Some feedback that we got when showing our opening was that we didn't have enough titles, we have decided as a group to each look at a film opening and see how many, and for how long titles appear. I decided to look at "Panic Room" and Eric looked at "Scott Pilgrim: "
Panic Room is embedded below
Before any of the film begins, the Iconic "Colombia Pictures" intro is shown. This is the equivalent of our opening shown below. The Colombia Pictures actually lasted a lot longer than I expected, raching a length of almost 20 seconds long. Another title is then shown immediately after of "Colombia Pictures" really reinforcing there brand. Any other producers are then shown each title lasting from 2-4 seconds. After about 10 seconds into the actual opening the main actors names are shown, I assume it is the 4 most important characters as these take up a larger amount of screen than actors shown later on in the opening.
After around 30 seconds into the opening the main title is shown, this is shown for 6 seconds (slightly longer than any other titles). The 5th actor who I assume is important is now the final character to be shown alone. This happens as the entire opening (including the colombia pictures intro) passes the one minute mark, so in this opening all main actors and producers have been shown in the first minute. Once again the actors name is displayed for 4 seconds. The actors now begin appearing as two in each scene (i.e two names one on top of the other) still gaining 4 seconds screen time, 4 more actors are shown this way, all actors names have been displayed by 01:08. The casting, costume designers, film editors e.t.c now begin to be shown each taking exactly 4 seconds screenn time. This is consistent throughout the whole opening and the only thing with any more screen time than 6 seconds is the title.
Monday, 27 February 2012
Sunday, 26 February 2012
Plans for third draft
What we need to improve on..
- We need to refilm the middle scenes as the audiences can't understand what is happening in the scene
- More titles so we need to add in some shots where titles can be added
- Wider range of shot distance's and camera angles
- e.g at the start of the chase scene when Sean reached the canal, we could use a dutch/cant angle to create a feeling of something being wrong
- I feel like we had a majority of medium shots it would be good to shoot a few extreme close ups or extreme wide shots
- A more realistic soundtrack, as opposed to just a constant song we need to add more ambient sound such as footsteps, cars, breathing e.t.c
We will be using http://www.audionetwork.com/ as well as possibly creating some of our own sound effects. We've been thinking about this as a group since before even filming and we have found lots of possible effects already.
- Although it isn't a particular area for improvement we are also going to change the effect of the disappearing effect as we feel that it could add to the opening.
After some previous research into possible teleport effects I mentioned a "Nightcrawler" effect I saw while browsing through YouTube videos, after showing it to the rest of the group we liked the idea and it was a lot simpler than the other teleport effects, yet at the same time seemed to work best with our opening, a link of a short video extract (Edited by Eric) is embedded below of the effect.
Friday, 24 February 2012
Analysys of second draft, with audience feedback.
We showed our second draft to an audience recently (the second draft is embedded below)
"Creative imbedded title ideas"
"Nice story although I had no idea what was going on and was very confused by most thing that happened"
Using titles appropriately. [Felt that title board interupted the general flow of the opening, more titles used and some titles were not displayed for long enough, Titles used are good and some unique ones (license plate)]
The titles that were used we are happy with as a group, there is one title "Jay Ferguson" that does not appear on the screen for long enough and appears rushed.
The following is a list of things that still need to be improved on from the first draft.
Wider range of shot distance's and camera angles
Variance of shot transitions, established from feedback some different transitions other than the blurred transition.
A more realistic soundtrack, as opposed to just a constant song we need to add more ambient sound such as footsteps, cars, breathing e.t.c
Although it isn't a particular area for improvement we are also going to change the effect of the disappearing effect as we feel that it could add to the opening.
Evaluation of first draft: http://goo.gl/NjUhj
Evaluation of first draft
As this draft focuses on typography in the evaluation I will only discuss typography. I was pleased with the titles that were used in the opening, I felt we had a variety of titles but still kept a reocurring theme throughout the opening, we had some unique titles such as the name of an actor appearing on the license plate of a car. We need to increase the number of titles in the scene. I did try and implement more titles into the opening but due to a lack of shots in which to place titles we could not add many. This means that we need to add in some scenes, when filming if we consider titles while choosing where and when to film from then we can add many more titles into the scene. I plan on analysing a real text to see the number of titles in a real film opening and at what times these titles are placed in the scene and to gain some inspiration of scenes we can film to add titles into.
Feedback from audience.
"Nice fonts"
"Wasn’t able to read it said sean kim on the number plate."
We are considering adding a flare to the license plate to highlight the title
"Creative imbedded title ideas"
"Nice story although I had no idea what was going on and was very confused by most thing that happened"
This is an issue that we are aware of, after we have refilmed the middle of the opening we hope that this will no longer be an issue.
In comparison to the mark scheme, and Mr. Wroe's feedback.
Due to the rest of the mark scheme being covered in my previous evaluation of our first draft and the only thing that has changed from the previous draft, to see the previous comparison to other areas of the markscheme I have provided a link to the evaluation of our first draft, at the end of this blogpost, this contains all other areas of the markscheme.Using titles appropriately. [Felt that title board interupted the general flow of the opening, more titles used and some titles were not displayed for long enough, Titles used are good and some unique ones (license plate)]
The titles that were used we are happy with as a group, there is one title "Jay Ferguson" that does not appear on the screen for long enough and appears rushed.
