Final Cut - 'The Grimm' Film Opening

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

I have used this ‘drawing pin and board’ style for this question because I thought that it would be appropriate for the murderer and horror genre, as some murderer characters in films have pinned their victims pictures on boards or cut out their pictures from newspapers and stuck the headlines with them to give them a visual reminder:

3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

After conducting target market feedback (shown in question four), I have found that the majority of the audience members would be happy to watch and pay to see my film if it was released. Some of the key feedback that I have received was that the apple should have been made clearer (by having the hand fall and the apple roll near Dan’s feet for example). I also received that the film opening was more of a horror film than a fantasy as so maybe did suit the target audience more because fantasy can be sometimes for a younger audience. I found that the females liked the product more though overall, but half of the males seemed to be interested – I think that the basis of the fairytale/folklore side cannot appeal to some males, but that depends on personal taste. I therefore think that I have managed to attract and address an audience effectively for my product by the use of conventions of the horror films that I had researched (such as Van Helsing for the shadow effect that seemed to impress quite a few people). From this audience research, the future of the project seemes to be quite positive as I have managed to grab an audience for the product.

6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

1.   Adobe PhotoShop Elements – In order to create the logo background using the ‘swirl’ and the ‘diagonal line’ tools. I have learnt that when making a background logo, it is probably best to experiment with the tools on PhotoShop in order to get an unusual background that suits the ‘Enigma’ title.

2.   Adobe Premiere Elements – In order to complete the post-production stage of my film opening – using the transitions and some of the colour effect tools. I have never used this software before now and so I have learnt as I have produced (experimenting with the features along the way). This therefore did not limit down what tools to use (because I did not just use the ones that I knew about).

3.   HD Camera – For use during the shooting process and throughout. I have used the movie recording feature before and so have just given me the opportunity to experiment with its usage (angles, movement etc.)

4.   Tripod – For use during the shooting process. I have learnt how different angles and positions of the tripod/camera can give a certain effect to the whole piece.

5.    DVD Disc – In order to transport/backup the footage that I had filmed. Also, I used a DVD as one of the ways to present my work to the audience for feedback.

6.    IPod – Another method of exhibiting my product to my audience for feedback.

7.    Prezi – A presentation tool that I have used to mind map my ideas when researching and evaluating.

8.    YouTube – For research methods into film openings and also to present my final product/prelim task.

9.    Blogger – The method that I have used in order to present the process of creating my product from research to finished product.
10.  Google – Mainly used for researching ideas to see what products were already out in the market.

11.  Roxio Sound Editor - For editing the music and some dialogue to enhance and make it clearer/more tense for the audience.

12.  Microsoft Office Software (Word, PowerPoint, Publisher) – In order to present my work while researching. Also, I used PowerPoint and Publisher to convert screengrabs into JPEG images for presentation.

7. Looking back at your preliminary task (the continuity editing task), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?

As I have used the Apple Mac Software for my Preliminary Task (IMovie) and have used Adobe Premiere Elements for my product, I have used two different pieces of software. However, I have gained and developed skills that I did use previously in IMovie using Premiere Elements such as changing the audio to try to get the character’s voices as clear as possible (which was quite a tricky job with the strong wind in the background). I have developed the skill to really fine tune the work so that the whole film flows and keeps the audience interested but yet gives them enough information still and have made sure that my creativity has been shown in the dialogue and the mise en scene.
    In terms of cinematography, my skills as to plan exactly where the camera will be placed on set (to make sure that the 180 degree rule was followed) has improved and has shown me that organisation is key when producing a film. I have improved on the range of shots that I have used since my preliminary task (different angles and different shots such as close ups, mid shots, long shots and some zooming effects). This has made the final product more interesting and more creative as the varying of shots can build tension in horror films (POV Shots for example).
   I have also learnt on how important the camera shots are and how empty space above the subject can really break the flow of the film (as there was in my preliminary task). More time was spent trying to match on the action and focus the audience’s attention to the actual subject matter and not empty space around it. Reverse/Parallel shots have been used more effectively in my final product because I have used closer shots and a stationary tripod to make sure that the over-the shoulder shots do not suddenly change and disrupt the attention to the dialogue and mise en scene.
    As I had never used Adobe Premiere Elements, I think that I have gained a lot of knowledge about the software and what effects can be generated with it as well as using it in conjunction with PhotoShop in order to make the logo. Experimenting has been the biggest skill that I think I have improved on because I have learnt to try different techniques/effects/camera angles before saying that they won’t work or ‘suit’ the whole product – when they actually might after testing them. A lot of work has gone into making sure that my creativity side has shown through the product by really picking the mise en scene, makeup effects and cinematography (such as the lighting). I hope and think that the audience feedback has supported this idea and has shown that I have developed through this course by enabling my artistic side to show in my filmmaking (for example, the Enigma Studios logo).

