Certificate

My film would be certificate 15. This is because the narrative includes themes such as alcohol and drugs, but my film would include a lot of swearing, to represent both the protagonist and his helper's anger in the journey they are on. The character is 18 years old, so people around that age would be the target audience of the film anyway, so a certificaste 15 seemed appropriate.

Changes to Opening 2 Minutes to Film Opening

Opening 2 minutes

At the very beginning, instead of going straight into the film the titles that I will make for the film will appear on the screen before anything has started. Then, the music will start playing (Metallica – Enter Sandman) as 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. As the audience see him playing, a voice-over will be used where he talks about himself a little more, giving the audience more of an idea of who he is and characteristing him. He will say "Since my father died, music has been my only escape... My passion started when I was 9 and by the time I was 12 I reached grade 8 and could play 'Through the Fire and Flames' note, for note." There will be a long break from when ihe says this to the next thing he says. The camera tracks his wall which shows plenty photos of his idols and this shot is repeated through out the scene. 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 'Rockstone 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 a tilt shot is used to show him writing something down, and this is when he will say "I could play all night..." with the clock showing the time as 11 at night, and as the camera tilts down again, he slams the pen down when the singer in the song starts singing, acting as a sting sound. A fade out is used in this shot to show that the day is over and then fades in again to show him walking up to his wall (where the posters are), which shows that it is the morning and has been playing all night. 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 walks out of the door. A few match-on-actions will be used for the continuity of the film. It ends with him walking out of the house, and he pauses for a moment, which is when the song stops playing as it plays "We're off to Never Neverland". This will signify that he is about to begin his journey and will make the audience want to know what is going to happen next. In one part of this scene, cross-cutting will be used to show another cahracter, the producer, who 'Danny' meets in the film. This is because it will show a relationship between the two characters and that they will meet at some point during the film to create a conflict or relationship between them, setting up the plot for the audience.

Audience Research Questionnaire

I used SurveyMonkey to set up a survey for audience research for my film opening.

LINK TO SURVEY ONLINE: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RHNTPXB

Results Analysis:

Audience Research Questionnaire for Film Opening from rosiesutton

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