What we need to improve on..
- We need to refilm the middle scenes as the audiences can't understand what is happening in the scene
- More titles so we need to add in some shots where titles can be added
The following is a list of things that still need to be improved on from the first draft.
- e.g at the start of the chase scene when Sean reached the canal, we could use a dutch/cant angle to create a feeling of something being wrong
- I feel like we had a majority of medium shots it would be good to shoot a few extreme close ups or extreme wide shots
Evaluation of first draft: http://goo.gl/NjUhj
Teleport effect
In our film we are planning on using a more advanced teleport effect than the current one, which is just a simple fade away, a possible technique we could be using is the one seen in Harry Potter, a tutorial that shows how this is done is embedded below..
Alternatively we could use the effect used below in "Jumper"
Another possible effect I found when browsing through YouTube, was the effect used in a recent "X-Men" film a link is embedded below.
Alternatively we could use the effect used below in "Jumper"
Another possible effect I found when browsing through YouTube, was the effect used in a recent "X-Men" film a link is embedded below.
Wednesday, 1 February 2012
On Monday our group met at Erics house and began to finalise the 2nd draft for presenting the following day, the main focus of the day was to create typography for the main title of the film placed on the top of a title board, we originally had three fonts planned for this title, however unfortunately after effects (the program we were creating the title board on) was not compatible with these fonts. So we had to search for another similar font with the capability to be used in our editing software, the following is a brief walkthrough of how the title board and title was created (editing primarily done by Eric Hesselbo and assisted by myself).
The image on the left shows the After effects work behind the title. This features two lens flares, floating particles floating vertically and camera movements. All of these help to create the atmosphere needed to help to sell the effect.
This image shows the initial text. The text flies in from the screen and begins to rotate in the position of seen in the screenshot. The text is 3D and created in Cinema 4D. the lighting on the scene is created by the global illumination added which creates the reflections of the alpha channel scene which is not present in its surroundings.



Sunday, 29 January 2012
Future of blog/project.
Our second draft is due to be presented this Tuesday (31st of January), after this I will make a blog post publishing the results and what needs to change for our next draft. Our next draft which is due in on the 6th March will be the alterations of the middle of the opening, we will refilm the scenes from (01:05 - 01:48)
We also plan on changing the teleport scene at (02:06 and 02:12) in order for this to run smoothly I have planned on testing out some possible options of effects we could use for this teleport. We may also begin recording/editing together our sound board for the final film (due in 20th March) however we want to be completely happy with the visual section of the film opening before moving onto audio as a lot of the audio will of course be dictated by what is seen on screen.
Second draft presentation.
We have made our second edit and have included typography within this one, we have made a prezi together as a group, with the "edit together" feature. Overall I am pleased with the results and I will make a more detailed blog post of the results of our presentation/draft once I have audience feedback. Our project is near to a final product, left remaining is to add a full soundboard with ambient/diegetic sounds, and touch up on the effects within the film (this includes some refilming for the scenes in the middle that we're not happy with and want to redo)
The embedded links below follow to a YouTube video of our second draft and our presentation which we will be showing to our audience on Tuesday.
The embedded links below follow to a YouTube video of our second draft and our presentation which we will be showing to our audience on Tuesday.
Sunday, 15 January 2012
Second draft plan.
We have decided to meet as a group next week to re-edit our video after establishing what we need to change. We have decided to change as few variables as possible for each draft while still covering all improvements that need to be made, this way we feel that both ourselves and audiences can concentrate purely on one aspect an whether it has been improved, for the second draft we have decided to purely focus on typography, we chose to do this first as it may affect the sound, however the sound will probably not affect the typography, I have decided to do some extra research into different fonts that could be used, I think we should have three different but similar fonts. One for the title (Missing) and the ending credits, one for cast members and possibly if necessary a third for the ending credits, however we want to uphold a continuity within the film and the whole of our project.
Possible title fonts/end/opening creditsAs well as the actual font we have to decide on how to display the text, whether we have it within the scene or a title board and depending on that decision whereabouts in the opening and what to have on the title board.
Here are some possible fonts:
Charons Obol
Night Bird dafont
Plane Crash dafont
Possible cast fonts
For our cast fonts we wanted to go for a really simple and clean looking font, we decided to just look through some of the default fonts already installed onto the computer as we didn't want anything too complicated for this, we decided that for the majority of the cast the font will just be displayed overlayed on top of the scene. We also decided that we could use a car driving past for a possible place to put in a cast members name. We will use the license plate and make the registration number be the cast members name.
As our full length film will have more characters than those displayed in the opening, we put the names of the actors that would appear later on in the film. As well as just having the fonts overlay on top of the scene when possible we will also insert the typography within the scene, so as to make it look as though it is positioned within the scene as a sign or in another form (an example of this is the license plate)
Possible title fonts/end/opening creditsAs well as the actual font we have to decide on how to display the text, whether we have it within the scene or a title board and depending on that decision whereabouts in the opening and what to have on the title board.
