Genre

Films are usually categorized according to their setting, theme, topic or mood. There are many different types of genres in films, here are a few examples:

• Action - In these films, the lead character has to face many challenges that involve chases and fights. The character is usually struggling against all odds and after overcoming life-threatening situations and a villain, victory is achieved at the end. Examples of films from this genre are The Matrix, The Dark Night and Skyfall.
• Comedy - This genre focuses on humour and making the audience laugh. They are generally light-hearted dramas providing entertainment and amusement. Examples of films from this genre are Life of Brian, The Hangover and American Pie.
• Fantasy - These films often feature magic, myth, wonder and the extraordinary. Exampled of films from this genre are Pan's Labyrinth, The Golden Compass and The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus.       
• Horror - This genre tries elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's primal fears. These films will often feature scenes that will startle the audience. Examples of films from this genre are Nosfertu, Psycho and The Grudge.
• Science Fiction - These films often feature ideas such as time travel, extraterrestrial life forms and alien worlds. Examples of these films are Star Wars, Star Trek and Alien.
• Thrillers - Suspense and tension feature highly in this genre. They give the audience a high level of anticipation, uncertainty, surprise and anxiety. Examples of films from this genre are The Silence Of The Lambs, Inception and Limitless.

Editing

Continuity Editing

Continuity Editing is the main style of editing in film and video during the post-production process of film making. It helps create action that flows smoothly across shots and scenes and a logical order between shots.

Opening Sequences: Legally Blonde

Legally Blonde
In the opening sequence of Legally Blonde, you can immediately tell that this is a chick-flick from the colours used the title sequence, the music and the characters. During the opening sequence the shots change from a woman getting ready, without revealing her face and lots of young people who seem wealthy, not very intelligent and have a lot of free time in California. You can tell the girl getting ready is the main protagonist in the film.

Opening Sequences: Juno

Juno
In the opening sequence of Juno there is a flashback, which helps paint a picture of recent events and explains what is happening. There are lots of quick POV shots which specifically focus on one thing at a time. There is a lot of non diegetic sound used such as music and thoughts. There is also diegetic sound used for background music and speech. The credits are quite playful and childlike which reflects the film. You can tell from the first few minutes that this film is a drama/comedy.

Preliminary Task - Evaluation

For the Preliminary Task we filmed me realizing that I'm late for something important and running quite a distance, including lots of cuts, to Nicola. When we meet the dialogue is said and it ends on humourous note.
I think our match on action was good, we had made some good cuts, used a variety of different angles and our ending was quite amusing. If we had the chance to improve anything I would make the dialogue longer and improved some of the lighting, because some of the shots at the end were quite dark. There is also one cut that needs improving, where I am running out the door as it is not completely in sync.

Group Idea

We chose the romantic genre for our opening sequence. It will include a Christmas theme and be a typical girl meets boy at a party.

Jaws

The clip starts off with atmospheric noise being played. Then the famous Jaws theme music starts slowly, which builds up the tension and as this happens the music gets more intense. Then the music changes again, as there is use of strings which makes it sound like a shriek and the camera stops moving. The scene changes to a group of young people, there is only diegetic sound which is of the harmonica being played and people talking. The next scene shows a fence that looks a lot like teeth, foreshadowing what is later to come. When the woman says "Swimming!" the audience has an idea that something bad is about to happen. The next few scenes just include ambient sounds. Then the Jaws music starts again slowly and then builds up and the camera shifts to the POV of the shark. Then the woman starts to panic and shriek as she being attacked by the shark which is supposed to make the audience feel very uncomfortable. The camera shot shifts between the two contrasting shots of girl being attacked and the boy who is 'off his head' but you cannot hear anything. Then as the woman holds on to the boid the music stops, but it doesn't last for very long as soon she starts shrieking again and then disappears. Then there is silence, except for ambient sounds.

Apocalypse Now

1. Sound bridge, on screen diegetic
2. Still picture, helicopter, non diegetic sound starts
3. As the vocals/lyrics start, fire starts
4. 2 shots together
5. Eyes are shown, just as eyes are said in the song
6. 2 shots - man, forest - hear helicopter
7. Change of sound, no lyrics, instrumental
8. One full shot leads to 2 shots - music get quieter
9. Picture of his wife? Represents character
10. Giving information on character
11. Background sound changes - fan and helicopter
12. Helicopter noise from outside. POV of character
13. Helicopter fades into traffic sound
14. Character speaks - diegetic

Max Payne

1	Non diegetic sound - orchestral	Used a lot before films, so the audience should be very familiar with the tune
2	Non diegetic – dialogue	As there’s no picture, it makes the audience focus on the dialogue and what the man is saying
3	Diegetic – water splashing, man gasping	The film suddenly changes as it goes from there being no picture to a man trying not to drown. This could make the audience jump
4	Diegetic – water splashing, man gasping	These next two shots keep the audience at the edge of their seats as there’s a lot of dramatic tension as you’re not sure what will happen next
5	Diegetic – water splashing, man gasping
6	Diegetic – bubbles, water	All the loud noise has stopped and scene isn’t as tense as before
7	Non Diegetic – The man’s thoughts	The film focuses on the dialogue again as it has moved to a different shot of the man and not much is happening on screen as the dramatic tension has stopped
8	Non Diegetic and parallel - Eerie music Off screen Diegetic - baby crying	As before the tension starts to build up again as the audience aren’t sure what’s behind that door, but as there’s eerie music they can sense that there’s danger
9	Non diegetic and parallel – Eerie music, wind On screen diegetic – footsteps Off screen diegetic – baby crying	The audience may be a bit scared as the man has started walking towards the dangerous looking door
10	Non diegetic - dialogue	The shot moves back to the man drowning, but again it’s quite calm and you can only hear his thoughts
11	Off screen diegetic – Clock ticking, baby crying	As the man opens the door and enters a clock starts ticking
12	Off screen diegetic – Clock ticking	Eerie shot as you see a dead woman and the only sound you can hear is a clock ticking, so it’s very tense
13	Off screen diegetic – Clock ticking	The audience could be very confused as they aren’t sure what exactly happened but they’ll probably want to find out why everything is the way it is
14	Non diegetic – strong wind On screen diegetic – Chiming of baby mobile Off screen diegetic – clock ticking
15	Non diegetic - dialogue	The audience anticipate what will happen when the man says “It was an easy mistake to make
16	Diegetic – siren	This shot gives a sense of normality to the film, as all the previous scenes have been quite tense and surreal, so the audience relaxes