The film opens with our character bolting out of bed. Bleary-eyed, he looks around, expecting to see his Pulp Fiction posters. However, the room he sees is not his own, and the walls are covered with Captain America and Panic! At the disco posters. Confused, he stumbles out of bed and discovers that he is fully clothed. He is wearing his neon windbreak, over a pair of blue dungarees. His backpack is still over his shoulders, and his skateboard is securely tied to it.
Contents of backpack:
Gameboy.
Skateboards.
Paper fortune tellers.
Pokemon cards.
A Supersoaker.
Furby.
Tamagotchi.
Hubba Bubba reels.
Crystal Pepsi.
He runs downstairs yet finds that his parents are not there, and he is in somebody elses house. A woman appears, but she is not his mother, and he shoos her out of the house, thinking that he is a burglar. He stumbles outside and squints in the sun, when his eyes adjust, he is instantly shocked about what he sees- he sees people using iPhones and Apple watches and is stunned- he has been mysteriously transported to 2017.
This is our idea about the rest of the film: After the opening, our character skates to the library to find out what he is to do next. He finds out that he must travel to Japan in order to get back to his own time. To get the money for his journey, he sells his classic Tamagotchi. Along his journey, he falls asleep and has vivid flashbacks of his own time- It is the 27th of May,1995, and the character is in his living room. He is arguing with his mum and he storms upstairs in frustration. Whilst upstairs, we see that there is a huge storm brewing outside. He throws himself onto his bed and begins angrily playing on his Gameboy. Suddenly, a huge lightening bolt hits the house and it all goes black. Back in 2017, he wakes up when a stewardess is shaking him awake- he has arrived. He journeys across Japan until he reaches the mystical person who can send him back to 1995. He enters the persons home to find that this mystical man is not actually a man- he is a computer. After a long discussion, the computer tells him that he was taken from his time in a freak electrical storm that ripped through 2017, into 1995. The only way to get back to his own time is by riding the freak storm and it turns out that to do so, the computer must enter in a particular code and date that allows him to send him back to his time. However, alas, the computer is old and broken and is missing several important components that are essential in this process. The most important piece missing is the '9' key off of his keyboard- he simply couldn't enter in the date 1995 without it. Because of this, the boy is sent off again, and is tasked with searching for the all-important '9' key, which he soon discovers, is in the hands of the local Japanese mafia. He stumbles into the mafias dwellings and they assume he is an undercover policeman, and hold him hostage. He manages to escape as the gangsters find his awful 90's slang hilarious, and they make him an honorary member of their gang. With the '9' key safely in his windbreaker, he skates back to the computer and is just in time, the electrical storm has just begun, an has created a bridge between the two time frames. The computer enters the code and wishes the boy luck. In an instant, the boy is ripped out of 2017 and is spun through the time vortex. He is flung through the years, and we see time unfurl backwards. Everything goes dark. Dawn breaks and our character bolts out of bed. Bleary-eyed, he looks around yet doesn't see his posters, and instead sees a regal portrait of Queen Victoria. He throws off the covers and realises that he is a huge four poster bed, draped with rich purple sheets. The door slams open, and Queen Victoria herself arches in. She spots the boy and screams for her guards, and the boy screams too. The end.
What is a target audience? The google definition of 'target audience' is- 'a particular group at which a product such as a film or advertisement is aimed'. This tells us that the target audience of the film is the group of people that a particular film is aimed towards. To successfully produce a film, the makers must be fully aware of the audience that they are aiming the film at. What is the target audience for each of the following genres: Comedy: Usually, the target audience of a comedy film varies. The target audience of a comedic film revolves around the content of the film. For example, PG films may be comedies, and are aimed at children and families. However, if you were to watch a higher age rating, the target audience would naturally be older, more mature people. This is due to the fact that the jokes change according to the age rating, and you would have to be mature enough to actually understand the jokes and humor. Moreover, if a comedy film was an 18, you would have to be above that age to fully understand the jokes and humor. These films are more explicit in their language and their visual scenes.
Horror: Due to their ratings, most horror films are aimed at over 18's. There are some films in this genre that are a lower rating, however, to 'stay true' to the genre, it is common for horror films to go all out with the gore and fear. Although the actual age rating on the film may be an 18, it is common for people aged 15-25 to watch such films.This is because people naturally seek thrills and scares at this age, so naturally, film companies release horror movies aimed at teenagers/young adults. Moreover, stereo typically, men are more likely to be targeted for horror films. This is because of the idea that violence and gore if often loved by men, rather than women. Although stereotypical, this partly plays a part in the target audience of horror films. Generally, horror films are aimed at the middle class. This is because they offer a relatively cheap way to experience thrills and excitement. Supposedly, upper class people can get such thrill in other ways (as they have the money available to them).