Prelim Exercise

Final Film Introduction - The Grimm

After many hours of refining, I have finally finished my film opening:

Transitions Experimenting - From Logo

I wanted to include a transition effect from the institution logo to the main body of the film intro in order to bring the audience into it instead of it just playing. I therefore looked carefully at the different transitions that I could use on Adobe Premiere Elements and the ones that I thought would suit the fantasy/story book style would be a ‘page turning’ transition. This was one of the transitions that I looked at:

I am going to use a similar transition to this in my opening but it will be from the opposite corner (in order to make it look like an actual book page was turned). This will hopefully link to the fact that it is based on The Brothers Grimm tales.

Institution Logo - Premiere Elements

On Adobe Premiere Elements, I have used the image from the previous post (Logo Designs) and added the institution name with a whirling effect to give it that extra mystery effect:

Logo Background Designs - Photoshop

These were the three names that I have thought about for my institution name:

-        Enigma Studios (Enigma means Mystery)

-        Paradox Productions (Paradox means Puzzle/Contradiction)

-        Obscurity Productions (Obscurity means Vagueness)

I have decided to go with the Enigma Studios name because mystery is the atmosphere that I want to achieve. These are the ideas that I have created on PhotoShop for the background of the instiution name:

The second background is the one I am going to use in my institution logo because I like the arrow effect going down into the centre of the image.

Teacher's Feedback on Draft

When looking back at my first draft for my film opening and comparing it to the mark scheme and the past film openings, I personally think that it is at a Level 2/Low level 3.

My teacher’s feedback for my draft was as follows:

Research and Planning: Level 4
Practical Draft: Low Level 3 (Just)

-        Add all titles – logo etc.

-        Shots work well. Exterior is kept to a minimum – child dialogue is quite good. Shot prior to boy entering house is way too long.

-        Interiors are good. Some aspects of the dark can work – especially when a fright (the masked figure) appears out of it.

-        Sound needs work – sense of doom needs to build – tension needs to increase throughout.

These changes I am already working on and I plan to try to include more transitions in order to make that aspect more creative. I also need to focus on an institution logo and how I can incorporate that into my opening.

Shooting - Overview

5^th February 2011: Shooting went fairly well (better in some areas) because inside the bungalow it was too dark and so made the footage very grainy when I came to editing it. The outside of the bungalow as a whole was good, but I found when editing that the cast seemed to not have a pause between their lines and so their dialogue overlapped each shot.

Before we started filming, Nathan and Eve wanted half an hour just to run through the script to make sure that they could 'get into character'.

12^th February 2011: I decided to re-film some of the footage (mainly inside and Grandma’s dialogue) because of the lighting. I managed to gain quite a few extra torches in order to brighten up the set; in order for the camera to pick up as much light as possible and still gain a intense mood.

To make the fake blood, I mixed golden syrup with a lot of red food colouring over a warm hob.

In order to have the camera facing directly down towards the board, I taped the tripod horizontally onto a stool.

