The Headteacher

As a group we were given the genre of horror that our film had to be based on. We created a tense and gripping film to fit in with the theme of horror and to make it as good as some of the best selling horror films.

We chose the title 'Headteacher' because most young people dont like head teachers because they think they are evil and bossy. The title is short which makes it mysterious. The plot line is old fashioned which i thought would make the film more spooky. It is set in a modern school which does not look out of the ordinary and so will be a surprise to the viewer. It has a slow and scary build up which opens up lots of questions to the viewer and we have made a big ending to suit typical horror movies.

We have chosen a well known class including Daniel Radcliff, Judi Dench, Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Dylan O'Brien. The reason we chose these people is because they are famous actors who will draw attention to the film and they are good actors who can make a film scary very easily.

Premiere

My first attempt at using Adobe Premier went well. My first project was to edit a dancing bears video which got me used to editing video and making it fit in time with the background music. The hardest part of this was to get the music in time with the moves of the bears but eventually I got most of it in sync.
The second task was to create a James Bond clip, i found the editing easy and got the music to fit in time with the action of the clips. I think I should have made the clip more dramatic and make the clips fit well together instead of piecing it together and assuming it fits, instead I think it would have been better to have a build up.

Overall I found my experience with Premier good and I quickly found out how to edit clips and music well and made use of all the tools.

Film Trailer Analysis

Guardians of the Galaxy

As soon as this trailer starts we see an alien room and technology not seen before so we can immediately tell it is a sci-fi film. It is a marvel film which tells us there will be action but will not be light hearted and nothing to violent. From the way the man talks at the start we can tell it will be funny yet the tribal music during the action scene tells us there will be a lot of fighting, however straight after we see the 5 main characters standing about while old fashioned music plays so we can tell it will not be too violent. There is low-key lighting used to present danger and the makeup and the way the characters are dressed also reflects this.

The Vow: 

At the start of the trailer we can already tell the genre of this film is romance as we see a couple exchanging vows at a wedding ceremony, and this also gives us an initial introduction of the two main characters. Upbeat, happy music begins to play which gives us the impression that the relationship between the two characters is strong and joyful, and this is backed up with short happy scenes of the couple. The voice of the male character is used as the voice over which shows that the film will be from his perspective. Then as the film takes a sadder turn, this music stops and scenes are shown from a hospital which tells us there has been some kind of disaster, and we can tell by the voiceover and scenes that the husband is determined and persistant in getting his lover back. The genre of the film is reinforced when the actor and actress are introduced with typography cross referencing to other romance films.

Shaun of the Dead (opening sequence)

In this opening sequence we can automatically tell the genre which is comedy despite the fact its about zombies. We can see from the very first clip that it is a zombie film because every character is acting like a typical zombie would which also reflects on todays society and gives a strong message. The background music as well is slow yet up beat which reflects the light tone of the film and it is also slow, just like a zombie. When it cuts to the main scene there is low key lighting used to reflect how lazy and slummy the apartment is which is also reflected by the garbage and the fact there is a grown man playing a game rather than going to work. We also learn a bit about the characters, how irresponsible they are which is shown by the front door being left open all night, presumably left there after a drunk night out.

Genres

Genres: Every film has a genre which appeal to different audiences.

Action:

This photo went well because of the fact that we can clearly see the genre because of the actions of the character in the image, in this case forcefully opening doors. The person is centred in the frame, showing that he would be the main focus of the film, as this is where the viewer would naturally look, and this is reinforced by the symmetrical nature of the photograph. The angle of the photograph, along with the minor low key lighting and contrast between light and dark colours add a dramatic, intense feel to the image, which goes along with the genre of action. The way in which the persons face is not shown adds to this dramatic feel

Comedy:

This photo shows off the comedy genre well because what is being shown in this image clearly shows the viewer it is comedy by the action taking place. We usually associate someone falling off their chair with comedy and laughter which is why I think this was a good picture to chose. We used high-key lighting to give it a happy tone which also helps convey the comedy side of it.

Horror:

We used this picture because it only shows half of the face which makes it mysterious because we don't know whats on the other side of the face. I have  used low key lighting to add to the mysterious effect because it shows less. By using black and white it reminds the viewer of old fashioned horror which is considered the scariest

Rom Com:

I chose this photo because we can see the girl is very happy which suggests she is in love and she is on the phone to a boy which is a stereotypical image for a rom com. We used high key lighting to reflect the happiness of the girl and to make it as realistic as possible because girls who watch these films often hope this will happen to them. We took the shot inside school because this is where typical romance films are set.

Sci-Fi:

I used this image because it doesnt give anything away about the plot line, so it leaves the viewers mind open for imagination as to what it will be about and this will also make them want to see the film more. This image is good because is shows wire and silver which are commonly seen in sic-fi and space based films. It also further illustrates the genre with the lighting, we used high key lighting at the front to clearly show whats in the image and low key lighting at the back to give the photo a gloomy and mysterious feel.

Semiotics

Denotations: The four men are holding each other shoulders. The man on the end of then line is holding onto the number 2. The number 2 is golden. There is a bright light behind them. Two of the men have moustaches. They are all wearing suits and have neat and well taken care of hair. One of the men is wearing a cowboy hat. 

Connotations: the four men linking arms shows unity which tells the viewer they are a team of sorts. The man on the end of the line is holding onto the '2' which tells us he may be the stupid one of the group, which immediately tells us the genre of the film; comedy. The golden writing tells us it is important because we link gold with wealth and importance. The suits tell us the men are important and look after themselves, they also tell us they are wealthy and have good jobs. The low key lighting  with a bright light focusing on the 4 men tells us they are the 4 main characters in the film and puts all focus on them.

Anchorman 2 Opening Sequence

Semiotics:

Denotations:
A man stares at a womans butt
Everyone is dressed old fashioned and smart
A shark attacks a man who cries out for help
A news anchor starts shouting before broadcast and suddenly appears calm as the broadcast starts.
Elevator numbers slowly count upwards.
Mr Burgendy gets nervous as they approach the top floor
There are clips shown where Ron messes up whilst broadcasting
When veronica and ron get home, they discuss veronicas new job and have an argument

Connotations:
we can tell from the way the people dress that it is set somewhere in the 1970's and they are all dressed smartly which tells the viewer that they are professional. In the scene where the shark attacks the man, it freezes and clearly shows the shark is meant to be a fake which tells the viewer it is a comedy film. This is also backed up by the news anchors shouting before he reads the news. There is high-key lighting used which suggests there is no action or violence in the film and that it will be funny. The tall, modern buildings are posh which reflects onto the characters telling us that they are high class. The view is from above the buildings which gives the viewer an idea of where the film is set.