Action: Traditionally, action films have been aimed at men aged 15-30. This is due to the level of action and violence present in such films. Generally, men are more interested in this kind of fast-paced film. Whilst watching particular action films (for example, 'The Dark Knight'), it becomes increasingly apparent that such movies are aimed at men. These films offer a cast that is largely dominated by men, and the main character is almost always a male protagonist. There may be a female character present, but usually, she is played by a gorgeous, young actress who offers some 'eye-candy' for the male watchers. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it is just how filmmakers edit their films according to their target audience. Drama: Due to the nature of this genre, it is hard to define the target audience of a drama film. For example, period drama films are easy to analyse for target audience (young women, due to the protagonist being a strong female), however, they are only a sub-genre in the drama genre. Because of this, there are many sub-genres that have their own target audience. For example:
Period Drama. Mostly, period drama films are directed at women of all ages. This is partly down to the casting, as the main character is almost always a strong female protagonist (for example, in the film Jane Eyre, she is the main character). This means that women can relate to the characters. It is also due to the fact there it is common to have a romantic story-line throughout the film, which appeals to women more than men. In many ways, the target audience for a period drama is similar to that of a romance film (women). There are a few notable exceptions to this rule (for example, 'A Knight's Tale' and 'Robin Hood'). These kinds of films are more aimed at men, as they focus more on the larger historical battles and events.
Crime Drama. Usually, crime drama films revolve around the action on screen. Because of this, they are aimed more at a male audience. For example, the film- 'Reservoir Dogs' is a crime film and an action film. This tells us that crime dramas are based largely on action films. This tells us that the audience is basically the same for both genres- 15-30 year old males.
Romance Drama. A romance drama has almost the exact same target audience as a romance film. However, due to the definition of a drama film ("Drama film is a genre that relies on the emotional and relational development of realistic characters."), it may be likely for something emotional to occur during the film. For example, at the end of the film 'Titanic', the main character dies, leaving his spouse alone. This is a tragedy and is extremely sad. Because of this, the target audience of a romance drama may be those who are prepared for a good cry. They probably will not come to watch a romance drama if they don't want to be saddened by the events, and will instead watch an ordinary romance film.
Romance: Commonly, Romance films are aimed at young women, aged 13-25. This is largely due to the nature of the films- they are lighthearted and 'heart-warming'. It is common for couples to go and see romance films. This is because, somehow the couples emotions and problem are similar to those shown in the film, and the film shows a good resolution, and a couple which they aspire to be like. Moreover, these films do not need much of an understanding to enjoy, as they are usually quite simplistic. Because of this, families also prefer to watch romance films. Statistically, romantic films are the most favourite genre in our society. Finally, romance films are good to watch at any age as it gives either a role model for younger girls, or somebody to relate to.
What would be the target audience for your 'idea so far'? Our idea is definitely going to be a comedy film! Me and Noah almost immediately agreed that we were going to create a comedy film, as we felt this genre has more potential and it also hasn't been done a lot. Following this, we decided upon a basic idea for our opening. Our idea is based around a teenager, and because of this, the film would most likely be a 12+. We would only restrict the minimum age as there may be some minor language in the opening.
What ways would you go
about attracting your target
audience to come and see this
film? I think we could create several different advertising techniques, across different mediums. For example, we could put up posters in and around schools, as this is our target age. Also, we could use social media online to advertise our idea. Studies show that 90% of Americans go onto social media sites. This tells us that the best way of attracting a large amount of viewers would be through social media sites (such as Facebook and YouTube). Furthermore, It has been discovered that people are becoming more responsive to video rather than pictures or text. Because of this, we would focus on creating a few short trailers to put onto such social media sites. These would be short and entertaining, as we don't want to force the viewer into watching a long boring clip. Most of all, we want our target audience to laugh! This is the point of our film, so if we got them to laugh immediately, it would be memorable.
This is Noah's post on dialogue:) Thanks Noah:))) "helloandwelcometonoahcarolan'smediablogi'mnoahandthisisamediablogpostadelightfulnewformofliteraturewrittenbymetotransferdatafrommymindtoyours
ahh, griffin's amiibo corner references.
So hello again! Today, I'm focusing on dialogue! Yay!
So, what is dialogue?
dialogueˈdʌɪəlɒɡ/noun 1. a conversation between two or more people as a feature of a book, play, or film. "the book consisted of a series of dialogues"
Shoutout to Google and Wikipedia for that :D
So essentially, it's one or more people just talking. They can talk about pretty much anything; a random conversation, something expositional, or literally reciting something that's happening on screen.
