Signing Off

I'm about to submit my blog to my teacher, who will change my password so i can't access it while its being marked.

I've had a lot of fun this year,
i hoped you liked my blog :)

Goodbye

More Feedback

I decided to post our film to my Facebook wall, asking for people to review it.


Here are some of the things people said:


Editing 8
Sound 7
Camerawork 8
Control of Narrative 8.5
Characters 8
Good shot variety, good continuity style editing, good use of non-diegetic sound (especially that jazzy piano tune).


 Editing 8
Sound 9
camera work 9
control of narrative 10
characters 9

Editing 8
Sound 10
Camera work 9
Control of Narrative 9
Characters 9
All in all, it's an excellent concept and you pulled if off very well
There were some lines of dialogue that were a bit off, like when the main character left the house, the delivery was a bit off
And it could've done without the last line, I think that it might've been a more powerful image if there had just been the main character with his smile on etc.
To be honest, better than I imagined it might end up

All in all I feel we achieved our goals. Everyone seems to like it, and the views are moving quite fast on youtube (unfortunately on our first draft as its been on there for longer.)   

Even though i can't physically watch it one more time, because of the amount of times i've seen it already, i'm proud of it. 

        

Evaluation

We Evaluated our project. We had some initial issues with rehearsing the questions, but we managed to get it filmed and edited in one day.

The Delivery Boy

We finally did it!

Its been weeks and weeks of sheer effort, but its paid off.
I genuinely believe one of the most stressful things anyone can ever do is make a film. Nevertheless, the stress and emotion doesn't matter anymore because we can call this film our own, and we're happy with our creation.

Render

We're done.

The film is rendering in high quality. the only thing left to do is film the evaluation, and then we can close the project. I cannot describe how exited i am

Shot List

This is the shot log of every clip we used in the opening sequence. On the day of the shoot, we went back to mine and viewed every shot, making a note of which ones to use and which ones to dismiss. This made the edit considerably easier.

Pictures

Georgia Hard at work

Luke working on the writing side of the group blog

Daniel's sticky note approach to research

Alice in the studio

Editing face

Luke caught off guard in the studio

Showcase

This is just one of the 8 reveiws we got back. The rest can be found on the group blog ( mediagp.blogspot.com )

Most of the reviews were pretty much the same at this one,

but we did gather some criticisms which lead us to change  part of the film.

It needed music, 

The voice-over needed to be redone, 

and the clips have to be cut down considerably 

We thought that all points that the class made were constructive and insightful.

Film Ident

Me, Luke and Alice made a film ident for our opening sequence. Georgia couldn't make it to the studio today.



We've decided to call our film production "Phantom Productions" because was electrocuted by a "Fantom" powered microphone in the studio on the first day of the edit. It has a nice personal feel and a backstory, so we decided we'd name it that.

Narration Transcript

This is the transcript of the narration i recorded for my film. We later decided it needed some serious work and we called this one our "first draft"

First Draft, film

We kept on editing in school and in the studio, and we've finished a rough copy of the film.




When we looked at it a couple of times, we realized that it was quite boring. I did the voice over when i was very tired, and it sounds monotone. it also doesn't make any sense whatsoever.
some of the shots are too long, so we've decided to meet up and finalize the edit.

We will change the length of shots, and cut out shots. We'll record the narration again, and we'll record our music and put that on the piece.

Edit 4

We all met up today at the studio, to discuss and make changes to the film

I made a list of jobs for everyone, so that we could move as quickly as possible.
For instance,
Me and Alice spent the first hours creating the soundtrack, while Georgia and Luke checked the edit for continuity and bad transitions.
After we'd done that Alice and Georgia would work on syncing up the music to the timeline, while me and luke rewrote the voice over.
Georgia and me then recorded the voice-over, while Luke and Alice put markers on the timeline.
We all then gathered round the edit station and watched it come together.

We decided to save these changes, and then cut down the actual clips. It took 6 hours in total, plus an extra hour to make an opening ident.

