Audience Research into Similar Films

Drama Genre Conventions

‘A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes.’ - Wikipedia
The drama genre exhibits real life situations with real life characters, settings and stories. The narrative portrays journeys of character development, and a dramatic storyline that moves the audience emotionally. There is also a lot of social interaction. Drama consists of conflict that includes realistic struggles, difficulty and pain, which the audience can relate to. A drama’s narrative usually ends happily. Drama can be mixed with other genres such as comedy and tragedy; it does not have to be a complete drama. For example my film that I am making the opening to is a music drama.
The protagonist in the drama genre is the main character in the film. The audience feel sympathy with this character as he is usually on a personal journey and has bravery, determination and triumphs in the end. This character is most exposed to the audience. In my film for example, Danny is the protagonist who is practising for an audition for the University he wants to get into, that he recently got rejected from, and is determined to get in. 
The antagonist in the drama genre goes to extreme lengths to get exactly what they want, and primarily looks out for themselves and seems to have little sympathy for anyone. There is usually a feud between this character and the protagonist.
The helper/best friend in this genre has characteristics of loyalty and trust. The helper is always there for the protagonist and aids them through the whole film. The helper acts as a friend and by the end of the film they have a have special relationship, and if this character is female then the protagonist is likely to fall in love by the end of the film. In my film for example, Danny meets a producer (Alex) on his way home from the bad audition and Alex helps Danny throughout the film by aiding his practise for the final audition. They form a close bond by the end of the film, where Danny sees Alex as his father figure.

School of Rock Title Sequence Analysis

School of Rock Title Sequence Analysis 


From doing this, I learnt the reason behind the order of the titles, and also how they can look more effective. This will help me know what I should be thinking about for the titles in my film.

Character Profile

Name: Danny Cane

Age: 18

Job: Works at a record shop

British

Lives with his widowed Mother

Dream is to go to University and become a musician

'Wannabe' Rockstar

Inspirations/favourite bands: Metallica, AC/DC, Motorhead, Led Zeppelin, Slipknot, Airbourne, Black Sabbath, Guns n' Roses, Nirvana

Opening 2 minutes of Film

Opening 2 minutes

Right in the beginning, the music starts (Metallica – Enter Sandman). It fades in to ‘Danny’, the protagonist, playing this song on his guitar in his room. There is several shots of him playing, his feet moving to the beat and different angles of the guitar. The camera tracks his wall which shows plenty photos of his idols and some family portraits with his dad cut out of them. This is a visual code for the audience to let them know he doesn’t have a father anymore. While playing his guitar he writes music/lyrics and the title sequence will begin (he writes down the names of who I will mention in the title credits). There is a piece of paper behind the paper he is writing on which shows a letter from the University, telling the audience that this character wants to go there and has a key role in the story. During this scene it will cut to the different shots, for example, there will be a shot of him tapping his feet for a few seconds, then the camera tracking the wall for a few seconds, and then cutting to an shot of his hand when he plays, then back to the wall, etc. He continues to play guitar and gets angry because he cannot think of anything to write down so he throws his pen down furiously. The song that he plays continues in the background as he gets up and looks at the photos of his idols. An eye line match will be used of him looking at his wall, and then a shot of the photos in which he is looking at. He grabs his backpack and walks out of his room and puts his backpack on, and the music stops suddenly in this movement, to signify that he is on his way to something important. It ends with him walking out of the house, and the only sound this audience hears will be diegetic sound of the movements he makes. This will make the audience want to know what is going to happen next.

Possible Synopsis' and Final Synopsis

Possible Synopsis’

1. MUSIC DRAMA COMEDY
A male wannabe rock star, in his teens. On an average school day, he gets ready and tries his best to look like his idol. He goes to school and kids laugh at him because he is different. He has a music class that one man hears and on the way home from school the same night he meets this man, who is a producer. The producer wants to make a record with him, and the protagonist becomes famous quickly and is living his dream of being a rock star. The drugs and alcohol take his passion for music downhill and becomes obsessed with the life of a rock star rather than the music, and becomes a nobody.

 2. MUSIC DRAMA
A boy who is talented in playing guitar is starting at a music academy, and has an audition but he gets turned down because he plays heavy metal. He meets a producer who hears him play at the audition and wants to help him practise so he gets into the industry. They form a bond together and become good friends. He manages to get to go to the academy and gets in. They have to say goodbye to each other but the producer misses the boy. He secretly through all of the practise tries to get a job at the academy and in the end he gets the job and they are both reunited.

 3. PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER
A suicidal man is on his way to kill himself when something bad happens next to him on the road, a car crash. Someone around him gets him to help and he becomes the only witness that can solve the case of what happened. He goes on this mission to find out what happens and solves it in the end and writes a book about his story and becomes successful.

