1. Essay, Mood board, Short comparison with
another film, Film synopsis, Storyboard,
Character Profiles, Script for your opening,
Theories, Genre, Camera angles, still-images,
Institution, Script analysis.
2. • Today I wrote my essay based on the question ‘Discuss
the ways film openings draw in their audiences’
• I feel that my essay was successful as previously to
constructing the essay I researched all of the key film
theories. By doing this it enabled me to apply them in my
essay, therefore developing my knowledge as to why
certain theories are used in certain genres of films.
• This task will help me when constructing my own film
opening as I will now be able to apply some of these key
theories, therefore I will be appealing to a certain age
group.
3. • Today I created my horror movie mood board, by doing
this it allowed me to research/consider what costumes,
lighting, actors, make-up, props and settings go into
horror films.
• This therefore has made me have a clearer
understanding of all things horror and I can now offer
more to the audience on genre based connotations when
I come to create my horror opening.
4. • Today I compared my potential opening with ‘The Purge’.
From doing this I saw the similarities and differences
between the two films and way in which I could improve
my potential opening to get it to be more like an existing
film opening.
• This will help me when I come to make my final film
opening as I am now aware of all of the
connotations/elements which make up a popular horror
movie.
5. • Today I planned my film synopsis, this is helpful as I have
a stable concept/idea to focus in on. This is helpful for
when I come to make my final opening as I have an idea
already in mind and changes will be easier to construct
as a result of this.
6. • Today I planned my storyboard with 12 different scenes,
by doing this I now have a clearer view of what I want to
happen and how I want this to come across throughout
my opening.
• This was very useful as it made me think about what the
audience would like to see in the opening and how I
could go about doing this in an effective/successful way.
7. • Today I have put together suitable character profiles for
my horror film. By doing this it gave me a clearer idea of
what costumes my characters will need to wear in order
to fully represent their genre character in my film e.g. the
popular one.
• This will help me when constructing my opening as I
have a clear view/connotation of how I want each of the
characters to be in order for them to give off the horror
genre connotations to the audience potentially watching
my horror opening.
8. • Today I put together the script for my opening, doing this
enabled me to reinforce the characters roles and how I
want to present them once I begin filming my final piece.
• This also allowed me to consider what makes a script
and how to format it correctly when making my own.
9. • Today we looked at the theories of Claude Levi-Strauss,
Roland Barthes, Propp and Todorov. From looking at
these four different people and their opinions on what
films are made off, I now understand why certain features
go into films and how they are used for affect.
• Todays lesson will help me when constructing my own
film opening as I can use some of the research found in
my opening.
10. • Today we looked at Andrew Tudor and the ‘chicken and
egg’ dilemma. From looking at this I now understand
what genre consists off and why different cultures might
think differently about culture signifiers whether its to do
with religious/personal views/opinions etc.
11. • Today we looked at six different camera angles and
why/how they are used in films.
• This was very beneficial as it reinforced what I already
knew about why camera angles are used to create affect.
12. • Today we analysed two still images, one from ‘You’ve Got
Mail’ and the other from ‘The Shining’.
• This task was very useful as it made us look deeper into
the images, therefore enabling us to interpret more
connotations.
• From doing this task I've learnt that you shouldn't assume
the genre of the film from quickly glancing at a still image
as there is a lot more you need to take in e.g. lighting,
setting, actors etc.
13. • Today I compared a high budget film to a low budget film.
• From doing this I've realised why different companies
have different budgets and the affects this can cause on
the film in various ways, e.g. the actors who act in the
film, the props used and the location of scenes.
14. • Today we analysed different genres of scripts and picked
out the key elements and discussed why they were used.
• This lesson was very beneficial as I've learnt key features
used when analysing a script and how to apply it to my
own script.