Film Opening Draft

This is my draft for my film opening. However, I have not included the institution logo or sound effects (such as the door creaking shut) because some of the footage I was not happy about because the lighting wasn’t bright enough. Also, the section where grandma talks to the children was not included because the wind overpowered the words and shook the camera. I therefore am going to re-shoot most of the footage as soon as possible so that a second draft can be produced – and can be improved accordingly. The inside of the bungalow scene will be much longer because I am going to include shots of the interior of the bungalow – showing tools to make the mood more tense.

Mise en Scene - Costumes

Cinematography Research – Shadows

One of the techniques that I particularly want to achieve in my film opening is the use of the characters’ shadows in order to let the audience’s imagination tell them what is happening instead of actually having a visual of the situation. This effect will also be enhanced by the sound effects used and so I will need to think carefully about the music/sound aspect of the scene as well.

As research, I looked at the beginning of the film Van Helsing (2004) and when the vampire kills Dr. Frankenstein, their shadow is shown instead of themselves:

This adds drama to the scene and so I hope to use this technique when the witch kills the male persona ‘Dan’.

Feedback - Script/Call Sheet

Mr Ford and myself have discussed the script and some of the aspects I have thought over in order for the audience to understand as much of the opening as they can. This is my improved script and I am going to use it when filming on Saturday:

This is also a call sheet that I have produced (using the Star Wars Call Sheet as a guide). It just includes all of the necessary requirements that I will need on set and I can use it as a checklist when gathering what I need:

Developed Ideas/Script Development

After looking at the Supernatural Episode, I have written a draft of the script. I have changed my initial idea because I have decided to have the two main personas do a voice-over at the very beginning (so that you don’t see them until the bungalow is shown). This will hopefully create the feeling that they are lost because the audience will be expecting something negative to happen.

Supernatural - Dialogue Research/Mise en Scene

I thought that it would be useful research if I looked into the scene in the TV series Supernatural when a couple get lured into a house by a ‘harmless old lady’ and are killed by her. Before writing and creating a script for my cast members, I wanted to look at a similar scene in order to pick out the dialogue that specifically the grandma says in order to lure them in and make it more realistic for the audience:

The overall scene is clever because the audience can get a good representation of the characters before they even step into the house because of the mise en scene. For example, the grandma looks very feeble to the couple and that is why Ken says that she is a ‘harmless old lady’. I think that the colours of her clothing also have an impact on the general mood of the scene because she is wearing neutral colours (such as cream and pale green). This stereotypes her as being the typical kind grandma figure that we as an audience like to see in a film; purely because the audience knows that she is not what she seems.
    Also, the ‘Hansel and Gretel’ victims are shown as a stereotypical couple because they are always arguing and the female always blames the male for them becoming lost. This shows that the male persona has tried to become more dominant (by leading the couple) but has managed to get them lost and has failed. The clothes that they are wearing are casual and calms the tension that should be created by the scene. However, I think that the director has purposely done this in order for the scene to appear to be an ordinary meeting between them that turns nasty.

Special FX Research

I just thought that it would be a good idea to research into the possible special effects that I could use in my film opening in order for it to suit the conventions of a horror film. However, after looking at the YouTube clip above, I decided that that was not the direction that I wanted my film opening to go. Although, I will be using fake blood in my opening which can be created by gradually heating up some golden syrup and adding a lot of red food-colouring in order to make it a crimson coloured liquid.

This was my first attempt at using the fake blood and pouring it over the title to spell out the words:

As this was only a first attempt and was fairly bad if I’m honest because of the lighting and you can actually see the spoon that I used to pour over the fake blood. I will do another test of this in order to make sure whether the idea will work or not and I will ensure that the lighting is just right in order for the audience to clearly see the film’s title.

Red Riding Hood - Promotional Trailer

I saw this film trailer when exhibiting another film at the cinema and thought that it would be a good idea to look at the plotline because the film is based on Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf (being the werewolf). I also think that this film would appeal to my targeted audience and so is a good idea to include in my research.

Supernatural - TV Promotion Trailer

Although this is a TV programme and not a film promotional trailer, one of the episodes are based on The Brothers Grimm tales and has a horror twist to it. One of these tales are based on Hansel and Gretel and has a good representation of both the siblings and the grandma personas.

