Coursework planning : based on your first draft

What did you learn during your preliminary task that you want to avoid/ implement/ develop upon in your actual coursework?

Avoid

As we had the lesson to make our preliminary task, we decided to use two media students with no script and no plan on what was to happen. Only a couple of shots were filmed and our editing knowledge was limited/ no-existent, contributing to it being a poor outcome. Therefore, there are several things we wanted to avoid in our preliminary task. Firstly, we learnt during our preliminary work the importance of sound and non-diagetic sound in the video. We thought that considering music choices from our last task, we want to stay away from well known music because we think that then it doesn't have the best effect possible on our audience as they already know the mood. With this in mind, diabetic sound in our preliminary was also something we didn't think about particularly. We had no script, and as a result, the actors were nervous and improvised the script, meaning the film became almost awkward to film. For our actual coursework, therefore, will either have a script or no dialogue at all, meaning this doesn't happen again. As for the filming, we all wanted to film as many shots and angles as we could so that the situation in the preliminary task wouldn't happen, but we would have lots of film to choose from. However, considering we had no understanding, from the preliminary task to our actual coursework, there has been a lot of learning and developing. For that reason, we don't want to avoid anything more because we thought even though our last practice needed a lot of work, it was more development than things to avoid.

Implement (do again)

There isn't much that we want to implement as we thought everything either needed to be avoided or devloped. However, one thing that we want to implement in our film opening is our willingness to work together, share ideas and experiment to try and learn new things throughout our coursework. We knew from the start that we would work really well together and this whole project has proven how well we can put our heads together to come up with ideas, plans, written pieces or practical projects. I think experimenting and our enthusiasm to take time to try a new shot or re-write our plan is something that I have learnt in our preliminary task that is important and something I want to implement in my actual coursework. Other than that, again, we either want to take what we've learnt and avoid it or develop it, but not implement it.

Develop

I thought that for our preliminary task, we learnt a lot about the basics of making a film opening from creating ideas and planning them to filming and editing. Therefore, it's a perfect basis to build on and develop our skills in our actual coursework. Something specifically we want to improve and develop on, is our editing skills, which we know will be put to the test if we want to produce a film opening anything like we imagine. Another point we discussed during the preliminary task, is to come up with more ideas so that we can have a wider choice of what we can do. Then later, plan our idea to almost every detail so we know what is happening at every point. This is something that could have been better in our preliminary task so I want to develop in our actual coursework so that everything runs smoothly and accordingly. For our preliminary exercise, even though the mise-en-scene conditions told us to cast a child in the opening, and we chose to use two teenagers, I think this was a part of the project that didn't go so well because we had specific ideas in mind that were hard to share and cooperate with them as they didn't understand what we wanted. With this in mind, we still wanted to use that age bracket to cast people in our coursework, but instead make sure that the actor understood our idea, and therefore, someone in our group would be preferable.

Coursework : Planning - Based on my ideas so far

Based on my ideas so far

What ways would your target audience ideally be able to consume your films? 

Our film is a suspense/horror film. Therefore I recon our film would go straight online because not many people in our target age range, younger people, go to the cinema much anymore, this is because the cinema is a lot more expensive nowadays than it used to be and students can't really afford to spend money on the cinema meaning they are more likely to watch movies online or family purchased Netflix accounts. I don't think our film is block buster material as it's not a big action film with famous actors. Therefore having our film online rather than in cinema or cinema city, where our target audience will not be.
Online such as youtube, on social media, facebook, twitter, instagram.
Some films also go straight to netflix 

Coursework Planning : Script first draft

camera focuses on paper) 

  (Hands using scalpel) 

  (Burnt photo of mans torso) 

(Scratching collage) 

  (Overlay image of hands using pens to cross out words in a book)

(Hands grabbing paper)

  (photo of two people in St. Andrews asylum)

(Wet paint on lined paper)

(photo of mans torso with melted wax)

(Macro shot of a page in the book)

Title : A film by..  Lily Ray  Megan Lansdell  Daisy Gilbert  Lily Mitchell

 (Image of person in St. Andrews asylum)

(Turn page with wet paint)

