Rough Cut Survey

After showing members of our target audience our rough cut, we were pleased to see that the majority or our audience scored our film opening either a 4 or 5 out of 5 for effectiveness, this gave us the confidence that our film opening appealed to our target audience.

All of our viewers thought that our film opening was aimed at teenage girls aged 14-18, which is our ideal target audience. Most viewers also thought that the choice of actors and setting was very effective and worked well with the storyline.

We interviewed a 17 year old viewer and asked the same survey questions, this is what she said:


A common topic that was mentioned was our choice of music which is used throughout the opening. Many said it was boring and repetitive and didn't feel like it suited the type of film. Taking this into consideration, we are going to research and find a much more appropriate piece of music.

Credits For Our Film Opening

As part of a film opening you need credits to tell the audience who stars in the film and who helped to make and produce the film. To make our credits look professional we watched other chick flick film openings and analysed how they presented theirs. The film we look at was 'Legally Blonde'.



The makers used a pink swirly font which suits the girly chick flick film well. Whilst watching the opening, we made note of the credits we hadn't heard of such as 'casting by', 'music supervisor' and 'locations manager'. We will incorporate these credits into our film opening to make it seem much more professional.

We decided to use a girly font in white for our credits - the font looks similar to a magazine font.

Last Filming Day

To film the last part of our film opening we went down to our local train station. This filming day was much more stressful as to ensure we get all the shots we want we also had to get on a train, but the train we needed to get on onlt gave us 40 minutes to film everything we needed to. This was a good thing as it made us much more efficient. We also used two cameras again so two people could film different angles and different shot types at the same time. We also didn't want our protagonist's face to be revealed until she's at the office to add mystery, so this was another obstacle we had to watch out for.

We filmed; two establishing shots of the train station, Samantha walking to the station, buying her ticket, walking through the ticket barrier, walking to the platform, getting on the train and her on the train.

For the first establishing shot, we filmed over the bridge; in the frame you can see the station itself and a train on the tracks going under the tunnel. The second, was of a fast train going past, we used a mid shot and stood close to the edge of the platform.

We used a tracking shot following behind Samantha walking towards the station and the second camera used a wide-shot of her walking towards it. We had to retake this shot a few times to ensure Samantha's face wasn't in shot. This camera then panned to show her buying a ticket at the ticket machine. At the machine, we used a zoomed in tilt up, starting from her shoes and stopping at her hand which is using the machine. A zoomed in over the shoulder shot shoes her selecting a ticket to London Marylebone.  We then use a close up shot of Samantha's hand getting the ticket out of the machine.

When Samantha walks through the barrier we used both cameras, one of us filmed her putting the ticket in from behind and I was filming a mid shot from the other side of the barrier and follow her until the stairs in which I stop walking and film her walking down them. The other camera then waited and filmed her from behind coming down the second flight of stairs. I then had to rush down the stairs to the bottom where we filmed a close up of Samantha's shoes walking down the last few steps.

It was very difficult to film Samantha actually getting on the train because someone needed to get on the train and film her getting on and I had to film her getting on but from behind and then get on the train too! Was very stressful but we managed to get the shots we wanted.

On the train we filmed her flicking through a magazine and we saw the opportunity to use an over the shoulder shot.

Overall the day was very stressful but the small time frame allowed us to get the shots we wanted.

Here is the second rough cut of our film opening:

Our Film Opening So Far

After our exciting trip to the BBC, we came back with the footage we wanted for our film opening. We filmed out the window of the train, people walking down the platform at the station, a sign saying 'Welcome to Marylebone' and we filmed people passing us on the escalator.

This is a rough version of what we have filmed already. It still needs editing properly and more needs to be filmed but we wanted to ask family and friends for their opinions on what we have filmed already:

Frame By Frame Analysis

I wanted to find a scene from a film which was similar to at least one aspect of my idea for my chick flick opening. I found a video of a scene from 'The Devil Wears Prada'. In this clip, you see someone coming for a job interview. The place she has come to get a job is in a fashion office. It's a very modern office, buzzing with people. The environment is very similar to what I wish my office scene to be set in.



I have selected frames which use camera shots and miss en scene which I think I can use in my film opening.

Frame One

This is the first frame of the clip above. It shows the main character, Andrea, entering the 'Runway' magazine office, which is very modern and very elegant. This is the type of office I would like to film for my opening.

Frame Two

In the background of this frame you see two 'Runway' magazine covers framed on the wall. This is similar to my idea of having 'Vogue' covers around the office.

Frame Three

This shows Emily (the boss' PA) leading Andrea through the busy office. To the right you can see a clothes rail, I want a clothes rail to feature in my film opening too because it would create verisimilitude giving the impression of a conventional fashion magazine office.