 Final Synopsis – MUSIC DRAMA

A guy in his late teens is talented at playing guitar and wants to get into a University of Music. He has an audition, which he then gets rejected from because of the heavy metal and rock music he plays. He leaves the audition and meets a man who heard him play in the audition, and this man wants to help him practise to get into the University by getting through the audition phase. This man and the teen from a close friendship together, and in the end the protagonist gets into the University and has to say goodbye to his friend who has become a father figure.

Pretty Woman Opening Analysis - Character and Characterisation

Before anything is shown on the screen (before the fade in), there is piece of dialogue: "no matter what they say, it's all about the money." This already gives the audience the plot of the film, and about how money has a key role in the film. It then fades in to a group of hands, with somebody doing a magic trick with pennies. This is foreshadowing events that will happen, where a lot of money is in one hand, and another hand penniless. This could represent the different characters that will be introduced and how different people's situations can link together. The man performing the magic trick then says "penny for the ear, how much for the rest?" This then sets up the plot again as he is intending that he would buy a woman, which if you watch the whole movie is actually what happens, but is presented in a more romantic way, therefore this action is setting up the plot for the audience. 

Everybody in the party is talking about someone named 'Edward', but without him being shown to the audience. This shows that he is very important character. This is then confirmed as it cuts to a man, so the audience knows that this is whom everybody has been talking about. He is upstairs and not in the party atmosphere, and is on the phone to his girlfriend, which shows that he can easily get into a relationship, however he splits up with her over the phone and seems unemotional about it. This scene is important as it tells the audience that he is now free and single, which shows that a new relationship may blossom in this film. There is then a shot of him looking down at everyone in the party. This shows that he is the most important person there and is perhaps the leader of the party and the reason everybody is here. 

He then goes downstairs and has a conversation with a woman, and she says that she got married but she couldn't wait for him, showing that even though she is married, she would still go for him. This tells the audience that he is an attractive person and can easily get into a relationship. This is important for the audience to know, as he is obviously a love interest. 

He leaves the party and takes someone else's car, even though the man who owns the car is telling him not to and to be careful with it. This shows that he doesn't listen to anyone and can take any car he wants, because he is rich and important. He is seen struggling to drive, which shows that he is not used to it and probably has someone to drive for him. This again shows how wealthy his character is. 

The opening continues and there are lots of shots of Edward travelling to Downtown LA, showing that he is moving away from his wealthy life. In the streets, there is shot of another group of hands, dealing drugs. This is a mirror shot of the shot used for the magic trick. This exaggerates the differences between each culture and the audience wonders how they will be linked. The song played over the top in the soundtrack while he is driving says the lyrics “over you”. This emphasises to the audience that he is single and any new relationship won’t be seen as him cheating on his girlfriend, which is important because the audience need to be on his side. Sirens are also heard which shows that this is a dangerous area to be in.

It cuts to a shot of a hotel, but some of the letters are not lit up, which shows that this is a rough area and not where wealthy people live. The letters ‘HO’ are lit up however, which is a visual joke as it represents the person who is about to be shown and that it is her job.

An alarm clock goes off, which is unusual at nighttime, which shows that she works off hours, again telling the audience of her job. The camera pans in her room and some photos are shown where some faces are ripped off. This suggests that her relationships have not been successful and that perhaps she has been heartbroken. This tells the audience that this is probably how she ended up on the streets and the situation she is in. The song that plays over the top of this scene has the lyrics “wild one” which shows that she is wild and different to the man previously shown at the beginning of the film. She is seen colouring her boots in black where fabric has faded, which shows that she is poor and cannot afford a new pair.

However horrible a prostitute is and is represented, this character is also shown as honest. This is because she is looking for her money to pay the rent, which shows that she cares about paying it, even though the money has gone. She is also seen as respectable because she disapproves her friend using drugs, who spent the rent money on them instead of the rent. This shows how much she cares about rent, which puts the audience on her side. A woman on the street says “she’s new” which shows that she is not used to the life of a prostitute and that there is still time or her so be rescued from this life. This sets up the plot of the film and how the two different lives that have been shown will link together in some way to create a romantic story. 

From writing this I learnt about how visual codes and how characters are represented in a romantic comedy. This could help with my own opening of a movie if I choose this genre or a similar one. 

Preliminary

It begins with a fade in to a scene with the boss and his personal assistant. A match-on action is used of the sound of the knocking, to make it clear that both clips go together. Another match-on action is used when she opens the door, to make the clips continuous. A fade out is then used when she walks to her chair, to show that a little time has passed. A shot-reverse-shot is then used to make the conversation flow, using the 180 degree rule. It ends with the boss direct addressing the audience with a smirk and then a fade out to show the end of the clip.