Here are some possible fonts:
Charons Obol
Night Bird dafont
Plane Crash dafont
Possible cast fonts
For our cast fonts we wanted to go for a really simple and clean looking font, we decided to just look through some of the default fonts already installed onto the computer as we didn't want anything too complicated for this, we decided that for the majority of the cast the font will just be displayed overlayed on top of the scene. We also decided that we could use a car driving past for a possible place to put in a cast members name. We will use the license plate and make the registration number be the cast members name.
As our full length film will have more characters than those displayed in the opening, we put the names of the actors that would appear later on in the film. As well as just having the fonts overlay on top of the scene when possible we will also insert the typography within the scene, so as to make it look as though it is positioned within the scene as a sign or in another form (an example of this is the license plate)
First draft analasys, with feedback.
Evaluation of first draft,
Overall I was pleased with how all the clips linked together, I thought there was a really good flow to the film opening and for the majority of the time I think that the audience could follow what was happening throughout the opening, the shots all linked together and there was good continuity; this was a worry when we were filming. However we went back and reshot some linking shots between the running. I also think that there are a few establishing shots that may not be needed (01:18). The final point I think we can improve on (without comparison to the mark scheme) is that while watching it I feel that it didn't feel like watching a film opening, it looked more like a music video with the continual music over the background. We have discussed this as a group and for the next edit we plan to focus a lot more on the soundtrack.Feedback from audience.
"I love the moments in it like when Sean puts his headphones in.I think you could probably use some other shot transitions because at the moment it sometimes seems like you use that blurred transition a little too much."
"You could add more sound effects."
"You could add more sound effects."
"I liked your video a lot!!!"
"All the shots were steady and the continuity was very effective. The soundtrack was good and it faded in and out nicely. I liked it when time passed by and you sped it up, however sometimes the shots stuttered."
"Would've liked more ambient sound to create atmosphere and build tension"
In comparison to the mark scheme, and Mr. Wroe's feedback.
Holding shot steady. - [Generally excellent]
I think that the majority of shots fulfill this area of the mark scheme, the only one in which I can see any problem with the steadiness of the shot is the scene 1:04-1:14, however I don't think that this is a big problem and even if we re-shot the scene (which we may do) it may not make a huge difference as it is so hard to get a completely steady shot while moving with the camera (without the use of equipment we don't own). Other than this scene and the point of view shots (where the camera is meant to be shaky and unsteady) every scene is very steady.
Framing shot appropriately. [Many excellent examples, didn't like ECU of the clothing]
I think some scenes may need to be refilmed for our final edit, particularly the start of the chase scene, some audiences asked me to explain this part as they didn't understand it so I think we need to refilm it to make sure it is clear what is happening (I also think that sound will help aid this)
Variety of shot distances. [Much excellence and variety]
I believe there were enough shot distances, perhaps more extreme close ups/ extreme long shots would add to the variety however I don't think this is vital as we already have a wide range.
Appropriate material to task. [Excellent, feels like a journey to an unfamiliar town]
As I mentioned earlier I think that the only material that didn't work was in the middle starting with the establishing shots at (01:18) I think that it seems as though the main character starts running for no reason.
Selecting mise-en-scรจne. [Excellent use of urban mise en scene]
I felt all shots mise-en-scenes linked together and it felt as though they were in the same place adding to the continuity.
Editing for meaning to viewer. [Excellent editing. Still some room for improvement but very encouraging indeed]
I thought that although the majority of the opening (particularly the start) is edited together well I thought that it became confusing in the middle of the opening,
Varied shot transitions, captions and other effects. [The sped up footage while he is sat on bench is excellent, so are the disappearing effects towards the end of the opening, brilliant use of bus handle for transition]
Although there was little variety in shot transition which is an area for improvement, I thought the transition mentioned by Mr Wroe worked very well, once again we had no typography in this draft so the captions can't be considered. As for effects we plan on changing the disappearing effect.
Use of sound with images and editing. [Some improvement on sound needed felt the track was appropriate but more diegetic sound]
I don't think that the soundtrack worked very well in this opening as there was no ambient sound, this was confirmed with audience feedback as audiences said they felt that more ambient sound was needed. Also the only dialogue in the scene cannot be heard very well and is cut off by the music at the end.
Using titles appropriately.
Variety of shot distances. [Much excellence and variety]
I believe there were enough shot distances, perhaps more extreme close ups/ extreme long shots would add to the variety however I don't think this is vital as we already have a wide range.
Appropriate material to task. [Excellent, feels like a journey to an unfamiliar town]
As I mentioned earlier I think that the only material that didn't work was in the middle starting with the establishing shots at (01:18) I think that it seems as though the main character starts running for no reason.
Selecting mise-en-scรจne. [Excellent use of urban mise en scene]
I felt all shots mise-en-scenes linked together and it felt as though they were in the same place adding to the continuity.
