Film institutions | Dreamworks Animation

When researching different film institutions, I decided to look at 'Dreamworks Animation'. I chose to look at this because I love all of the films 'Dreamworks' made and I thought it would be an interesting institution to look at.

The founders of 'Dreamworks Animation' are Steven Spielberg, Jeffery Katzenberg and David Geffen. 'Dreamworks Animation' is an American animation studio that creates animated feature films, television programs and online virtual worlds. 'Dreamworks Animation' is used to “create high-quality entertainment”. 'Dreamworks' make CG animated feature films, television specials, series and live entertainment properties that are meant for different audiences around the world. The company holds world-class creative talent, a strong and experienced management team and advanced filmmaking technology and techniques. 'Dreamworks Animation' has been named one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” by ‘FORTUNE Magazine’ for years in a row. All of 'Dreamworks Animation’s feature films are produced in 3D. They have released total of 27 animated feature films in the cinemas. This is including the franchise properties of ‘Shrek’, ‘Madagascar’, ‘Kung Fu Panda’, ‘How to Train Your Dragon’, ‘Puss In Boots’ and ‘The Croods’.

'Dreamworks Animation' has made a total of 27 feature films, and they have made $11 billion worldwide, with an $430 million average gross which is higher than other studios. 'Shrek 2', 'Shrek the Third' and 'Shrek Forever After' are three of the 50 highest-grossing films of all time, with 'Shrek 2' being the fourth all-time highest. Earlier, 'Dreamworks Animation' created traditionally-animated films, but now all of their films are created through computer-animation. The studio has received 2 Academy Awards along with a numerous amount of Annie and Emmy Awards, as well as receiving multiple Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations.

Conventions in an opening scene | Horror Movies

There are many different conventions that are found in different opening scenes in different movie genres. I have chosen to make my movie in the genre of a horror movie, so I did a little research on what different type of conventions are found in an opening scene of a horror movie. Here some of the conventions that are used:

• Institutional Logo ->

• An institutional logo is the company that created, directed and produced the movie. 
• Before the movie actually begins you see the logo of the company appear on the screen.
• In movies they sometimes use the music that comes with the logo, but in horror movies they tend to use the same dramatic music that is used in the opening scene to make it more intense.
• A few examples of institutional companies for any genre are 'Dreamworks Animation', 'Pixar', 'Disney', 'Paramount', etc.
• A few examples of institutional companies for the horror genre are '20th Century Fox', 'Warner Brothers', 'Universal', 'Lionsgate', 'Hammer'.

• Film Title ->
• Every film shows the title of that film somewhere in the opening scene.
• In some films it's shown before any footage of the film is shown.
• In some films it's shown after the footage has been shown.
• In horror films, I think it is more effective to show the title after the opening scene footage has been shown because it's keep the viewer keen to watch the film.
• Sometimes the title has got a graphical design to it, which means that they have the title moving or objects flying around it.
• For example; 'The Butterfly Effect'.

• Dramatic Music ->
• Every horror film has some kind of dramatic music.
• Some films use music that is quite low pitched, deep and loud.
• Other films use music that is quite high pitched and quiet.
• Some films don't use music all the time.
• It's good to have a little bit or a lot of silence in a film to build tension and to make the viewer think something bad is going to happen, which it probably is or it isn't.
• There are a lot of different instruments used in a horror movie soundtrack.
• They use a lot of instruments in horror movie soundtracks to make the viewer think a lot is going on and to make the scene a little bit more tense than it already is.
• Here are 15 different horror movie soundtracks:

• Introduction of the Main Characters ->
• Some horror films feel it is necessary to introduce their characters in the film during the opening scene.
• However, some films like the mystery so they don't introduce their characters until the middle of the films.
• Some films don't ever bother introducing their characters and leave the viewers to work it out themselves. 
• This convention doesn't have to be used in every horror film.
• In our horror film, I don't think we will introduce our characters. We will just make sure that they know what the people's names are.

• Credits ->
• Every horror film and any other genre film has credits in the opening scene.
• Whether it's during the actual footage or whether there is a break between the opening scene, there are always credits shown.
• The credits shown are names of the cast members or names of the people that helped create and produce the film.
• Sometimes the credits are animated and sometimes the credits are placed at the bottom of the screen.

• Voice Over ->
• Some films include voice overs in their opening scene to build a lot of tension.
• Also voice overs are used to narrate the scene so the viewer knows what is going on in the scene. 
• Usually voice overs are used in a range of different genres, but in the horror genre, voice overs are usually used to set the scene or tell a back story to the scene.

• Sound Effects ->
• Some films use sound effects in the movie soundtrack to make the music more realistic and make it sound more natural.
• Sound effects that can be used are tree movements or branches rustling.
• Also some other sound effects that can be used are screaming, or laughing.
• Here is a video of some sound effects that are usually used in a horror film.

Planning | Initial Ideas

I have recently started to think of what type of movie genre I want to make. When I am thinking about this, different ideas pop into my head and I jot them down in a notebook. I do this so I won't forget my idea, as it may be a good idea that me and my group would want to use.

When presenting my initial ideas, I decided to present them on prezi.

http://prezi.com/jp2txh5zc3mg/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share

I have now come up with an idea of what type of opening scene my group want to make, so now we need to come together and think more deeply about the plot and what camera shots we will be using.