Animatic Storyboard

These are the animatics for our film opening, The animatic storyboard is an important part of the planning process as it tells us exactly when the settings change, different cuts are used, when text comes up and the types of shots we want to include. We did this by sketching the main shots we are going to include in our opening, these shots consisted of close ups and long shots and a variety of other shots. We know that our actual film opening will not be exact to this as these are our initial ideas and we have tried to portray them in these animatics. Our inital ideas are that the setting is at a train station and an accident occurs, we have drawn our animatics to show the main things that will occur, for example buying the tickets, the platform, the tracks and the train coming which is the hazard. The music we added to our animatics is something we like, but are still unsure of therefore we will not decide anything until we have our footage. We simply added it to get a better feel of the planning and shots we are going to have.

I think creating an animatic storyboard was useful as it acts as a plan for our filming, and if our music will suit the opening. We had a few problems such as the settings and shots were difficult to draw especially the platform which was hard to make into proportion and we wanted it to be as realistic as possible. However over all our animatics was successful and I think it will help us a lot when it comes to filming.

Target Audience

We decided to come up with a questionnaire so we could find out our target audience. We did this as we thought this is the best way to pin point exactly who would be the most interested in our film. The first two questions are 'what is your age group?' and 'what is your gender?' These two questions will find out more about the person and how they answer the other questions will find out which age group and gender prefer Melodrama films which is the genre of our film. If a person's favourite film genre is not Melodrama but they say they would still go to the cinema to see a Melodrama film then they could still be classed as our target audience. One of the questions asked is what the person thinks is a good film opening, which will give us additional for our film opening to ensure it will capture the viewers attention and be the best it can be. 

This is our Questionnaire:

Sample of results and analysis to our questionnaire

We asked a total of 60 people, 10 of each age category. 5 Male and 5 Female of each.

What is your favourite film genre?

The results of this question show that Romantic Comedy was the most popular film genre.  However Melodrama is still quite popular. It is clear that the most popular gender who favour Melodrama is Female. And the most popular age group is 41-50, and the least popular gender is Under 16's.


Would you go to the cinema to see a Melodrama?

The results of this question show that the majority of females would go to see a Melodrama film, not as many males would but still a very large proportion of the men asked. This suggests that Melodrama is favoured more by females as it is more emotional. The most popular age groups that said they would go to the cinema to see a Melodrama film was between the ages of 21-50, although all the age categories had a high amount of people saying yes. The lowest category was Under 16's which could be due to them preferring cartoons and fantasy films. 

Describe what you think is a good film opening? 

Sample of results: 

- "The best film openings are the ones that build up tension, the ones that will you leave you wondering what is going to happen next." Male aged 28

- "When watching a film I like to see flashbacks, I enjoy watching a film opening which is a little confusing, then will become clearer throughout the film." Male aged 45

- "A good film opening is one that will capture my attention, it has to be interesting and make me want to watch more. It has to have good music as well." Female aged 31

- "I like happy film openings that set a good positive vibe. I'm not much of an action-film lover but I love a good romantic comedy." Female aged 52

- "I like film openings that are funny and will make me want to watch more." Female aged 15

These results show that people have a very different taste of film openings. A popular choice was one that will make the viewer want to watch more and may be a little confusing but will build up tension at the same time. This suggests that my film opening needs to be really interesting and capture the viewers attention as soon as it begins. 

Dear John opening

Click here to watch Dear John

In the opening of this film the first thing you hear is a piece of music in which is very gentle, the audience can instantly tell that the film will be a romantic film rather than an action film. The first shot is a slow motion over the shoulder shot of a injured man in the army. As this shot occurs a voice over begins saying: "There's something I want to tell you, after I got shot..." The audience instantly know that he is talking in first person meaning the injured man being displayed is him. The shot is then followed by a high angled long shot which is still slow motion of the soldiers, this could suggest that the two soldiers are vulnerable. The voice over then states "you want to know the very first thing that entered my mind, before i blacked out- Coins." as he says this a number of coins rush across the screen. Following this is a head shot of a boy almost like a freeze frame as coins rush down in front of him, the boy is portrayed as him as an 8 year old. There is then a sequence of extreme close ups of coins being made in a factory which shows important detail to the audience, which makes it clear that coins are very significant to what the film is about and may be referred to throughout. During this part the voice over is explaining how they are made which gives extra information to the viewer.
Following this the voice over says "I am a coin in the united states army,  I was mended in the year 1980, i've been punched from sheet metal. I've been stamped and cleaned, my ridges has been rimmed and bevelled. Now i have two small holes in me, i'm no longer in perfect condition" This is a metaphor the voice over uses to relate his life and personal circumstances to coins. The last shot you see is a close up that fades out where the opening of the film ends.

