This is our Final Draft for our Media Studies G321 Film Opening called 'Outlaw':
Sunday 25 December 2016
Film Poster
This is our main poster for our Film. The Poster features a close up on the main villains face which is quite a creepy looking clown mask, which instantly tells the consumer that the film will be either creepy/scary, or will be an action film of some type. The villain also has red eyes as well which raises the question of whether there will be a Sci-Fi element to the film or maybe a fantasy element, in order for the consumer to find out they have to watch the film though. The main question raised is 'Who is behind the mask?' which will entice people as they want to know what the answer is.
Saturday 24 December 2016
Outlaw Evaluation Question 1
Here is the presentation for Question 1:
'In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media?'
'In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media?'
Outlaw Evaluation Question 4
Who would be the audience for your media product? (Recommend you turn off sound)
Outlaw Evaluation Question 6
Here is the evaluation video for Question 6:
'What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing the product?'
'What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing the product?'
Friday 23 December 2016
Behind the Scenes #3
The making of our Film Opening and these photos highlight the importance of what happens behind the scenes. This was an enjoyable and important process as it was what made the final piece come together.
Wednesday 21 December 2016
Flux Institution
This is Jamie's institution Logo called Flux:
Like the other institutions in our group, this was also made in Adobe After Affects. We decided to use a different effect to the one we used in the Fire Institution and use a royal purple colour as we thought it looked cool and stood out well against the black background.
Like the other institutions in our group, this was also made in Adobe After Affects. We decided to use a different effect to the one we used in the Fire Institution and use a royal purple colour as we thought it looked cool and stood out well against the black background.
Bloom Institution
This is Sam's Institution Logo called 'Bloom':
The logo will appear at the beginning of our film opening and tells the audience what the institution is for the film.
The logo is good because it has a unique style to it, it fades on and off screen and is made up of a clear bold font in the centre of the screen. The title 'Bloom' is in a bright pink colour and has an 'electric' glow/effect to it, in which the text is animated. This draws attention to the title as it shows it is a professional logo institution as it is a moving image and is in high quality whilst also looking original.
As well as the title in clear pink text, there are two circles surrounding the title, both of which also move in a natural, cool way. The inner circle is a lightning blue where as the outer circle is more of a smokey effect with a blood-orange glow. These circles add depth to the image and draw the viewers eye to the centre whilst also providing an aesthetically pleasing background.
This effect was created in After Effects entirely by scratch by Josh, he used multiple effects to create this final image.
The logo will appear at the beginning of our film opening and tells the audience what the institution is for the film.
The logo is good because it has a unique style to it, it fades on and off screen and is made up of a clear bold font in the centre of the screen. The title 'Bloom' is in a bright pink colour and has an 'electric' glow/effect to it, in which the text is animated. This draws attention to the title as it shows it is a professional logo institution as it is a moving image and is in high quality whilst also looking original.
As well as the title in clear pink text, there are two circles surrounding the title, both of which also move in a natural, cool way. The inner circle is a lightning blue where as the outer circle is more of a smokey effect with a blood-orange glow. These circles add depth to the image and draw the viewers eye to the centre whilst also providing an aesthetically pleasing background.
This effect was created in After Effects entirely by scratch by Josh, he used multiple effects to create this final image.
Tuesday 20 December 2016
Fire Institution
This is Josh's Institution Logo called 'Fire':
This Logo will appear at the beginning of our Film Opening. The Fire flashes on screen with a bright white glow then quickly diminishes into a flame-affect font displaying the title 'Fire'. There is a plain black background which makes the title stand out against it much more. The effect on the title also makes it look professional as well as being of a very high quality. Much like the other titles it was created in Adobe After Effects.
This Logo will appear at the beginning of our Film Opening. The Fire flashes on screen with a bright white glow then quickly diminishes into a flame-affect font displaying the title 'Fire'. There is a plain black background which makes the title stand out against it much more. The effect on the title also makes it look professional as well as being of a very high quality. Much like the other titles it was created in Adobe After Effects.
