Children's Film 2009
By Taylor Hayward, Shanna Paterson, and Matthew Crouch
Sunday, 13 December 2009
Finding Nemo.
Narrative:
The film starts with Coral and Marlin getting very excited about their eggs being nearly ready to hatch, so they are planning their futures. Then suddenly there is a big fish that's wants to eat their eggs, so Coral swims down to save them. Marlin tries to help her by distracting the bigger fish however is knocked unconscious. He wakes up to find Coral and all but one egg gone. There is then a cut to Marlin waking up find Nemo jumping on him with excitement rushing through him because its his first day of school. They then get ready to go on a school trip and there is a hint of danger when when there is a warning from Marlin about Nemos "lucky fin," ( which is his small fin).
Genre:
Finding Nemo is a hybrid and has a mixture of different genres. This film consists of Adventure, when Marlin and Dory go across the ocean to find Nemo. Comedy as it has quite a lot of "one liners" and Dory an air headed fish is always making jokes about things. It is also classes as a family film which means that it appeals to a wide range of audiences (the whole family)
Characters:
In the opening sequence we are introduced to a lot of characters, however only a few of these are significant main characters. There main characters are: Nemo - who is a young clown fish who is taken from his home to the other side of the ocean and placed in a fish tank. Marlin - Nemos father, who is searching for Nemo after he has been taken. Dory - who is found by Marlin whilst on his way to find Nemo, Dory helps Marlin find Nemo. The characters are stereotypical of an animated children's film, as they are all kind, friendly and happy characters. However there are some villains, who are the sharks, which are stereotypically bad characters.
Atmosphere:
The atmosphere of the opening sequence is very light hearted and upbeat. As Coral and Marlin are planning how to bring up their young and are very excited. Then suddenly it changes when the big fish comes, there is a big mood change and it instantly feels negative.
Themes:
The themes for Finding Nemo are: family loyalty, with Marlin trying to find his son after he was stolen. Loss, as Marlin has lost his son.
Problems During Filming.
On our second day of filming we had some more problems. A main problem was when we were filming in the corridors, there were some lockers in the way of our shot, so we decided to cover them up with a sheet. Also another problem was we were going to use two pieces of paper to place in front of the camera so as when the children were waking up you would see it from their point of view and it would look like their eye lids opening and closing, however after several attempts at this, we decided to discard that idea and use a two shot.
Wednesday, 9 December 2009
problems.
Day one of filming.
The first problem was the location, we had to find an empty unused room in the college to film it in, this problem was soon solved. We didn't have anyone in our group who could play the little boy, but we found one of our friends who had a free lesson, who was willing to act in it for us. Once we had set up the camera and had it all in position, we then realised that it was light outside, and in the film, it's supposed to be night time, so we had to sort something out to make it look darker, so we put a blanket up at the window.
Day two of filming.
Our next problem was the lockers in the school corridors were going to be in the screen, and you wouldn't particularly find that sort of thing in a house, so we had to, again, use our blanket to cover them up. Our idea of slitting two peices of paper together in front of the camera to make it look like the children were blinking and that we were seeing things from there point of veiw, didn't really work, and it didn't look very good, so we just left that bit out.
Day three of filming.
There wasn't many problems on the third day, except the time of day, it was last lesson, which meant it was dark, so most of the film would have been lighter than the little bit we filmed on the last day. Our idea of using paper to make snow on the title piece didn't work, because the paper didn't show up well on the camera, but it worked well anyway because it was foggy, so it looked like it should be snowing, and that it was winter.
Editing.
Friday, 4 December 2009
script.
Shot two
Girl: Hurry up! Come on!
Boy: I am hurrying!
Girl: You're not going fast enough!
Boy: Shh, they'll hear you if you keep going on!
Shot three
Girl: Faster, they're going to come..
Boy: They'll only come if they hear us, so be quiet!
Shot four
Boy: I've got them!
Girl: Finally.
Shot five
Boy: Here you go.. now don't do anything stupid..