Editing for meaning to viewer. [Excellent editing. Still some room for improvement but very encouraging indeed]
I thought that although the majority of the opening (particularly the start) is edited together well I thought that it became confusing in the middle of the opening,
Varied shot transitions, captions and other effects. [The sped up footage while he is sat on bench is excellent, so are the disappearing effects towards the end of the opening, brilliant use of bus handle for transition]
Although there was little variety in shot transition which is an area for improvement, I thought the transition mentioned by Mr Wroe worked very well, once again we had no typography in this draft so the captions can't be considered. As for effects we plan on changing the disappearing effect.
Use of sound with images and editing. [Some improvement on sound needed felt the track was appropriate but more diegetic sound]
I don't think that the soundtrack worked very well in this opening as there was no ambient sound, this was confirmed with audience feedback as audiences said they felt that more ambient sound was needed. Also the only dialogue in the scene cannot be heard very well and is cut off by the music at the end.
Using titles appropriately.
No titles were used so this is obviously a large area for improvement.
What we need to improve on..
- Wider range of shot distance's and camera angles
- e.g at the start of the chase scene when Sean reached the canal, we could use a dutch/cant angle to create a feeling of something being wrong
- I feel like we had a majority of medium shots it would be good to shoot a few extreme close ups or extreme wide shots
- Variance of shot transitions, established from feedback some different transitions other than the blurred transition.
- A more realistic soundtrack, as opposed to just a constant song we need to add more ambient sound such as footsteps, cars, breathing e.t.c
- Although it isn't a particular area for improvement we are also going to change the effect of the disappearing effect as we feel that it could add to the opening.
Thursday, 8 December 2011
Analysis of AS media film opening.
The embedded link is another film opening made by other Media Studies students. I will be analysing and comparing the opening to the mark scheme.
Holding shot steady.
The majority of the scenes were filmed with a steady shot, however the beginning shot as the cameraman walks towards the character when he is laid down does shake quite a lot as he moves forwards.
Framing shot appropriately.
All shots felt like the right distance away and included a lot of the scene, thought this was done well.
Variety of shot distances.
By making the beginning shot slowly draw in closer they already have a variety of shot distances with this one long flowing scene (especially as character walks away) flashbacks add to this to make even more shot distances.
Appropriate material to task.
All material felt appropriate and as though they were parts of a film opening.
Selecting mise-en-scรจne.
I felt that the beginning scene could have been better selected as it didn't seem to link with the flashbacks, perhaps simply by adding some props that were visible in flashbacks also would have helped in that scene. However other scenes did have appropriate mise en scene with a lot of them linking together (train tracks theme) and scene under railway bridge was good with graffiti behind.
Editing for meaning to viewer.
I thought this scene was edited very well, the scene easily played with continuity and it was obvious to the viewer that we were seeing glimpses or flashbacks of the night/day before. The order of the scenes worked perfectly how it switched through many flashbacks before returning to main character and music returning to normal.
Varied shot transitions, captions and other effects.
Only shot transition was just a simple cut and then the next scene played often cutting between one or two before returning to original shot, not much variation. Two different types of font and only true effect I noticed was the scene playing backwards. I felt this contributed towards the scene and the lack of effects enhanced the part where the music and images were playing backwards.
Use of sound with images and editing.
I thought that the editing in this film opening was really good, the way it started with almost no editing whatsoever really made me feel as the audience that I was seeing this scene in front of me, and the effect of making the music go backwards as the film does to represent the character recalling previous events is a really original and effective technique.
Using titles appropriately.
I feel the film opening uses a very realist approach, the whole scene appears realistic and believable and not out of the ordinary, I think that the titles accompany this and therefore a direct link between the titles and the rest of the opening are linked and work very well together. In the final scene as the character walks away a very distinctive font is also used to repeat the directors name which draws particular attention towards the director.
Variety of shot distances.
By making the beginning shot slowly draw in closer they already have a variety of shot distances with this one long flowing scene (especially as character walks away) flashbacks add to this to make even more shot distances.
Appropriate material to task.
All material felt appropriate and as though they were parts of a film opening.
Selecting mise-en-scรจne.
I felt that the beginning scene could have been better selected as it didn't seem to link with the flashbacks, perhaps simply by adding some props that were visible in flashbacks also would have helped in that scene. However other scenes did have appropriate mise en scene with a lot of them linking together (train tracks theme) and scene under railway bridge was good with graffiti behind.
Editing for meaning to viewer.
I thought this scene was edited very well, the scene easily played with continuity and it was obvious to the viewer that we were seeing glimpses or flashbacks of the night/day before. The order of the scenes worked perfectly how it switched through many flashbacks before returning to main character and music returning to normal.
Varied shot transitions, captions and other effects.
Only shot transition was just a simple cut and then the next scene played often cutting between one or two before returning to original shot, not much variation. Two different types of font and only true effect I noticed was the scene playing backwards. I felt this contributed towards the scene and the lack of effects enhanced the part where the music and images were playing backwards.
Use of sound with images and editing.
I thought that the editing in this film opening was really good, the way it started with almost no editing whatsoever really made me feel as the audience that I was seeing this scene in front of me, and the effect of making the music go backwards as the film does to represent the character recalling previous events is a really original and effective technique.