Is it necessary to the opening 2 minutes of a film? No, not necessary. A common rule that's used in film is "Show, Don't Tell". Essentially, it means show your audience what is going on, instead of just telling them. It may not get as much information across, but visual indication in a film should get everything the audience needs to know in whatever shot it is; if it doesn't, it's a poor shot.
So, let's get analysing some film openings! (that was probably grammatically correct)
Unfortunately, I have the 2 minute cap... boo.
But this time, it's a tiny bit different. For each genre, I'm analysing TWO openings; one with dialogue, and one without.
Let's-a go.
COMEDY So for my without dialogue opening, I chose Ghostbusters (the 1984 one... the GOOD one.)
The opening seems pretty dull; just some establishing shots of a woman walking through a library; presumably, she's the librarian. She goes down one section of the library, and papers start flying out of filing cabinets :0 She starts screaming, and running away... but it seems that whatever invisible entity is throwing the papers around is chasing her. It ends up with a close up shot of the librarian's face, as she screams, and a purple light brightens up her face... as if whoever was chasing her was glowing.
This intro doesn't have any dialogue at all, if you're not including the small segment of the Ghostbusters. However, with there being no dialogue, it still manages to establish a lot about this film's premise; there are spooky ghosts, they're messing up the world of the mortals, and people are dead scared. Get it? Dead? No? Ok...
This intro shows that not all comedies need to open with a barrage of jokes to be funny and to establish itself as a comedy.
The opening WITH dialogue I'm looking at is The Hangover.
It starts with a bride getting ready for her wedding, when she gets a phone call from a man. She asks where they are, and the man responds purely with "We f*cked up.". I turns out that after some talking, one of the members of the stag do has gone missing. The scene ends with some pretty hard hitting dialogue-
"We're getting married in 5 hours!" - Tracy "Yeah... that's not gonna happen." - Phil
It then cuts to multiple shots of Las Vegas, as the opening credits play.
By having the dialogue, it can give more information than what we would've got if the opening had no dialogue at all; it'd just look like a phone call between a woman and a guy in the desert. The dialogue actually informs us many things; what the story may revolve around, what the stakes are, an introduction to some of the characters & their relationships, and some light backstories. There's no way to concisely tell these things purely through a visual way.
HORROR
For my non-dialogue horror opening, I chose Child's Play 2.
The opening has two major things going on; let's refer to them as the A-Plot and the B-Plot.
The A-Plot is of a mangled, corpse like doll head having it's burnt skin taken off with professional equipment. It exposes a metal head, which is then repurposed for another Good Guys/Chucky doll.
The B-Plot hasn't got too much going on, just multiple shots of a long, black car driving down various roads.
The emission of dialogue is both a blessing and a curse. It's a great way to open for those who have seen the first Child's Play film... I am not one of those people, but I'll try my best.
By showing this corpse-like doll head and having no audio, it gives a sign to the fans of the original film that this is indeed the same Chucky from last time, and the fact that he isn't lipping someone off is an indication that he will somehow be revived from his "dead" state. However, for someone who hasn't seen the original Child's Play movie, it raises a lot of questions that could've been answered with dialogue. Whose head is this? Why is it mangled? What is Good Guys? Why did they need to make "Curse of Chucky"?
Well we were all thinking that last one.
By not having dialogue, it's not giving newcomers enough information. They won't know that the doll is cursed, or how it's a murderous little tyke. I guess this is an example of a good series of shots that doesn't get any points across apart from "we made a doll."
A horror movie that DOES start with dialogue is Frankenstein, from 1931.
The opening involves a man walking into shot from behind a curtain, welcomes us, and then starts giving us an explaination of what we're about to see.
"How do you do? Mr. Carl Laemmle feels it would be a little unkind to present this picture without just a friendly word of warning: We are about to unfold the story of Frankenstein, a man of science who sought to create a man after his own image without reckoning upon God. It is one of the strangest tales ever told. It deals with the two great mysteries of creation; life and death. I think it will thrill you. It may shock you. It might even horrify you. So, if any of you feel that you do not care to subject your nerves to such a strain, now's your chance to uh, well, ––we warned you!!" - Edward Van Sloan
Chilling.
It then cuts to all the credits, since they were at the beginning of the film up until the 60's.
By having Van Sloan tell us this, it can prepare an audience of the 30's, who aren't used to seeing a horror movie in the cinema, for what they're in for.
It's also helps to hype up the film itself, by telling us that it may thrill, shock and horrify them, it makes the audience potentially more excited and fearful for what they'er about to watch.
This particular usage of dialogue is good, since films from before the 1960's, especially for a modern audience, can't get any real emotion out of it's viewers (some rare examples of ones that can are "Casablanca" and "It's a Wonderful Life"). By saying the audience should prepare to feel is a way to let them know they should feel scared during this at some point.