Girl: Yeah, yeah. Bye.
Boy: Bye.
Shot six
Girl: I've wanted you for ages, I can't believe I've finally got you! My parents do listen after all.
Shot seven
Boy: Just what i wanted.. My parents are the best.
Shot eight
Girl: I wish you were real.
Boy: I wish you were real.
Shot nine
Girl: *Yawning noises*
Shot ten
Boy: *Yawning noises*
Shot eleven
Girl: *Screams*
Boy: *Screams*
story board.
This is our storyboard, it contains each of the shots we are going to include in our film opening and details about it.
Shot one:
Close up on the window from outside, looking in.
Shot two:
Boy searching through cupboard for presents.
Shot three:
Girl looking to see if parents are nearby.
Shot four:
Boy walking away from cupboard, begins as close up and goes to a long shot as he walks away.
Shot five:
Boy hands girl her present and they both walk separate ways.
Shot six:
Girl sitting on bed, and talking to the doll.
Shot seven:
Boy sitting on bed, and talking to doll.
Shot eight:
Split screen, both wishing the dolls were real.
Shot nine:
From the little girls point of view as she wakes up, looking at the doll.
Shot ten:
From the little boys point of view as he wakes up, looking at the doll.
Shot eleven:
Split screen on girl and boy seeing the dolls and screaming.
Wednesday, 2 December 2009
bbfc film age guidelines.
U - a 'U' should be suitable for children ages four and over, suitable for a pre school child to watch alone. Although it is impossible to interpret what each individual child is afraid of, these are the guidelines to go by.
PG - a 'PG' film should not upset a child aged eight or over. Parents are still advised to watch with children, as it is the same again about not being able to know what the individual children are upset by.
Our film will be a U, so that it is available to a wider range of children and therefor, will have a broad audience.
Ideas For Filming
We have looked at the scene where Lucy finds the wardrobe. There is a low angle shot of the wardrobe to make it seem superior to her. This also makes it tempting to have a look at whats inside. We are going to try and replicate this in our opening to give the same effect.
idea for changing sequence.
This is the film life size, this is the transforming sequence where a doll turns into a human, we wanted to watch this to get an idea on how the doll changed to a human.
Log production meeting 2/12/09 - Planning for production
Props:
bratz doll, boy bratz doll/action man, tinsel, christmas tree, bean bag, pyjamas, bratz hair brush, wrapping paper, cupboard.
We are using christmas props, as these help to represent the theme of christmas.
Costume:
pyjamas, slippers - children.
skirt, etc - bratz doll.
white vest - bratz doll.
The children are supposed to be in bed, this is why they are dressesd in pyjamas. The dolls are wearing these clothes because these are stereotypical dolls clothes.
Actors:
Boy bratz doll when human - Matt
Girl bratz doll when human - Shanna
Little girl - Taylor
Little boy - Still to be chosen
We have chosen Matt to be the doll when it has turned human, because, he suits the blonde male stereotypical bratz boy. Shanna has been chosen to be the human girl doll because, she looks similar to the bratz doll we are using. We have chosen Taylor to be the little girl because, she looks innocent like a small child.
Settings:
Bedroom scene.
We have chosen the setting to be in a bedroom, because the children are getting ready to go to bed, and it is night time.
Colours:
Girly pinks, dark night time colours, warm colours, boy blues.
We are using these colours because pink and blue are the stereotypical girl and boy colours, we are using the warm colours because its christmas and it represents family. The dark colours are being used as it's set at night time.
Lighting:
Low lighting.
We are using low lighting, because it's set at night and it gives the theme of night time.
Camerawork
Static, match on action.
We are using the static camerawork because it's easy to edit and and we don't need to use track or pan in this scene.
Editing
Pace: slow gentle pace.
We are using this pace so that it doesn't go too fast for the children to understand, we want them to be able to go along with the film.
Sound
Music: have yourself a merry little christmas - opening credits.
Sound effects: twinkling noise when the dolls transform.
