Moral of our Film

We have decided the moral for our film is 'you're never too old to have fun'. We think that with the use of toys playing together and generally playing around ourselves, we will express this moral well. When planning our film, we hoped to have a moral for our childrens film and whilst filming we thought of this moral. We may try to use humour in our childrens film so that this moral is more obvious, however we are not completely sure of how our toys are going to act yet to do this.

Storyboard- Children's film

This is the storyboard we have designed for our children's film. We may re-draft this as the film may not match it completely, and we may use different toys to the ones drawn.

Children's Film- Planning

Problems we may face when filming;

- The actors may look strange as they are not children themselves

- Forgetting to bring toys/ Accidentally bringing the wrong toys will ruin continuity

- Time limit

To overcome these problems, we will have to make do with the actors being older as we cannot use other actors in our film as they may not be available when we need them. Also, we need all the filming to be on the Long Road site, so younger children would not be able to take part. Also, we will make note of what toys we need to bring, as to make sure that we remember the correct toys that we previously used. As for the time limit, we hope to work as efficiently and as effectively as possible so that we do not run out of time.

Storyboard for our Children's film

Whilst planning our children's film, we came up with different ideas for our storyline. First of all, we thought about having a simple theme of friendship- two characters who fall out, and make up at the end of the film. However, we found it hard to elaborate on this idea and come up with a good opening sequence. Another idea we had was the theme of Christmas- about a bad character trying to stop Christmas and a good character trying to save it. Though this may have made a good, festive children's film the location we have to film in is not ideal. Eventually, we came up with an idea that incorporates animation and live action. Our idea was to have one actor playing with their toys, and falling asleep. The toys will then play amongst themselves and possibly have a play fight/game, and we may try to include humour, but we have not agreed on what we think the toys should do yet. We don't think we will include dialogue as it will be difficult to have different voiceovers for each toys with only three of us, however we will use a soundtrack over the top. For example, when the toys come to life the music may be upbeat/suspicious/magical. When the toys come to life, we may roll the credits over the top. The credits will probably be in pastel or bright colours, or something attractive to the eye that will appeal to children. Another idea we have is to spell out the credits with toy blocks, with letters on them.

Shots we may use include close up, behind the shoulder shot (when the actor is asleep), long shot so you can see the whole scene, birds eye view, high/low angle shot (to make the audience know which toys are superior).

The prop list will include toys, possibly letter building blocks, a camera, string (to make the toys move) and things for the toys to play with.

All of our footage will be filmed within Long Road, most likely in a classroom on a table/the floor where the toys can play and the actor can fall asleep.

For the opening two minutes, we would like to show to the audience an insight to a toys life when the owner is not around. We would also like to introduce character personas, such as a superior character, a clumsy character etc.

Plan for Children's film/ Replicating features of other films.

In our children's film, we hope to use features from other children's films that we think work well. For example, in the film 'Toy Story 3' the effects are all very high- tech, which will make it hard to replicate so we need to be realistic in making a good clip with the equipment that is available to us. However, features of 'Matilda' such as the credits are a lot more straightforward, and therefore we may find inspiration in aspects of that film. The beginning credits of 'Shrek' (2001) shows somebody opening the pages of a book, and reading the story/plot line aloud. This would be a lot easier to do for us with the equipment available, as it is very low-tech. Therefore, we may wish to use this idea when doing our own children's film.

At the start of the film 'The Parent Trap', the credits are laid on top of a general scene, that relates to the storyline. There is not much high-technology involved, and therefore it would be a lot easier to achieve this way of including the credits. The soundtrack over the top of the clip also relates to the storyline as it is about love. We may also decide to use a soundtrack over the top of our credits, or possibly a narrative to briefly/ vaguely describe the film.

From watching previous' students children's films we have learned that it is quite hard to find a set that looks realistic, also the dialogue does not sound very good, it sounds laboured and wooden. Therefore, we will keep dialogue to a minimum.

Our Children's film- Classification

We have decided to classify our children's film as a PG, as we would like to have more freedom in the content and the themes. Also, we think it may be harder to fill the criteria of a U, without using any discrimination/offensive themes. We may wish to explore more complex ideas, that a child of around the age of 8 would be able to understand without parental supervision. We wish to make references that an older audience would appreciate and understand.

the classification system- PG

suitable for children for 8+. its a parents responsibility whether they wish for their child to view the film. it can only speak about drugs if it has an anti drug message. the horror must be short and not to intense. mild bad language must be to a minimum. more grown up themes. discriminative only if its educational so the child learns that its negative. An example of a PG film would be Harry Potter and the Philosophers stone. This film is classified as a PG as it has scarier scenes , however it is all fantasy, and a younger audience may be able to handle it. The film has good morals such as Good vs. Evil, Friendship, Teamwork and Family.