However, the dialogue, while iconic, is ultimately unneeded. It could be cut out of the film entirely and nothing would change.
ACTION For my no-dialogue opening, I've chosen Deadpool.
The opening involves the camera going around a frozen shot of a car crash. As the camera goes around, we see various people being fought by Deadpool, and some parody credits go by, such as "Written by the real heroes here".
By not having dialogue, it adds to the comedic tone that the movie is aiming for as well as action, since Deadpool is a character who's 50% comedy and 50% action. There is a music track playing, but it's so inappropriate for what's going on... especially since it's a love ballad ("Angel of the Morning" by Juice Newton.)
There are really no disadvantages of having no dialogue for this particular example, having no dialogue let's you focus on the comedy and action of the scene For my dialogue opening, I've chosen Iron Man 3.
In this opening, it starts with three Iron Man suits blowing up, while Tony Stark starts talking to the audience.
"A famous man once said, "We create our own demons." Who said that? What does that even mean? Doesn't matter. I said it because he said it. So, now, he was famous and it's basically getting said by two well-known guys. I don't, uh... (SIGHS) I'm going to start again. Let's track this from the beginning." - Tony Stark
It then cuts to a party, celebrating the new millenium. Tony goes around, talking to some people at this party. He meets a man called Yinsen, who is the one who helps him survive in the first Iron Man. He then gets in an elevator with his lady-friend, when he's interrupted by a bumbling fanboy, who introduces himself as Justin Hammer.
The opening has dialogue which pretty much tells us the type of person that Tony was before he had the Iron Man suit. This is a side of Tony we don't really know, we only saw something similar to this for about 15 minutes in the first Iron Man. This is good to see and hear, since it can show how much Tony has developed as a character; from being an arrogant, selfish, unlikeable person, to a more considerate but still snarky person.
However, the same thing could've been done without audio, by applying the see-don't-tell rule. They could've just shown Tony being rude to people and having no regard for decency with some music on top, and the same point would've been made.
DRAMA For my non-dialogue opening, I chose Forrest Gump.
The opening entails the camera following a feather as it floats and flows through the air. We see a bustling, yet small-scale city in the background as the titles play. Eventually, the feather lands near the protagonist, Forrest Gump, as he's sitting on a bench. He picks up the feather, and puts it into his briefcase.
The omission of dialogue in this opening, leaving only music and visuals, gives the opening a much more impactful and striking opening. It also leaves out dialogue so that the audience to admire and respect the effort it took for this opening. To film a feather falling is tricky work as it is, but filming it OUTSIDE, on a windy day, whilst also FOLLOWING IT... it's definitely something that isn't glossed over easily; it takes a lot of planning, effort and patience to do that.
There really isn't any use in having dialogue for exposition here, since 80% of the film is going through Forrest's past, so dialogue explaining the story at the very beginning of the film would be completely unnecessary.
For my dialogue opening, I chose The Social Network.
(just go up to the 2 minute mark)
It's just a date night for Mark Zuckerberg, where he talks to a girl. Their conversation is mostly about clubs and how there are more genius level IQs in China than anywhere else in the world. Eventually, the girl leaves him after he starts being fairly snarky, and she ends it with one line -
"You're going to go through life thinking that girls don't like you because you're a nerd. And I want you to know, from the bottom of my heart,that that won't be true. It'll be because you're an asshole." - Erica
The dialogue is fairly useless, since it doesn't move the plot/story along, and has no real purpose apart from to show how smart Zuckerberg is. The girl he's with clearly recognises this, as she starts to put him down for this when the date is reaching it's end.
However, using the dialogue to show his intelligence is a great way to introduce Zuckerberg's strongest aspect. Since he needs to be shown as an intelligent person the whole way through the film, establishing this strength at the beginning of the film helps the audience realise this is going to be important.
ROMANCE For my non dialogue opening, I chose The Notebook.
The opening is, essentially, a load of establishing shots of a lake, and next to that lake is a large manor (side note: it looks kinda like the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland :0 ). It's sunset, and we can see a person sailing across the lake in a canoe. When we cut to see the manor, there are a lot of cars nearby, both parked in front of it and driving past.
In this opening, there is no dialogue in the first 2 minutes (please ignore the last 38 seconds it's very difficult to find a romance film with no dialogue this is the best i could do). This wasn't a good decision for the film, since the audience has no idea what's going on! Who is the guy in the boat? Whose manor is it? Why are there a load of cars in front of said manor? Why did they make Curse of Chucky?
Some light narration over this opening would've helped a lot. Just something to give the audience some kind of launching platform to go from.
For my dialogue opening, I went with Beauty and the Beast.
The opening starts with some animated shots of a forest, with a flowing waterfall, birds flying and a castle in the distance. The narrator starts to give exposition about the story as we see some stained glass windows, which show exactly what the narrator is saying.
