Presentational Devices

Presentational devices are used by film makers to add meaning to scene to improve the audiences view. Mise en scene is a french term used which basically means 'out on stage'. These are the things used that are seen on the stage. 

USUALLY ARE:

1. expressions

2. props 

3. makeup and costumes

4.position and movement of the above and characters

5. the setting

Below are some images I put together to broaden my knowledge of mine en scene and examples of what they typically represent.

Add caption

''The Fall'' opening sequence analysis.

'The Fall' opening sequence is pursuing an older time period television series. We understand this by the film editors use of monochromatic use. Monochromatic was used back in time before colour was released.  In addition to this, the credits within the narrative coding is done by using the actors names being written in white on a black blank background, this makes the writing stand out deeply. It carries on the monochromatic theme.

'The Fall' is mixed with different genres. Drama, crime and a hint of romance. The characters portray a attitude of criminals by using their props as hats which make them look rather mysterious alongside their common actions of swimming away or climbing a fence. Towards the end of the opening sequence there is a close up shot of a man and women which possibly could be two lovers, we start to understand that these two may have some romance between them. Especially when the camera produces an extreme close up shot of the heart locket the women holds.

The Mise en Scene, for 'The Fall', is alongside a train line and lake. Both which pursue a symbolic code. Alongside the train line there is an extreme amount of smoke, it is covering peoples faces. Smoke signifies fire, fire symbolizes danger. Furthermore, there are many close up shots of water droplets and many long shots with a man swimming a long distance in the water. These objects make it seem quite sure that the water is symbolizing something. Water usually means, cleansing. This contradicts the meaning given from the smoke of the train line. These contrasting ideas are used to weigh each other down evenly and give the audience a sense of curiousity.

The sounds used in the opening sequence are non diagetic. This is because the classical music used hasn't any regards to the characters voices or sounds being played or heard by them. If the sounds in the sequence were heard or produced by the characters themselves then this would be called a diagetic sound.

communication throughout the opening was non verbal. Techniques are done to make this possible. Such as, close up shots of the expressions, this shows examples if a character is angry, stressed , sad or content.Moreover, types of movement can portray characters communication and expression. Within this sequence, lots of cross cutting was used in between the slow motion usage of the camera man. This created quite a tense feel across the audience. As well as, another type of movement was used, a crane shot as 'The Fall' captured a male character swimming across a lake. This was nearly a birds eye view angle but wasn't quite, it was more just a high angle shot. If the angle was lower, this would have made the swimmer seem more powerful, but from the higher perspective it made him seem weaker and small, as the crane shot emphasises the length he has to swim.

Opening sequence

Pre-production-1
I have been given an assignment to design my own opening sequence for a movie that i would enjoy to create. This will be one that i would think would gain a large active audience. I decided to have a think of what i would enjoy to make. Something to match my persona would be something quite adventurous and infused with exploring.

I am travelling to Seoul, South Korea very shortly. Therefore, i decided to take this opportunity to its full advantage and achieve some filming there for my opening sequence. Here below is a mood board filled with my ideas which i will take into consideration to complete more of my pre production before i make my final decision on my choice for my korean based DRAMA inspired genre of film.

The pictures I have used here are very light because this is the sort of feel I am going for.

The business and glamourous images evoke the Korean lifestyle. Up beat and always busy.

The audience will see everything how it is, the lips and the heels show the way people wish to look their best. And this makes everyone feel uplifted. 

The yellow taxis also evoke the same response.

I have used selected words around my mood board to

express what the images are meaning.

The clash of colours infers the busy atmosphere of Asia.


Research for my preproduction:
Korean movies example:

My choice of Korean movie to analyse is a romantic comedy. It is a a movie called 'Sassy Girl'. Directed by Kwak Jae Yong, starring Jun Ji hun and Cha. It was produced in 2001. People say the movie was so successful nearly as successful as the movie Titanic. However, the movie was only really popular in Asia. The biggest hit was in South Korea. It originally was in korean language but in 2008, there was an American remake due to it being so popular in Asia. It sold nearly 4,852,845 tickets were sold nationwide and 1,765,100 in Seoul over its 10 weeks in the cinemas. This was to a great extent. Although in comparison with their worldwide sales this wasn't too much. Therefore i plan to make my film something that will be enjoyed by a much larger audience and not just aimed towards the audience of Seoul. The film used two really professional award winning actors which probably attracted a few fans, espeically if the names were on the film advertisement posters. 


QUESTIONNAIRE
Here below is my questionnaire i have composed to acknowledge my target audience. It has been emailed to a variety of different people. When i have my answers i will create a pie chart to state the results to conclude everything together.

Creative Treatment

Proposal: Create the titles and opening of a new fiction film (to last a maximum of two minutes). Titles should follow the institutional conventions of commercial cinema.

Production Overview: My short opening sequence clip will be used for a Korean film. Although, this will not be the typical Korean romance film but this film will be more drama infused with a hint of an American styled drama.

