Sunday 29 December 2013

23.Pre-Production

Shot List, made by Fiona Aldwin and Mollie Bugg:




Shooting Schedule, Made by Mollie Bugg:





Storyboard, made by Fiona Aldwin:








Location Recce, made by Mollie Bugg and Fiona Aldwin:

Josh's Bedroom
 School - Corner
 Canteen
 School - front of gate
Josh's House

mise-en-scene description, Made by Mollie Bugg:

Health and Safety Evaluation, made by Ben Howard:

Thursday 26 December 2013

20. Media Language - Editing

As the main task for out A2 media coursework was to make a short film, when coming up with ideas and wiring the script/film treatment, as a group we diced that the use of montages within the film would be a good way to be able to move the plot along at a fast pace, show an deeper relationship and bond between the characters and also keep then film within the 5 minute time limit.

After we had decided to use two montages within our film, i looked further into the use of montages in short films, why they are used and what effect they create.

Firtstly, I watched other short films that included a montage on the website Short of the Week, one film that I found used a montage in an effective way, and in a similar way in which my group and I are hoping to use a montage was a film called Roshambo.



This film is only a few minutes long but uses a montage in order to show the grouping relationship between the two characters by using shots of them walking around, holding hands and also by doing everyday things such as brushing their teeth, this enabled the producers to develop the playful relationship between the characters and make the viewer become attached to them as a couple within the shot 4 minute film.

After researching montages separately, me and Fiona Aldwin, used some clips form our film to make a practice montage.





In this montage we used a mixture of close ups, medium shots and long shots to show the growing relationship between Josh and Amy. We also added music over the top of the shots, this is because, as of how the shot was constantly changing, the back group noise made the montage sound messy. Also the choice of song, slow and about love, also helps with the theme of the montage.

Monday 23 December 2013

19. Media Language - Camera

When researching what type of camera techniques would be best used in my film, i chose to look mainly at the way in which I would frame the shots. This post shows how i researched what shot sizes and framing would work best and look the most professional for my film.

CU 

Close up's are used in films in order to show the emotion that he character if feeling. it also enable to them to engage with the characters feelings which means the audience will see things from their perspective and sympathise with the character. 

I have used two images of close ups. The first one is a screen grab from my own short film, the second is a close up from the Dark Knight. these shots make it clear that a close up highlights the characters emotion and it is easier to identify with them. I used the website Media college to look further into close ups, the link that i used in below. 

This website states that "a close-up exaggerates facial expressions which convey emotion. The viewer is drawn into the subject's personal space and shares their feelings.". http://www.mediacollege.com/video/shots/closeup.html

MCU

Medium close ups are used to show the upper half of the torso and the head. This allows the audience to still see the emotion of the character and what they are feeling but it also shows some action.

An example of a Medium Close Up from my film is when the teacher is shouting at Josh and the gang of boys. This shot clearly shows the anger of the teachers but by using a Medium Close up instead of an ordinary close up, it allows us to see his hand, which reinforces the anger and that they are in trouble.

I also have added this screen grab from Spider Man. This shows that a medium close up can also be used to show something that is happening in the background of a shot which would be cut out by using a close up or not focused on enough by using a larger framed shot.

I also looked at Media College for this shot to gain some more information on it. http://www.mediacollege.com/video/shots/medium-closeup.html



Group Shot

Group shots are used in order to show the relation shop between groups of characters. During my short film we used many of them in the first montage as we wanted to show the growing relationship and friendship between Josh and the gang. In this shot we places a motorbike in front of the group of boys. This adds realism which is a convention of the drama genre but it also connotes themes of rebellion as riding a motorbike is stereotypically seen as something teenagers do to rebel.

I have also added a screen grab from the Avengers movie. This is also a group shot that is used to show their relationship together as well as their own separate personalities.







Rule of Thirds

Wikipedia decibels the rule of thirds to be "The rule of thirds is a "rule of thumb" or guideline which applies to the process of composing visual images such as designsfilmspaintingsand photographs."

It is used by splitting the image into a 9 box grid and setting each important part of the shot on a line. As is seen on this image of a wasp.


I have used a screen grab of the policeman from my own film to show how I have used rule of thirds. In this shot the characters eyeliner would be inline with the top horizontal line and his body would be inline with the left vertical line. 

The rule of thirds ensures that a shot always has good framing.

I used this website http://learnprophotography.com/rule-of-thirds
to research rule of thirds.


Saturday 21 December 2013

18. Media Language - Sound

During filming and editing our short film, sound will help us tell the story and show what the characters emotions are.

There are 2 main different types of sound in film:
Diegetic Sound- this is sound that the character's within the film can hear.
Non-diegetic Sound - this is sound that the audience can hear but the character's within the film can't, such as a voiceover or soundtrack

During our film we will use a mixture of both of these.