(Scalpel)

(Drawing)

(Mascara smudged on photo of mans torso)

(Fire burning piece of paper)

(Image of boy at st Andrews Asylum)

  (Image of girl and St. Andrews asylum) 

(Writing)

(Painting on lined paper)

(Over lay writing)

(Stitches on image of mans torso)

(Crossing words out in book)

(Collage of images of mans torso)

  (Zoomed writing)

(Scrunching hands leave page)

(Painting a face on lined paper)

(Ripping scrapbook page)

Final Title : MERZ

LR

Coursework : Planning - script ideas

Coursework Planning: Script Ideas

Script

Are we going to be using a script and why?

We plan, at the moment, to not include any speech at all in our two minute opening. This means that we won't write a script for our film. We don't want anybody speaking because we think that as our film is a thriller it should create as much suspense as possible. One of the ways we can do this is by not including any other noise or sound other than the background music or noise made by the props. The background 'music' is some background music we found on Soundcloud that represents our genre and film well as it contains some creepy/suspense sounds. So, to have dialogue would ruin the atmosphere we are trying to create. Another reason not to have dialogue is because I think that having dialogue would distract the viewers from what's happening with the character in the film but they would instead listen more to what they were saying. Also, if we were to have dialogue then we aren't too sure of what would be said. Due to the fact we don't want to show any of the character other than their hands so the audience can make their assumptions, it would be giving away their voice. The only other option would be if we had a narrator, (either the character's voice or someone else) over the top, perhaps, describing something that happened a long time ago.

LR

Coursework : Planning - Plot synopsis

PLOT SYNOPSIS

Plot outline of current idea for the film opening and where the film as a whole would go if you were to make the full film.

After much debate, analysis and exploring, we have come up with our current plot and now are planning the other elements to the film opening. Our idea for the film opening is very simplistic:

The idea is to film a character's hands, and only the character's hands, working and making different, slightly creepy, things. We plan to film from various angles, and shoot several 'scenes', where the character can be creating different things. We want to focus, specifically, on props, lighting, the character and the titles.

The props the character will be using could be things such as: scrapbooks, sewing onto images, using software, etching into plastic and painting pictures of people. The profession of our character is an artist, so it makes sense why the character would have access to these things, only this is revealed later in the film, so it makes this as an effective film opening as the audience think the character's unusual. We plan the lighting to be dark, so it can add to the 'creepiness' and act like the character enjoys making things in the darkness. For example, a shot could be the character only being lit by the computer screens light, when typing or printing out photos etc. For the rest of the film, the lighting I'm sure wouldn't stay as dark all the time, but would flicker between different lighting options to create that sense of suspense. The character is important, and while we only really get to know them later in the film, it's still important to get the first impression. We have several ideas for who the character may be (check Character Blog), but we know that the character will be lonely, unusual and wayward. As the character develops throughout the film and as the viewers get to know the character, we aim to show as little as possible so that not all is revealed (hence only showing the hands). When it comes to the titles, we felt these were important to focus on, to get the correct introduction to the film for the audience. This is where the titles can help, because even though they may not thought of as a component in a film, they can add a sense of the film that may otherwise be missing.

In terms of where the film as a whole would go if you were to make the full film, we have a few ideas. We think it would go along the lines of the character going out to his job during the day whilst continuing making these creepy creative things in his home, until someone (a colleague perhaps) finds him suspicious and breaks into his home. From there, our character starts to draw the suspicion away from himself by killing the colleague's wife and then framing the colleague. It would either end by our character getting away with the murder and the colleague going to prison or our character then killing the colleague and getting away with both murders.

LR

Coursework : Planning - Our ideas so far

My ideas so far

OUR IDEAS SO FAR

For our coursework, we have been given our task to create a two minute film opening. We actually were given this project a few months back to start preparing, researching and thinking about 50% of our AS grade. But now we start it. Our group, (Megan Lansdell, Lily Mitchell, Daisy Gilbert and I) started by researching about all of the mise-en-scene conditions you find in a film. This would help us find out more about the things we would need to consider for our coursework, and also so we could start to gather ideas from the examples we studied. The research includes: Narrative, Sound, Setting, Dialogue, Narration, Breaking the fourth wall, Target audience, Attracting the target audience, Camera shots and angles and Character. All of these you can find in previous blog posts. We split these posts into four, so we each had three to do and everyone didn't have to do as much. I had the Dialogue pt.2, Breaking the fourth wall and Character. Each Blog post will have the initials of the person who completed it at the bottom of the page, so it doesn't go uncredited.