Production Objectives: The time used for this short opening sequence will be a little under 1 minute. Koreans are stereotypically known to always be busy and rushing. Therefore, making my opening sequence symbolically imitating their personas, I thought this would be a good idea. My primary target audience will be for a widespread of ages. This is because my opening sequence and film is suitable for all ages. Whereas, some Korean movies movies are more romantic based therefore, many typically will have a higher age restriction because some scenes wouldn’t be suitable for the younger eye.

Creative Concept: The purpose of my opening sequence is to a create a unique style for the Korean movie community. The theme will cover a man who looks like a curious tourist who is exploring the hidden culture of Korea alone, using nothing but his smart phone to guide him where to go. This seemed like a good idea as the idea of a modern day smart phone contrasts with the prehistoric temples he is visiting. The purpose of this film may actually promote travelling to other young people as the opening sequence will portray mystery and adventure.

Production Approach:

1.         At the beginning of my opening sequence I decided to write the title on a plain black screen with the sound of some music which may be seen as quite humorous, PSY Gangnam style. It will gradually be heard.

2.         Followed by the name of the producer and actors sinking down below to the title.

3.         Then slowly the frame will fade out and the actors name and producers names will flash through the screen.

4.         As a panning shot moving to the mans left side, with the camera slightly ahead of him he is looking down at his phone, as if he is lost looking for directions.

5.         Now the filming I have done of the man traveling up to the temples can be shown. The one with him walking straight then where he gets lost into a crowd. But after looking lost with directions on his phone he walks with confidence towards the temple.

6.         The as a group of people, including our main character stand in amazement with emotion, gazing inside the temple. A women then steps closer in shock as if she has missed something worth seeing. The camera carries on circling round to seeing a traditional girl in her outfit marching away. This may leave the audience confused? Maybe the women did something terrible and everyone is shocked and wishes to see. Or possibly she could be a general member of the public.

7.         The screen will then go completely black with the sounds of cooing birds.

    Since I have created a rough outline of my opening sequence, now it is the time to create a title. Something that is slightly unusual but something that will catch ones eye. I do not want to use anything that is too long or too short.  Here below are my current ideas.

Sometimes with movie names we are left unsure why they hold such a name. This can be because it has no relevance to the film or it may just be extremely dull. However, sometimes you will come across a name that catches your eye and feels your imagination with what the movie could be about. This leads oneself to watch it as soon as possible. If the film producer creates a successful name they can create a much larger audience as it will make the film look interesting and worth the watch.



I have therefore, decided to use 'Lost in Seoul', i thought this was a good choice because it seems rather dramatic yet humorous and simply portrays the movie in three words, the actor is going to be exploring Seoul, this would be the most significant title to fit the full movie.

Here is my story board that i will tyr my best to follow to the best i can. This is a guideline for my filming.

My logo

My design:

The reason behind my design was to incorporate the above two inspirational symbols. I did this by using Adobe Photoshop. The two together represent my personality and traits. However, I did add some extra detail. There has been white polka dots added around some of the design. The meaning behind this was quite minimal.

I believed that the polka dots would succeed in making the logo more visually appealing and recognizable to the target audience. I also cropped some areas within the outer peace sign symbol. This was to expand on the uniqueness of the logo and too make it not to similar to the actual peace sign. This was because I wanted my design to have its own identity in response to my personality.

So that my film company will always have a significance regarding myself and my traits.

Main focus checklist

My credits in my opening sequence

I need to make my opening sequence look as real as possible, to do this i will need to show my credits of people who are involved in the production of the sequence. 

Although, because this was a set assignment and i decided to do it alone in my class, to make my opening sequence seem more realistic i believed it would be a good idea to make some names up to place within my credits. These names will be people who were unassessed learners. This will be things for lighting crew, sound track crew and actors who aren't the main focus etc. 

Names and roles

Producer- Tabitha Orlans

Director- Tabitha Orlans

Director of photography- Gracie Browning

Sound and filming editor- Lois Govier

Actor name- 1. Seonju Mon

                     2. Michele Adams

Critical reflection

How does your product use or challenge conventions?

My opening sequence is a Korean based film with a twist to the stereotypical films that are generally produced. Korean films are known to be extremely romantic and the leading stars are nearly always from a Korean nationality. However, due to making a trip to travel to Korea with my family, I believed it would have been a good chance to take advantage of this situation and create my opening sequence using a different convention to the general conventions of Korean films.

How does your product create social issues or views?

My opening sequence will actually educate people from around the world. Using an Arabian man to shoot the main scenes is something which is quite unusual especially in a Korean film. This could gather more of a multi cultural audience to watch this film. It could even put a stop to any racism some nationalities have on the Arabian or English nationality. In addition, the language will be English spoken, whereas many other Korean films are vastly spoken in Korean and occasionally English. This will gather a larger social group also because English is one of the most spoken languages in the world. It might resolve issues and persuade others to start learning this wide language spoken also.

How does your product engage with audiences?

