Evaluation

Clueless film evaluation:

Conventions of a film opening	Codes used to convey this convention (e.g. technical, symbolic, written)
The Hook!	technical - camera techniques,
Set the scene (time? Setting?)	symbolic Driving through the street>mall>pool>party scenes suggests its a teen age life comedy movie.
Introduce characters	symbolic and technical - (clothing, objects, setting) When they show each character individually, they present their lifestyle, how they dress and what they like in different scenes with various of camera angles.
Introduce the genre	written - (language style, colours) Showed with the place setting, characters, colours (bright and mostly warm) and atmosphere.All seemed more like a happy scenes more than dark creepy as would be seen in a horror movie so audience can recognise it is a comedy film.
Credits
Narrative

Conventions and codes

Conventions in the case of media texts are generally accepted patterns of code that communicate a particular message. 

There are general conventions such as the use of quotes in a print article, but conventions are also genre specific. For example, in Westerns fights scenes are generally shot from a low angle, the setting is usually dusty and desolate, and even the sounds used within the scene are conventional, such as castanets, or some sort of whistle.

Codes:

There are three categories of codes that may be used to convey meanings in media messages:

TECHNICAL CODES, which include camera techniques, framing, depth of field, Mise en scene, editing,  lighting and sound;

SYMBOLIC CODES, which refer to objects, setting, body language, clothing and colour.

WRITTEN CODES in the form of headlines, captions, speech bubbles and language style.

The purpose of an film opening is to interest the audience and get them into watching the film. The opening should also establish the genre and characters, it can be done in many different ways.

How codes and conventions apply in media studies

Codes and conventions are used together in any study of genre – it is not enough to discuss a technical code used such as camera work, without saying how it is conventionally used in a genre.

For example, the technical code of lighting is used in some way in all film genres. It is a convention of the horror genre that side and back lighting is used to create mystery and suspense – an integral part of any horror movie.

Main exercise

The title and opening of a new fiction film, to last at least 2 minutes.

preliminary exercise

The plan was to try using the 3 different camera shots, these were 180 degree rule, shot/reverse shot and match on action.
As our first try it wasn't as bad but sure there was a lot of editing. To improve ourselves for next time I think we should correct on zooming in and out and try different angles. The main 3 camera shots weren't that bad but they need to be worked on.

180 degree rule

It’s a basic rule that means that two characters should always have the same left and right relationship to each other. When a camera crosses the ‘axis’ connecting to two subjects it is called ‘crossing the line’. The new shot is called the reverse angle. 

Shot/reverse shot

Shot reverse shot (or shot/countershot) is a film technique where one character is shown looking at another character (often off-screen), and then the other character is shown looking back at the first character. Since the characters are shown facing in opposite directions, the viewer assumes that they are looking at each other.

Match on action

Match on action is a very simple but essential technique, where the perspective of the camera changes during a scene and the scene continues to flow. A good example of 'Match on action' is between 2 and 3 seconds. The perspective changes while the scene still flows without any disruption. A match on action is a technique used in a film editing, it connects two different views of the same action at the same moment in the movement.

Preliminary exercise:

Produce a continuity exercise which involves a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, whom they exchange a couple of lines of dialogue. The task should demonstrate:

• Match on action
• Shot/reverse shot
• 180 degree rule