The next stage is the Planning section, which we have, again, just split into four so that we each have two planning blog posts to do; I have Plot Synopsis and Location Research. But, before we carry on with our coursework, we need to have a couple of ideas. Yesterday, the four of us sat down to start to discuss and mind map some ideas:

We like the idea of going very simplistic with a plot that can develop into the rest of the film, seeing that it is only the opening 2 minutes that would continue into a feature film that would last approximately 1-2 hours. We would also want something challenging but achievable so that, when finished, it would seem respectable, not 'cheesy' but realistic as it might come out as a little childish if the idea was difficult. Doing a mind map really helped identify the kind of film we want to produce, considering the conditions needed and the possible ideas each of us are thinking of. Regarding the genre, we are leaning towards the suspense/drama area where we think we can pull together our strengths and interests best to plan, shoot, edit and evaluate our opening more than any other genre. Other specifics about the coursework such as characters, setting, dialogue and plot are all ideas in the works and haven't been decided yet, but we for now we continue with our blog posts on planning whilst going through the mentioned details in planning lessons coming up. 

LR & ML

Coursework : Video diary #1

Video Diary

We decided that as we were doing quite a few things, both separately and together as a group, it would be a good idea to come together and figure out how far we'd come since the start of our coursework. We established what we had done, we were enjoying, and what we were thinking about in terms of ideas for coursework. I think it really helped us identify where each of us was and where we wanted to go. As we are doing an AS in media studies, it seemed appropriate to share all of this through a video diary. Also, as an incentive to be as original as possible, our teacher promised a prize for a unique video. Whilst brainstorming, we came up with the idea to film a facetime session between two friends (Megan Lansdell and Daisy Gilbert) who were to discuss our research and coursework. 

Click link here to watch: 

LR

Coursework : Research - Target audience

RESEARCH: TARGET AUDIENCE

What is a target audience?

A particular group at which a product such as a film or advertisement is aimed.
A target audience is the intended audience or readership of a publication, advertisement, or other message. In marketing and advertising, it is a particular group of consumers within the predetermined target market, identified as the targets or recipients for a particular advertisement or message. Businesses that have a wide target market will focus on a specific target audience for certain messages to send, such as The Body Shops Mother’s Day advertisements, which were aimed at the children and spouses of women, rather than the whole market which would have included the women themselves.

What is the target audience for each of the following genres?

Comedy - the target audience of a comedy film is very dependent on the content of the film. for example children's films labelled as PG's or U's can have comical scenes in which would link it to the comedy genre, the films would appeal to young children as well as parents as they are often family films. However the audience  would be completely different for a comedy film labelled as a 12 or a 15, these films have the target audience of the audience of the certificated age given to the movie as the base, the movies are likely to appeal to people over the labelled age of film simply because comedy has a large target market appealing to larger proportion of the comedy theme market.  the final age partition of the comedy target audience is 18 certificates, these films although still based around comedy are often more explicit in terms of language and scenes, making the film heavily aimed at over 18 years.

Horror - The target audience of a horror film is very dependent on the content of the film. For example horror films labelled as a 12 or a 15 have the target audience of the certificated age given to the movie as the base. The final age partition of the horror target audience is 18 certificates, these films although still based around horror are often more explicit in terms of mature scenes, language, making the film heavily aimed at over 18 years.

Action - The main target audience for action films again is age 13 – 28 years of age and generally aimed at mainly males, this is because males of this age range generally are more interested in fast paced stories with lots of action filled scenes that include explosions and fight scenes. This genre attracts men as they like to imagine themselves as the main character. Depending on the graphic nature and style of violence can alter its audience as comic book styled violence will attract fans who prefer a more unrealistic style of action, e.g. sin city, 300 and watchmen.