Music Research
After looking at songs that were over 50 years old and therefore not copyrighted, and having chosen 'Daydream Believer' from a list of 'Paint it Black', 'The House of the Rising Sun' and 'Daydream Believer' we thought we had settled our music choice.
However, the specification states that remixes/covers are technically allowed, or at least it does not state that they are not allowed. When browsing the internet, I came across a trailer for a game called 'Assassins Creed: Unity', I noticed that the song in the trailer sounded very intriguing and I figured it would be great for our final film opening.
I looked into the song to find out it was called 'Everybody Wants to Rule the World' by 'Lorde'.
This version of the song was not an original song, but an adaptation, a cover or remix of the famous and well known song (also titled) 'Everybody Wants to Rule the World' by 'Tears for Fears' and was recorded back in 1985 with a very different (80s) vibe to it compared to this version.
Therefore I suggested the use of the song to the rest of the group and we decided that the song sounded really good in line with the footage and would work well. We then decided to use the song in the film opening.
However, the specification states that remixes/covers are technically allowed, or at least it does not state that they are not allowed. When browsing the internet, I came across a trailer for a game called 'Assassins Creed: Unity', I noticed that the song in the trailer sounded very intriguing and I figured it would be great for our final film opening.
I looked into the song to find out it was called 'Everybody Wants to Rule the World' by 'Lorde'.
This version of the song was not an original song, but an adaptation, a cover or remix of the famous and well known song (also titled) 'Everybody Wants to Rule the World' by 'Tears for Fears' and was recorded back in 1985 with a very different (80s) vibe to it compared to this version.
Therefore I suggested the use of the song to the rest of the group and we decided that the song sounded really good in line with the footage and would work well. We then decided to use the song in the film opening.
Conventions of Action/Thriller
Deadpool is a good example of a action film that has elements of comedy. Deadpool's opening even has comedic elements as the titles are not opening titles are not done seriously they are done so that they don't include the names of the actual people who worked on the film but instead insults or over-exaggerates qualities about them. Deadpool's opening scene is an ideal example of a gore heavy opening that has been neutralised by the comedic effects.
Hot fuzz is another action comedy film that is similar to Deadpool but less gore. Hot fuzz has more comedic aims than Deadpool as it uses action camera angles to enhance the light-hearted scenes. As the opening continues the scenes become slightly more action packed and include more gore.
No Country for Old Men is a purely action film and the opening portrays this. It is a very bland and stale opening that shows just a barren wasteland with who we can assume is the main protagonist. The opening scene shows us its action by making it tense as the man speaking is doing so very monotonous which makes the scene tense and can make the audience worry for whats to happen.
The Road is a thriller/action film that has sci-fi elements. The film opens with a nice flashback scene from the past before the fallout. When it suddenly switches to the fallout world we are shown the man and his dad trying to survive walking along a road after waking in a cave, this helps convey the thriller/action genre as it adds and eeriness to the scene making the audience worry.
In conclusion these film opening will help us build are opening scene for our film as they all include elements that we wish to include, for example heavy action from Deadpool, the lonely walking of The Road.
Film Opening Marking Criteria
Find three student productions of your choice and upload onto blog (post title student film openings) - one to present to the class that you found interesting and two others to mark using the criteria below. What went well, Even better if and give them a grade. It would be fab if you emailed any students' work with queries on their productions or their marks and got a reply. Upload the film you liked and why.
Level 1 0–23 marks The work for the main task is possibly incomplete. There is minimal evidence in the work of the creative use of any relevant technical skills such as:
• Producing material appropriate for the target audience and task;
• using titles appropriately according to institutional conventions;
• using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task set;
• shooting material appropriate to the task set; including controlled use of the camera, attention to framing, variety of shot distance and close attention to mise-en-scene;
• using editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer and making selective and appropriate use of shot transitions and other effects.
