The Genie is a fictional character and a protagonist from the Disney animated movie Aladdin, as well as related series and sequels.
Like most popular depictions of genies, Disney Genie was originally a slave. Though he possessed "phenomenal cosmic powers", he was bound to an "itty-bitty living space" and could only use his powers when the owner of the lamp (his master) made a wish; he occasionally does things without granting a wish, but never anything that greatly affects the world around him. He is also bound by 3 laws; He can't kill anyone, he can't make people fall in love and he can't revive the dead. It is possible, however, that he can do the third one, but that, as he puts it; "It's not a pretty picture. I don't like doing it!". Each master has three such wishes, and cannot exceed this amount by wishing for more wishes. The lamp came into the possession of the character Aladdin during the course of the first film, and he remained in servitude until Aladdin used his third and final wish to grant Genie his freedom at the end of the film.

This character is similar to Jewel the genie in our sequence.

Ben's Mystical Box Video

This is the final video of our AS Childrens Film
We are pleased with the video, given the amount of time we had to make and edit it.
There are a few minor faults with the video, that we would improve if given more time;
-Some of the voice over/soundtrack is not always 100% in sync with the video.
- We could have edited the brightness and contrast if given more time
Overall we are all very pleased with the outcome of the video and have enjoyed making it.

BEN'S MYSTICAL BOX

TO CLARIFY THE TITLE OF OUR CHILDREN'S FILM SEQUENCE IS 'BEN MYSTICAL BOX'.

STARRING : LONDIE NCUBE AND BEN SHIMMENS

CAMERA WORK : LEWIS SHEPHERD

SOUND EDITING : ALEX IRVINE

DIRECTED BY : BEN SHIMMENS

EDITED BY : BEN SHIMMENS & LEWIS SHERPERD

SOUDNTRACK MADE BY : LONDIE NCUBE & ALEX IRVINE

Voice Over - Ben's Mystical Box

We decided to do a voice over for our film as it didn't have a lot of narrative in it and this would make it easier to understand. We used a microphone to record the voice over. We had no difficulties doing this although when it came to editing it was hard making sure everything was in sync. The purpose of the voice over was to tell a story to the audience and to connect with the viewers. It was also so the audience were not confused by the sequence and they were up to date about what was happening. There is not a lot of speech in the sequence because it gives a sense mystery and we thought it would relate to children more. Overall we were happy with the voice over but we cut it at some points because it was lengthy and we thought it was too dominant.

Analysis of Flushed Away

The opening sequence starts with an introduction to the main character. The mood and atmosphere is cheerful. You can tell from this opening sequence that it is a children's film. The film is created using stop motion but is continuous and maintains a flowing sequence throughout. In the sequence there are quick shot changes and some techniques are repeated throughout the sequence. These include pan shots and zooming out of a shot. All events are in chronological order so it is not confusing to the audience which is ideal as it is a children's film. The audience is introduced to a setting at the start of the film and it is maintained throughout the opening sequence and we get to know it quite well which indicates that it is a key setting for the film. It's a short opening sequence but very effective. I think it will help our group with our sequence because it gives away that it is a children's film and effectively introduces the key setting and characters to the audience which is what we need to do. It is a fun film to watch, with voice casts including Kate Winslet, Hugh Jackman, & Ian McKellen, it is nice to see the little touches for the adults to

Link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5N_TnsREXo

Analysing an opening sequence of a film.

The film sequence I have decided to analyse is Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging. I chose this particular film because I think it has a lot of camera shots and angles throughout. I analysed the opening titles.

Camera shots
It starts off with the main character walking down the road with the camera looking at her dad driving so all you can see of her is shoulders to middle; through the driver’s window. This shot is called a two shot because there are two people in the shot, even though you can’t see her face.
As it moves on, she enters a house where a fancy dress party is happening and as soon as she walks in, the other characters perform a reaction shot because of what she is wearing.
She walks through the room on a medium shot, this way you can see her reaction as well as the people around her’s reaction.
When she is by her friends there is a mixed range of shots: over shoulder – when there is a disagreement between the friends and then there is a close up when the main character gets upset. She runs out of the house and it flashes from a medium to long to extreme long shot, as she runs the whole way home.

Sound
There isn’t really a lot of sound, apart from when she is running home and as she is doing so, a song is played. There are the odd sound effects like people talking and laughing, or cars honking. Also the setting as she is running home is a seaside so you occasionally hear bird noises or waves etc.

Mise - en –Scene
The setting of the opening, is a row of houses, this is when she is walking along side the car. The lighting for this scene is natural, because it was outside, although there may have been a bit of editing because the weather might have been bad.

The setting of the party is a room in a house. There are people sat on sofa’s/ stood up in fancy dress; which means there would be a multitude of different costumes, there is food and drink on tables so the lighting could be either artificial or natural depending on if there was a light on. It wasn’t very clear.

As she is running home along Eastbourne pier in an olive costume, there are old people sat, staring and laughing at her on benches. The lighting is bright and sunny therefore natural.

