Group Work Unable To Begin

I was unable to begin the filming due to a member of the group who was unable to take part which has now led to filming starting tonight. 

Children of Men Essay

"How effectively does the opening sequence from 'Children of Men' (2006) use the forms and conventions of film openings? What is your personal response as a member of the audience?"

Children Of Men is an American science fiction film directed by Alfonso Cuaron. The film is starred by Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Pam Ferris, Clair Hope Ashitiey, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Michael` Caine.

The film is set in the United Kingdom in the year 2027, as this image is given by moving billboards on buses and buildings that is not currently seen in the UK. This shows a change of technology, which could possibly be seen in the year 2027.

This film is likely to be blockbuster, as we see the universal studio in the opening sequence, which gives the audience the impression that it should be an exciting film with the likes of characters such as Michael Caine featuring. As part of the audience I was expecting Children Of Men to be an great film, as also the creators of the film would have had a huge budget to spend in order to keep the audience engrossed in the film until the very end. I also began to ask myself questions after seeing the opening sequence which also contained credits, by telling the audience at the beginning who the directors were etc. As the film began the camera movements immediately gave the audience the impression that Clive Owen was going to be a main character as he was not worried as he walked into a busy café which was full of members of the public who looked very upset due to the death of the youngest person on the earth as this information was given from the news report which was being watched inside the café and the news reporters repeating “the death of the youngest person”, an this immediately gave me as the audience the impression that the film is likely to be an film which is likely to contain a lot of action. After Clive Owen left the café with his “black coffee” the camera showed the audience an image of a boy on a building, which made me begin to ask myself questions e.g. is this the youngest boy on earth?, This was followed by the camera immediately turning around and following Clive Owen until he stopped to put his coffee down as he poured something into his drink as I believe it was alcohol which is shortly followed by a massive explosion in the café where he had just been to purchase the coffee.

There has been the use of some music that has been used to create an image for the audience; to also create an emotional image as the use of music is used when the film shows the character (which is the youngest person in the world) Diego Ricardo. I believe as part of the audience the music that was used was really suitable and appropriate for the purpose of its use and really created an emotional feeling for the character Diego Ricardo.

The pace of the film is very slow, as I believed the reason for this was due to the amount of information the film was trying to get across to the audience and there fore the use of slow pace, would make it easier for the audience to understand what is going on in the film.

A narrative function which the director Alfonso Cuaron uses is when main character Clive Owen was being introduced, as he was shown as not interested about the death of the youngest person, compared to the rest of the public in London. Clive Owens response to the death compared to the rest of the public creates enigma, making the audience ask questions such as:

·      Reasons for his behaviour? (Uninterested)

·      What is planning to do?

·      Why is the camera focusing on him?

Possible questions which the audience may ask themselves like I did myself when watching the opening sequence were listed above. I believe the audience asking themselves questions, begins to make them more interested and make them feel like another character in the film, by thinking of what’s going to happen next.

The look of London which is given is dusty and looks run down outside, with the use of animated ads on the red buses which shows this is futuristic, as the colour of the busses and police uniform connotations britishness. We are shown that the date which is 16^th November 2027, as the London roads are very busy and congested which makes it look like a third world country. London looks completely different compared to today where it is dirtier which could possibly be due to the amount of vehicles etc. London also looked dark, dull and very miserable and this image was created by the graffiti on telephone boxes etc, which is not noticed today in 2010.

Movement of the camera was well used as it continuously followed Clive Owen as the use of the camera movement shows the audience he is a main character and helps us as the audience to understand what the film is trying to show us and also in this case I believe the use of the camera movement in this film was very good and helped me understand more about the characters view towards things and created enigma.

Overall as part of the audience I was very interested in the film from the moment the opening sequence begun, as it kept me interested from the questions I was asking myself, as I know I would have to continue watching the film to discover the answers to my questions. The beginning of the sequence which was very emotional due to the death of Diego Ricardo, made me want to also continue watching this film as I wanted to know whether the was some happy scenes in this film and to also see identify any new changed other than animated billboards etc by the year 2027. My image from the start was that the film could ONLY get better and the more I began to get interested in this film and intend to see the whole film soon.

 

Pillow Talk vs. Fringe Essay

How is Pillow Talk and Fringe different?

In this essay I will be comparing the difference between two extracts “Pillow Talk” and “Fringe”. I will look at the different ways, which both the extracts have been edited and compare the differences. Both extracts have used different techniques to make the film(s) more effective to its audience. Pillow Talk is an old fashioned film, in which the editing that has been used is very quick between scenes and also very basic. On the other hand Fringe is more of a modern film which is not as traditional as Pillow Talk and also have used better technology when recording the film as well as editing the extract which can easily be noticed when watching both films, as I also overall believe that both films have used different techniques as this has changed from time and I also believe that both the films were effective to its audience at the different times of release.

Pillow Talk is a comedy based on romance that was released in 1969 and was directed by Michael Gordon. The film is based on two characters as the film shows the relationship between the two, as at the beginning of the extract there is the build up, which is ended by both characters falling in love. Films are usually shorter than television programs such as Fringe, which also enables them to spend more time editing between episodes. This film is old fashioned and simple shots used as the film shows both characters as the camera is still whilst recording compared to Fringe that has camera movement which is more effective and also shows that it is modern compared to old-fashioned Pillow Talk.

Fringe is a television program that is shown to its audience as episodes that would be shown on a regular basis, e.g. daily, weekly etc. Television programs are longer then films which is also enables directors of Fringe J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, more time to organize different effects which can be used in different episodes to make their program more effective/interesting for their audience.  Fringe has used camera movement compared to Pillow Talk which has been recorded with no movement which is less effective nowadays with more and new technology which allows you to edit clips more effectively to make them look much better. Pillow Talk was unable to use the kind of technology like Fringe due to the time they were produced which overall shows the difference between the two extracts.

The pace within the two extracts vary during the scenes as I believe in Pillow Talk is much slower compared to Fringe which is a much quicker extract as it moves from scene to scene. Pillow Talk takes approximately twelve seconds between scenes unlike Fringe that takes approximately four seconds. I believe that the reason the pace is slower in the romantic film Pillow Talk is due to the camera focusing on the two characters as the purpose for this is to show the audience the love between the two characters from a dull relationship that becomes a stronger relationship between the characters by the end of the film. On the other hand Fringe is a television program which is more detailed and therefore this is the reason why the pace is quicker compared to Pillow Talk.

 I believe the audience’s responses were different from both extracts. Firstly I believe that at the time which Pillow Talk was released the audience was used to basic editing as at the this time (1950’s) the editing could not be as effective for the audience of Pillow Talk, unlike the audience for Fringe who were expecting quick scenes and the use of different camera angles and movements used to make the television program more effective for its audience.

Overall I believe that the use of editing and the different styles, which are now being used, compared to the 1950’s has now changed audiences expectations towards films and television programs as there is also more money spent to keep up to date with the latest technology to make sure that the editing can be made more effective as well as being able to keep a good pace between scenes which also keeps the audience engrossed whilst watching a film or television program, but believe that Pillow Talk and Fringe is due to the times when they were presented an also the different extracts e.g. film, television program.