Level 2 24–35 marks There is evidence of a basic level of ability in the creative use of some of the following technical skills:
• Producing material appropriate for the target audience and task;
• using titles appropriately according to institutional conventions;
• using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task set;
• shooting material appropriate to the task set;, including controlled use of the camera, attention to framing, variety of shot distance and close attention to mise-en-scene;
• using editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer and making selective and appropriate use of shot transitions and other effects.
Level 3 36–47 marks There is evidence of proficiency in the creative use of many of the following technical skills:
Level 4 48–60 marksThere is evidence of excellence in the creative use of most of the following technical skills:
• material appropriate for the target audience and task;
• using titles appropriately according to institutional conventions;
• using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task set;
• shooting material appropriate to the task set;including controlled use of the camera, attention to framing, variety of shot distance and close attention to mise-en-scene;
• using editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer and making selective and appropriate use of shot transitions and other effects.
This film opening is called allegiance and I found it particularly exhilarating. It creates a very intense film opening which makes me want to watch more of it and find out where the mystery story will take me. I loved the transition between the credits on black and the van scene, they decided to use a build up in sound to cut between the two; this was effective because as the music spiked and the audience waited for something to happen they were introduced with an energetic scene. This also created a gradual build into a large impact creating a hard hitting tension piece. The walkie-talkie voice overs were to show that this was a serious film opening, we could tell this by the loud booming voices that sounded distressed. The way they filmed the van scene where the cameraman knocked back and forth made the van appear as though it was moving.They decided to have a freeze frame and add the titles, to make it unique from most opening sequences. They they kept the same font style throughout the opening sequence in order to give it a 'punchy' feel.
This is the marking scheme for the film opening task, I will observe this and apply it to our production so as to achieve the highest possibly mark.
Level 1 0–23 marks The work for the main task is possibly incomplete. There is minimal evidence in the work of the creative use of any relevant technical skills such as:
• Producing material appropriate for the target audience and task;
• using titles appropriately according to institutional conventions;
• using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task set;
• shooting material appropriate to the task set; including controlled use of the camera, attention to framing, variety of shot distance and close attention to mise-en-scene;
• using editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer and making selective and appropriate use of shot transitions and other effects.
Level 2 24–35 marks There is evidence of a basic level of ability in the creative use of some of the following technical skills:
• Producing material appropriate for the target audience and task;
• using titles appropriately according to institutional conventions;
• using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task set;
• shooting material appropriate to the task set;, including controlled use of the camera, attention to framing, variety of shot distance and close attention to mise-en-scene;
• using editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer and making selective and appropriate use of shot transitions and other effects.
Level 3 36–47 marks There is evidence of proficiency in the creative use of many of the following technical skills:
• Producing material appropriate for the target audience and task;
• using titles appropriately according to institutional conventions;
• using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task set;
• shooting material appropriate to the task set; including controlled use of the camera, attention to framing, variety of shot distance and close attention to mise-en-scene;
• using editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer and making selective and appropriate use of shot transitions and other effects.
• using titles appropriately according to institutional conventions;
• using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task set;
• shooting material appropriate to the task set; including controlled use of the camera, attention to framing, variety of shot distance and close attention to mise-en-scene;
• using editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer and making selective and appropriate use of shot transitions and other effects.
Level 4 48–60 marksThere is evidence of excellence in the creative use of most of the following technical skills:
• material appropriate for the target audience and task;
• using titles appropriately according to institutional conventions;
• using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task set;
• shooting material appropriate to the task set;including controlled use of the camera, attention to framing, variety of shot distance and close attention to mise-en-scene;
• using editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer and making selective and appropriate use of shot transitions and other effects.
