Film Certification is a very important factor within the Media sector and is also important for my film piece. Film certification is used to restrict who can see different types of films. There are six main types of film certification, which are each used for different films to restrict certain age groups to watching certain movies. The British Board of Film Classification is responsible for the Certifications of films, which has its own website, which helped me to see how they classified each of the film certifications: http://www.bbfc.co.uk/
Below I have listed the different film certifications and what each of them means.
'U' stands for universal. The certification for this film is open to all ages, mainly aged from 4 years and older. The reason that it is classified as ‘U’ and for all audiences to see is because it is impossible to predict what may upset any particular child. Within a ‘U’ film certificated film there will be no sign of violence or nothing that will upset or offend any child, no discrimination, and no bad language.
PG stands for parental guidance. Any unaccompanied child may see the film, but the film should not disturb the child. Parents are advised to take consideration into whether or not the film may upset younger children. Language may be used, but it must be mild language only. Similarly, violence may be used within the film but not with a lot of detail.
12 and 12A have exactly the same criteria. A 12 rated film may not be seen or brought by any person under the age of 12, however with a 12A if the child is accompanied by an adult who deems the film to be okay. It is then the parent’s responsibility for any circumstances that may occur. Moderate language is allowed within the film and strong language must be kept infrequent. Similarly, violence is allowed, but there must not be a large amount of emphasis on the violence.
Anyone under the age of 15, may not be allowed to see a film in cinema, buy or rent a 15 rated film.
Similarly to a 15 rated film, an 18 rated film may not be seen in cinema, rented or brought on DVD by anyone under the age of 18.
Most R rated films are films containing sex and may only be shown to adults in specially licensed cinemas. R18 films may only be seen by people over the age of 18 and can not be supplied by mail order.
Sunday, 6 February 2011
Thursday, 20 January 2011
Storyboard
My idea for my film opening is to have a person, in bed turning and twitching, trying to emphasise that they are having a dream. There will be a pan of the room showing some of the persons belongings and then either panning or following up the bed to see the person up close. There will then be a close up of the persons face where the persons eyes will open as if they are awake, where i will then zoom closer to the persons eye, where i will then edit my scenes to fade in and out to the same eye but in a different place, to try to emphasise that we are going into the persons dream. Next I will zoom out to reveal the person in a wood setting where they will be alone. The person will be seen walking around confused and scared as to what is happening. I will also use sounds of rustling and possibly twigs snapping, where the person will think and feel as if there is someone following them. To portray this feeling to the viewer, I will use a range of long shots, where the person will seem small and alone in comparison; close ups and mid shots to show the persons feeling of being scared. Next I will zoom into the person rapidly where I will then edit the footage so there is a fade in and out, to reveal the person back in there bed again, where they will again been twitching and turning and will suddenly wake and sit up right, where they realise that it was only a dream.
The idea of my film opening is only a simple idea, but I think that it will work really effectively. Before filming my piece properly, I will use a simple video recorder to test out some of my scenes to have a practise and also so I can see when the light will work most effectively. By doing this I think it will help me when I go to produce my final footage, as I will have the knowledge of what will work best from where I have had practise.
Wednesday, 29 December 2010
Film Final Ideas
Following my film pitch and the feedback I have come some solid conclusions about my film opening. Firstly, the name, I am changing it to Insanity. From the help of my feedback, I was able to choose this name, as it would link into what the rest of the film would be about if the rest of it was being created. I think that the name is gripping and would make the target audience question what the film is about. The target audience of my film is 15-25 as this is the likely audience of who would watch a thriller or horror film. I have also kept the idea the same, as from my pitch, my classmates thought that it would be a good idea and very gripping. I think from this, my USP (unique selling point) is the idea of my opening going straight into a dream that the person is having which is different as the film is based on the person and their dreams.
Tuesday, 7 December 2010
Film Pitch
In preparation for my ideas for my final film production, I produced a presentation that I presented to the rest of my class, where they could give me feedback on what they thought of my ideas and how I could improve. My presentation included the following information on it:
Chosen genre: Thriller
Concept of Film: Girl having a dream; she’s being followed/ stalked by another person, feelings of being surrounded, alone, suffocated.
Target Audience: 15-25
Possible Names: Follower
Settings: Somewhere that sets the tone; woods, alleys
Style of Opening: Person sleeping; zooming in and fading into their dream, in the setting and into the opening sequence of the person being followed.
Music/ sound: Dramatic, low/ deep incidental music; setting the tone.
From this I got some feedback from my class and teacher, who are all classed as the target audience for my film opening. From my presentation, I got positive feedback, with most of the people in my class liking the idea and thinking that it could make a really good film opening. However one thing that they thought I would need to consider is the name, as one of my options of ‘follower’ seemed to be too ironic for the name. The way that I overcome this was by the class and my teacher asking about how the rest of the film would go so that we could get a name from this for my film opening. From this, we came up with names such as ‘Insanity’ and ‘insomnia.’