Research into Planning - Storyboard

I have found a really good website that includes many different storyboards and concept art by a man called Josh Sheppard. One of the storyboards that he has completed is called ‘Horror 2’. The site was really inspirational and I have used some of his conventions when storyboarding as I know what some of the symbols mean; in order to help the cinematographer.

Josh Sheppard - Film Storyboards

Research into Planning - Call Sheet

After looking into many different planning methods, I have found a call sheet that the Director George Lucas used in his film Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (1999). This call sheet included all of the necessary information that the cast and crew needed for the first day of filming:

(The source of this call sheet was from the book called The Making of Star Wars, Episode I, The Phantom Menace.)

From viewing an example of a call sheet, I have thought about constructing one similar in order for myself to be more organised for when the filming date is set. This will also allow my cast to know exactly what is required and so hopefully will minimise delays on the day.

Storyboarding

I know that this storyboard is rough, but it shows nearly all of the information that I will need when shooting and editing. I will of course improvise some shots on the day, and when editing will add the sound effects as appropriate, but this storyboard has given me a visual idea of how my film opening will look.

Intertextuality Research

I wanted to use intertextuality in my film introduction so that the audience were clear that my film will be based on The Brothers Grimm tales. Before deciding on which stories I would link to, I firstly picked out some of the well-known tales and mind-mapped the keywords associated with each folktale:

After mind-mapping the tales, I now have decided that I want to include intertextuality linking to Snow White and Little Red Riding Hood as well as the overall narrative based on Hansel and Gretel.

Cinematography Research - Lighting

I have really had to consider the lighting that I need to use in my film opening because in the actual bungalow setting (shown on the Location Shots post), there is almost no light for the camera to pick up in order to see the details of the mise en scene. During the outside scene before the male goes into the bungalow, I can use natural lighting because I plan to film during the daytime.
    Some of my peers have commented that I may need to reconsider this idea of filming during the day because the horror aspect is lost due to the lack of suspense generally created by darkness. However, the justification of me using the daytime as the time period for the outside should be effective because the outside of the bungalow needs to look misleading to the two main characters. This use of weather/daytime is called pathetic fallacy because it should set the mood to be positive; which will be contrasted when the characters move into the bungalow.

<< This image is an example of how the light can affect the mood of the shot. The bottom image would be the ideal lighting that I will need in order to get the effect of suspense throughout the scene inside the bungalow.

I have also thought of the idea of using shadows/silhouettes of the witch in the background because filmmakers use the technique of using shadows and silhouettes in order to portray the villain and create the mood of suspense and tension. I also think that this technique would go well with the Music choice of having breathing noises during the scene – because someone is behind them.

Locational Shots

The location that I plan to base my film narrative around is a pre-fabricated set that is an old bungalow owned by my Nana. My justification for this location is because the exterior of the location is aesthetically pleasing to the eye (because of the white/neutral coloured exterior walls). In the story of Hansel and Gretel, the two siblings arrive at a gingerbread house (which is also aesthetically pleasing to a child). The mood that I want to create outside of the bungalow is a low sense of threat and the feeling that the children will not be hurt by what is inside the bungalow. Although, the audience will probably be aware of the folktale and so will know that just because something looks OK, it doesn’t mean that it really is.

(Outside of the Bungalow)

(Inside of the Bungalow)

The interior of the bungalow does not create any tension at the moment because I had to open the door to let light in so that I could take a photo of the set. However, when I am actually shooting the film opening, I am going to use artificial lighting to create a tense mood – because the inside of the bungalow is really dark with the door shut.

Casting

After the feedback of using a younger cast for the main personas, I have decided to use the two following cast members:

The male persona (Hansel) will be played by my brother Nathan Dalby. He is eleven years old and so fits the profile of Hansel well because he is the ‘protective brother’ to his younger sister in the narrative. I know that he is reliable and will behave on set in order to get the filming done as smoothly as possible.