Film Music

I came up with an idea for the music to our film. i recorded this as a first draft

Audience Reviews

The conclusions that were drawn from all these reviews were that the voiceover isn't effective enough, and in some parts it didn't make sense. We need music. Everybody in the class discussion felt like there should be music throughout most of the piece. They also thought that the driving sequence was too long, and we needed to cut out a lot of shots.

On a positive note, everyone loved our film. There was lots of talk about how good it was, and how the camera angles and storyline were very effective. 

Luke developed a system to work out the average score for the film, which was 8.2.

we were all extremely happy with it.

Edit 3

We had another 'editing sunday'.

This was a very productive day, seeing as we can't get much work done in school because the edit stations are shared. We avoided this problem by having the work saved on a portable hard drive, so that any mac with Final Cut could read and edit our clips. This let us work in school and at my studio. We decided to make use of the sundays because everyone was free.

We managed to get down the basic structure of it all, we took it in turns to edit various sections.
Heres some screenshots of what we did

On this picture in the centre box, you can see an audio file as we chop the bad bits out and adjust the volume

We're adjusting the colour on this clip, as the white balance was slightly off, and i wanted to have the shaving foam and the shirt very white to symbolise purity, as if he hadn't done anything wrong.

This is just before he cuts himself. We needed to change the colour again to make the blood look real enough. We had used food colouring on the edge of a razor, and it was far too bright for our liking.

                            This is our entire audio track. As you can see we have a lot to work with.

Edit 2

We edited for another 5 hours today, we managed to get a lot of work done. It was productive as everyone had the same ideas, and it just seemed to click all of a sudden.
We've done about half of the edit now, and we're happy with what we have.

Initial Mindmap

This was our initial mind-map which prompted the first group meeting. We each brainstormed out individual ideas, then compromised with each other as we combined them together. That way everyone was happy, and the film would be equally shared.

Film Idea

Georgia came up with the idea of finding a body in a car boot. This seemed to get everyones attention, because its easy to pull off, with minimal costs, and because i can drive we could film it on location wherever we wanted. I added the idea that we should present him as a normal man, who leads a secret life of murder. Luke added the idea that he worked for someone else, and was meerly doing a job of kidnapping someone, and delivering them to a destination. We combined all these ideas and came up with a script and shot list:

The title sequence opens to a man shaving in the mirror. This presents him as a normal man. He then does his tie in the mirror. this will be a 180* shot, which is extreamly hard to pull off with a mirror. He then grabs his car keys, sais goodbye to his wife and gets in his car. He drives to an industrial state, where he pulls up and opens his boot. Theres a body in the back, screaming and struggaling to get out. this is where the sequence ends.

Edit adjustments

I started to adjust the edited section of out movie. I didn't edit any new footage, because it would of been without the groups consent.
I mainly mixed the audio, recolored the clips, and tightened the cuts. It took a while to render because i used a my own high quality camera. After 4 hours I called it a day

Edit 1, take 2

We got everything plugged in and working, and we began the edit.

The first thing we did was go through every clip as a team and mark every out-take, and eliminated them from the media bin, to make things less confusing.
We began the edit. 5 hours later we had a rough copy of the first quarter.
It was the we started to see the magnitude of the task ahead.

First Day Editing

We decided that we would both work in school, and at my studio. We figured that when it got to the later weeks of editing, it would be stressful to have too share a mac with another editing team, as editing takes a vast amount of time. We did this by hosting the clips on an external hard drive, so that we could take the edit to whatever computer we wanted too.

We decided to start the edit early at my studio,  so that we could get ahead of other groups. However, we encountered a big problem on the day. I was using the microphone to record a song the day before, and i'd left the output voltage switched on, which meant that when i plugged in the computer to the studio speakers, i gave myself an electric shock. This created an electrical fault between the mixer and the speakers, which had to be resolved before the edit. We canceled the day until we could safely work in the studio.

Preliminary Sequence

We were asked to create a short sequence and edit it on Final Cut Express. This was mainly to get us used to using cameras and using editing. We included many different shot types, as we figured we would need practice anyway.

