Garage Band Lesson

In this particular lesson we learnt about how music is used in films, and how it can add a certain affect to the film on a viewer. I learnt that music is used to create a mood, or atmosphere. E.g. a slow dramatic rhythm would be used for a tense dramatic moment, which adds to the atmosphere. In the lesson, we drew some graphs that represent what the correlation of the music is in the film. Up the Y axis, would be the volume of the music and along the X axis would be the timing of the film.  Most films would climax in the middle of the story, and then slowly fall back to a normal level in which it will finish on. Music plays a big part in how we watch a film, and could even help us understand the plot easier through the mood of it.

We watched a short film, ‘The black Hole’. It is about a sleep deprived office worker, who accidently discovers a black hole, and then greed gets the better of him. The director was Philip Sansom and Olly Williams.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5_Msrdg3Hk

I am now going to consider the music and how tension was created in ‘The black Hole’. Every time the hole was in use, we heard a humming noise, which increased in volume as the hole increased in size. I wouldn’t have said there was a continuous beat throughout the short film, but a progression in sound during the climax. The loudest point of the film is just before it finishes which is irregular too most films.

Experimenting with I movie!

Today in the lesson, some of us were newly introduced to I movie, I hadn’t ever used it before and enjoyed learning the new skills needed that would help me to develop my filming. We learnt how to correctly import video clips, cropping and editing them to what you want them to be and we also learnt how to add sound effects which was part of our garage lesson. We then were shown how to add credits and an opening title. I then saved my work and copied my final piece onto a memory stick, ready to be posted on my blog!

Breakfast Club

  We were shown a scene from the film, ‘Breakfast Club’. The scene involved being introduced to the characters and them arriving into school to an unwanted detention on a Saturday morning. We are gradually introduced to each character as they enter, and discover their behaviour and characteristics. We had to keep their interpretations of the characters in mind for our own clip. Unfortunately I wasn’t here for the lesson in which we performed our own sequence, but I watched it and was impressed with how my piers re did it. We obviously couldn’t re make the same location, but we used a classroom and positioned the characters in a similar place to in the original. I discussed with one of the directors, and they were surprised with how long the filming took, they were told to put a couple of seconds before and after a shot, in order to allow them to crop. The other jobs included actors, directors, producers and camera men.

Comparing and analysing two films

I have chosen to analyse the opening sequences from Jumper and The Rat Race.

Jumper is about a teenage boy who discovers that he has the ability to teleport, after coming close to his death from falling under fragile ice. He runs away from home after he discovers this and starts a new life with this super power. Once he grows up a group of agents finally track down all of the people that can teleport and eventually kill him. The lighting is all very realistic, which adds to the realism of the movie. As the titles role with small white writing that is very simple, there is very cynical music, with his voice over telling us of his life story. The mise-en-scene is all very stereotypical; we are taken through a school corridor and gradually introduced to the characters. He walks over a frozen ice and falls through becoming stuck; this is when he discovers his new power. As the story progresses the music becomes more upbeat and changes back to become slower, so it fits the mood of whatever is happening with in the film, this is pleasing for the audience as it helps them know what may happen.  Jumper would have a wide audience varying from young teenagers to and an older generation, but I would say that it would target males more so than females as well as anyone who enjoys sci- fi or fantasy genre films. The characters also have an influence on the audience, as the main character is a teenager so therefor is more likely to attract teenagers. I think an audience would enjoy Jumper as the actual storyline isn’t realistic put it is but into a realistic context, the bit of fantasy adds some interest into the storyline. We are introduced to the story before getting the opening credits, which I think is purposely done to allow the viewer to have a teaser into the film.

The other film I have chosen to analyse is Rat Race. This is a story about many people put into a casino where there are 7 golden coins put into machines and seven random people come across them through gambling. Between the seven people, there is wide range of people with different humours, this is something that attracts a wider audience and allows them to enjoy different characteristic throughout the film. The seven people are given the opportunity to travel half way across the America In order to win two million dollars, it is made clear that there are no rules and whoever gets to the station in new Mexico first, holding the key to the safe wins the money, however typically it isn’t as simple as it sounds. The music is very upbeat which links with the storyline, there is a lot of added noises as the title sequence mimics the characters. Noises such as pops and breaking glasses, it is in a kind of comic strip which adds to the humour of the film. It is all very colourful and the lighting is very bright and out there, the title sequence comes up in bigger bubble writing which to presents the film in a more casual, fun way and as one of the characters pull a rope more names and characters come down. Rowan Atkinson is a very well known, famous actor and famous for his humour and his ability to act well in his comedies. The different little storylines with in the film are all quiet unrealistic but that adds to the overall humour of the story, for example when the cow becomes attached to the hot air balloon and flies through America. I think that Rat Race is targeted to teenagers and above who are interested in comedy and can understand it. It pleases the audience through its simple humour and unrealistic situations which wouldn’t normally happen in the real world.