Romance- The wide appeal of romance films is because of the emotions that the characters display within these type of films, and this is why in our opening we have not used any dialogue but only used emotions as this is what is stereotypically related to romantic films. The aim is to get the audience to feel connected with a ‘real life situation’ or a’ slice of life’ . The likely gender would stereotypically be females as it is said that they prefer films of which they can relate to and emphasise with.

Drama - Shown from research, the main target audience for a period drama film is typically women aged 17-50. The period drama genre can span a wide age range due to the content. It has a wider target audience than some genres such as teen movie, as it can related to a wider audience, du to the range of characters and varying plot lines. many period drama films have a romantic storyline, which could also appeal to women more than men. However some period drama films are not targeted at a  female audience, such as 'Dorian Gray' which involves more violence and has an overall dark feel than most over period drama films. This could have been done to attract a wider audience. Although i also believe that the target audience is also very dependent on the age certificate labelled on the film covers. 

What would be the target audience for 'your idea so far'? And how would you attract these people to watch your film? 

I understand the target audience for our 'idea so far' would most probably be the age certificates of 12. My group and i understand that our film idea would not be suitable for anyone younger than the age of twelve to watch. Studies show that Internet users are becoming increasingly responsive to video, and we should therefore be using video to capture our target audience. We need to keep our videos short and sweet, and make sure they are informative, entertaining, and – most of all – relevant to our target market. In the film itself you can attract the target audience, the age of the characters and clothes they wear can attract the appropriate target audience. Location and setting does the same, for example if the film is set in a house party then you know that the film is aimed at younger age groups.

DG

Coursework : Research - Attracting our target audience

Attracting our target audience

The first step to any film being successful, is how film companies attract their target audience using marketing and advertisement. Millions of pounds are spent on each year on advertising their films to the world. In order to advertise their film, the marketers have to determine where the target customers receive their information from and where they would view news of the new film . Popular sources for adverts and spreading news about film and TV productions include television commercials, friends and family, social networks, magazines, blogs, forums or consumer review websites.

Studies show that ninety percent of all American Internet users visit social media sites and it isn't much different for UK internet users in a first world country. When attracting our target audience, if we want to initiate an effective online marketing plan, then we cannot afford to overlook the power of social media. One of the best things about marketing to the social media sector is that we ca advertise to the exact demographics you are trying to reach. When it comes to social media facebook beats out all other social networking sites on visitors and time spent on the site.

Studies show that Internet users are becoming increasingly responsive to video, and we should therefore be using video to capture our target audience. We need to keep our videos short and sweet, and make sure they are informative, entertaining, and – most of all – relevant to our target market.

In the film itself you can attract the target audience, the age of the characters and clothes they wear can attract the appropriate target audience. Location and setting does the same, for example if the film is set in a house party then you know that the film is aimed at younger age groups.

Coursework : Research - Dialogue continued

RESEARCH: DIALOGUE CONTINUED.

Dialogue:

Cinematic dialogue is oral speech between fictional characters. This distinguishes dialogue from other types of cinematic language such as voice-over narration, internal monologue, or documentary interviews, which have different characteristics. Writing realistic and effective dialogue is a laborious task. Most screenwriters need years of failed attempts and poorly written scripts to finally master the ideal chemistry that dialogues require to entice the audience and push the story forward.

I wanted to focus on dialogue and no dialogue scenes specifically in drama films because this is what we are thinking of doing for our coursework. 

Examples of dialogue scenes in drama films:

1. Dead Poets Society (1989) -

Dead Poets society is one of the seminal classics that is founded on great characters and fantastic dialogue, where more than a few inspirational quotes from Robin Williams are found everywhere. The dialogue, written by Tom Schulman, is clever, quick and classic, with the audience left inspired and moved as Williams' character teaches the students (and us) to learn to break out of their shells, pursue their dreams and seize the day.

