Genre Research!

I looked deeply into the horror genre as I thought it was the one I wanted to do. However after this research and seeing other people from my class research other genres, I chose against horror as I felt there were other, broader, genres, in which I could see myself leaving the course with a higher mark.

Questionnaire Planning

Social Realism Opening Sequence - Paris, Texas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9TB0b9XGp4 (Embedding disabled by uploader)

The film 'Paris, Texas' has an opening sequence designed to make the audience ask questions and thus lead them to watch more as they want there questions answered.

Immediately when the sequence starts the music is that considered with the wild west, or desserts, having this played gives the audience pictures of a vast open space, but also of danger because most people will know just how dangerous it is to be in a dessert, what with the lack of water and scorching heat.

Despite only using a few different camera shots and styles the opening sequence leaves a lot of unanswered questions. It begins with an establishing shot of the dessert which is filmed from a high angle, this amplifies just how empty the setting is and leaves the question as to why this place is being filmed. Then as the camera goes over a sandy hill, we see a figure. Straight away questions are asked as to why there is anyone in the dessert alone. The shot then goes to a bird of prey landing above the figure, this implies he has been there a while as the bird is supposedly eyeing him up as it's next meal.

The mise-en-scene of the scene alone brings up a few talking points as firstly it is very empty and uses the vast empty space to great advantage showing that the man is there alone and is probably lost. The second hint that he is lost comes into costume, the man is seen to be wearing a suit and tie, not very traditional for a dessert hike. This intrigues the viewer as they want to find out not only how he got there, but why he is in a suit.

Social Realism Opening Sequence - Submarine

There are many different aspects which go into the title sequence for the film 'Submarine', which fit very well into the category of social realism.

First of all we have the use of sounds.  The film remains silent while the production logos flash upon the screen, this hides the style of the film for until it actually begins. When the logos are gone and the film actually begins, the first sound we hear is that of the seagulls, this works very well in establishing where the film is going to take place, telling us immediately it will occur at/near a beach or coastline.Then we hear a short narration, the narration does not give away anything about the play it simply introduces Oliver as a character. After the narration it then goes onto a song, the song is kind of upbeat but not in a bouncy way, the kind of song that makes you tap your foot. This makes the audience calm and gives them time to consider what the narration has said.

The camera shots used include; establishing shots, close ups and panning shots. The establishing shots and the use of panning all help to set the scene, the establishing shots were those of nearby places which could possibly feature later in the film. Meanwhile the close up shots simply show Oliver's face, this makes him immediately the main focus for the audience and in some way tells them that he is due to be the protagonist.

The mise-en-scene in the scene opening is traditional, nothing to out of the ordinary and this makes Oliver easy to relate to as a character because everyone watching will have had their own bedroom and it could possibly have been similar to Oliver's in some way.