The female persona and sister to Hansel (Gretel) will be played by Eve Newman. She is nine years old and is exactly the person that I wanted to have as the younger sister character that is innocent in the film opening. I think that Eve would work well with Nathan during the shooting process and because they have known each other for a long time, they will know how to behave around each other in order to make the ‘relationship’ between the two characters more realistic.

Typography Research

One of the vital aspects of my film opening that needs to be clear to the audience are the titles/credits of the film. After looking at Sweeney Todd and constructing a ‘Timeline’ that breaks down each title and their timings,  I have looked at some different fonts that I can use for my own titles in order to make them stand out:

Audience Profiling - By Genre

After deciding to base my film opening scene on The Brothers’ Grimm tales and use the fantasy and horror genres, I have made an audience profile in order to guide me when storyboarding and planning – as I will need to know who my film opening will appeal to:

Institution Logo Research

I thought that it would be a good idea to research into the different logos that the major institutions use; in order to gain some inspiration for my own film institution logo design:

Pitch Feedback/Development of Ideas

Originally, my idea was to have two teenagers being the ‘Hansel and Gretel’ personas. However, the feedback that I received has made me think about changing this aspect and aiming the plotline onto two younger siblings. This idea will hopefully make my film opening more successful because the horror genre is more effective when children are involved; because of the psychological aspect of the thought of children being hurt. My film introduction will not have any violence directly to children, but will include several shots ‘hinting’ to the audience that the male persona has been killed. I think that this might be more effective than actually being shown the male’s killing because the audience will have to use their imaginations to gain an image of this event.
   From the feedback, I need to consider the aspect above and also how I will achieve this ‘hinting’ technique to the audience. The comments overall were positive and I will take their opinions into consideration when planning/storyboarding the opening scene.

Possible Music

There were two main ideas that I have thought about for the music in my film opening. The first idea was to take a well known nursery rhyme/children’s song and put an eerie mood to it. The first song that I thought of was The Teddy Bear’s Picnic because of the pace and rhythm. However, I could not find a song that had the similarity of The Teddy Bear’s Picnic but had a horror twist to it.
   After looking at a range of royalty-free music sites, I finally found a site that contains royalty free music by Kevin MacLeod and one of the songs was Pop Goes the Weasel, but had a horror and creepy edge to it:

Pop Goes the Weasel

I then looked at some atmospheric music and found a good piece by him also that contained breathing sounds which gave it a really good eerie mood and would fit nicely with the mise en scene and the narrative. This music would also build up the tension to when the witch appears out of nowhere:

Right Behind You

Film Opening Pitch

After considering the two classifications of 12 and 15 films that suit the fantasy genre, I decided to go ahead with a 15 classified film and so I should consider the elements and conventions that suit a 15 film. Therefore my target audience will be young adults and teenagers (15-25) because it relates to childhood folktales but has a horror twist to it.

British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) Research

Before deciding on the target audience that my film would possibly appeal to, I thought that it would be a good idea to research into the classifications and guidelines of the British Board of Film (BBFC). After viewing many different certificated films with different genres, I narrowed the research down into just the 12/12A and 15 classifications because I think that the fantasy/horror genres are common with their guidelines.

This research has shown me the guidelines that I must follow when planning my film introduction in order to meet the right target audience that I want my film to appeal to.

(This research has come from the BBFC Website).