2. The Social Network (2010) -

As it follows Harvard undergrad and computer genius Mark Zuckerberg, the dialogue could be no less clever. In fact, Aaron Sorkin won the movie an Academy Award for Best Writing Adapted Screenplay, clearly proving why his writing is clearly at the top of the game. The dialogue is so dense and packed tight in everything he does that his scripts are 3 and 4 times longer than most. It's his belief that we don’t need to speak down to the audience that I like so very much.

3. Good Will Hunting (1997)

Will Hunting, a janitor at M.I.T., has a gift for mathematics but needs help from a psychologist to find direction in his life. This clip shows some of the brilliantly clever dialogue that is conversed between Will and his peers, tutor and psychologist, throughout the movie. I think this develops the character, shows how clever he comes across on screen and without this, the character wouldn't be the same. 

What are the positive effects of dialogue in the examples?

There is really nothing compared to a well written and intriguing screenplay. Whether it be witty and fast-paced dialogue or intense and foreboding, the writing of a movie can really drive the character development and action. There are many positive effects of using conversation like to create a certain atmosphere or to portray thoughts. For example, it can be to express the feelings of the character, that would have been previously unknown. Dialogue can also have a positive effect on the viewer because a conversation or a speech can be creatively enhancing to the film and make the audience think. In the examples, dialogue helps us understand the characters more, in 'The Social Network' (in the clip above), the dialogue comes across as arrogant and therefore we can sense what kind of character he is. Or, the dialogue is used in sometimes a somewhat confusing yet clever and quick way to get the audience thinking. For instance, in one of 'Good Will Hunting's speech (again, in the clip above), I'm sure people can appreciate the lengthy monologue and the creative writing that, together with the performance, produces a brilliant scene.

What are the negatives effects in the examples?

However, there are some parts of dialogue that aren't particularly helpful or important as some instances in a film can impact the audience in a negative way. This can include occasions where the dialogue can become a little too clever, and complex and confusing conversations, that may seem clever but actually, nobody understands. A negative effect of dialogue in a film is that sometimes filmmakers, especially new up-and-coming ones, fall into a trap where they erroneously believe that dialogue alone is enough to provide enough excitement. However, this is not the case, as other mise-en-scene conditions are just as important. Therefore, dialogue doesn't have to be included just because it's there, but alternatively, it could make the film worse. Is often said amongst screenwriting that if the dialogue doesn't move the movie forward in any way, it should be taken out. Check out the confinement of the jury room of 12 Angry Men, where the actions, gestures, expressions, and objects are used to fill the void that dialogue couldn't.

What are the positive effects of no dialogue?

Using no dialogue in a film sometimes can create a film that just as exciting as a film with dialogue. It, therefore, means that the actions, gestures, expressions, and objects can play a much bigger part, as the audience are more likely to focus on these other mise-en-scene conditions more. I think that in the world of cinema, dialogue can sometimes be a hindrance and films may get bogged down in the foolish words spoken to each other, and meaning may be lost. No dialogue films can also remind us of films around the 1890s to 1920s, and all of them were completely silent, In silent films for entertainment, the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, mime and title cards which contain a written indication of the plot or key dialogue.

What are the negatives?

It is easy for no dialogue films to go wrong, and that's understandable, seeing too much over-expressive facial acting, too many contrived silent set-ups that obscure character development and motivation, as well as an over-emphatic soundtrack to fill in the gaps, can ruin a good plot. I think its a very fine line between reminding the audience of how minimalist a good film can become when dialogue isn't used, and when dialogue is needed to make the film so much better. Another negative of using no dialogue is simply to make certain the audience understand the film, not relying all the time on facial expressions to guess conversations. 

What issues do I think I would face in my own coursework by using dialogue?

When using dialogue in my own coursework, there could possibly be some issues. For instance, none of our group has ever written any screenplay or have experience with writing scripts and dialogue. This means it could take some time in figuring out how to plan, and then write the conversations, any other monologues or dialogue we want in our film. Becuase we've never done this before, it could be risky to include dialogue as it could come across as 'cheesy', 'ill-done' or too much. 

What issues do I think I would face in my own coursework by not using dialogue?