Using titles appropriately.
I feel the film opening uses a very realist approach, the whole scene appears realistic and believable and not out of the ordinary, I think that the titles accompany this and therefore a direct link between the titles and the rest of the opening are linked and work very well together. In the final scene as the character walks away a very distinctive font is also used to repeat the directors name which draws particular attention towards the director.
Wednesday, 7 December 2011
Story Narrative - 3 Act structure
As a lead group member in the story narrative I have started to look at the film as a whole. Almost all films have a three act structure, a beginning middle and end and although plots may be a lot more expansive than purely a start middle and end you can establish the three acts in a lot of modern films.
The three acts are known as the Setup, which in a broad sense means the introduction of characters (responsibilities, personalities, relationships etc), locations which dependent on whether or not the location is set in a foreign or unknown world can need extra attention. However if it is set in a present day world, with similar practices to the audience, the audience can assume what they know of their own world. Any other aspects within the films universe that will effect the reception of the film are usually established at this point also. As we have been given the task of creating a film opening this is the act that is most important in our current project. At some point during this introduction an on-screen incident will often occur, which affects the main character (protagonist). Often the protagonist, or relations of the protagonist, or other members of the cast will attempt to deal with this incident. This often leads onto second more dramatic situation, known as the first turning point or plot point, which (a) signals the end of the first act, (b) ensures life will never be the same again for the protagonist and (c) raises a dramatic question that will be answered in the climax of the film.
The second act is known as the confrontation where a character/group of characters is/are faced with a dilemma often caused from the attempt to solve the previous lesser problem. The characters will often have to develop new skills in order to overcome there dilemma at some stage during this act something dramatic will happen which will motivate the character's total commitment to deal with the problem. The third act is known as the resolution where the character/group of characters solve the problem previously faced often becoming enriched by the experience this is often started with a second plot point which will begin the build up to the hero and villain's final confrontation.
Missing - 3 Act Structure.
Act 1.
The film begins to follow the path of a young male character named Sean, who disappears with his friend James. Sean was recently moved to a boarding school as his parents were worried he was not achieving the grades he deserves due to involvement of petty crimes with his friend James, behind his parents back with the excuse of a school residential trip he returns to meet his old friend, who has since moved onto more hardcore crimes. Upon arrival Sean is greeted with a phone call from his friend, he promises to meet him at the canal and Sean begins walking to meet him. Unknowingly James has recently acquired a new drug which allows the user to teleport at will, while holding this package for a local drug lord he becomes a target and is being followed by a hardcore user of the currently hard to find drug. The user has mastered the powers of the drug and plans to steal the large stock at any costs. Sean arrives at the canal to find his friend James killed, believed to be the one that is storing the drug he is chased down and captured.
Act 2.
After waking up in captivity Sean is subjected to torture as he is believed to be acting dumb, in brief moments between the interruption of the drug addict the other prisoners reveal to Sean the story of the extremely addictive substance and how the person who first developed the drug was a previous prisoner and refused to create any more seeing the damaging effects of the drug, he was thus killed by the drug addict. The last substantial stock is rumored to be held by the drug lord who James became involved with. Meanwhile Sean's schoolmates arrive back from residential with no sign of Sean his protective parents become extremely worried upon questioning the school they are told that Sean never attended the trip. The police and media are revealing that a huge number of disappearances have been reported within the area of Oxford. The parents attempt to contact James however they cannot contact them. Soon they are used as hostages in an attempt for Sean to reveal the location of the drug. Sean attempts to use the drug to his advantage to escape and destroy the last stock of the drug to prevent the addict analyzing and creating or duplicating the extremely damaging drug.
Act 3.
Sean escapes and begins hunting down the drug stock, he fights not only the villains who are attacking him and attempting to locate Sean and the addiction of the drug which he has to use in order to combat the group of drug addicts hunting both him and the drug down.
Tuesday, 6 December 2011
Logo - Created by Eric Hesselbo
We have renamed our group "Infinite Productions) and we now have a logo, Eric created it on photoshop and here is a speedart of him making it
The logo fuses the symbol of infinity with a film reel, my blog's colours have now also been incorparated with the logo and I have situated the logo at the top of my blog, it will also be shown during our film opening.
The logo fuses the symbol of infinity with a film reel, my blog's colours have now also been incorparated with the logo and I have situated the logo at the top of my blog, it will also be shown during our film opening.
1st Draft- Missing
Evaluation of first draft,
Overall I was pleased with how all the clips linked together, I thought there was a really good flow to the film opening and for the majority of the time I think that the audience could follow what was happening throughout the opening, the shots all linked together and there was good continuity; this was a worry when we were filming. However we went back and reshot some linking shots between the running. I also think that there are a few establishing shots that may not be needed (01:18). The final point I think we can improve on (without comparison to the mark scheme) is that while watching it I feel that it didn't feel like watching a film opening, it looked more like a music video with the continual music over the background. We have discussed this as a group and for the next edit we plan to focus a lot more on the soundtrack.Feedback from audience.
"I love the moments in it like when Sean puts his headphones in.I think you could probably use some other shot transitions because at the moment it sometimes seems like you use that blurred transition a little too much."