I really liked this film opening created at Hurtwood House academy named 'Simulacrum', as it applied numerous positive factors to their film opening and created an exciting action-thriller. They started with the initial pan shot to produce a exceedingly tense atmosphere. They used a credit to add realism to the sequence which instantly enabled them to make it look like an opening scene of a thriller. Then there was the close up shot of the hit mans finger on the trigger of the sniper which adds suspense and gets the audience on the edge of their seats. The editing technique used which was cross-cutting helps the audience to establish where the new character is, thus it helps them to foreshadow upcoming events. I loved the part where they used non-diegetic sounds which increased the pace and furthermore built tension for the next sequence. Overall this film opening should be marked in the 48-60 marks section because it was beautifully produced and edited, clearly the group that created this film opening were extremely dedicated to this task.
This film opening is called allegiance and I found it particularly exhilarating. It creates a very intense film opening which makes me want to watch more of it and find out where the mystery story will take me. I loved the transition between the credits on black and the van scene, they decided to use a build up in sound to cut between the two; this was effective because as the music spiked and the audience waited for something to happen they were introduced with an energetic scene. This also created a gradual build into a large impact creating a hard hitting tension piece. The walkie-talkie voice overs were to show that this was a serious film opening, we could tell this by the loud booming voices that sounded distressed. The way they filmed the van scene where the cameraman knocked back and forth made the van appear as though it was moving.They decided to have a freeze frame and add the titles, to make it unique from most opening sequences. They they kept the same font style throughout the opening sequence in order to give it a 'punchy' feel.
Class Feedback on Film Pitch
We also asked our peers which name they think the film should be called, we asked them to write down their favorite name idea based from a list presented (below) and we came to the conclusion that 'Outlaw' was the most popular name voted for by the class. Therefore our film will be called 'Outlaw'. Something that was not outlined in the presentation was how we were to present the titles of the film, we intend to slow down shots and 'engrave' or embed the credits onto walls and into knives so that they become a part of the scene. We also received feedback from our classmates who commented on the theme, genre, narrative, target audience, institution and whether they would pay to see the movie and any other comments they have on the idea. Here is some of the feedback we received which was necessary for us to evaluate and thus respond to the comments.
@ 'The idea is really ambitious and sounds very exciting. Credit to them if all of the effects on after effects work out. Sometimes super ambitious projects can be a let down. I have confidence in you if you're willing to put in the time for the special effects".
@ "Keep in mind the idea of props and special effects i.e. fire/gunshots etc".
@ "This film takes influence from DeadPool with the anti-hero and a comedy-action genre throughout so I like the idea and would see it, it certainly sounds interesting".
@ "The target audience suits the film well as the action and comedy appeals to a teenage audience".
@ Finally the last comment which was "The film sounds intriguing, I would definitely watch this film".
Overall, our presentation seemed popular among our peers, we received no negative comments and everyone showed clear interest in our project and our ideas for the film opening. We have learnt that they like the editing style and our ambitions for the project so we intend to keep the use of special effects and want to continue experimenting with Adobe After Effects so we can achieve a high standard, professional-looking film opening.
@ 'The idea is really ambitious and sounds very exciting. Credit to them if all of the effects on after effects work out. Sometimes super ambitious projects can be a let down. I have confidence in you if you're willing to put in the time for the special effects".
@ "Keep in mind the idea of props and special effects i.e. fire/gunshots etc".
@ "This film takes influence from DeadPool with the anti-hero and a comedy-action genre throughout so I like the idea and would see it, it certainly sounds interesting".
@ "The target audience suits the film well as the action and comedy appeals to a teenage audience".
@ Finally the last comment which was "The film sounds intriguing, I would definitely watch this film".
Overall, our presentation seemed popular among our peers, we received no negative comments and everyone showed clear interest in our project and our ideas for the film opening. We have learnt that they like the editing style and our ambitions for the project so we intend to keep the use of special effects and want to continue experimenting with Adobe After Effects so we can achieve a high standard, professional-looking film opening.