However, I think not using dialogue could cause just as many problems. For example, the audience could see that its an easy option out of using dialogue if we don't use it and we haven't at least tried. Perhaps not using dialogue could seem as if something is missing in the film. But, if all of the other mise-en-scene conditions went really well then we could pull having no dialogue off. I think it could be really effective depending on the plot to not use any dialogue, but it could be easier for us to use dialogue as it can explain more to the audience than expressions, and gestures can.

LR

Coursework : Research - Dialogue

RESEARCH: DIALOGUE

What is dialogue?

Dialogue is a conversation between two or more people as a feature of a play, book or film.

Is dialogue necessary in the opening two minutes of a feature film?

I don't think that dialogue is completely necessary in the opening two minutes of a feature film, as a lot of film trailers and the opening of films feature no sound at all, meaning obviously that there would be no dialogue at all. If you include dialogue you normally tend to give away more of the plot compared to if you weren't going to use it, this therefore keeps the plot of the film unknown and then makes the audience more intrigued and curious about the rest of the film. Dialogue which is used in the opening of films has to be used wisely and effectively as it sets the tone for the rest of the film, so it's best to only include dialogue in the opening of a film if it can be used in the way you wish it to be used.

Here are clips of examples for each of the following genres where dialogue is NOT used and one example for each where it IS used in the opening two minutes.

Comedy -

In comedy, it is often the case when dialogue is vital to carry the humour in the film, but it can be the case, especially in silent comedy films such as 'Mr. Bean', that dialogue is not necessarily needed to portray the comedy. Where dialogue is used: Borat / Where dialogue is not used: Hot Fuzz 

Horror -

Dialogue in Horror can be quite different to dialogue in comedy but also quite varied within this genre. Lots of typical famous and scary scenes have no dialogue to create the scary scenes where we are waiting for the sound to come in and scare us. Where dialogue is used: The Conjuring / Where dialogue is not used: The Babadook

Action - 

Action films can also be dependant on dialogue to get what the film is about and it is very rare to see complete no dialogue scenes unless, in the examples cases, Batman or James Bond have to be particularly quite to build suspense. Where dialogue is used: The Dark Knight /Where dialogue is not used: Casino Royale

Drama -

PLEASE LOOK AT 'DIALOGUE CONTINUED' TO SEE A MORE DETAILED EVALUATION ON DIALOGUE AND NO DIALOGUE IN DRAMA FILMS. 
Where dialogue is used: Boyhood /Where dialogue is not used: Schindler's List

Romance - 

In romance films, the dialogue can often be funny and typically romantic and its not often that no dialogue scenes are used, yet when they are it can be used to describe awkward moments. Where dialogue is used: Silver Linings the Playbook / Where dialogue is not used: Dear John  

LM

Coursework : Research - Narration

RESEARCH: NARRATION

What is Narration?

Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration encompasses a set of techniques through which the creator of the story presents their story, including:
Narrative point of view: the perspective (or type of personal or non-personal "lens") through which a story is communicated
Narrative voice: the format (or type presentational form) through which a story is communicated
Narrative time: the grammatical placement of the story's time-frame in the past, the present, or the future
A narrator is a personal character or a non-personal voice that the creator (author) of the story develops to deliver information to the audience, particularly about the plot. The narrator may be a voice devised by the author as an anonymous, non-personal, or stand-alone entity; as the author herself/himself as a character; or as some other fictional or non-fictional character appearing and participating within their own story. The narrator is considered participant if he/she is a character within the story, and non-participant if he/she is an implied character or an omniscient or semi-omniscient being or voice that merely relates the story to the audience without being involved in the actual events. Some stories have multiple narrators to illustrate the storylines of various characters at the same, similar, or different times, thus allowing a more complex, non-singular point of view.
Narration encompasses not only who tells the story, but also how the story is told (for example, by using stream of consciousness or unreliable narration). In traditional literary narratives (such as novels, short stories, and memoirs), narration is a required story element; in other types of (chiefly non-literary) narratives, such as plays, television shows, video games, and films, narration is merely optional.

Examples of the use of Narration in each of the following genres:

COMEDY - usually the narration comedies is witty and humorous. for instance in 'The Inbetweeners' there is narration however it does not deal with meaningful feelings, but it includes funny jibes.