Frame Four

Here we see two people who already work for 'Runway' wearing black. Throughout the whole of the office scene everyone is wearing black. This is a very mature and elegant colour to wear, especially in such a modern establishment like Runway. However Andrea's costume contradicts the ambience of the environment as she is dressed in brown, purple and white. Her outfit is later commented on by the boss saying that Andrea isn't very fashionable and as a fashion magazine, it is important for the workers to wear on-trend clothing.

Frame Five

This is a close up shot of the boss' foot as she gets out the car. This can be seen as a power shot as she has elegant shoes on and is getting out of a fancy car. This is also a cut away shot, however, as the scene quickly cuts from the chaos in the office to the calmness of her getting out the car. For my idea, I want to have a close up shot of the girl's shoes.

Frame Six

A tracking shot is used to film the boss calmly walking into the office, which contradicts what's happening in the office. She walks in a very confident and self assured manner. This is how I will ask my character to walk into the office to deceive the viewer.

Frame Seven

This is a good stereotypical close up shot that is commonly used in chick flicks. Often, a close up of a designer handbag is used. I want to use a close up of an  object similar to a handbag in my opening.

Frame Eight

This is where the boss comes through the lift doors and into the main office. When the doors open, you see her standing there with a stern look on her face and she is clutching a copy of 'Runway" magazine under her arm. When the protagonist is at the train station in my opening, I want her holding Vogue covers.

Frame Nine

This frame finally shows the boss' identity after the frantic build up to her appearance in the office. She is placed in the centre of the frame which is quite an unusual shot to be used. However, it connotes her importance and authority within the narrative. I would ask my actor to pull a similar face when she enters the office to lead the viewer to believe she is of more importance.

Frame 10

In this frame, the boss handed Emily papers and books and we see her struggling to carry them. A frame like this in my opening would be the first time the viewer realises that she isn't as important to the business as we originally thought.

Frame Eleven

This is the first time we see the boss' office. It is a big modern room with simplistic furniture and the main colour used is white. I want the boss' main office in my opening to look like this in my opening.

Frame Twelve

The clip ends with the film title coming across the screen. The black background has a simple elegance and creates synergy with the costumes which are used in the office scene. The word 'devil' is in the colour red, which is usually associated with the devil and evil.  Also, no capital letters are used which gives the impression of informality and it's obvious this isn't a horror film. In my film opening I need to think how the title reflects the film genre. 

Inspirational Film Openings

I have researched chick flick film openings and continuing to look for a similar opening to the one I wish to film myself. One common feature which appears in most chick flick openings is a cut away shot between two narratives which builds up suspense.

Here is the Legally Blonde film opening:



The opening cuts between two different main people; Elle and her best friend. It starts with Elle brushing her hair in her very pink bed room. From the moment the clip starts you know it's a chick flick due to the pink girly environment. The upbeat song which is used in the background has inspired me to use one similar for my opening. I also like how you can hear the characters talking over the music.

Top Camera Shots Used in Chick Flicks

I have researched the most common camera shots used when filming chick flicks, they are:

1. Aerial shot/ Establishing shot - Often used in the opening of the film. This type of shot sets the scene and tells the viewer what type of area it is set e/g the country or city. An example of this is in 'Angus Thongs and Perfect Snogging', the film starts off by panning around the area, for this film it is set near the sea. 
2. Close Up Shot - This is used for showing characters emotions. Particularly useful in chick flicks as they tend to be films full of emotion, often tears are present - whether it's due to happiness or sadness. 
3. High Angle Shot - Used to isolate a character in the frame - could represent sadness and loneliness, as chick flicks are usually to do with love and relationships. Would be good to use if the character is going through a break up. 
4. Shot-Reverse Shot - Used for when two or more people are having a conversation. The camera flips between characters but has to stay in the line with the person's eye so it feels like you, as a viewer, are part of the conversation too. Good for chick flicks as there is often conversations between the main character and others. 
5. Panning Shot - In chick flicks a 'pan' shot can be used to pan across the main character's bedroom, for example. 
6. Point Of View (POV) Shot - Can be used to film the character reading a text message/email/letter that they have received. This is when the viewer sees something as they character would. 
7. Tilt Shot - Where the camera tilts either up or down, usually this type of shot ends the film. Can point up to the sky or to the ground. 
8. Tracking Shot - Used to follow a character when walking. Helpful when they are walking through busy environment. 
9. Zoom Shot - When the camera quickly or slowly zooms into a characters face. Often used quickly when the character has realised something or found out something and the viewer needs to see their shocked face.

Chick Flick Film Conventions

I have created a Prezi to show all the typical chick flick film conventions.