Film Inspiration
DeadPool was one of the inspirations for our film because it mixed amazing action scenes, that ended both negatively and positively for the main protagonist, thus creating the anti-hero which was a specific aspect that me and my group loved about this movie. Essentially a hyper action film driven by the sarcasm and humor of Ryan Reynolds. Much of which can also be heard in many other Ryan Reynolds movies. Including his early teen geared films and especially Blade Trinity, No one does witty, ribald sarcasm better than Ryan Reynolds.
In DeadPool, he portrays a grossly disfigured anti-hero from the Marvel Universe. One capable of regenerating body parts and healing instantly from any external damage. A character bent on very singular revenge as well. The violence seen in this film makes every other Marvel film seem like a romp in the park. DeadPool is very different from all the others in the Marvel line-up. Something you will not ever find at Xavier's School for Gifted Children. Moreover, DeadPool is definitely not an X-man. Yet apparently certain of the X-men want to recruit him.
The popular game that is Halo was created into a film in 2012, it received terrible reviews and was a downright overall failure. The basic plot is this: In 2525, as mankind has begun to colonise space, a group of cadets are training to fight against human insurrectionists. One of these cadets, Thomas Lasky, has doubts about his abilities as a soldier and his convictions for this war. Whilst he struggles with himself, the planet is invaded by an unknown alien race. Reeling under the assault, Lasky and his squad mates are rescued by John-117, one of the UNSC's legendary SPARTAN-II super-soldiers. John must inspire Lasky to fulfill his potential as a soldier and a leader to fight against an enemy deadlier than any that humanity has faced before. The specific inspiration we got from this film was the way they presented the weapons because we thought they were really cool and suited our ideas exceedingly well.
Film Opening Storyboard - Voice Over
This is a video representation of our storyboard which we used to plan making our film opening.We used a storyboard to help plan out the scenes we will be filming so that we don't end up recording wrong scenes which have no relevance. A storyboard for video production is essentially a large comic of the film or some section of the film produced beforehand to help directors, cinematographers and television commercial advertising clients visualize the scenes and find potential problems before they occur. Often storyboards include arrows or instructions that indicate movement. In creating a motion picture with any degree of fidelity to a script, a storyboard provides a visual layout of events as they are to be seen through the camera lens. And in the case of interactive media, it is the layout and sequence in which the user or viewer sees the content or information. In the storyboarding process, most technical details involved in crafting a film or interactive media project can be efficiently described either in picture, or in additional text. One of the many advantages of using storyboards is that it allows the designer to experiment with changes in the sequence before production begins.
Film Opening Storyboard Evaluation
For our storyboard we drew and wrote down what scenes we would need to record we at the location of filming. After recording these scenes we decided as a group to re-record the scenes in a different way. We did this by changing the plot. This was done by removing all the excess characters like enemy 1 or 2 for example. We did this because we felt like with all the fighting scenes it would take away form the final fight and make it less appealing to watch. it would of also made fitting the in the titles difficult as the scenes were shot or would only stay on one camera angle for a few seconds making the titles hard to read.
So we scrapped the old story plot and made a new one that would take less time to record, require less people and the final fight would be more satisfying to watch as the build up doesn't have constants fighting which ruins the final fight as the audience is then used to the fights taking place.
It would take less time to record as we didn't need other actors, so we didn't need to choreograph the fights which meant we saved a lot of time and that we could successfully over-record so that we would have plenty of scenes to choose from so that we can have different angles for each shot which can help create a more intense effect to the film opening.
In conclusion we decided to scrap the old story plot and make a new one as it allowed us to make a better quality film opening that would take less time to record, so that we could over record and give us opportunities to make better scenes due to the wide range of camera angles.
Costume Research
For our film opening we had to research costumes for our characters to wear, we did this so that we could get a better idea for the specific items of clothing that all of the characters will be wearing. Having a page of costume research helps the actor and producers get innovative ideas for costumes and how to make them look better whilst allowing them to picture the scene better.
Costume Research <---- Link to Costume Research document.
Overall having a document of costume research helps solidify final costumes and also helps to create a clear images of all the scenes that will be recorded.