HORROR - The narration in Horror films usually includes serious and direct dialogue, i believe this is due to the suspension building up throughout the plot. For example, during the film 'The women in black' the dialogue is mature and humorless.

ACTION - the narration during an action film is usually fast and quick due to the suspension building up throughout the plot. An example of an action film could be 'Skyfall - James Bond'. This film encourages the audience to want to know what is going to happen next as there are continuously knew things occurring that you want to find out more about.

DRAMA - The narrative of a drama film could be any emotion, because when the problem occurs during the middle of the film, it could end happily, or sad. It could leave any emotion. For example, with 'Toy Story' everything is all going well until Andy buys a new toy (Buzz Lightyear) and Andy doesn't like him because he is jealous, causing the audience to possibly feel sorry for Andy.

ROMANCE - The narrative for a romance film it to share feelings and emotions between the couple. The problem in a romance film could involve the couple breaking up or having an argument. This would cause the audience to feel upset or sorry for the characters which creates emotion. An example of a romance film could be 'The Fault in Our Stars' which is a sad film as the problem is where both of them have cancer. This is the dilemma which may or may not be solved but it is romantic because the couple are both very loved up.

What is required for a good piece of film narration?
I understand that a good piece of film narration requires a clear and loud voice as this allows the listener to easily engage with the speaker. A good piece of film narration should also have appropriate language choice for the subject matter it is narrating. This language choice should be fitting with both the genre of the movie and the target audience of the movie, for instance, a piece of narration for a children's movie would use simple language opposed to more complex dialect as the target audience, that being children need to both understand and engage with the speaker.

Is narration something that you are contemplating for your own coursework?
Currently, we are planning our coursework, however the topic of narration has not occurred. although, having researched about how it can improve films, we may consider it. I believe more thought and discussions should take place before making an important decisions.

DG

Coursework : Research - Breaking the fourth wall

RESEARCH: BREAKING THE FOURTH WALL

What is it?

Definition: A dramatic technique in a work of fiction where characters display an awareness that they are in such a work.

Breaking the fourth wall is a unique thematic device at the disposal of the filmmaker. Most cinematic techniques pull us into the story and forget we're watching the film but breaking the fourth wall does the opposite: it reminds us that we're actually an audience member watching whats happening on screen. We love when characters in films break the fourth wall and talk to us, meaning they ignore the imaginary “wall” that keeps the actors from the audience. Whether they do this through expressing inner thoughts, acknowledging they’re in a film, or venting to the camera (and in turn, the audience).  In the opening two minutes of a film, it's normally the part of the film getting the audience into the film, yet using this technique, it adds a dynamic to the opening, catching the attention of the audience and makes sure that we are drawn to this character and their thoughts and intentions. The following films break the ever-so-sacred fourth wall, but only 'Ferris Bueller's day off' breaks it in the opening.

Examples:

'Annie Hall'
A classic breaking of the fourth wall comes from Woody Allen’s classic romantic comedy, “Annie Hall.” Allen’s character Alvy Singer often breaks the fourth wall to comment on details of his relationship with Diane Keaton’s character. The video to the right shows Woody Allen breaking the fourth wall to complain about queues outside movies when the man behind him interrupts.



'High Fidelity'
In the 2000 film, “High Fidelty” John Cusack’s character Rob Gordon famously breaks the fourth wall to tell the audience the top five things he misses about Laura. Watch below.




'Ferris Bueller’s Day Off'
The lovable Ferris Bueller (played by Matthew Broderick) is constantly talking to the audience like they’re his best friends. The film makes it clear in the very beginning that it’ll be ignoring the rule of audience movie separation. Bueller continues in the film to offer to the audience some great advice on how to trick your parents into think you’re too sick for school.

Is it something I would contemplate in my own coursework?

Breaking the fourth wall is definatly something I would consider trying in my coursework. Whether it would work effectively is another matter. Deepending on the plot, setting, genre, characters and the cast i think it could work. It is something that interests me but i think for it to work effectively, I would need a cast member that feels comfortable doing it and knows how and what to do so that it would be easier to complete.

- Lily Ray