My film is drama infused with a hint of comedy and is suitable for nearly all ages. Many people who watch movies will all enjoy something that is quite drama ridden with a hint of humor to lighten their mood. That is why I decided to choose this genre. It will be more suitable for a larger audience. Whereas in comparison with a total romance or horror movie these will only be engaging for the elder viewers. In addition to this, it is made quite clear that the main actor in this opening sequence is lost in Seoul and that he looks unfamiliar with his surroundings, therefore, he may be a traveler. A lot of people enjoy travelling and discovering new places, therefore, I believed this would be a good use for content to make travelers engage with this film more, because there is certainly a lack of travelling based films in unseal locations in this industry.

How could this film be distributed as a real media text?

Firstly, the film will need to be made, because it would be a very small start up movie, we would need to send our details and produce our content to a studio. We could present it to a private investor but the most successful way would be to a studio.

Then if they enjoy the content and believe it will be successful then the studio will make a licensing agreement with a distribution company. The distribution companies will work out how many copies for theatres are needed and who is happy to present it. Then advertising will be done and when it is open to theatres the public will be open to watching the content and this is where the profit will be made.

How did your production skills develop throughout the making of this project?

I had only ever used IMovie for recreational videos when younger therefore I didn’t have much skill in it at all. I used YouTube to help guide me in special tools and techniques to make the whole concept look more advanced. Furthermore, in the beginning clips I had to do many retakes with shots to make them look professional. Although, as time went on and I was accomplishing final shots they were done much more efficiently and faster. I think that if I need to make another opening sequence again it will be a lot more successful because I filmed with an iPhone camera I don think the quality was as good as it could have been. This is certainly an area for improvement. Although, I used IMovie’s tools to make the iPhone content look more advanced and professional. Moreover, another production skill I learnt was working as a team as a producer with my actors. I had to be the boss and I found this hard to do and hard to take control for the first time. But over time these skills developed and I became more confident after a few of the filming attempts because I realized that if I wanted to make my opening sequence successful I needed to take control and speak out with what I expected of my actors and so on.

How were technologies integrated when making my product?

When producing this product, I used minimal equipment which I thought would be okay considering I needed to make a clip of two minutes and below. I used the basic camera on my iPhone and on this feature there are different features to choose from. Including panoramic view, videos and photos. With the videos there are choices whether you want to create a time lapse or slow motion speeds’ picked the slow motion speeds but then when I imported my content into IMovie I noticed that they had all the speed options as tools itself and had many other tools to make the content more enjoyable. I only used my IPhone camera and IMovie to create these short clips.


My music choice?
i chose to use the song by PSY called Gangnam style, this song is a south Korean hit which became famous world wide. This song became very worldly well known due its quirkiness and unusual image. This would have attracted a big audience especially if they are familiar with such an interactive song. This song broke Youtube's record to be the first music video which had views over one billion. Yet overall this video made 2.8 billion viewers in 2012, yet by now there will be a lot more. This music comes from South Korea which people may have not heard of before they heard this hit song. Therefore, when a group of people hear that a movie is being released in relation to South Korea it may attract them with good expectations because the song was so successful that the movie might just be as good also.

Before i came up with this decision i was thinking of what other possible types of backing sound would have been a good idea to use. i wasn't to sure whether it would be to cliche to use a general piece of classical music. i was going to use some steady drum kits also created by myself but over time after talking to my unsaid learners they said that a steady drum beat will just not be as interactive and as fun as a song that has been a popular hit.

To make sure this idea was correct of mine, i decided to randomly message an unassesed learner from my contact list, baring in mind i previously told them what the questioning was for. Here below is a screenshot of their answers.

Another analysis of the soundtrack that i decided to take into consideration was the use of lyrics against the motion used for filming. I matched a certain lyric with the movement of an important women walking away from the camera. The lyrics were 'Heyyy...sexy lady'. This indicates from an audience perspective that the lady maybe some icon or she may be involved in a romance side of the story. in addition, the most obvious lyric used is 'Gangnam style', this is imitating the name of the actual place in Seoul near where the filming was done. It may make people realize the area of the filming. 

Here below is two pictures of the surrounding landscapes of the area i completed my filming.

Here you can see a clear shot of the actor and the grounds of the temples with the city buildings to the further back. This  is where i filmed the scene for the cars passing by. 

This is one of the temples in Gyeongbokgung.

Here is proof of my editing of a certain area of my opening sequence. This shows the use of editing i have used, such as slow motion  and the import of titles and changes of chromal colours. 

Here you can see i used iMovies editing features to change a normal day video to a chrome filter of 'Silent era'. iMovie had a variety of different filters to use but i believed this colour was the best to portray a lost type of vibe. People see less when k\it isn't that bright and i thought the grey chrome would create a vibe showing that the character may be experiencing an uncertain walk towards the temple. 

Here is a screenshot of my uploaded opening onto Youtube where it can be easily accessible by the public. 

Here is a link to the song choice i used: Click here
i have decided to upload my opening sequence and analysis videos to youtube so that whoever wishes to view it are easily able to. I decided Youtube would be a successful way to distribute it because more than likely a lot of people globally will know how it works. I believe voiceovers will be beneficial to use to help myself connect with the viewers and the critical Here below are my links:


Analysis of opening sequence video 1.
Analysis of opening sequence video 2.

link to my opening sequence

Peer analysis