Editing
I think throughout the entire film there would have been editing, because the weather wouldn’t have always been bright so they might of edited colour into the sky.

At the end of the titles there is a shot where Georgia (main character) storms off to her room upset, and it flashes back and forth to her dad clearing up the stamped-on olive costume. This is called parallel editing.
I also think that there is a lot of continuity (invisible) editing because the title sequence is very linked, there is no obvious editing done, that you can immediately see of.

In conclusion I think that the range of techniques used in this film sequence, really interlinks well with each other, therefore creating a smooth, straight run through of the opening titles.

Script for Childrens film - Ben's Mystical Box

Beginning -
Ben was 11 years old and clueless of the world. He was a happy boy. Ben loved the outdoors, he loved the fresh air, the blooming flowers, full of life and the sound of the wind blowing through the trees. Ben's woodland walk was his favorite place.

Woodland Walk - Ben was curious of the wonderful treasures of life. He was determined to learn something new every day. This day Ben was sure that he would discover something new, and he was right.

Finding of the box - Ben's discovery of the the box would take him on an adventure he never thought possible. Part of him was just being a kid when he got into the box, but another part of him was sure that there was more to it. When he found the box to be magical he was astonished but more confused and everything seemed a blur. Ben was left with no answers.

Corridor - Ben just wanted someone to explain what had gone on. He was stranded in a deserted school. This is where Jewel comes into the story.

*This was a draft script and we used as a guideline for the voice over and it helped us know what we needed to say but the actual script is quite different and more continuous and flowing.

Ideas for Opening Sequence

Ideas for opening sequence:

First Idea:
This idea would start off by giving the viewer an idea of horror with a main character running through a forest. This would then flashback and start telling the story, changing the mood to happy and relaxed. There would be four main characters as children in the film and the genre would be adventure.

Second Idea:
This idea would involve doing some sort of parody of the Ghostbusters. We would be running through the school with supersoakers attached to backpacks in the form of guns. We haven't really developed this idea, but thought it might make a good opening sequence for a funny children's film.

Third Idea:
Our third idea was along the lines of having a board game such as Monopoly, come to life and make imaginary creatures chase us around the school. Once again, this idea has not been fully developed so we are not 100% on it, but thought this would be another funny idea for a children's film.

Storyboard Viewing

Storyboards:

As a group we watched Back to the Future to help improve our story boarding. After watching a short opening sequence of the film we had to storyboard it. This helped us to understand what type of shots we would need to use in a storyboard plan.

We took down notes, on the sound, camera shots, character movement and the significant images. After that we used the information we had obtained from the sequence and split it into significant sections using a story board planner.

Storyboard 1:











Storyboard 2:

What is a Children's Film?:

A children's film is a film that is made specifically for the viewing of under twelves. This means that the content of the film has to very mild and suitable for children. The film has to be appropriate and clearly separate from a family or teenagers film. This means that the film has to be classified as a U or PG film.






What is a U Certificate?
A U film is suitable for everyone, specifically anyone over the age of four. This sort of film should not have any horror in, but if it has, this should be corrected immediatly with something reassuring. There should be no discrimination or drugs, horror should be infrequent and language should be very mild. There should only be natural nudity and mild sexual behaviour, e.g. mild kissing.



What is a PG Certificate?
A PG film stands for parental guidance, this means that a child can watch a film with their parent's consent. The film should not disturb anyone around the age of 8 or older. Discrimination cannot be used unless for historical or educational purposes, Horror should not last for long and sexual reference can be implied in the way of an innuendo.



What is the BBFC?
The BBFC stands for the British Board of Film Classification.They are an independent and a non-governmental body. It is the organisation legally responsible fro film classification in the United Kingdom. They are responsible for the current certificates like PG,U and 12 etc.

Analysis of Lemony Snicket

Characters
Viewers are mislead by being introduced to elves who do not play a part in the film. We are mislead to believe they are the main characters when in fact they are not integral to the storyline. The sudden change from the elves to the actual storyline unsettles the viewers, giving them an uneasy atmosphere.
We are then introduced to the three main characters, who are given a personal profile, which informs the viewer more about the characters. This makes the audience feel they can relate to the characters and the situation they are in. The children also gain sympathy from the audience at this point

Narrative/Themes
The main themes addressed in the opening sequence are; Family, Love, Sadness and Loss, Tragedy and Searching for Truth. There is also a dark and forbidding atmosphere throughout the opening sequence. It makes the audience feel uneasy and unsettles them. The sequence leaves us asking questions about what is to come. This makes the viewer want to stay and watch the rest of the film.

Hello

Hi

We are studying Media AS and our current project is the opening sequence of a children's film.

Firstly there is Ben .. the guy with the glasses
Alex .. the mute
Lewis, we don't know what he is
Londie, yeah well... enough said really

We are going to make the best children's opening sequence in the history of Long Road Media. Ever. Fact! :)