"You could add more sound effects."
"You could add more sound effects."
"I liked your video a lot!!!"
"All the shots were steady and the continuity was very effective. The soundtrack was good and it faded in and out nicely. I liked it when time passed by and you sped it up, however sometimes the shots stuttered."
"Would've liked more ambient sound to create atmosphere and build tension"
In comparison to the mark scheme.
Holding shot steady.
I think that the majority of shots fulfill this area of the mark scheme, the only one in which I can see any problem with the steadiness of the shot is the scene 1:04-1:14, however I don't think that this is a big problem and even if we re-shot the scene (which we may do) it may not make a huge difference as it is so hard to get a completely steady shot while moving with the camera (without the use of equipment we don't own). Other than this scene and the point of view shots (where the camera is meant to be shaky and unsteady) every scene is very steady.
Framing shot appropriately.
Variety of shot distances.
Appropriate material to task.
Selecting mise-en-scรจne.
Editing for meaning to viewer.
Varied shot transitions, captions and other effects.
Use of sound with images and editing.
Using titles appropriately.
What we need to improve on..
- Wider range of shot distance's and camera angles
- e.g at the start of the chase scene when Sean reached the canal, we could use a dutch/cant angle to create a feeling of something being wrong
- I feel like we had a majority of medium shots it would be good to shoot a few extreme close ups or extreme wide shots
- Variance of shot transitions, established from feedback some different transitions other than the blurred transition.
- A more realistic soundtrack, as opposed to just a constant song we need to add more ambient sound such as footsteps, cars, breathing e.t.c
Sunday, 4 December 2011
Basic Deadlines for Group - [Completed]
A while ago I set some basic deadlines for the group up until our first edit was to be completed. We have been given new deadlines and I will create a similar blog post shortly of these deadlines, below is the deadlines reposted with the dates that we completed them.
8th November - Decide which pitch we will create our film opening for, acquire possible locations/cast, review basic storyboard of pitch.
< Completed: 8th November >
[Storyboards Reviewed and Pitch Missing chosen possible locations and cast discussed, pictures of locations will be uploaded soon]
10th November - Decide cast members and locations for first weekend of filming.
< Date of completion : 9th November >
[Casted Sean Kim as character predominant character in film opening, decided on location of Radley Train Station/ Oxford Train Station, we will be purchasing a ticket to Radley in order to get some scenes of Sean on the train before filming any scenes with a combination of both Radley and Oxford train station]
11th November - Confirm cast are aware of filming dates and confirm availability of suitable locations, complete detailed storyboard and complete script for first scenes.
< Date of completion : 11th November >
[Decided which scenes are to be filmed this weekend and basic script drafted for these scenes, detailed storyboard has been made, however we may add to or change aspects of this as we film]
12th and 13th November - Begin filming first scenes.
< Date of completion : 13th November >
[Me Daniel, Eric and Sean (actor) bought train tickets to Radley, all scenes for journey filmed and of the arrival from the journey, however after reviewing footage there may be some extra scenes to be recorded next weekend, overall successful day.]
16th November - Confirm cast members and locations needed for scenes filmed at coming weekend, ensure cast are aware of where and when the filming is taking place.
< Date of completion : 16th November >
[Unfortunately cast and majority of group were not available for filming this weekend so we decided to postpone any remaining scenes until following week.]
19th and 20th of November - Film remainder of scenes.
< Date of completion : Postponed to 23rd of November due to cast and group availability >
22nd November - Review footage and confirm if any scenes need to be shot / reshot, schedule filming dates and location
< Date of completion : 17th November>
[We still need the all the shots from the chase scene, we have also decided that a few shots of Sean arriving may need to be re-shot.]
23rd- 30th of November - Film any left over scenes (If required)
[Refilmed some scenes on the 23rd and on the 28th of November, see other blog posts for further info.]
1st December - Upload all clips.
< Date of completion : 28th November >
[All clips uploaded on to portable hard drive, for next edit we plan to make sure every group member has a copy of the clips however for the rough edit Eric Hesselbo will be doing the majority of the editing]
6th December - Rough Edits completed
< Date of completion : 30th November >
[Eric Hesselbo completed Rough Edits see blog post for further info]
8th November - Decide which pitch we will create our film opening for, acquire possible locations/cast, review basic storyboard of pitch.
< Completed: 8th November >
[Storyboards Reviewed and Pitch Missing chosen possible locations and cast discussed, pictures of locations will be uploaded soon]
10th November - Decide cast members and locations for first weekend of filming.
< Date of completion : 9th November >
[Casted Sean Kim as character predominant character in film opening, decided on location of Radley Train Station/ Oxford Train Station, we will be purchasing a ticket to Radley in order to get some scenes of Sean on the train before filming any scenes with a combination of both Radley and Oxford train station]
11th November - Confirm cast are aware of filming dates and confirm availability of suitable locations, complete detailed storyboard and complete script for first scenes.
< Date of completion : 11th November >
[Decided which scenes are to be filmed this weekend and basic script drafted for these scenes, detailed storyboard has been made, however we may add to or change aspects of this as we film]
12th and 13th November - Begin filming first scenes.