First and Last Day of Filming

We decided to film at my house, and then drive to the location, taking shots on the way so we could kill two stones with one bird.

I woke up at 7 so I could prepare for the shoot. I moved furniture around and cleaned up obsessively so that the character would look obsessive. I also found my costume, which was just going to be a white shirt and jeans, but I decided to add a burgundy tie, which would foreshadow blood later on in the movie.
By 9.00 the team was on location and we started filming. We got the first series of shots done by 12, then we left for the location. By 4.00 we had all the footage we set out to get.
Georgia was fantastic at acting, she made it believable that she was actually under threat, but maybe we can blame her conditions for that, considering that she was tied up in my car boot for the hour it took to get the shot.
We went back to mine, where we reviewed every shot by plugging my camcorder into the TV, and noted which ones were good enough to use, or outtakes.

We managed to get every shot. I converted all the files which took two days, then we were ready to edit.

The Shining- Analysis of Horror Techniques

The shining is my all time favourite film, by my favourite Director. I thought it would be good to research why its scary, so that when we make our film we can incorporate some of the techniques, or at least have a more thorough understanding of horror.

The Shining is a Gothic horror masterpiece by Stanley Kubrick. In the film, the beautiful cinematography, and stunning landscapes distance the film from the violence and gore in most modern horror films.

The shining creates unforgeable fear of the paranormal, as its the perfect sett for a haunted house, a big, empty old hotel, isolated from the outside world. The scenes were filmed in bright daylight or very heavily lit scenes, which add a normality of an daily setting to the film. The soundtrack is rather abstract and creepy, the audience feel uncomfortable listening to it as they don't know what forebodes the music.

Kubrick uses stills of the past, appearing unexpectedly for only a second, which has a direct effect on the audience. It frightens them, and secondly the image sticks in their mind and they associate it with the film afterwards. 

The theme of duality runs throughout the film.

The evil characters appear in mirrors many times, but we don't always notice them. For instance, at the start of the film we are introduced to Danny's imaginary friend through his reflection in a mirror. Jack Torrance appears in many mirrors throughout the film, including some trick shots zooming out from his reflection and panning towards the actual shot.

When the Grady twins taunt Danny, we get a unsettling feeling. Stanley Kubrick asked the casting office NOT to cast twins, which turned out to be a brilliant decision, as the children were forced to look like each other, even though the actor's at 8 and 10 were two years apart. I feel that forced symmetry is more disconcerting than a natural one.

There are lots of hidden meanings in the film. The most reoccurring  are Indians and Indian culture. Although we never see any Indians in the film, there is a reference in every single frame. For example, in the food locker scene, Kubrick placed two cans of calumet baking powder in the floor locker, (calumet is a peace pipe used by Indians) It also has a Indian chief logo on the front of the can.

The hidden message that I find most interesting, is that at the end of the film, the camera pans into a 1920'a photo, and the soundtrack ends. The people at the cinema would of talked among themselves and applauded, which is the sound of moviegoers moving from one state of consciousness to another. The audience don't know it, but they are involved in the movie, as they are part of the soundtrack at the end, which reflects their unawareness of themselves being part of the movie, and highlights what people like them have done to the American Indian culture and others, and how they're completely oblivious to it.

Sources www.Wikipedia.com 

Saving Private Ryan opening sequence

The first thing we hear is non-digetic, French horns. This sets the militant theme already, because of the brass band playing. The credits read, "Saving Private Ryan". The credits fade out and a american flag blowing in the wind fade in, with digetic sound of the flag moving. Its a very patriotic symbol. the first thing we see is a tracking shot, as it pans up from the mans feet to his back as he walks along a path. We then see the behind him, which reveals that he's being followed by a group of people, which look like a family. The clothes are 90's clothes, very pastel colors and high jeans. Theres a high angle shot that goes into a medium shot of the main character as he sees the american flag. He looks very emotional, and overwhelmed by it. The next shot reveals the French flag, this might seem confusing for most people as they're watching the film, but it becomes apparent where they are with a beautiful tracking shot across the white gravestones as the main character walks towards them. They are in Avranches, visiting the american graves from D-Day. This is a cemetery dedicated to the people who lost their lives during world WW2. It has 9000 american graves in its own private section. I was fortunate enough to visit these graves a few years ago, the whole place looks exactly like it does in the film.
The soundtrack swells to a climax. This happens as theres an overhead jib shot, showing the vast quantity of gravestones. This is where the mains character breaks down. There is then a slow zoom, that goes into a extream close up of the main character, where a match on action occurs. The match on action goes from the old character his younger version, of him in the war. In essence, the story begins at the end, and flash's back.

