Exam Reflection ;-)

I think I did well in the representations essay because I wrote about 3 pages.. hahahahaha..
I went into the exam with the intention to complete both essays but decided to only do representations because I wasn't prepared enough for the genre essay. For the end of year exam I will study more for that essay so that I can do well in that one if not both of them.
I apologise for "wasting my time" because I had finished the representations essay and wasn't confident enough to do the genre essay. I would rather wait til the end of year exam and try very hard in the genre essay, then do a shitty attempt at it.
Instead I drew you  some sheep and a flower.

Crew and Talent :)

My cast for my film opening will be as follows;

-Woman in coma and in car crash; Afra Dixon.
-Man in car crash (fiancee); Michael Read.
-Doctor in hospital; Harry O'Brien.

I have chosen these people because I think they will be suitable for the above roles, and I will be able to make time with them to film.

Treatment :)

Opening scene; There is a shot of a car crash, and quick cuts of flames. Then the camera shows a woman in a hospital bed. It zooms in on her face and fades, as if entering her mind. The next scene shows what the woman thinks happened in the car accident, a recount if you will. The woman is in a coma but she is unaware of this because she is unconscious. In the woman's mind, she remembers the car crash and then getting out of the car unharmed, and seeing her fiancee mutilated and unconscious in the wreckage of the car. She is told that he is dead and there is no chance of reviving him. In this dream-like sequence, she is grieving for him.

Concept :)

For my film opening, I have decided to base it on a love story with complications. The genre will be a Drama. A young couple are involved in a car crash. The woman goes into a coma instantly, and believes she has survived and her fiancee died. Although in real life, her fiancee has survived and thinks his wife is dead. He is grieving and moves town to start a new life, and when the woman wakes up she is in search of her husband after finding out she was in a coma and her husband is indeed alive. Even though this plot sounds complicated, I have an understanding of what I want the end result to look like and how I can do it.

TAYLA AND SARA ARE NOT TUMBLING ;)

this is a blog post.. type with me.. cats chimneys as i walked down the dirty filthy scummy road, i stumbled across.. oops.. tay. she waves at me, but i look away. there was an old man in a random village one day and he said to his goose-like daughter, "one day you will die and i will eat your feet." sara is the name of the goose-like daughter. "to be or not to be? that is in fact the question" typed sara. one day in media studies, everybody was on tumblr and nobody would exit it because it is so darn addictive. sara was on tumblr. tay was on tumblr. sara was on tumblr too! i t hink tom was also on tumblr because he keeps closing secret windows. mwahahahahahah. miss kazimi is looking at my screen but i don't think she knows i am not actually doing my treatment lol "i don't even have cancer" said sara earlier. we all laughed at her hilarity. omg this morning i ate cereal and milk for breakfast and it was yum :) i wonder if i have made any spelling mistakes.. i haven't been looking at the screen :D just the keyboard. i know my punctuation/grammar is awful because i have been avoiding capital letters in appropriate places. wow this is really long i am amazing because now it looks like i am doing work and not tumbling!!

2. Explain

In the movie Rosemary's Baby, the fact that Rosemary is a strong female lead links to the film as a whole in the ways that she survives both physical and mental torture from outsiders. Rosemary sticks to her instincts that something is wrong with either her or the baby, and doubts the influence of antagonists such as her husband and the Castavettes. For example, when Rosemary pours the herbal mixture that she is apparently supposed to drink, down the sink. She is defying their strange requests and methods, such as refusing to wear the necklace containg odd spices and herbs.

In Scream, Sidney Prescott exhibits power over the masked murderer/stalker by surviving the first time she is targeted, and by calling for help. But of course, as in all horror movies, narking on the killer gets you into more trouble. Scream follows this tradition, because Sidney gets another call and this time the killer is agitated with her and the way she pubicly reacted. Sidney's fears are re-ignited, but she feels some kind of motivation to overrule them. Although this gives her determination to survive unlike her mother, she still feels the need to constantly check over her shoulder. I believe that Sidney's conservative morality is what saves her in the end.

1. Describe

The two movies I have chosen are Rosemary's Baby and Scream.
The convention I have chosen is female lead. (victim/saviour.)

In both movies, the female lead is assertive, and both physically and mentally strong. In Rosemary's Baby, Mia Farrow plays the role of Rosemary, who is expecting a baby. She is a victim because her unborn child is wanted for satanic rituals. Her costumes make her appear vulnerable, because she wears 'puffy' or 'frilly' dresses that accentuate her small frame. Rosemary is very much alone in her world, because she has been disowned by her religious family and doesn't have a lot of friends in the city she is in. There are many camera shots that show this. For example, there are high angle shots of large rooms in the house, with Rosemary in the middle, looking very small compared to her surroundings. She doesn't know much about her new neighbours, the Castavettes, an old couple that constantly seek company from Rosemary and her husband, Guy.