Sleepy Hollow (1999) - Fantasy/Mystery/Thriller

After looking at an 18 classified film and a 12 classified film, I thought that it would be a good idea to research into a 15 classified film in order to know the difference between the three classifications. I then decided that a good film opening that relates to my project is the film called Sleepy Hollow (1999) that was also directed by Tim Burton – who directed Sweeney Todd (2007) that is an 18.
   At the very beginning of the film, the audience are shown the main credits of the film using a smoky/misty background in order to create tension and there are children singing in order to add the holy and religious feel to the opening scene. Then panning shots are shown of a person’s last will and testament and drips of red candle wax are shown to drip down upon the parchment (using a close up shot). This red wax could remind the audience of blood and therefore would have connotations to death and foreshadows that there will be murder involved in the next following events.
   A carriage is then shown carrying an old man (presumably being the man that has just embedded his signature into the red wax). The music is then intensified and creates tension for the audience along with the sound effect enhancement of the horses’ hooves hitting the road as they gallop. The mise en scene in general for this scene is gloomy and the use of fog creates a mood of uncertainty.
   There are mid-shots of the man in order to show his expressions, as previously there is a long shot of a scarecrow in a field and the lightning illuminates the scarecrow in order to intensify the mood. There is a supernatural noise following this and the audience see a horse running beside the carriage on the other side, which makes the audience know that something is not natural with the horseman and that there will be something nasty happen to this man. A loud and enhanced noise of a sword leaving its scabbard is heard and a slicing noise also in order to create the tension that something has happened outside involving the horseman that just went past. The audience then know that the man inside the carriage should not look outside but he does, only to have a shot moments later of the carriage driver having no head and the man’s reaction to this.
   The music is now very fast in rhythm and close up shots of the carriage wheels are shown to show that it is out of control and that the man should jump out of the carriage. Furthermore, by using the mise en scene of a crop field as the setting for where the man tries to escape through, it gives the scene a definite supernatural and thriller genre because the audience cannot wait to know whether this man survives or not. A mid-shot of the scarecrow is shown again with the lightning effect and further close-ups show that the man is really scared of his wellbeing – which is portrayed well by the use of the scarecrow being present (symbolism).
   There is another sound effect of the scabbard and the sword and then the camera zooms in to show his reaction and his head is cut off. There finally is a shot of the pumpkin for the scarecrow’s head with blood splattered all over it; mixing the Halloween theme with the scene here.
   The typography used for the titles are white and have an old fashioned style to them, creating the sense that this film is set in older times (1799) before the date is displayed to the audience. The mise en scene of the costumes and the carriage also allows the audience to gain the old fashioned feel to the era in which it is set.
   The audience that Tim Burton directed this film because it includes his artistic style of his filmography and they can relate to his previous films while watching this one. To conclude, this research of this film opening has allowed me to expand my knowledge into the sound effects that would be successful in using in my film opening and how lighting and sound has a great impact on what we as an audience watch.

Blade (1998) - Action/Fantasy/Horror

During the researching process, I thought that it would be appropriate to look at a range of certificated films in order to see if they have any conventions to the genre and which ones corresponded with each classification. Therefore, I looked at the film opening scene of Blade (1998) to see the difference between this 18 film and the 12 film The Brothers Grimm (2005).   The film opening scene of Blade is very clever because it introduces the villains to the audience right from the very start (the vampires) using horror and shock factors in order to bring the audience into the film. The main persona of this scene (a young male) is lead into what the audience believe is a slaughter house and the male is slightly confused on why he is lead there. The mise en scene in the slaughter house appears to show bodies being carried in the bags and not farm meat which along with his reaction creates uncertainty and foreshadowing for the audience because they know that something cruel will happen to this man.
   When they both go into the main scene location the audience see what appears to be a party/club scene where a lot of young people are raving to music – therefore making the music diegetic in the narrative because the it is part of the narrative sphere of the film. The music used is modern and brings the scene together because it is combining folklore (the vampires) with modern elements to draw the audience into the situation.
   Lighting is used in order to intensify the situation and also to convey the modern twist because of the strobe lighting picking out the characters’ expressions and the effect of everyone’s faces going from light to dark continuously – maybe representing the people of looking human and normal but are actually have a dark side to them; their vampirism.
   The horror genre is introduced to the scene when the sprinklers overhead start to release ‘blood’ out to the vampires and the main persona (the man) is stunned by their behaviour and the cinematography helps the audience to know his distress because of the close-up shots used of him and the vampires surrounding him. Because the blood is used, the audience know about vampires and their relationship with blood and so understand the situation with just this use of symbolism.
   In terms of the typography used, the style of the titles are simplistic and are bold, enabling them to stand out to the audience while they are still watching the scene behind them. The use of the red font colour also has connotations to danger and lust – which is a common theme throughout folklore involving vampirism.
   Marvel Entertainment (one of the production companies of the film), have been very successful in creating films from comic series and because the audience were probably aware of the character Blade from the comics and had a background knowledge on the characters, it draws the audience into the scene to when the main persona of the film Blade appears and defeats all of the vampires; which also creates the fantasy and action genre because of the conventions of vampires and fighting being involved in the scene.
   The audience for this text is aimed to be over 18s because of the classification of the film being an 18. Therefore, the audience should intentionally have been created for over 18 year olds, unless one detail in the film was looked in greater detail and classified it as an 18. Because of the horror and fantasy genre combined, it should be aimed at younger adults (18-25) but could appeal to an older audience also because of the action elements to the film. The uses and gratifications theory can be applied to this film because the audience being 18-25 for example, could suggest that they watch Marvel Comic films in order to divert from their lives – a way of escaping life and enjoy watching someone else have the tougher time than them – which can be used simultaneously with the entertainment aspect in order to attract the audience into the narrative.
   Overall, by looking at this film and looking at The Brothers Grimm (2005), I know that there are different ways of approaching the genre in order to achieve the entertainment value of the film for the audience and that also different techniques can be used in order to approach the narrative without having to use the bad language and violence aspects to make it suitable for an older audience – the intertextuality to folklore for instance.

