Evaluation of AOTT activity

1)The Mentor is a horror-thriller movie. In the opening we see a student stalking then killing a girl. He then washes his hands and the weapon, then exits the school.

2) Some credits, the killer is revealed (the protagonist), the setting is shown and genre signifiers are shown.

3) White text is a convention of the horror genre, and it is also in a font that looks like typewriter font, which is another convention of the genre. The title "The Mentor" is also scary, as it implies that the killer is the "mentor"; the role of the mentor, to help people, contrasts with the killer's actions.

4) I think our opening is ambiguous. The audience should be scared of the killer, as he has just killed someone. They will be eager to find out more about him, why he killed the girl, if he goes on killing and if he gets caught. The opening is full of enigmas, as the audience is unable to know why these things are happening in the opening.

5) Setting - gives the audience a sense of where the film takes place; Barthes' Cultural codes, the audience will be able to assume more about the setting of the movie from the opening sequence's setting.

The introduction of the main character - The audience know who the film will revolve around, so they can assume what will happen in the movie, i.e. follow the killer as he kills people.

The introduction of the genre - I think the connotations of the horror genre that we included in the opening easily show the audience which genre the movie will be.

6) I think my project is quite effective as a film opening because it clearly shows the genre of the movie to the audience, while also having hermeneutic codes, such as who the killer is, why he killed the girl, what will happen to the killer.

Accident Sequence

1) One technique we used was the establishing shot of the setting, we used this so that the audience would have a sense of where things were happening relative to each other. Another technique we used was the 30 degree rule, in which we made the shots varied, so that the audience would not be confused. We tried to make it so that the shots linked into one another, using match on action, for example in between the third and fourth shots (0:25), however we found this hard to do without being able to edit them.


2)  In hindsight, the establishing shot would have looked better without the pan to the left, as the next shot is to the right, this made the transition seem confusing. The transition from shot 2 to shot 3 also could have been improved with a slight pan towards the doors, so that the audience would know where the next shot would take place, improving the continuity. I also think that shot 3 lasted too long, the skipping was too long and at the end; after I waved, I put my arm down and looked at the camera and in the next the shot I'm waving again, should have been cut earlier. Another thing I would have changed was the end of the fourth shot, as the end of the shot makes it look like I fall twice, where I should have only fallen once. In conclusion, most of the errors could have been amended by the use of editing, which we could not use.

Film Opening Analysis

Identify the film and it's genre:

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is an adventure/action film.

Identify where the story takes place and the time scale:

It is set in 1935 Shanghai, as shown by the shot at 2:55

Summarise what happens in the sequence in chronological order. How significant to the story is the story telling in the order of events?

A gong is hit by a man, then the mouth of an ornamental dragon is shown. Women then appear and start to dance, whilst one sings a song "Anything Goes". It is a grandiose musical number. As the musical number finishes, there  is a shot of a Chinese man clapping with who appear to be henchmen or guards. A man in a white blazer then walks down some stairs and is told to be careful. He then takes a seat at the previously mentioned Chinese man's table and starts a conversation with him. This sequence of events is rather important, as there is a sharp contrast between the first shots and the musical. The first shots seem very dangerous and in line with the previous movie, but then the musical is very different, it seems almost surreal. The musical is used to deceive the audience to play with the audience's anticipation. This confusion is then dispelled once Indiana Jones walks in, and the audience gain a sense of what is going to happen.

Do events link to each other or are they distinct, unconnected events?

The events in the opening link to each other, giving the audience a sense of continuity. This is a convention of adventure films, as they tell the story right from the beginning to get the audience immersed in the narrative.

Which characters are introduced and what their roles in the film? How do we find this information out?

Chinese Man - He seems to be the bad guy, this can be inferred by his "henchmen" standing next to him, guarding him as he watches the show.

Indiana Jones - A recurring character in the series of films, he stands out and is instantly recognisable by the audience.
How much story information is revealed and how is it revealed to the audience? What is deliberately withheld?

Very little information is given to the audience, adding to the confusion of the musical piece. The audience suspect that the Chinese man is bad, but they do not know why. Also they do not know why Indiana Jones would be in the setting and interacting with this Chinese guy, leading to suspense and suggesting a possible conflict.

What do you think the audience needs to know at the start of your film? Explain. 
I think the audience need to know who the main character of the film is, so that they can get a sense of what type of story the film will have. However in this case, I think it is not as important, as the main character had already been established in the previous film.
Another thing that is important is for the audience to know the credits of the film and the name of the film.

My film still

1. The girl is the main focus of the shot and she is holding what was meant to be a flower, the flower connoting romance. The girl staring outside seems to be thinking about something, as opposed to looking at something in particular. This image of the girl thinking about something while holding the ‘flower’ suggests to the audience that she is thinking about the person she is in love with. Also the girl staring out of the window is a common trope of romance. Her modern clothes and young appearance also connote that it is a teen-romance.
2. To achieve the effect of connoting romance, we made sure to clearly establish the setting, without having anything else to detract from the focus of the main character. The actress was young (not an adult) which made it clear that it was a teen romance
3. We intended the audience to interpret the still as the girl looking out of the window while thinking of her love interest, as she was holding the flower which reminded her of him.
4. The shot is successful because it effectively makes the main character the focus of the shot, and therefore easily establishes what is happening in the scene, which makes it easier for the audience to read the still.
5. In hindsight, I would have replaced the plant with a flower. I would try to make it so that the inside of the room could be less visible as I feel that the light on the ceiling of the room undermines the scene a bit. I would also try to get the top of the frame in the shot.