We are using that song for our opening credits, as it's a well known christmassy song.
Tuesday, 1 December 2009
Back To The Future Storyboard
This is our storyboard for the first two shots in "Back To The Future".
The storyboard includes information about the shot number, what's happening in the shot, camera movement and the sounds in the shot.
The pictures show each bit that happens in the first shot and then the final picture is the last shot.
This has helped us to understand that a long lengthed shot cannot be shown on one square on a storyboard, it must be spread out along many squares, showing every part of the shot and what happens.
Saturday, 28 November 2009
preliminary task evaluation.
Although one member of the group was a away our original story board did not fit our new ideas, however we did not have time to create a new one. Even though we had a few set backs to begin, and originally found it difficult to think of some new ideas, our final sequence worked well.
In one section we had a problem with continuity editing as i was facing one way in one shot and then the other way in the next shot but this problem has helped me to be careful when filming to watch out for things like this.
We also included all the shots that were required. I feel that our match on action shot flowed smoothly from the previous shot to create a fluid transition. It was very difficult to do the 180 rule with two people to film and act so we had to film all our sections of talking and then cut and move them. Despite this being an unconventional way of doing it, it proved to work well and looked effective.
From doing this task i have learned how to overcome problems such as not having enough in our group. I also feel that i have become more confident using a camera now and know more different shot types.
analysis of ' a cinderella story' opening scene
characters: we are introduced to all the characters in a typical fashion and the main character is established as she is the narrator and has most of the screen time. The characters are typical of a childrens film as the main character is a good child and presumably the hero of the film, along with the villains who in this film are the step mother and sisters. The characters appearance also conforms to the conventions of childrens film as the good character is blonde with blue eyes which presents her as innocent whereas the villains have dark hair which is stereotypically regarded with suspicion in relation to good and bad.
Genre: the genre is a hybrid, which presumably consists of fantasy, in relation to the title 'cinderella', adventure and comedy
Themes: The themes of ' A Cinderella story' are family, shown in the relationship between her and her father who she describes as her bestfriend. Love could also be a theme as with the actual story of cinderella, she finds love. overcoming tradgedy is also a theme as she has to move on with life despite her fathers death.
evaluation of preliminary task
Friday, 27 November 2009
Song Ideas
If we were to film the whole of our film we would use the opening of this song for when the dolls are running away as it is a love song and is also relevant to Christmas.
Song Choice for opening credits.
We have chosen this song for our opening credits because it is relevant to the theme of Christmas and sets the scene well and draws in a wide audience of parents as well as children.
Narrative
Wednesday, 25 November 2009
Toy Story 1
Narrative
Starts with Andy playing a game with his toys, shows his view on each of the toys as what he represents them as in his game, e.g. good guy or bad guy. The disruption is that it's Andy's birthday, and they are all worried whether he'll get new toys and not want to play with his old ones anymore. They don't want to be replaced. It also introduces the characters in the way that Andy wants them to be introduced, but once Andy has left they introduce themselves in a way of what they do. When Andy leaves the room, it also reveals the secret of that they are all able to talk and to move.
Genre
This film is a hybrid as it contains a range of different genres, for example, adventure when all of the army toys are sent off on a mission downstairs. Comedy, when Mr Potato head puts all of his facial pieces on the wrong parts of his face - this is amusing for children. Romance between Woody and Little Bow Peep, when she gets all flirty with him. And also a bit of fantasy because toys that can talk and move on their own aren't very realistic.
Characters
Andy, the child, seems to be conforming to the stereotype a typical boy, he's excitable because it's his birthday party. He is also treating his toys a bit rough, like making Woody slide down the banister. None of the toys he plays with are girly either, for example, dinosaur and cowboy, except from Little Bow Peep of course. He is also a caring older brother and a good son, as he did as his mother asked by collecting his baby sister, Molly, from her cot. Woody appears to been the main character as he has a lot more screen time than everyone else, he orders people to do things, and they do what he says, everyone listens to him, he seems to be more in control than everyone else, the leader of the pack.