The lion king opening

Click here to watch The Lion King

In this openings the first thing I noticed was the film titles were sunrise colours such as orange yellow and red, these are specific to the country the film is set in which is Africa, and the wild. The next thing you see after the film titles in a sunrise which is an establishing shot. The sunrise could be a metaphor for new birth as its the birth of new day. The next couple of shots you see are mid-shots and long-shots of various animals, which appear to be stopping what they are doing and looking up at something. Following this are birds-eye views and landscape shots which display herds of animals travelling somewhere. The music used in the opening can be classed as light-hearted and is about new lives and new beginnings which links into the idea of the sunrise and the wild. There is a significant shot of the elephants moving towards the camera, the camera angle is pointing up-wards to make the elephants appear larger, this shows the larger animals over rule the smaller mammals as there are birds running away in fear of being stomped on.

Seven pounds opening

Click here to watch seven pounds

This is one of my favourite films because it is so touching, and I think the beginning of the film really captures the viewers attention and makes them want to watch more.
The opening scene begins with a phone call, which is actually what happens at the end of the film. It's not long before you see after the credits an extreme close up shot of a man making a phone call. He is breathless and looks distraught, it becomes quickly clear that he is in a serious situation when he asks for an ambulance. The character then reveals he is committing suicide and this makes the viewer want to know more. As the camera shot is still an extreme close up it does not give away any idea of where he is or the situation he is in which builds up tension. 

There is then a voice over which states "in seven days god created the world, and in seven seconds I shattered mine." I find this very effective as everything you know so far is based on the number seven and you already know that he has made a mistake which has effected him badly. During the voice over he is swimming in the ocean. The camera shots used at this point is extreme long shot, and birds eye view. This could suggest he tries to get away from his past as it's like he is swimming away from something.

Film genres

Action 
Action films usually include high energy, big-budget physical stunts and chases, possibly with rescues, battles, fights, escapes, destructive crises (floods, explosions, natural disasters, fires, etc.), Action films may typically include a heroic character. A good example of an action film is James Bond.

Adventure
Adventure films are usually exciting stories, with new experiences or exotic locales, very similar to or often paired with the action film genre. Adventure may include jungle and desert epics. 

Comedy
Comedies contain light-hearted plots that can be described as humorous. Comedies are designed to amuse the audience by exaggerating behaviours and characteristics. Comedy films can be mixed with other genres, for example romantic comedies or a humorous action film. Parodies are also associated with comedy. 

Drama
Dramas are serious, plot-driven presentations, portraying realistic characters, settings, life situations, and stories involving intense character development and interaction. The drama genre has a close relation to Melodrama films as they usually contain a high level of emotion.

Epics/Historical
Epics or historical films usually are set in war settings or any other historical time. Medieval is a popular choice for this genre. Epics often share elements of the elaborate adventure films genre. Epics take an historical or imagined event, mythic, legendary, or heroic figure and use costumes and scenarios to exaggerate a storyline in order to make the film tragic

Horror 
Horror films are targeted to scare the audience and create tension whilst entertaining the audience at the same time. Most horror films have the same features such a filming techniques. A popular shot is having an open space behind the character which makes the viewer think that something will appear. They are often combined with science fiction when the menace or monster is related to a corruption of technology, or when Earth is threatened by aliens. 

Science Fiction
ci-fi films are often quasi-scientific, visionary and imaginative - complete with heroes, aliens, distant planets, impossible quests, improbable settings, fantastic places, great dark and shadowy villains, futuristic technology, unknown and unknowable forces, and extraordinary monsters 

Melodrama

Melodrama Films are a sub-type of drama films, characterized by a plot to appeal to the heightened emotions of the audience. A popular occurrence in mellow drama films are the death of a loved one.


Origins of Melodrama
The word ‘melodrama’ comes from the Greek melos = music and drama = action, presented as a performance. So, a melodrama is a drama with music. Melodrama would cover most entertainment films that use music to invoke moods and to signal emotional themes or to heighten sensations such as fear or suspense.

Why we have chosen Melodrama for our film genre

We decided to chose Melodrama for our film genre as our group members all had a liking for films with emotional moments or an overall emotional story line. 
I like Melodrama films as when I watch a film which has a high level of sensitivity, the film sticks in my mind for a long period of time. I feel more into a film with emotion than a horror or action because I almost feel the emotion the character is feeling. I think our film opening could be very good using melodrama as our genre, as we can use music with sensitive lyrics or piano music.

Spider diagrams

These is our ideas brainstormed, we are likely to alter our ideas through the process of our coursework but these are our inital ideas of what we want our film opening to be like including the storyline, some shots we would like to include and things we need to prevent.