My Idea for the opening Sequence of a Children's Film - Sam

My Storyboard for my Idea

Ideally, this would be done in iStop Motion

1. My first shot would be of the main character, possibly with some non-diegetic music in the background. The main character is an alien, and he would be standing next to a sign saying 'welcome to earth'. The music would fade, and a voiceover would start, explaining how the alien's spaceship crashed on earth and that he needs to get home. This would then transition with a fade. 

2. The next shot would contain diegetic ambient sounds, and would show the alien slowly peeking out from behind a tree. The shot would then cut to what the alien is looking at - a large, toy space rocket sitting in someone's garden. 

3. Then, the alien would attempt sneaking into the garden - only to come face to face with the girl who owns it. This scene would be quite comical, with both characters screaming in fear of each other. 

4. The alien would then explain what happened to him, and ask if he can use the rocket. The girl agrees and says that she'll help him to make it a working rocket - they shake hands.

5. The scene next would show the rocket on a workbench, with the alien holding a list and looking at it.

6. A close up of the list would show of what he needs, and some non-diegetic, uplifting music will start. The paper will scrunch up and then unfold and now be saying the title of the film, rolling on the credits.

I thought this would be a U rating, as there would be infrequent and not very threatening scenes of horror - for example being chased by an angry dog whilst trying to get something. The plot is also very simple and easy to understand - the alien will amuse children and make a more comic element in the film. 

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Film Classification

Advantages and Disadvantages of BBFC

From the analysis of Watership Down it is clear to see that standards and what people find as acceptable film criteria is very subjective depending on the time era and the place. While some generations of people accept some behaviors and themes, other generations may find them more worrying. Though this may cause problems as criteria changes and seems very subjective, the general idea of a classification system is a positive one. By restricting the availability of certain films to a degree, it benefits those who may be concerned or not fully understand more complex or mature themes that are depicted.   

Watership Down Clip analysis

The 7minute clip from the end of Watership Down is extremely disturbing. It has detailed, violent fighting scenes, showing horrific and bloody deaths. The fact that this is animated makes it slightly less frightening, but the choice of rabbits as characters may upset children as they see rabbits as friendly animals, and possibly loved pets. The sequence we watched was 7minutes long, and it was a horrific scene. Unlike the PG specifications, it was not short, and it was very intense. The only redeeming factor was that it did eventually reach a satisfying (not so much reassuring!) conclusion. There was no reference to weapons, drugs or sex but the detail of the violence and horror makes it hard to see how it can be justified to be a suitable film for children - meaning that it should not be classed below a 12 rating. 

Strangely, this film was actually rated a U in  1979 when it was released. It may be that the majority of the film was not as disturbing, and it is likely that the classification criteria was very different to what is acceptable nowadays. It could be that what people found disturbing in that time is different to now, showing how subjective this is. 

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone Clip analysis

Based on the clip from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, we decided we thought the film would be a PG rating. The scene of horror is not very long or intense, only lasting 2minutes 41seconds. It does not have a reassuring conclusion to the horror scene, meaning that it cannot be a U rating. The blood depicted in the scene is silvery and unrealistic, meaning it is not disturbing to a PG audience - but the act of the man drinking the blood would be unacceptable in a U rated.

As it is a fantasy setting, the unrealistic violence is permitted. No easily accessible weapons are depicted, and the main focus of 'horror' within the scene is cloaked, leaving the level of 'evil' and image of the character to the imagination of the viewer. Some of the content may be slightly worrying for a younger audience, such as the slaughtering and drinking of the blood of a creature - but it is made less realistic by the fact that it is a fantasy creature. This slightly disturbing element is why we believe the film should be suited for PG - Parental Guidance, as it is too worrying for very young children but those older children can be reassured. 

It is not a U rating, because of the more complex themes depicted. The horror sequence is considered to be genuinely scary, and so this would not be allowed for a film of a lower rating, as it is likely to cause some amount of anxiety for some children. The treatment of these themes are not presented particularly 'gently' but the rescue of the main character does help the rating stay as a PG. There is some violence within the clip - the threat of Voldemort, the act of killing the unicorn and the confrontation between Voldemort and Firenze are all quite violent and not suitable for the 'mild threat or menace' considered suitable for a U rated film. The violence is, however, moderate and without much detail. It is also justified by the fantasy setting. 

Our initial analysis was correct; Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was a PG rated film. 

Film Classifications

The BBFC stands for the British Board of Film Classification. It is a non-govermental association funded by the film industry and nationally responsible for film classifications. 'Classification' is to arrange things into different classes or catagories; in this case, catagorising films depending on their suitability for different age groups. The different 'classes' are U, PG, 12, 12a, 15, 18 and R18.