We will use Diegetic sound in the form of dialogue. This is the characters speaking to each other. This will help explain the story and move the storyline along.

We will also use sound effects, for example, when Josh's mother is stood watching TV in the living room, we will add a sound effect which shows it is the news over the top. This will help the audaicne identify with what she is doing.

This is an example of a sound effect we could use:

We will used non-deigetic sound over the top of some scenes to make the audience connect wight he emotions that the character is feeling. This will especially be used over the top of the two montages.

In the montage of Josh and the Gang we will use a Rock song that sound angry, such as the one below, to symbolise his rebellion.
In the montage of Josh and Amy, we will use a love song, such as the one below, to symbolise their growing relationship.

Friday 20 December 2013

17. Media Language - Light

In my group, we used a skull and a torch in a dark room to show the different effects of lighting and how the different positions of the light and change the effect of which it gives. The viedo below shows this.



By doing the excesie I learnt a lot about the different effects lighing can have on a film as this was one part of media prodcution that I had not before studied in much detail. After compleating the excerside with my group, I went online to do some further research on different ways lighitng is used within the film industry. I found this presentation on slideshare that helped me to understand all different types of lighting.

http://www.slideshare.net/andywallis/film-lighting-intro



This diagram that I found using the slideshare presentation above, demonstrates the dramtically different effects that can be attaeived while positions lights at different places on the scene.

I also looked at the differentce between artifical and nautural lighting.



Natual lighting is when the only lighitng used during a shot or scene is the lught from the sun. This can cause many different effects due to the weather. If it is a sunny day then the shot will ne bright and connote themese such a happiness into the film. However, if the weather is dark and stormy, this could connote themese of anger, depression and evil into the film.

Artifical lighitng is when lights are plugged in a used in order to have more light wihtin the shot. This gives the directer more control over the lighitng and many more different effects can be used. Such as the 3 point lighitng that my group and I looked at before.

While shooting our short film, I think it will be best for my group to use a combination of both natual and atifical lighting. As we are filming during the winter months, the outside scenes will be dakr if we use natual lighting. This will give a good effect for our film as Josh and the gang of boys he get involved with are shown to be bad and aggressive. However, when shooting inside scenes it will be good to use artifical lighting otherwise the shots will be too dark. This will also add to the mise-en-scene of the film being in a school environment as schools usually have bright lighting.

Monday 16 December 2013

14. Audiance Positioning

Aduainces enjoy films when they are the most invlovled with them. Directors and producers of films use different techniques to draw the audience in. When you are really hooked into a film you start to have your own position within it and can relate to the ways in which the characters are feeling as individuals.
Point of view shot 



During a point of view shot, the camera adopts the position of a character within the film, looking at whatever a character sees. This means that the audience can see things from the characters perspective and the audience are more likely to feel the same emotions as and sympathise with the character.
Reaction shot – close up

Shows the characters reaction the the situation. Shows their emotion and how they react.
Shot reverse shot

Camera alternates between two characters to show their conversation. This also hows the relationship between two characters.

Friday 13 December 2013

13. BBFC Film Rating

Films in the UK have to be classified by a company called the BBFC before they are allowed to be shown in any cinemas or sold on DVD. I researched the BBFC to find what cetrificate I believe that my group's shot film would be classified at and believe it would be most sutilabe to be classifed at a 12A rating.

Here is the link to the BBFC website where is explains what the guidlines for a 12A are and a screenshot of them from their classification guidelines. http://www.bbfc.co.uk/what-classification/12a-and-12


A rating of a 12A means that anyone over the age of 12 can watch the film, or anyone below the age of 12 can also watch the film as long as the are accompanied by an adult.

I think the my groups film would be best suited at a 12A certificate as it will include viloance and antisocial behaviour, such as carrying knives and being in a gang, that would not be suitable ofr anyopne of a younger age. However, these are only moderatly and tehre is no major violance or themes that would have a negative infulacne on most people so it would not be suitated at a 15 or 18 certificate. 

Friday 6 December 2013

12. Audiances

An audience is a collective group or individual that consume any type of media text. There are two main types of audiences, mass and niche.
Mass Audiences

A mass audience is a large group of people made up of many different social backgrounds. Films that usually have a mass audience are those such as James Bond or Harry Potter. Many films that involve superhero's, such as Batman and Spiderman, also have mass audiences. 




Niche Audiences
A niche audience is a small, select group with particular interests. Many arthouse films and for gain language films have a niche audience. 





Media texts are made with an audience in mind; the most important question in mind when considering a media product is ‘does this have an audience?’ If it doesn’t then there is no point in making the media product as it will not make a profit. As there is now more media technology, there is more competition between the mass media to attract the largest audience possible and make the most profit.
New digital technologies have had an impact on audiences. Old media, such as TV, print and radio, used to have a mass audience but now have to compete with new technology. Digital technology  has also caused increasing uncertainty to how we define an audience. A general agreement is that a large group of people watching the same thing is outdated and audiences are now fragmented.
A fragmented audience is the division of audiences into smaller groups caused by the variety of media outlets. 