"Once upon a time in a faraway land... a young prince lived in a shining castle. Although he had everything his heart desired... the prince was spoiled, selfsh and unkind. But then, one winter's night... an old beggar woman came to the castle...and offered him a single rose... in return for shelter from the bitter cold. (...) The rose she had offered... was truly an enchanted rose... which would bloom until his 21 st year. If he could learn to love another... and earn her love in return by the time the last petal fell... then the spell would be broken. If not, he would be doomed... to remain a beast for all time. As the years passed... he fell into despair and lost all hope...for who could ever learn to love a beast?"
This movie uses dialogue in it's opening for expositional purposes. However, this didn't HAVE to be at the beginning. We could've learnt all of this information during the film, such as if Belle asks the Beast how he became like this, they could've just used the same stained-glass window footage and had the V/O of the Beast reciting the intro... provided the pronouns are changed.
So, the bug question: Will we have dialogue in our film opening?
Yes.
With the idea we have, the dialogue is incredibly crucial; the main character has a very "exclusive" vocabulary, mainly containing 80's and 90's slang. If we want to get the full effect of the character across, we need that dialogue.
It'd add to the comedy as well, since the lines we want to incorporate are somewhat silly and funny, which is what a lot of our jokes will be based around.
What is a Narration? The google definition of narration is- 'the action or process of narrating a story'. This means that narration is similar to the narrative, but is the actual process of recounting and telling the narrative to the audience. Usually, this is told over the action and although the narrator may be present, you cannot see them speaking the words. Examples of narration in the following genres: Comedy:
This is a rather unusual example of narration in a comedy film. This is because the film itself has more of a dark comedy genre. The narration in the opening scene begins serious and introduces the character to the audience. The narration finishes recounting a story, which is a little humorous, but in a dark way (it is about him being stabbed by a Santa). It is effective though, as it introduces the genre, and the themes of the movie.
As a whole, it is common to find a film with narration in the comedy genre. Comedy usually has narration as it is another way to give jokes and wit to the audience.
Horror:
This is quite a good example of narration in a horror movie. It is very serious and seems rather intimidating. It starts off seemingly ordinary, introducing the character (Patrick Bateman). He explains his daily morning routine, and everything seems ordinary (perhaps a little regulated, but overly normal). However, then he gets cold. He states "I simply am not there", whilst stripping off a face mask. The face mask seems like a layer of skin, which may be foreshadowing the later events of the film.
Throughout the opening, there is a calming piano tune playing under the narration. This adds to the normality of the scene, as it seems to just be background noise. Moreover, it further calms the audience and is effective as it makes the audience feel almost comfortable, yet at the end, it gets shockingly cold and dark.
It is quite unusual to see narration in horror films. This is because the producers tend to focus more on the jump scares and visual aspects of the film (the gore and visual effects). Also, narration is usually too calm and normal.
Action:
This is the opening four minutes of the film 'Badlands'. It introduces the main characters, but doesn't give too much information away about the film itself. It is quite effective, as it introduces the basis of the story. Also, it is clear that this is an unusual action film, as it is set in a small American town. This is also effective as it shows that this can happen to anyone, and it doesn't just happen in large cities.
It is quite unusual to find narration in action movies. This may because the movies are focusing on the visuals (i.e. the car chases and the explosions), and not the dialogue. Although it is unusual, it is quite effective as it is an easy way to introduce the characters.
Drama:
"Me and Earl and the dying girl" has narration throughout the entire movie. It is quite effective, as it shows us the genre of the film and how the character presents himself. However, it is very common in such teen movies to have narration, so it becomes a bit repetitive. It is well done though, as it ties in to the action seen. It introduces the character and shows us what to expect during the rest of the film.
In the drama genre, it is quite common to see narration in the films. Usually, it depends on the subgenres of the film as to whether it has narration or not. For example, romantic genre films are more common to have narration than action drama films.
Romance:
This is the opening scene of the Romance film, "Annie Hall". It begins with the main character, Alvy Singer, telling a series of jokes. He links it to his life, but it isn't fully clear what he is speaking about, until he speaks about 'Annie'. Then it becomes apparent that he is searching for the reason that him and Annie broke up. Then the scene moves to a childhood scene, with him and his parents. This scene doesn't have narration, but the next scene does. This opening continues to explain his childhood, and several jokes are made. I believe that this opening is effective as it intrigues the audience immediately. We instantly feel a connection to the character, and want to know who the mysterious 'Annie' is.
In this genre in particular, narration is somewhat common, as it can be used to interest the audience.
What is required for a good piece of film narration?