Stereotypical Filming techniques in horror movies

Reverse Zoom:

A reverse zoom gives the effect of the background or foreground melting or stretching away from the object. Its works well to convey tension.

This is used many times in the film “The Shining” which creates an unsettled anxious feeling when used with appropriate sound effects.

Close up zoom with background distortion:

A good effect would be to zoom into and focus on the characters face, and blur the background with the scary thing, so it gives the impression that something is creeping up to the character. This creates a high tension effect.

This is used hundreds of times in the film “The Others” as well as “Disturbia” This is highly unsettling as the character/characters doesn't know that their in immediate danger, however we do. 

Sound effects:

Sometimes what we hear can be scarier to what we see. It’s a good idea to just have a scary sound effect at one point, without visual scares, so that the reader is left to imagine what’s going on. This can be quite a scary effect.

“The Shining” and “Jaws” use sound effects for tension, and in my opinion its what make them scary. If we do a horror film, then i'll defiantly use this technique 

Unexpected shocks:

Shocking the viewer when they are least expecting it is a great, and highly effective way to scare them.

Stanley Kubrick in “the shining” uses still images, appearing for only a second. This is effective, however i'll be using "Slugs" which are black frames in-between empty spaces on the edit, this will be ideal for running credits

Uncomfortable setting:

Using an uncomfortable setting takes the viewer away from their safe zone, and creates tension. 

In all the “Saw” films, an uncomfortable setting is used to create tension. I'll be using a backroad in an industrial estate to do this.

Jaws, analysis of dramatic tension on the second shark attack

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2Ecwm7Alrc

Embedding is disabled, but you can watch with that link

Research on how to create tension.

 The scene begins at 13.03 minutes into the film. Jaws is widely acknowledged as one of the most successful films ever made, costing only 12 million to produce, Jaws has accumulated over 470 million dollars from cinema recites alone. Before it hit the silver screen, Jaws started out as a best-selling novel by Peter Benchly, which was inspired by the Jersey Shore shark attacks or 1916.Jaws stunned audiences with its unique cinematography and prophetic. This essay will explain how Stephen Spielberg raises the tension in the second shark attack scene through the use of sound, red herrings, colour, cinematography and stage directions, which make this scene possibly the most memorable of the film, and in my opinion, the best.

The scene begins at 13 minutes and 3 seconds into the film, the first shot is a medium shot, the camera pans with a fat lady who is wearing a striped swimsuit, and is approaching the water. This lady is very important to the way this scene unfolds, Stephen Spielberg has chosen this fat lady as he wants the audience to think that she’s the largest person in the water at the time the shark attacks, so evidently we presume that the shark would instinctively go for her, when in reality it goes for Alex, as he is lying on a lilo, and his surface area is greater than that of the fat lady. The clothing Spielberg has chosen for the fat lady increases the appearance of size, as fat people should not wear stripes, it makes them look fatter.
The colours employed in this scene send subliminal thoughts to the viewer, Alex is wearing read swimming trunks, the colour red represents blood, danger, sin, anger, and death. Spielberg uses the colour yellow to symbolise loss, Alex mum is wearing yellow, as is the man who loses his dog. Alex’s lilo is also yellow, and you could argue that the lilo has lost its owner, and is the only thing that washes up on the beech at the end of the scene.
Brody’s son is wearing white; he is only a toddler and sings the muffin man nursery rhyme while making a sandcastle. This at a glance is cute; however, Spielberg is trying to show the audience how brodys son is oblivious to life’s problems, and is perfectly innocent.
Alex comes out of the sea to ask his mum if he can stay in there a while longer, not only does this show that Alex is a good obedient child, and shares a fantastic relationship with his mum, it also shows that ale’s mum loves her son, she demonstrates a caring attitude, complaining that Alex’s fingers are beginning to prune, then lets him go out for 10 more minutes. If his mum had made him stay with her, Alex would not have died in the water, which ultimately makes the audience recall this shot, and wonder, “what if?”

