'Not a Chance' by students of Llkley Grammar School
After watching the whole of the film opening, it is quite easy to identify that the movie would either have a genre of romance or be a hybrid genre of a rom-com. You can tell this by the music track playing and the lyrics that go with it. Another indication of the genre is the way their film opening cross cuts between a female and male character, which connotates to the audience that these characters have a connection.
A rough narrative can be guessed from the opening, it is obvious that the story line will follow the male protagonist in his quest to be with the female who we are introduced to, who is the object of his affections. Although this is quite clear, the rest of the story line is left quite open, which i think is good for an opening.
In regards to characters, we are introduced to three characters and it is simple to tell the roles they play in the movie. There is the main male protagonist, the female, object of his affections and the females boyfriend who would probably play the role of the antagonist in the movie.
Themes of love, jealously and hope are displayed in this student film. The opening, apart from at the end when we feel sorry for the male character, overall gives off a happy atmosphere, and makes the audience think this is a feel good film and will end happily.
The film opening shows the audience what would probably would be the main setting the film, a school. By use of a school, they have allowed the audience to sympathise to the characters, as they know they are just an average person, the film is close to reality.
The slow paced song they have chosen to use as a back-in track for their opening is good as the audience can tell the romance genre by the lyrics of the song.
The group who created this opening were inventive by the way they included the necessary titles, instead of adding them on the computer during post production, they are part of the film, such as using magnetic letters to spell a title on a fridge. This is a good idea, but it does make the film look low budget, and quite unprofessional.
I believe this student film is very good, but i think they could have focused more on lighting in places and their titles. A mistake i think they have made, is putting the film title at the end of the clip, as that would make it more a trailer, when the aim is a film opening.
'Retribution' by student of Sidney Stringer Academy
This student film opening displays signs that it's genre is horror movie. You can tell this by what is happening on screen and the tense non diegetic sound track that runs throughout.
The opening does not tell us a lot about the narrative of the film, as overall in this opening not a great deal happens, but by doing so, it would gain the curiosity of the audience.
Only one character is introduced to us during the opening, making the audience believe that this will be the main protagonist throughout the film, so it brings us even more shock when she is shot at the end of the opening. It is good that they had a sense of surprise in the opening, but on the other hand, it does mean they have spent their whole opening introducing us to a character that we will not see again.
This opening has done well in the way it build dark, tense and suspense atmosphere right from the start. Themes of fear, mystery and crime are shown via the film opening.
The setting of the film is kept quite secretive in the opening. Although the clip does allow us to guess where it is set. From when we can see the girl adjusting her tie, you could guess that it is set in a school or smart work place, but setting is never revealed in the opening.
There is a deep, slow paced and eerie soundtrack running throughout the opening, the music plays a large role int he clip, it makes a big impact and sets the tone for the opening and overall movie.
The titles are in a simple yet effective, readable font. I also think the timings when the titles appear have been well thought over, and how long on screen they are is very good. Once again, this opening has the film name at the end, which is not a good idea for an opening.
This opening is good but repetitive, it poses more questions than it does give answers, which makes it gripping.
'Impunity' by students from Guernsey Grammar School
This film opening is good as it almost tells a mini story in itself, yet it's not a short movie and it doesn't give the story line away. In regards to genre, the music track that runs throughout, give indications of a thriller movie. Other indications it gives of an thriller and action movie includes the plain black costumes, the camera angles and fast paced editing.
The narrative of the film is not at all given away by this opening. A lot happens in this opening, usually this can be a mistake for films as too much of the story line is shown, although this opening does not have this problem as it keeps the narrative quite secretive and ends with a cliffhanger.
We are introduced to two characters, the first character we are introduced to, is also the one with the most camera time, so the audience can establish that he is probably the protagonist in the movie. The character we see, at first can be mistaken as the main characters accomplice, but by the end of the opening, i would label him the antagonist.
This opening has themes of mystery, as you are left wondering what just happened, what is to come, and who are these people? The opening gives off a tense, fast moving atmosphere.
Setting is shown in a good way in this student film opening. An establishing shot of the block of flats is used near the start, this allows us to know the location of the character when he runs down the stairs. We then can tell that the location where the men meet is a public car park, setting is shown well in this opening, making it easier to follow.
The use of the soundtrack adds emphasis to this opening, whereas without the music someone walking down stairs could be quite boring, with the music, it makes it tense and brings a sense of anticipation to the opening. This fast paced track fades in and out of the clip, giving emphasis when the music comes back in, on important parts.
There are only a couple of titles displayed, which is quite unrealistic compared to real film openings, in addition to this, once again the main film title is placed right at the end of the opening, which could make the clip almost seem like a trailer. On the other hand, the titles that are there are clear, reading and of a good size and font.
I found it really interesting watching and reviewing these videos made by other students, it allowed me to see what others have achieved, and what could be possible for my production team, Gemini Productions. It has made me see the vast variation in videos, and has made me think that we could be very imaginative with our story line and film.
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