Practically, the narrator must have a clear voice. The narration should not be drowned out by music present, or by any other dialogue that is in the scene. Also, the speech should be relevant to the visuals in the scene, as it would be rather confusing if it wasn't relevant. Moreover, if a film was to have narration rather than speech, it must be interesting and the actor must have an entertaining voice. Finally, the actual language used should link to the genre of the film.
Is narration something that you are contemplating for your own coursework?
Whilst planning our coursework, Noah and I almost immediately decided to include narration in our opening scene. We are thinking of doing a comedy movie, and we have seen how effective narration can be in comedic films, so we decided to include it in our coursework as well.
This is noah's post on breaking the fourth wall: "Hello, and welcome back to Noah’s Mildly Humourous Media AS Level Blog! Need a better name than that… and a better acronym. NMHMASLB doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. So, breaking the fourth wall in movies. What is it The act of breaking the fourth wall in a piece of media is when a character directly breaks the illusion of a “wall” between the audience and the film, and directly speaks to the audience, or references something that gives away the fact that the character knows they’re in that particular form of media. This is mostly done for comedic or expositional purposes, since people will retain information about the film and it’s details better when they’re being told them explicitly. So, let’s look at examples for both of those reasons for why fourth wall breaking is used. COMEDIC (oh wow noah analysing deadpool again that’s so original) IT’S A GREAT FILM ALRIGHT
All of the times Deadpool breaks the fourth wall in Deadpool
So, Deadpool was already established to have fourth wall breaking “abilities” in the Marvel comics centered on him and the X-Men. He often references the comic book writers as gods (e.g. “THE GREAT BENDIS” is a reference to Marvel writer Brian Michael Bendis), and he even talks to voices in his head, which he can SEE, represented by two descriptive comic book boxes; one yellow and with handwriting font, and one white with a typewriter font. In the film, it was somewhat tricky to pull off a lot of this, so they decided to keep the fourth wall breaking effective & Deadpool-esque, while also being simple to do, and wouldn’t be too heavily complicated. So, what did they do? They had Deadpool talk to the audience about the behind the scenes of films, more specifically superhero films. In fact, our first fourth wall break is a jab the X-Men franchise.
“Oh, hello! I know, right? Whose balls did I have to fondle to get a movie? Well, I won’t tell you who, but it rhymes with ‘Polverine’! And I’ll tell ya, he’s got a nice pair’a smooth criminals down under!” - Deadpool
... And...
“…It’s funny how I only ever see two (X-Men)… It’s almost like the studio couldn’t afford another X-Man.” - Deadpool
Are both examples of some jokes it throws in about the film industry, which are not only amusing for a general audience, but some of his fourth wall breaks are jokes that really pay off for people who know a lot about the lore and backstory of Deadpool, such as the joke with an action figure of Deadpool as he appeared in the abysmal “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”, which he brushes aside as if to pretend it was never there. By using fourth wall breaks for humour, the jokes are more unexpected, since the audience never expects a character to directly talk to them from the cinema screen.
EXPOSITION Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, a 1985 classic, uses a lot of fourth wall breaking in the beginning and ending, more specifically the after-credits scene.
Opening monologue from Ferris Bueller's Day Off
The opening monologue is all one big fourth wall break, as an example. After Ferris’s parents have left him at home ill, Ferris jumps out of bed the second they’re gone and starts giving exposition to the camera. He tells us of how he probably won’t be able to pull a stunt like this again, and how he doesn’t want to waste this opportunity.
“This is my ninth sick day this semester. It’s getting pretty tough coming up with new illnesses. If I go for ten, I’ll probably have to barf up a lung… so I better make this one count.” - Ferris Bueller
By telling us this directly, the audience now knows what Ferris's motives and goals are clear to us now, as well as some light history of his history doing this. He then sits down in front of the camera, and tells us how he fooled his parents as if we we're students and he's the teacher. We then see him roaming throughout the house, going through his routine, and talking to the audience as he does about what he thinks about various things; life, school, parents, etc.
"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." - Ferris Bueller
By telling us this directly as if the audience and Ferris are actually talking, we retain the information better, and makes certain aspects of the film more memorable.
However, FBDO uses fourth wall breaking for
comedy as well, with an after credits scene having Ferris walking towards the
camera, and saying...
"You're still here? It's over. Go home... Go." - Ferris Bueller
In fact, this scene was also done by Deadpool in the movie Deadpool, for it's after credits scenes; a staple of Marvel movies.
So... that's about it for fourth wall breaks! I hope this was a good read! ~ Noah :)"
This is noah's post on genre: "Genres are used in every piece of media. Let's talk about that.
Hello there! :)
So today, I'm going.
<leaves>
<comes back>
... to explain genres and their conventions (as in what they typically do, not like Comic Con convention).