Dawn of the Dead Sound Analysis

The first use of sound is a piece of non-diegetic sound. It is a high-pitched screeching sound, and is used as the protagonist walks out to the ambulance. This creates a red herring because the audience expects something to happen when really it's just a paramedic doing his job. Then once the protagonist leaves her work place and is on the way home, there is a diegetic sound of a song called 'have a nice day' by the Stereophonics, which is ironic because the opposite is about to happen, yet the audience don’t know it. When she gets into her house, there is a television in the background, with an ordinary show on which tells the audience that her and her partner have got an ordinary lifestyle. While they are in the shower the television turns to a news bulletin, which makes the audience feel anxious as of what's happened or what is about to happen because the main characters do not realise what's going on around them. This makes the audience think that the characters might be in danger. When the alarm clock is shown it is all silent, and then suddenly the time flicks which could mean that the time is of some importance. Once again there is a non-diegetic sound that is tense and slow which makes the audience drawn in and creates anticipation and when the camera changes it's angle it creates a loud bang, which makes the audience jump a little. This continues as the camera tracks into their bedroom. There is then a diegetic sound of a door opening, which tells the audience that they are not alone and that they are in danger. The music then changes to a fast up beat soundtrack, which creates tension for the audience. When the little girl appears and starts attacking the man, there is a piece of diegetic sound of his neck ripping when they pull the little girl off him. It shows the horror genre within the film as it is gory and there is a lot of blood, both of which are key conventions in this genre. There's then a ticking noise in the background, which shows that the protagonist is running out of time and fighting against the clock to try and save her partner. It makes the audience feel nervous for the protagonist, as they want her to save him and empathies with her. The soundtrack then stops when she realises that her partner is dead and then the soundtrack starts again when she realises her partner comes alive again, which begins the race to survive again, yet this time she needs to escape from both the girl and her partner as they are both zombies. Once she runs into the bathroom it then goes quiet which shows she's a little bit safer there however it then creates tension because the audience are anxious about what is about to happen. When the protagonist gets out of the house there is a sting when the ambulance hits the man over, which makes the audience jump. There is police and ambulance sirens in the background, which signifies danger. There is then the same soundtrack playing throughout the scene until the opening titles appear.

By writing a short analysis of this opening I learnt about the aspect of sound and how in a horror film it is used to create tension. This gave me more knowledge of sound on its own and how it is most effective, especially in a horror film.

The Silence of the Lambs Opening Sequence Analysis

Enigma Codes: Questions that are posed by a film, intended to capture the audience’s interest and attention.
Action Codes: Often answers to the questions posed by the enigma codes. The audience learn something new.
Character: What somebody is like.
Characterisation: How the audience know about the character.

In this opening sequence we are introduced to the protagonist Clarice Starling. The film begins with Clarice running in a forest, and the audience begin feeling as if she is running away from something. This creates an enigma code as the audience want to know who she is running from.
There is then a tracking shot that looks like the point of view of someone who may be chasing her, which creates tension as the audience may think she is in danger. We then find out that she is not running from anyone but in fact training for something, and this is shown by the use of a visual action code of the rope apparatus.
Another enigma code is then created because we want to know what this character is like. The audience can tell that her character is hard-working, because she is shown with a sweat collar which means that she obviously has been training hard. We also know that she is doing extra training because no-one else is around her.
A man then calls ‘Starling! Starling!’ so the audience know that her surname is Starling, by the use of dialogue. He then turns around and he is wearing an FBI hat, and this answers the enigma code of what she is training for. This shows that her character is strong as she is working for the FBI.
We then find out that her name is Clarice as people say her name as they say hello and one person gives her a high-five and says her name, which tells the audience her full name so we get to know her character a little better.
Then we get a shot of her standing in a lift surrounded by men in red. The men are dressed in red to make Clarice stand out from them all, showing that she has been training by making her sweat collar more noticeable and because she is the only women shown out of them all, it shows that she is at the same league as them and is a counter typical.
A distinct but small enigma code is then used as she is seen looking at something on the wall. The audience want to know what she is looking at and an eye-line match is then used and shows what she is looking at, which is lots of newspaper cuttings of somebody called ‘Buffalo Bill’ and showing that he is a serial killer. This then creates another enigma code as we want to know who this character is. Her reaction to these images shows that she is smart and curious, and her body language shows that she is cautious.
We are then introduced to Crawford, who says “Starling, Clarice…I heard you’re the top quarter of your class.” This shows that she is good at her job, as she is the ‘top 5%’ chosen to be selected for the mission she about to be set on. This dialogue was only used to tell the audience more about her character because she knows herself that she is this good, so Crawford only says this for the audience. As Crawford speaks to Clarice we learn her ambitions, as he says she wants to work for him in behavioural science. This means we know more about her character and what she aims to be. He asks “you spook easily Starling?” and she replies with “Not yet, sir”. This shows that she is brave as she does not get scared easily.
The name ‘Hannibal’ comes up in the conversation, which will be the subject for her mission, therefore because we haven’t seen him it creates an enigma code as we want to know who is is and what he looks like.  

