Generic Conventions: REALISM, accurate characters, accent, colloquialisms Film Noir: Touch of Evil Mise-en-scene: city life, nice car, smart dress Camera: always tracking thoughout opening sequence with no cutting or altered view - almost a point of view shot Editing: no cut, straight to action, anicipation built of bomb going to go off - when?? Sound: accurate of the time Generic Conventions: city scene, dark, night (theme) Action: Mission Impossible 2 Mise-en-scene: virus injection (implications) (green=toxic poison), white coats, test tubes Camera: close-up - see the action, establishing setting - birds eye shot of Sydney Editing: quickly transitioned Sound: quick, calmer on plane Generic Conventions: fast pace = action, russian character brings mystery

Codes And Conventions Of A Teen Comedy

Narrative: Normally the narrative of a teen comedy revolves around relationships and teen culture (i.e music). It has a fairly typical structure, we meet the character(s) during or after a particularly memorable moment (i.e After break up or during the last day of school), the main character(s) usually search to become more socially popular/find a new relationship, when this is achieved a villainous character (i.e an ex-partner) will attempt to sabotage this new popularity/relationship, it normally resolves with the main character(s) achieving there goals despite the setback.

Main character(s): The main character(s) of teen comedies are usually more socially awkward or unpopular, and are fairly determined.

Growing Up: There's a undertone in most teen comedies where the main character(s) mature as the film goes on, developing from a socially awkward and shy person into a more assertive and confident one. Or in some cases the choices they make will be less impulsive and more educated, as well as in majority choosing a partner with a personality and not just looks (although this is a factor).

Soundtrack: The soundtrack will appeal to a younger generation, so could include indie rock/pop punk or pop songs.

Setting: They usually take place in the summer, most likely because that's when teenagers are free, but they can be adapted to any time of the year.

Teen comedy is the sub-genre of comedy my group has chosen to emulate, because we believe that it's the most relatable sub-genre to emulate. But others sub-genres include Romantic Comedy (ex. Going The Distance), Sci-Fi Comedy (ex. Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy), Slapstick Comedy (ex. Mr. Beans Holiday), Spoof Comedy (ex. Scary Movie Series), Action Comedy (ex. The A-Team) and Horror Comedy (ex. Zombieland)

The Titles Of Teen Comedies

In the film Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, the titles enter when either a shot cuts to a character, or when a character enters the frame. When the titles refer to a character they enter in a bold white font, in a black box, giving their name, age and a random fact, such as during an high angle over-the-shoulder shot of Knives looking at Kim, Kim's title says "Kim Pine, drummer, 23 years old". Also when the title credits enter, stating the distribution and production companies, it happens during a pull out, with the titles appearing on the floor in a bold white font.

When half of the actual film title appears on the screen it's in a large stylized animated font, above the performing band, it seemingly explodes on to the screen fairly quickly. This coincides with the mood of the protagonist Scott Pilgrim, as he's playing is instrument at a fast pace and is moving around on screen.

A tilt shot then introduces the rest of the title in the bold white font of the previous titles. It then cuts the actors names on different colored/stylized backgrounds, the titles appear in the bold white font and disappears during the background transitions.

The majority of title credits appear on screen as conventionally, more light hearted comedies introduce the credits during scenes, rather than cutting to a black screen.

Prelim Media Film

After having finished editing my groups film, we found that a jump cut was caused after an over the shoulder shot of me, went to a dutch angle shot of me, this would take the audience out of the piece, because there is not a quick change in angle in real life. To solve this problem we added a short scene of Aimee, that would take the audiences attention away from the fact there had been a change in angle. The shaky camerawork was a problem, but the tripod I was supplied with was broken, so this was unavoidable

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Why Opening Sequences Are Important?

Within the film industry, the opening title sequence of a film is considered to be the most important aspect of a film. Apart from the marketing elements, the title sequences are the very first images the audience sees. The quick clips lasts about two to three minutes long, in which the filmmaker's intentions and sets up the expectations of the audience. Most films last about 120 minutes, so the first two or three minutes are important in engaging the audience.

It's the norm for the opening sequence to introduce the main protagonist, and to tell the audience who created the film and based on their past work and the opening sequence, the audience will begin to formulate expectations. If someone thinks the title sequence is not very good; their first impression would be that the film will not be good, so I believe filmmakers would consider the opening title sequence of a film the most important way of engaging the audience in their work, as they need to sell the genre they are trying to emulate. An example of this is the film Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, which from the opening sequence you can tell the style and genre the filmmaker is going for.