There are many genres in media: sci-fi, comedy, romance, fantasy, teen romcom adventure science fiction post-apocalyptic survival... you get the gist. But with so many genres, they need to have something to set them apart; their conventions, techniques, and, I hate to say it but, cliches. And so, in this blog post, I will be analysing film openings to certain genres (without the 2-minute cap! :0), and seeing how they convey their genre.
Firstly, let's be more concise; WHAT IS A GENRE?
genre
ˈʒɒ̃rə,ˈ(d)ʒɒnrə/noun
a style or category of art, music, or literature.
"the spy thriller is a very masculine genre"
Thanks, Wikipedia.
So, yeah, simply enough, a genre is a category of movie.
EXAMPLES OF GENRE OPENINGS AND HOW THEY
SHOW CONVENTIONS
Movie opening time! :D
The genres I need to analyse are-
- Horror
- Sci-Fi
- Comedy
- Romance
- Teen
- Action
First, I'll look at the horror movie "Saw".
It opens with a man awakening in a bath, panicking as he scrambles out of it. We see a key go down the plughole, but it's not brought up again in the opening. He calls out for help, and when the lights turn on, he sees another man in the room with him. They're both chained up, and see a dead man lying on the floor in a pool of his own blood; gun in one hand, tape recorder in the other.
This has a lot of horror conventions for one opening. First, there's the confusion. The audience is brought into the film with no clue as to what is happening or what has happened, and they're learning about what's going on along with the characters.
There is a shock factor, which is common in most horror films. The shock in this opening is the dead guy in the middle of the room, with a massive head wound. The trope of having a person dead and/or with a serious, life threatening wound is native to the horror genre.
This genre is mostly targeted to young adults, who want a bit of a "laugh" by putting on a horror movie at a party, or some similar gathering. Since this is the target audience, the characters are usually painted to be between the ages of 15-27, since it will be more attractive to the audience of that age range.
The horror movie marketing is fairly smart.
A lot of it is incredibly practical, by creating trends and phenomena in the
real world, to try and raise awareness for the film. For example, a horror film
called "The Gallows" used a trend called the "Charlie Charlie
Challenge", which was said to be haunted in itself, and had some kind of
psychic abilities. They incorporated it into their found footage movie, and the
challenge exploded in popularity after that, as did awareness for "The
Gallows".
Next, the sci-fi movie, "Star
Wars", also known as "Star Wars - Episode IV: A New Hope"
(i feel like i can go all out on my star wars knowledge here :D)
It opens with a Rebel Blockade Runner (also known as the CR90 Corvette) being pursued by a much larger Star Destroyer. We then see inside the CR90, and are introduced to C-3PO and R2D2; they're trying to escape conflict, as rebel soldiers run to their ship's entrance. The entrance is blown open, and Stormtroopers mow down the rebel soldiers. Darth Vader, who needs no introduction, walks in, demanding information. We then see C-3PO and R2D2 escaping the ship, after Leia gives R2D2 some unknown item. The opening ends with Darth Vader killing a rebel.
There are many tropes of Sci-Fi in this particular opening; mainly because it's one of the trendsetters for all future sci-fi films.
There is the clear fight between good and evil, with Darth Vader, the Stormtroopers and the Empire representing evil, and Leia, the droids and the Rebel Alliance are the good.
The characters and their designs are also tropes of the sci-fi genre. All the robots, futuristic weapons and battle suits are all staples of science fiction, since they are the universal idea of what space would be with human technology; this includes the Rebel Blockade Runner and the Star Destroyer.
This genre aims to it's target audience by using these staples, plus by bringing some new concepts to the table, which all sci-fi films should do; for Star Wars, introducing the concepts of Lightsabers, The Force and Darth Vader was it's pull. The marketing for Star Wars is infamous for how insanely successful it has been, but the marketing for the 1977 classic was a lot of promises at first; it was advertised as being like nothing ever seen before, and by being the movie event of the summer; and deliver on that promise it did. The marketing was 90% aimed at children though, so a highly successful action figure line was also to blame for audiences flocking to the film.
Next, the comedy movie "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy"
Anchorman starts with some opening
narration, and some helicopter shots of San Diego, California. The narrator
tells us that this is the sometime between the 60s and the 80s, and tells us of
how television ruled... and the ruler of TV was Ron Burgundy.
We then see the credits, as some scenes of
Ron doing some mouth practices, by saying and screaming various funny and
random things (e.g. "The Human Torch was denied a bank loan", "I
love scotch, I love scotch, Scotchy scotch scotch, here it goes down, down into
my belly...", and "The arsonist had oddly shaped feet".). It
ends with the TV Station manager telling Ron they're about to go live.