From writing this analysis of the opening sequence, I learnt more about character and characterisation and how enigma codes work and the action codes that follow. In this opening I found out that visual codes can give more information about a character or situation than any dialogue that was used, which can help me when it comes to making my own opening and how this can make it more effective.

Layer Cake Opening Sequence Analysis

The film begins with an establishing shot of the back of a car. A voice-over is used which shows that whoever is speaking is the protagonist of the film, already putting the audience on his side. There is a reverse zoom from the back of the car which creates tension as the audience might expect something to happen and then there is a sudden explosion and the camera moves quicker as it shows an armed robbery taking place. This introduces the genre of this film as it is establishing the violence.

A graphic match is then used from one of the robber’s hair to someone else’s hair in a different scene. This scene now is a group of hippies, so this has established the theme of drugs in this film, showing the genre is a crime and thriller, and that somehow drugs are involved with the narrative.
Another graphic match is used from a hippie’s legs walking to a police officer’s legs walking down the corridor of a prison. A tracking shot is used across the prison and the inmates, also showing the characters from the previous scenes now in prison. This links drugs and criminals coming together, again showing the narrative of this film.
The scene then changes to a chemist/shop and as the voice-over says “me”, a character then walks into the shot. This shows that this character is the person who has been talking throughout this opening. He then says, “I’m not a gangster, I’m a business man.” This puts the audience on his side because the impression of a drug dealer is usually a bad representation, and is stereotypically a criminal and evil, someone you wouldn’t want to be associated with, therefore because he says he’s a business man it makes him sound more professional and smart. The audience know he is a drug dealer as he has been narrating through the film so far, telling the audience that it is his occupation, as well as working in a letting agency. He seems like a ‘nice’ drug dealer, as he presents himself smart by wearing a suit. He also says he’s “clean”, which shows he doesn’t take the drug himself, which shows he is respectable and professional. He is also well spoken and honest, putting the audience even more on his side because he doesn’t come off as a threat.
A crane/tracking shot is then used across a building, then tracking inside the window showing the protagonist with another character, sitting on a table. They are both wearing clinical masks over their mouths while sorting the drugs out. This shows that they are both professional in this job as they are safe. In the background of this scene, jazz music is used. This music is relaxing, which shows that the people in this scene are nothing to be afraid of and again puts the audience on this character’s side.
The music then stops and sirens start. This makes the audience have something to be worried about, as these alarming sounds connate as dangerous. As these sounds go on, another graphic match is used on an American police car to a police car in Amsterdam. This changes the scene and location effectively, showing that there is possibly a similarity between these locations. As the scene changes the music becomes more sinister, and the audience are introduced to some new characters at the same time. This shows that these characters are perhaps not to be trusted and are not on the same side of the protagonist the audience met earlier in this opening sequence. As the protagonist carries on in the voice-over, he says “stupid” and the camera then shows the group of people, which shows that these characters are stupid, because he said this as the audience are introduced to them.
The shot then crosscuts back to the protagonist and his companion in the building, and they are seen using scales to measure out the drugs. This shows that they are professionals in their job, making it seem like it’s not a crime.
It crosscuts back to Amsterdam, where a crane shot is used showing the group of people in a car trying to find greenhouses, and the crane shot shows lots of huge greenhouses right next to them. This shows that they are even more stupid which makes the audience not like them as much as the protagonist, who is represented as very smart.
There is another cross cut back to the protagonist in an office with several others. A tracking shot is used as he takes equal amounts of money out of a bag and gives them to the others. This shows the amount of money in their business and also shows that he is a good boss, as he gives everybody an equal amount of money, therefore he is represented as trustworthy and honest.
All the way through this opening sequence, the protagonist’s name is never given to the audience. This means that he is outsmarting the audience throughout the whole clip, making him superior over everybody.  

By completing this analysis I continued my learning further of the four technical codes and how they create understanding. Layer Cake is the first clip we looked at to analyse genres and this film is a thriller, so by analysing this opening made me understand what visual codes are needed to get across that the film is a thriller.

The Dark Knight Opening Sequence Analysis

From doing this I learnt about how camerawork, sounds, editing and mise en scene work all together to create meaning and interpretation of characters. This clip allowed me to find a lot of different examples to talk about to further my understanding of key concepts and conventions.