< Date of completion : 13th November >
[Me Daniel, Eric and Sean (actor) bought train tickets to Radley, all scenes for journey filmed and of the arrival from the journey, however after reviewing footage there may be some extra scenes to be recorded next weekend, overall successful day.]
16th November - Confirm cast members and locations needed for scenes filmed at coming weekend, ensure cast are aware of where and when the filming is taking place.
< Date of completion : 16th November >
[Unfortunately cast and majority of group were not available for filming this weekend so we decided to postpone any remaining scenes until following week.]
19th and 20th of November - Film remainder of scenes.
< Date of completion : Postponed to 23rd of November due to cast and group availability >
22nd November - Review footage and confirm if any scenes need to be shot / reshot, schedule filming dates and location
< Date of completion : 17th November>
[We still need the all the shots from the chase scene, we have also decided that a few shots of Sean arriving may need to be re-shot.]
23rd- 30th of November - Film any left over scenes (If required)
[Refilmed some scenes on the 23rd and on the 28th of November, see other blog posts for further info.]
1st December - Upload all clips.
< Date of completion : 28th November >
[All clips uploaded on to portable hard drive, for next edit we plan to make sure every group member has a copy of the clips however for the rough edit Eric Hesselbo will be doing the majority of the editing]
6th December - Rough Edits completed
< Date of completion : 30th November >
[Eric Hesselbo completed Rough Edits see blog post for further info]
"MISSING" - 1st edit Presentation
Below is a presentation that I have created on www.prezi.com, it shows my personal roles within the group and what I have done, besides actually directing while we were filming which I believe was equally spread between all members in the group.
http://cherwellmediamgrant.blogspot.com/2011/11/typography-for-missing.html
http://cherwellmediamgrant.blogspot.com/2011/11/typography-for-missing.html
Filming (30/11/11)
We have successfully filmed all shots for the journey in the first day, this has been uploaded and we are happy with everything we have done in this scene of the opening. We also filmed most of the arrival. I decided to complete a really detailed set of events, including pictures of what we have remaining to film, we brought these along with us on the day and it really helped us establish what we were to film and allowed us to visualise the end product more clearly wasting less time on the day. However once we started filming as we found new locations and planned locations were found unusable (the end scene had to be completely rethought as the bridge where we planned to film it on was pitch black with literally no artificial lighting) the film was changed slightly I still feel that creating this storyboard really helped us on the day.
Above is the storyboard images including shot distance, Mise en scene and other aspects. Below is a detailed explanation of each section of the storyboard.
1. Sean arrives as station, ago zooms out to extreme wide shot of whole train station. Sean then walks towards camera (possibly sped up) and turns corner.
2. Sean is sat down waiting for a phone call from James. Shown as a time lapse with medium over the shoulder shot. Possibly switching or having an overlay on top of the scene of Sean texting James, things such as "Where are you?", "Ring me" and "No credit".
3. Sean gets phone call, James asks him to "meet him up the canal" and asks "do you know where that is?" Sean agrees to meet him and begins walking to the canal
4.Sean hangs up his phone and starts walking towards the canal, as he is walking he plugs in his headphones, the music which begins playing as he presses play goes from almost unnoticeable to being the dominating sound within the scene.
5. Sean reaches the canal when his friend phones him, it is possible we could include another phonecall or perhaps even the friend is visible at this point. Either way Sean ends up becoming very nervous and eventually flee's (however not during this shot) due to him being told to by James, or sight of his friends dead body or sight of the beast.
6.The camera now switches to a point of view from the beast he stands up from the body and begins to look around it is blurry so not much can be seen however. The scene switches to Sean nervously looking around, this is shot not as a point of view scene but from a similar shot as the scene where Sean reaches the canal, it is shot in the same place.
7. The scene switches to the beast now and it is looking through leaves (or perhaps a gate). Sean comes into view and the beasts breathing becomes heavier. Sean looks into the camera or the eyes of the beast and at this stage runs away.
8. A chase scene starts and the next few shots are Sean running from the beast
9. The beast is scene out of focus and disappears with effect similar to that scene in harry potter. We found a tutorial of how to do this effect:
10. The beast reappears in front of Sean as he is running away, he is checking behind him but turns round to be shocked to see the beast in front of him.
11a) The shot then switches to a point of view shot of the beast and Sean puts his hands up protecting his face when the beast attacks. (similar effect seen in another AS media studies film opening)
11b) A wide shot shows the whole scene as the beast attacks the camera then falls up or down (similar effect seen in opening of Scott Pilgrim vs the world
12. Rest of titles proceed on showing our names e.t.c
Below is the original storyboard that we took with us while filming, it has slightly more detail, however above the main aspects are included
Above is the storyboard images including shot distance, Mise en scene and other aspects. Below is a detailed explanation of each section of the storyboard.
1. Sean arrives as station, ago zooms out to extreme wide shot of whole train station. Sean then walks towards camera (possibly sped up) and turns corner.