An example of this is how Newspapers and CD's are now struggling as they can be downloaded online.

Katz and Blumer are theorist who have researched into  how people use media and they have came up with the Uses and Gratification theory. I have found this slideshare which shows an overview of what the theory involves. 


Audience Categories

Film companys want to target specific audiences that they know their film will apple to in order for them to gain the most product form their product. Most media products can define their typical viewer by using psychographic and demographic profiles.



Audiences are very important during the production of a film. Producers want their film to have a large audiences as smaller audiences mean smaller profits. They research into audiences audiences using methods such as, questionnaires, focus groups, pre-film screenings in order to find out who is interested in their film. 
Research methods
Film companies measure audaicnes by sales, subscriptopons, ratings, figures
National readership survey - http://www.nrs.co.uk/what-we-do/

The Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board - http://www.barb.co.uk/resources/reference-documents/how-we-do-what-we-do
New ways to measure aduances
Facebook/social networking
Views on youtube
Comment forums
Twitter trends

There are two different ways to research aduainces, quanitiave research and qualitative research.
Quantitate - This research is number based, used closed questions and is very factual

Qualitative - This analyses existing products, used open questions to allow interpretation and also used individual preferences, 
Aduaince engagement and expectations 
Engagement – this describes how an audaince interacts with a media text. Different people react in different ways to the same text
Expectations – these are ideas the audience have in advance of seeing a media text. This perticually applies to genre perices.
Audiences  foreknowledge and identification
Audaicne foreknowledge- this is definite information that and audaince brings to a media product
Audaince identification – this is the ways audiences feel themselves connected to a particular media text, in that they feel directly expresses their attitude or lifestyle
Audience placement – the range of strategies media producers use to directly target a particular audience and make them feel that the medaiu text is ‘specifically for them’.
Audience research – measuring an audience is very imporatanr to all media institutations. Research is done at all stages and once produced audiences will be continually monitored.

Wednesday 4 December 2013

11b. Feedback from script

During the process of wiritng our script, we got in touch with script writer, Dudi Appleton and were able to send him our script form him to read over and see what he thought.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0032425/ this is a link to Dudi Appleton's IMBD page.



In order to get his feedback, one member of our group, Fiona Aldwin, had a skype conversation with him to see what he thought.




Dudi recommned that we changed certain aspects of our script to make it more sutible for a short film as he beleived the story line would seem rushed if we left it as it was. As a result of this we added in a montage of Amy and Josh. This enabled us to be able to show more of the relationship between the two characters in a shorter amount of time. We also edited the ending to make it more shocking and exciting for the audiance by making the policeman who Josh has a meeting with during the film, to have been friends with Josh's late father before he passed away.  

Tuesday 24 September 2013

10. Film Treatment

As a group we made a film treatment. We presented it to the other students in our group and they gave us some feedback on how to improve our film. Individually I then adapted our treatment to include the feedback from the class and made it into the Prezi below.
 


When we gave feedback to the class, they asked how we would show that Josh's father had died and somebody gave the idea of having him looking though photographs so we have added this into the film to make it clear what the issue is. We also decided to show a montage of clips of Josh being rebellious because this will make it easier to stick within out 5 minute time limit of our short film.

Monday 23 September 2013

9. Film Development

In this post I have looked further into my character and locations, and also tried applying my film to some narrative theories. 

Propp's Narrative Theory

It could be argued that our film both fits in with Propp's narrative theory and also doesn't. This is because our film contains some of these characters but not others.
The Hero - Josh - searching for ways to cope with his father's death feels lost and needs support, which he has by the end of the film.
The Villain- The gang - Push Josh's to do bad things and are seen to be morally bad, this is becasue they carry knifves, are seen smoking and drinking.
The Donor -Amy - Give's Josh a way to move apart from the gang
The Helper- Policeman - Supports Josh, tells him what he is doing is wrong, stops him from getting into very serious trouble later is he carried on being with teh gang
The Princess- Amy - could be seen as a reward for Josh leading a better life
The Princess' Father - Our film does not contain this role
The Dispatcher - Our film does not contain this role
The False Hero - Our film does not contain this role

Characters

I have chosen to relate Josh to Cook from the series Skins. This is because he is the main character and this TV show, like our film is about teenage rebellion. This character fits Josh as he is also led to rebellion though his unstable life at home and gets involved with things such as drugs and smoking.
Location

These are some locations that we could used to film. They are around the school, as this is a location that is easily recognisable and everyone can relate to being a student. This will mean that the audience will be able to relate to Josh more and the film will also fit in with the conventions of the Drama genre.