Brody is concentrating on the fat lady, who is floating in the sea, a series of wipe transitions cut back and forth to the lady and brody, when a black round object slowly approaches the fat lady, you see brody with a look of panic, Spielberg raises the tension with fast transitions showing what’s happening and close ups of brodys reaction. Spielberg immediately lowers the tension when Harry pops up from the water, this is called a red herring, when the director makes you think something’s going to happen, but something different happens instead, in this case we expect the shark shaped object to consume the fat lady, but it turns out to be Harry, an old man. Spielberg lowers the tension using humour, as Harry has a funny expression on his face when he emerges; he looks rather like a child eating a lemon, which is understandable because of the salty water in the sea, which adds realism to the film, as great white sharks only swim in salt water. 

An annoying man comes to talk to brody, he seems to have some sort or problem with his driveway, its not important and you can see that brodys not at all interested, and we see from his point of view, he is looking over his shoulder at the sea, when he hears screaming and a girl disappears under the water. Brody stands up to get a better view, looking tense, the other people on the beech don’t seem to take any notice; the tension is lowered when it is revealed that her boyfriend is just playing with her. Spielberg lowers the sound of the mans speech and heightens the sound of the screaming, to add drama and tension.

Harry comes to talk to brody, the camera is looking over brodys shoulder you can see Alex floating in the distance, and he is faraway from the other children and can’t be helped. Spielberg uses Harry to lower the tension, as the audience find his man boobs amusing. Immediately after Harry leaves, the music volume increases and brodys wife gives brody a massage, which psychologically gives the audience a massage, and the tension decreases to its lowest in this scene.
Spielberg uses fast cuts to increase the tension
Spielberg raises the tension yet again, to its highest level so far by using fast cuts of children screaming and splashing in the sea, which the audience think is drawing attention to the shark. This contrasts to the mood of the last shot, which was extremely calm, compared to the fast paced shots that follow, and contrast with each other.

The shark’s point of view is the highest point of tension in this scene; Spielberg mainly uses sound to convey this. The camera is supposedly seeing from the point of view of a shark, the audience don’t see the shark which adds tension. The music crescendo’s and the tempo quickens as Jaws gets closer to its pray. The tension builds and builds until the shark attacks. Dramatic irony is also used in this shot, the characters are oblivious to the shark right by their feet, and however, the audience know there is going to be an attack. The shot used is a underwater shot, following the movement of the shark, you could call it a tracking shot, and is effectively a zoom, as the camera moves closer to the subject until a close up of Alex’s legs, the point in which the shark attacks.

While Alex is being attacked, Spielberg uses a special effect called a reverse zoom, the only special effect used in the film. Its done by zooming into the subject as the camera tracks away, its extremely effective to show characters emotions, which usually when this type of shot it used is fear or panic. The background appears to stretch away from the subject, who appears to stay the same length away from the camera continuously. This shot is used on brody to show his reaction of what has just happened. It adds to the drama and tension of the scene.

The scene ends with low tension, in preparation for the next scene. Alex’s lilo washes up on the beach, in a way its peaceful, and Spielberg lowers the tension by focusing only on the sound of the waves, which is relaxing.

Spielberg has used these devices in this scene in order to raise and lower the tension, he lowers the tension by raising the sound of music, and also by using slow shots, and raises it by making fast cuts and heightens the sound of screaming/ panic, and the dramatic music used. This is what makes this scene one of the most memorable in the film, and one of the most successful.