Atmosphere
The atmosphere is really happy, it's Andy's birthday, so everything is on his side and going right for him, so he is happy. It's also a very colourful scene, so this also adds and emphasizes the happiness in this.
Themes
One of the themes is happiness, as I have spoken about in the atmosphere section. There is a separate theme for the toys than Andy. Andy’s theme and main focus is his birthday party, whereas the toys main theme is Andy, to make sure that they're always part of him and are always there for him when he needs them. They also want to make sure that no other toys take their place, so they themselves are one of their themes.
Taylor Hayward
Series Of Unfortunate Events.
Conventions of a childrens opening sequence.
Narrative:
- Introduces characters and their personalities and interests (signifies possible events within the narrative)
- Starts conventionally and then immediately changes to darkness. This is going against convention which is usually a happy start, but in this film we get a dark and moody feeling.
- Refers to family secrets, and suggests that we will find out what they are.
- The narrative will be mainly focused on the children.
Characters:
- They don't conform to the stereotypes of typical childrens film
- Introduction - the children do not talk
- you see them from the back initially when they are introduced
- Old fashion clothes (sets time period)
- Children are very clever:- the boy reads and remembers all the books he reads
- the older girl invents things
- The children are very wealthy and a close family unit.
Genre:
- Hybrid (which is a mixture of more than one genre)
- Adventure: - when they become orphans
- discover the family secrets
- Horror (unconventional): - house was burnt down
- graveyard
- creepy man
- Fantasy: - lack of realism
- the flower that grows immediately
- Comedy - when the young baby is biting on the table
-Romance?
Atmosphere:
- Elf scene - happy, humorous. The music is upbeat, joyful, laughing and singing.
- Sudden change to gloomy and dark - dark lighting, low key lighting, gloomy, fog.
- Eery music made an uneasy atmosphere.
- The existence of the contrast between the happy beginning and the dark change, makes the change to the dark bit seem even more dark and worse.
Themes:
- Sense of family - referred to as a group (by their surname) - closeness
- Love (siblings)
- Secrets and mystery of the characters when they are introduced as you only see the back of them, also when the children look around the house once it's been burned down, and find secret objects.
- Overcoming the tragedy of losing their parents.
conventions of a childrens film.
-Simple structure
-Resolution - Happy ending
-Throughout narrative, some disruption that characters have to overcome
-Moral message
Genre
-Action
-Romance
-Comedy
-Adventure
-Musical
-Fantasy
Children's films are often a hybrid - contains two or more genres.
Tuesday, 24 November 2009
ideas for filming.
i had the idea, that for our filming we could use stop motion to create an opening using playmobil characters, i found this clip on youtube to use as an example. i thought that we could use playmobil, because not only does it appeal to girls, but also boys.
Taylor Hayward.
preliminary task evaluation.
There were a few problems when filming our preliminary task, as one of our members was not in the lesson, we had to compromise and change the story line and location a little bit, this also caused problems with filming because both people in our group had to appear in the filming and another had to film, but as we had noone to film us, we were rarely on the screen together.
This has prepared us for the real filming as we have learnt that we will need to compromise with the resources, actors and locations we have got. We also know how to use the camera properly and all of the editing programmes on the computer.
Taylor Hayward
welcome :)
Our initial ideas: we have thought about the making of the titles of our children's opening scene and have come up with the idea of using stop motion with alphabetti spaghetti to spell out the title and the credits of the film. This take into account conventions of a children's film and would appeal to our target audience, which is young children.
idea number one: the opening shot could be a split screen of a girl with her barbie and a boy with his action man both talking to their toys and saying ' i wish you were real' at the same time. they then both fall to sleep and non diegetic music is dubbed over the top and we see a reaction takes place in which both dolls turn into real people.
The problem with this idea however is the location, as we only have access to cameras within the college and therefore cannot film this in the suitable location of a bedroom.