The classification citerea are as follows:

• Discrimination
• Drugs
• Horror
• Imitable Behavior
• Language
• Nudity
• Sex
• Theme
• Violence

A film's classification is decided on its content regarding the above criteria -  for example in a PG film, sexual activity may be implied but must be discreet and infrequent. However, in an 18, frequent sexual activity may be displayed. 

Fantasy Example of Children's Films

Monsters Inc


Monsters Inc is predominantly a fantasy children's film, but could be called a hybrid as it mixes with the adventure genre. The music in the opening credits is upbeat and engaging as well as the interesting and different characters that are introduced. The fact that it is produced by Pixar also makes it clear that it will be aimed at a young target audience. The plot is outlined within the first few minutes, and links to the 'monsters under the bed' that is a theme in childhood. Showing the monsters as clumsy and funny can possibly ease the fear of children. This also means adults can enjoy the film as they may have shared similar films when they were younger. The editing pace is quite slow with no complicated transitions. As it is not confusing, it attracts children, along with the clear and simplistic dialogue.

Children's Film from Childhood - Shrek

Shrek

Shrek is a memorable film because of its amazing humour. The characters are fun and interesting and the storyline is easy to remember. It appeals to a children's audience because it makes people laugh. The animated characters are bright and colourful which is attractive to children. The moral to the story is to not 'judge a book by its cover' and to not give up on things that are important to you. The impact of the dysfunctional fairy tale makes it an easy plot to remember and the humour makes sure the film stays in your head long after watching. 

Sam - Chicken Run

1. 1.       I think the main target audiences for Chicken Run would be one of young children. However, some of the jokes made in the film could only be understood by an older audience – making it a very good film for a family target audience.
2. 2.       I would class this as a children’s film. Though some parts of the plot are may be considered slightly disturbing (the chicken-pie maker machine, the axing of the chicken), the main plotline contains simple and understandable themes, as well as easy to understand humour.
3. 3.       The film Chicken Run cost around $45million, gaining a revenue of $224,834,564. It was directed by Peter Lord and Nick Park. The inspiration from the film came from another film, The Great Escape which was about a group of P.O.Ws. Many references to this film are made within Chicken Run.

Preliminary Task

This is our preliminary task video, entitled 'You stole the cookie from the cookie jar'. We felt quite satisfied with the filming and the editing and learnt how to use the tripod to produce smooth panning effects. We found creating music in garageband that was in sync when imported into finalcut, really difficult and couldn't use many of our created soundtracks because they were too long and not in sync with the video. Overall we think we learnt how to use the camera and editing software quite well, but we need to manage our time more efficiently so if problems occur we have time to fix them!

Locations, script and group roles

The locations we will use in our preliminary task will be:

• The main corridor of the G block
• The doorway outside the G block

The roles in the group are as follows:

• Directors: Abi, Krystie, Sam
• Actors: Krystie, Sam
• Editors: Sam, Krystie, Abi
• Camera(wo)man: Abi

The script:

[establishing shot of empty hallway]

[close up of wheelchair wheel]

[Cookie-devil enters hallway]

[Cookie-devil sees Officer Angel]

Angel: What are you doing here?

Cookie-Devil (indignant): Nothing! I'm just having a walk.

Angel: I've been watching you, Cookie-Devil!

Cookie-Devil: I didn't do anything!

Angel: I'm not called Officer Angel for nothing, I know it was you!

Cookie-Devil: You won't take them from me!

[chase starts]

[chase ends, blackout, crash]

Officer Angel: It was you! You stole the cookie from the cookie jar!

Cookie-Devil: I'll eat them all next time and you won't stop me!

[pause]

Officer Angel: whatever.

[a single cookie falls to the floor]

Shot examples

Here are some examples of the shots we will include in our preliminary task:

Close up

A close up is effective by showing an item or feature of importance, therefore drawing the viewers' attention onto that thing - a prop of narrative significance, such as a murder weapon may be shown to the viewer, or some eyes, etc.

Establishing shot

An establishing shot is useful and effective by giving an overall glimpse of a location in which the scene or main plot is set. 

 

Long shot

Long shots can show more than one character in one view, or one character from a distance. This shot would include head-to-toe views of the character and is effective, for example, of a character down a spooky character. 

 

Reaction shot

A reaction shot is commonly used in conversations, and shows the reaction, for example to an event or something that has been said. It is effective as it can explicitly show to the viewer, the emotions of the character.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLkUHZ1qips&feature=related

Shot reverse Shot

Shot reverse shot is used mainly in conversations, often using over the shoulder shots. It is effective as it can show who is speaking and the other person's reactions to this. 

Children's film preliminary task

The preliminary task for the children's film is designed to re-introduce the filming equipment and software. This will mean we can familiarise ourselves with the shot types and equipment required to complete the main task.

The preliminary task is to film and edit a short sequence, using these specific shot types:

• Establishing shot
• Close up
• Match on action
• Reaction shot
• Long shot
• Over the shoulder/shot-reverse-shot (conversation)