This has some of the key elements of a
comedy opening, most notably, the jokes. Having jokes which involve Ron saying
to an offscreen worker to not "wear a bra next time" and saying that
if someone was a man, Ron would punch them, show that the jokes are sudden,
unexpected in topic, and are inherently funny due to the audience's reaction of
"oh, he can't say that!"
There's also the trope of only using
comedian actors for a comedy film. The main 4 characters, Ron Burdgundy, Brian
Fantana, Champ Kind and Brick Tamland are all played by comedy actors Will
Ferrell, Paul Rudd, David Koechner and Steve Carell, respectively. They know
the comedy industry inside and out, so they'll know how to give a funny
performance in whatever comedy films their hired for; this was no exception.
The target audience is essentially anyone
above the age to understand the majority of the jokes, since the term for a
comedy film is so broad, there is not any particular age group; where
Despicable Me is a comedy for children, other films like The Hangover are for
those above 18.
The marketing for comedies aren't really
all out, they're just put out as trailers, and the occasional poster on a bus
stop, etc. They don't typically make any big budget deals, e.g. action figures,
but occasionally will sponsor a TV show, similar to how CompareTheMarket.com
has done so for Emmerdale for years now.
Moving on, is the romance movie "Romeo
+ Juliet" (the 1996, modern day adaptation). Romeo + Juliet starts off with a TV News show (unfortunately NOT hosted by Ron Burgundy...), who tells us of what happens in the story. The anchorwoman tells us this exposition through the very same opening of the classic Shakespeare play this film was based on; the whole film doesn't derive from the original script's dialogue at all. We then see the equivalent of the sword fight between the Capulet and Montague families, with the setting being changed to a petrol station, cars replace horses and guns replace swords. We see that the two families, like in the original classic, do not see eye to eye on anything. They start shooting at each other, each shot missing. It eventually ends when one of the family members creates a trail of petrol, and then sets it alight by... shooting it. The families part for their own safety.
This film opening doesn't have any of the conventions that romances usually use; there's no love... it's quite the opposite. There's no sign of the two "star struck lovers" we were promised, and the opening only gives off the feel of an action film, similar to The Godfather, if it had more action.
The target audience for romance films are usually for young couples, mostly in their late teens all the way through to late 20s/early 30s. It's mostly due to the fact that most romance films are about young couples blossoming, and people want to be able to relate to the characters they see in these films.
The marketing is done in a similar way to comedy films; by barely having anything at all. There's not too many brand sponsorships outside of the movie, and there's not too much out in public apart from a few trailers and some posters dotted around.
Now, the teen movie "The Hunger Games".
The opening starts with some titles, which explain the lore of the film, and sets up what happens in the opening. It then goes to Ashton Kutcher a man on a talk show, discussing the importance of the Hunger Games to this dystopian future. He's then asked a question that surprises him, and there's a long shot of the man trying to think of an answer. It then cuts to a shot of a run down community, which is established as "District 12". We then see Jennifer LawrenceMystique Katniss Everdeen comforting what we assume is her sister, who has just had a bad dream; presumably about the Hunger Games. After Katniss puts her to bed, she goes downstairs, gets hissed at by a cat, and then leaves.
There aren't too many of the tropes of teen movies in the opening, but The Hunger Games is the epitome of teen movie.
One of the tropes not seen in the opening is the sides/teams. While not the biggest example of team choosing for the audience, the teen genre was the first to do it. Before there was #TeamStark and #TeamCap, the teen genre had Team Edward and Team Jacob (Twilight), and Team Peeta and Team Gale. By having this, it gives the teens something more to talk about, which could also mean more awareness for the film, meaning more ticket sales. Another trope is the plot... yes, the plot. Most teen movie nowadays use the same, cookie cutter plot every single time. Stop me if you've heard this one: "A post apocalyptic world, where society is cut in factions. There is a cruel higherarchy, ruled by a dictator with a white theme. There's some kind of event where the teenagers must take part, and making the wrong move can result in death. Then, our main character... let's call them Wickerbasket or something like that. They're a "normal" teenager, who's always so clumsy, except in all forms of combat. They're chosen to take part in the event, and have to survive while also dealing with relationship struggles :0 Eventually, Wickerbasket leads a resistance against the hierarchy, in which a close main character dies."
I just described the whole Hunger Games series, as well as the Divergent and Maze Runner series. They all use this template for their stories, and it's getting bland and repetitive.
The marketing for teen movies like this, on top of the team concept, is by making fake websites from the films and using social media to their advantage, since that's where teens mostly spend their time.
The age range for these films are 10-19, mainly the female audience. This is mainly due to the films primarily starring pretty women, and, alike other audiences, they want to be able to relate to the characters they see onscreen.
Well... I think that's it :D This took a long time, but hey hey, it's done! :)