The Brothers Grimm (2005) - Adventure/Comedy/Fantasy

At the beginning of the film The Brothers Grimm (2005), the audience are immediately introduced to one of the traditional Brothers Grimm stories in order to place the audience into the folklore. Iconography is used because the audience associate ‘magic beans’ with the folktale Jack and the Beanstalk and so have background knowledge on the plotline and an idea of the narrative just because of this symbolism. The mise en scene used in the opening scene is of a poor family’s house and this is shown by the minimalistic furniture included in the room. Also, it is snowing outside which has connotations to innocence (showing that the family are not intentionally poor because their sister is sick and needs treatment). Moreover, snow has connotations to death because of the winter season killing plants and animals due to the cold – which could suggest that the sister could be dying.
    The music used is soft and has a saddened tone to it in order to show that there is something wrong with the sister and that she needs help by her brother selling their cow and collecting money for a doctor. After the scene, the music livens and it the tone is changed to a pirate/fantasy theme; which could suggest that there will be some magical aspect to the film or will include forgery/criminals. Sources of light are mainly from the candle and window in order to pick out the shadows and set the mood of the room. The mood shown is dim and this ties in with the snow and the connotations to death and gloom.
   Cinematography is used well in the scene because long-shots and mid-shots are mostly being used and this creates the idea of them being small compared to the rest of the world. The only close-ups that are used are to show the important details of the narrative in this scene – for instance, the magic beans and the wooden horse that they use for firewood, in order to pick out the main details but showing the minimal quality of their lives as well.
   The genre of fantasy is incorporated through the use of the folklore aspects (such as the magic beans) and this intertextuality enables the audience to relate to their childhood and be more involved in the narrative. Intertextuality is used throughout the film in order to allow the audience to use their previous knowledge of The Brothers Grimm tales and add their own twist to it.
   Dimension Films (one of the production companies of this film) have created an impact on the film because they have produced many of the popular films such as Scary Movie, Scream, Spy Kids and some of the later Halloween films. This means that the USA based company have added their own culture and influence into the Germany original stories, which widens the audience to overseas and makes the humour entertaining for a larger audience.
   Because the film is a 12, the audience can intentionally be younger because it only contains some moments in the film when horror and violence are used. Because of the fantasy and adventure genre of the film, escapism can be created for the audience (uses and gratifications theory) and an older audience can be present because of the humour and comedy aspect of the film.
   The main aspect of this research was the idea that I could use intertextuality of the many folktales in my introduction in order to bring the audience into the narrative and familiarise them of the more famous tales (such as Snow White).