2. Sean is sat down waiting for a phone call from James. Shown as a time lapse with medium over the shoulder shot. Possibly switching or having an overlay on top of the scene of Sean texting James, things such as "Where are you?", "Ring me" and "No credit".
3. Sean gets phone call, James asks him to "meet him up the canal" and asks "do you know where that is?" Sean agrees to meet him and begins walking to the canal
4.Sean hangs up his phone and starts walking towards the canal, as he is walking he plugs in his headphones, the music which begins playing as he presses play goes from almost unnoticeable to being the dominating sound within the scene.
5. Sean reaches the canal when his friend phones him, it is possible we could include another phonecall or perhaps even the friend is visible at this point. Either way Sean ends up becoming very nervous and eventually flee's (however not during this shot) due to him being told to by James, or sight of his friends dead body or sight of the beast.
6.The camera now switches to a point of view from the beast he stands up from the body and begins to look around it is blurry so not much can be seen however. The scene switches to Sean nervously looking around, this is shot not as a point of view scene but from a similar shot as the scene where Sean reaches the canal, it is shot in the same place.
7. The scene switches to the beast now and it is looking through leaves (or perhaps a gate). Sean comes into view and the beasts breathing becomes heavier. Sean looks into the camera or the eyes of the beast and at this stage runs away.
8. A chase scene starts and the next few shots are Sean running from the beast
9. The beast is scene out of focus and disappears with effect similar to that scene in harry potter. We found a tutorial of how to do this effect:
10. The beast reappears in front of Sean as he is running away, he is checking behind him but turns round to be shocked to see the beast in front of him.
11a) The shot then switches to a point of view shot of the beast and Sean puts his hands up protecting his face when the beast attacks. (similar effect seen in another AS media studies film opening)
11b) A wide shot shows the whole scene as the beast attacks the camera then falls up or down (similar effect seen in opening of Scott Pilgrim vs the world
12. Rest of titles proceed on showing our names e.t.c
Below is the original storyboard that we took with us while filming, it has slightly more detail, however above the main aspects are included
Thursday, 24 November 2011
Filming
On the 23/11/2011 our group set out to begin filming our final chase scene. We brought along a tripod
and a longboard, which we used as a dolly to keep the shot steady as we moved with the camera.
At first we had planned to set this scene in the daytime
however we felt that a dark scene would add to the eerey mise-en-scรจne we are trying to create during this scene. So we waited until the sun had set and begun filming again,
we had to re-shoot any arrival scenes and then we begun filming a time lapse of Sean waiting for his friend to ring him.
We then moved on and begun the chase scene,
we recorded a couple of the scenes however we ran out of time so we still have a few more that need to be filmed we plan to do this in the near future.
and a longboard, which we used as a dolly to keep the shot steady as we moved with the camera.
At first we had planned to set this scene in the daytime
however we felt that a dark scene would add to the eerey mise-en-scรจne we are trying to create during this scene. So we waited until the sun had set and begun filming again,
we had to re-shoot any arrival scenes and then we begun filming a time lapse of Sean waiting for his friend to ring him.
We then moved on and begun the chase scene,
we recorded a couple of the scenes however we ran out of time so we still have a few more that need to be filmed we plan to do this in the near future.
Tuesday, 15 November 2011
Sound Presentation
Examples from real texts..
The last samurai.
Above is an example of a tense soundtrack. We are looking for a similar soundtrack for use in our project.
Green Street
Above is an example of ambient sound, Ambient sound is the sound heard in the background of the scene. It's a very important part of the scene and sometimes goes unnoticed by audiences unfamiliar with the notion of ambient sound. However if removed the scene would seem quiet and eerie and is occasionally used to create this effect, even in these examples often a soundtrack is added to enhance this atmosphere. Below is a link to some ambient sounds we could be using in our projects.
Audio Network
http://goo.gl/GFnh8
The last samurai.
Above is an example of a tense soundtrack. We are looking for a similar soundtrack for use in our project.
Green Street
Above is an example of ambient sound, Ambient sound is the sound heard in the background of the scene. It's a very important part of the scene and sometimes goes unnoticed by audiences unfamiliar with the notion of ambient sound. However if removed the scene would seem quiet and eerie and is occasionally used to create this effect, even in these examples often a soundtrack is added to enhance this atmosphere. Below is a link to some ambient sounds we could be using in our projects.
Audio Network
http://goo.gl/GFnh8
Saturday, 12 November 2011
This weekends plan for filming.
This weekend we have planned to begin filming the first clips for our project. We have established a cast member in Sean Kim and we have selected from the possible locations that the journey will be filmed on a train (we plan on purchasing a return ticket to the nearby train station of Radley) we will then film the arrival of the journey at a combination of both Radley and Oxford railway station. We have decided to film the final scenes (where Sean is chased and caught at another time)
[Photo inserted after filming was complete]
[Photo inserted after filming was complete]
Friday, 11 November 2011
Detailed Storyboard/ Script
After creating a storyboard for each pitch as a group (rough) we then proceded onto making a more detailed storyboard which is shown here:
[Drawn by Eric Hesselbo]
[Drawn by Eric Hesselbo]
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)