Tuesday, 16 November 2010
Conventions of a Film Opening
During the first two minutes of a film, there are usually certain things that the openings will include. They are: credits, company logo, the cast/ characters are revealed and we can often get a tone or certain feel about what the genre of the film will be. It is important for the film directors to be able to portray this, so that the viewers are attracted and will have a rough idea about the type of film that they will be watching.
A good example of this is the opening to The Holiday, which I have given a link to below. Although this is a big mainstream film, I felt that the director was able to get everything across that’s needed to be seen.
During the opening two minutes of this clip, the scene shows everything by sticking to the criteria. It includes music, which personally I think sets the tone; its nice soft music to begin with, implying it’s happy and gradually gets faster at certain points, which adds to the drama. It also includes a voiceover, which in this outlines what the focus of the movie will be about. It gives credits and title of the movie and also introduces the main characters.
Here is another example I have found of a good opening to a film. The film is called ‘Before Sunset.’ This however, isn’t a mainstream film, but an independent film opening I have found. I think that it is very good, considering there wouldn’t have been as much money involved in the movie, compared to if it was a big mainstream production. The opening is simple, but good. It shows some of the settings, the characters and also has music playing.
Here I have found another movie that demonstrates the conventions of a film opening well. I like this opening in particular, as it gets straight into the acting scenes, instead of having a slower opening, with music playing over the top, whilst introducing the characters. However although it starts straight into the acting, it still shows the typical conventions as it introduces the characters and it includes the company’s logo.
Here again, is another movie, which sticks to the criteria of a film opening. This again however, is another big mainstream movie, which would have had a lot of money put into it. In this film opening, it includes the company logo, music that sets the tone; it starts light and soft and it introduces the main characters.
Alternatively, there are some films that have not stuck to the typical conventions of a film opening. There are some films that get straight into the action, and don’t introduce the main characters how you would expect. For example, Mission Impossible gets straight into the action, similarly to James Bond films, which both are opened by getting straight into the acting, so that the viewer is immediately engaged in the film and so that they know what to expect from it. I think that not sticking to the typical conventions can sometimes work and could be a good way of interacting with the audience. However, by using the typical conventions, it still gets all the main focuses across the viewer.
Thursday, 4 November 2010
Mainstream and Independent films
Independent films:
An Independent film is one, which is usually produced outside of a big studio setting, usually using many of the directors own resources. Below I have included a link, which I think gives a detailed definition of what an independent film is.
Mainstream films are usually big production films, which have been produced using a big variety of resources, including big studios where the film is often made. Mainstream films; often have a lot of money involved. Below I have found a link of which I found gave a good definition of what a mainstream film is.
Monday, 1 November 2010
Preliminary Task Evaluation
I think that my final sequence is fairly successful and I feel that I have been able to use the camera, my ideas and the editing well, particularly for a first try. I think my piece demonstrates the rules of continuity editing, which is something I made sure I did to the best I could, as otherwise I didn’t think my piece would flow or work as well. I think that to make the piece even more successful, I could of thought more about the sound, and made sure that there wasn’t any speaking or unwanted noises throughout. I think that I thought about what I needed to include and also how I did it well, but to improve I could think more about timings and also making sure I get my timings more accurate for the starting and stopping, so that the people in my piece could understand it better, and it would of flowed even smoother when put together.
One of the things I think I could rethink about my piece is to use a tripod next time. Although I think I did well without a tripod, I think that it would help me to make sure there isn’t any noticeable shaking or wobbles of the camera and it would just make the piece look more solid. I would also rethink the timings of my piece, so that I have enough time for the transitions of each clip to run smoother, and so that there is enough of each of the scenes, for example, the knocking of the door, I think could have gone on for slightly longer. I would also rethink the script element for the talking of the characters, although I had something which they could use, I found it was easier for them to just get ahead and just make general conversation. However next time, I think I would stick to a script so that the people are definitely sure on what they are saying and have something there for them.
My final sequence was pretty much the same as my initial storyboard, other than the setting in which I had included on the storyboard. I think that to improve the planning stage, I could of really thought more into the camera shots and angles, so I could have been slightly more precise when filming and also thought more about timings and when to start and stop each part of the filming so that it was clearer for the characters in my piece. I would also think about the sounds, so that I would know whether I would want some of the particular sounds, such as the walking and knocking of the door.
I think throughout the making of my sequence, it allowed me to think more about the actual filming and to remember some of the rules, such as the continuity editing and also the 180 degree rule, as without myself remembering these, my piece wouldn’t have made much sense, and wouldn’t have run smoothly. I think the main lessons that I need to carry on into my main task would be to make sure I have thoroughly thought about the continuity editing and to make sure that I have a good enough and detailed plan for me to exactly stick to, so that when it comes to the filming I am certain of what I am doing.
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