The Classification System- U

U Certificate- Any film classed as a 'U' should technically have no specific need to cater to adults, however  this is questionable today as many films such as 'Toy Story' use adult references which children do not have to understand to enjoy the film. Universal is suitable for anyone over 5, and should have a positive moral framework that children can learn from. However, a 'U' certificate film does not necessarily need to be for children, it just means that there is no offensive content. There should also be a counterbalance to any threat, for example in 'Up' when the old man and child are having a deep conversation about family issues, two dogs were playing in the background to lighten the mood and diffuse tension. It should also be suitable for children to watch alone. There should be no drug references, no sex references and no bad language or discrimination.

Conventions in our Opening sequence

In our opening sequence, we would like to add in colourful, large titles and credits to appeal to a young audience and make them attractive to the eye. We will also try to use upbeat music (possibly jazz) which will appeal to an older audience as well. We aim to introduce our main characters fairly quickly, so the audience know who the story is following and know who to sympathise with/ support. Though we are unsure of what the moral will be yet, we hope to include a moral into our story so children can learn from it. We will try to use different camera angles such as 180 degree angle during conversation, long-shot, close ups etc. We will try to find a good location in college to film our clip, and create a good background.

Wall-E - Sci-Fi

Sound- wall-e has a cute voice making him appeal to young children. mostly foley effects e.g machines and explosions. Wall-e doesn't speak much its done through his actions. The soundtrack seems to set the mood, as its fast and causes effect  and makes it more exciting. The text at the beginning gives us an insight to the plot of the film, letting us know what its about. Because the opening sequence only shows wall-e working it suggests he is on his own and that he is going to meet someone.There is also humour in this clip as Wall-E doesn't understand what a bra is, which may make an older audience laugh if they went to take their children to see it. The scene is a littered, polluted earth making the audience guess it is a futuristic film. It also makes the children learn about the environment and how it is important to care for it (moral).

Monsters Inc- Fantasy

In the opening clip of Monsters Inc. the credits appear and are brightly coloured, lively and large. The music in the background is jazz, making it upbeat and appealing to an adult audience. Children's interest is raised due to the stylised cartoons. The title has a large 'M', with a monsters eye in it which is recognisable on merchandise. The mise-en-scene for the child's bedroom is a typical children's room, e.g. toys, colourful walls etc. This is so the audience can relate. There is also an aspect of humour as the monster trips over the toys on the floor, making the film entertaining for children and the scene less scary. The monster characters are dressed in human clothes, making them appear less scary and more like we are the same as monsters, they are nothing to be scared of (moral). The themes of the film are laid out at the beginning, for example we find out who the main character is (Sullivan/Sully) as the other characters are talking about him. Also, we see the superior character is the boss, as the other characters get back to work when he arrives, and his clothes suggest he is a businessman. Foley and diagetic sound are both used, for example when the chair spins round and squeaks and the door creaks. Close-ups and long-shots are both used.

The Incredibles- Action

At the beginning of the clip, we are introduced to all the main characters (The Incredibles/Superheroes). They are dressed in Superhero costumes, e.g. glossy gadgets, red all-in-ones. The whole image is brightly coloured, attracting a child's attention. We know these are the 'good guys' as they are the first people we see and are described as 'Incredible', making the audience know who the heroes of the story are.

The title is large and bright, which draws attention. The sound is upbeat and optimistic, and loud. The clip includes foley sounds and non-diagetic sounds e.g. the soundtrack which is loud and exciting.

The clip included an establishing shot for the car chase, a close-up of the cat and a two-shot. As it is an action film, there are many camera angles used.

Jumanji- Mise en Scene

Atmosphere/setting- starts off dull, dark, eerie. The characters had lanterns, suggesting this was an earlier time period. Also, it looks cold as the characters are wearing thick layers e.g. coats.
Make-up- generally natural, however at the start they have dirty/grimy faces.

There is a huge contrast in the next section, as it is more of a suburban, sunny setting. However, we can tell this is not modern-day as the characters are wearing old-fashioned, dull clothes and the factory is only just creating a trainer (shoe).

In the second section the main character (boy) has a blue, shiny bike which makes him stand out from the other children biking. Therefore, we know he is the main character and we are following his story.

The fake blood in this clip (squib) is used to show the boy has been beaten up, and makes the audience feel sorry for him. Also, the fact that the blood has stained his clean shirt makes us feel sorry for him.

The father of the boy's pipe shows he is old-fashioned and upper-class.

Childrens film- Matilda

We decided to look at the children's film 'Matilda' and identify the opening sequence conventions. In the opening two minutes the credits and title were brightly coloured, in a large font. They introduce the protagonist of the story and her family at the very beginning. This makes it clear who the film is about, and who the audience are supposed to sympathise with. The narration over the opening clip also establishes the themes and morals of the story. For example, the narrator tells us her family are not nice people, however it is OK to be different (like Matilda).