In Scream, the strong female lead is Sidney Prescott, an american teenage girl. She is not like other teenage girls in the way that she is sexually conservative, and does not drink or do drugs like other characters in the film. Sidney Prescott is mentally strong because after her mother's brutal murder and graphic mutilation, she seems to be coping better than you would expect. She does not openly grieve or talk about her mother and is defensive when people make derogatory comments about her. Sidney carries a lot of emotion behind her eyes, whether it be terror, happiness, or sadness. To examine this, there are many close-up shots of Sidney's face to show her reactions to situations. Her costumes suggest her moral strength. She doesn't wear short skirts or cropped tops that suggest sexual activity.

HORROR; thinking about genre :)

4. Colour

The colour used in this particular title sequence is overexposed in a way that suggests the antiquity of the home videos. All of the clips appear to have been shot on sunny days, to keep the mood happy. In the background of the two clips that play simultaneously, it is plain black so that the focus is on the characters. The introductory credits are in a simple white font upon the black background. There is a certain theme of simplicity.

There is a general bluish tone over the clips of young Zooey Deschanel, as compared to a warm tone over the shots of young James Gordon-Levitt. For example, there is a scene where teenage Gordon-Levitt is playing guitar in his bedroom, and parallel to that is a scene of Deschanel indoors where she is making a paper crane. I think this is done as a premonition of their attitudes in the movie. Summer is more of a cold character, who doesn't allow too much emotion into her life, whereas Tom is searching for love and falls head-over-heels in love with Summer at first sight.
The colour looks desaturated and overexposed because the quality and resolution are not the best, but I think this adds to the intentional vintage effect. The use of colour in this title sequence contributes to the mood by keeping it simple and positive. There are no overly bright or dull colours that will distract the eye from one clip to another, the tone is either neutral and slightly warm/orange or neutral and slightly cold/blue, in order to keep the viewer intersted in both simultaneous clips.

3. Music

The song playing during the title sequence is 'Us' by Regina Spektor. It is a beautiful combination of piano, vocals, and orchestra.

The lyrics of the song are very relevant to the story of the characters itself. The first line is "they made a statue of us, and put it on a mountain top". I love the whole concept of the world edifying love by making a statue. It suggests that the person who's perspective it is and her significant other had something so profound and honest that they immortalized it. In the chorus, there are the lyrics "We're living in a den of thieves, rummaging for answers in the pages" and also "it's contagious". This signifies the lovers are going to spread it throughout without caring.. Though the line with "den of thieves" makes it sound like the love is being stolen, I prefer not to think of it that way. Love can't be stolen. :)

This song is the only music playing during the title sequence, there is no background noise. In a way, this isolates the characters within the song, creating more of a connection between the meaning of the song and the depth of their lives.
This was a great song choice for the title sequence because the piano part is playful and bouncy, as are the children in the videos.

2. Genre / Atmosphere :)

Tone;
The initial tone of the title sequence is positive because of the happiness of the children in the videos, which gives the viewer false security that they are watching an average Romantic Comedy movie, which isn't true because there is a lot of depressing moments of heartache throughout the movie from Tom's behalf, caused by Summer. I think the director wants people to understand that sometimes not everything is as perfect or as simple as it once was, that things change, and that it's okay and usually for the best.

Mood of the opening;
The mood of the opening is very picturesque and simply put, it is happy. It portrays how simple childhood is and how there are a lot less things to worry about when you are young. I think this creates a reminiscing mood for the viewer, maybe even subconciously making them think about the happiness of being young.

How it is created;
It is created by using the faded home videos of Deschanel and Gordon-Levitt in a way that portrays happy memories. They have not used any more realistic cliched home videos that feature anything that ruins the mood, such as a clip of a child being upset about something for example. Instead they have used the positive clips to create an idealistic childhood on the screen.

1. Reason for selection. :)

Brief Description;
The title sequence of 500 Days Of Summer is a collection of old-style home videos from the two main actors, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel.
It shows videos of each of them side by side as they grow up. The first clips are of them as young children, a close-up shot of their eyes. Then, of them playing by themselves. Her on a swing, and him balancing and jumping off a rock. The title sequence continues to show how they had similar childhoods, in their way of life and interests.Then there are home videos of their teenage years, with Joseph playing the guitar and soccer, and Zooey being interested in origami and horseriding.

How it fits into the film as a whole;
It fits into the film as a whole by suggesting that the characters were destined to meet, as if they grew up side by side but in different places. It shows that they both have the same generally happy mood, and that if they knew each other, they could really have a connection. Summer Finn (Deschanel) and Thomas Hansen (Gordon-Levitt) both show a passion for life in their childhoods which suggests that the characters will get along well. Although happy, the title sequence misleads the viewer that the movie will be positive through and through.

Why it appealed to me;
This particular title sequence appealed to me because it is creative and because this is my favourite movie. It was also interesting to see celebrities in their childhood years, and how children in other parts of the world grow up and the different opportunities/hobbies that they have. I also really like the song that plays during the title sequence, 'Us' by Regina Spektor. It fits well with the title sequence and contributed to the overall appeal of it.

:)

http://videobb.com/video/t6GUf6WTYaSO

500 Days Of Summer. :) This is the full movie because I couldn't find the title sequence by itself :(
2:20 is the start of the title sequence. This post is just to remind myself and so that I don't lose it. ;D

Media Studies;

*insert insanely epic blog post here* ;)