Costume Research <---- Link to Costume Research document.
Overall having a document of costume research helps solidify final costumes and also helps to create a clear images of all the scenes that will be recorded.
Sci-Fi Gun Shot Test
For our final media we decided to move on from using conventional gunshots and decided to go for a more 'Sci-Fi' style of gunshot. Therefore Josh recorded our main actor, Sam, shooting a pistol, he then took the footage into Adobe After Effects and began playing around with the tools available online and in the software to create the desired effect. This was simply a test and improved Josh's knowledge of the software for later use.
Primary and Secondary Audiences
The primary audience is the decision-maker and/or decision-making body.
The secondary audience is the group's of people that you identify, educate and activate to influence the primary audience.
One of the most important concepts within the subject of Media Studies is understanding that of an audience. Every single media text is made on the assumption to receive pleasing views from an audience, in this way success can be measured by this response; and alternatively the opposing views are to be avoided.
Niche Audience
The mass audience is not the only one that can make a lot of money for media producers, for example some media texts with a specific sub-section of the audience in mind. Whilst a niche audience is more than likely to be smaller in number than a mass audience, this way people can appeal to a specific group which can be perceived and experienced as more profitable.
Target Audience
It is extraordinarily important for media producers to recognise and identify who their specific target audience actually is; it is this knowledge that enables them to make choices on what the content of their media texts should be.
Niche Audience
The mass audience is not the only one that can make a lot of money for media producers, for example some media texts with a specific sub-section of the audience in mind. Whilst a niche audience is more than likely to be smaller in number than a mass audience, this way people can appeal to a specific group which can be perceived and experienced as more profitable.
Target Audience
It is extraordinarily important for media producers to recognise and identify who their specific target audience actually is; it is this knowledge that enables them to make choices on what the content of their media texts should be.
Class Feedback on First Draft
The peer assessment sheet consisted of two sections:
What elements of this sequence did you feel were successful?
- 'Good locations. It is a good cliffhanger'.
- 'Creates enigma, who is he?, whats he doing? and wheres he going?'.
- 'Liked the gunshots when the camera angle changed, made it more dramatic'.
- 'The pace was very good- got faster as the opening went on'.
- 'Music sets the atmopshere'.
- 'Props good- Location/Setting reall good'.
- 'I liked how the shots were in time with the music'.
- 'The music complemented the sequence'.
- 'I liked how the camera went in and out of focus'.
- 'The different shots used were brilliant, very professional overall'.
- 'Warm feel with colors, especially the sunset background'.
The overall feedback we received for our film openings first draft was very positive even though we had barely completed the editing. People seemed to enjoy the locations that we used in Willingale, the shots were amazing because of the time we chose to film which brought upon a sunset. Also I can see from the audiences responses that the music was well suited, it isn't copyrighted because it has been remixed, so it has been effectively applied to the modern era. The way in which our director Josh Yates filmed some of the scenes going from unfocused to focused received very good feedback, I personally believe he was the visionary of this whole operation. He was able to captivate his audience in a way that intrigued them into wanting to watch more, this has been perceived through the above quotes; which will be beneficial to our group.
Were there any aspects of the sequence which you felt were confusing/distracting/missing, etc?
- 'Who was the character, why was he there?'.
- 'Titles were missing'.
- 'Doesn't explain why he is fighting/in the woods'.
- 'Lacked a full-on story-line could have more context'.
- 'You couldn't tell who the character was and why he was doing it'.
- 'Who was the masked character'.
- 'Was unfinished'.
- 'No speech, so was hard to fully understand what was really going on'.
These particular responses were slightly unhelpful, they were just stating the things we already knew we were missing. Our next draft will include our titles and all of the gunshots/noises should be edited in creating the masterpiece that is our film opening. People were saying they were confused about the story-line or the characters need to fully understand and appreciate the fact that film openings are supposed to be a mystery in most cases; and to make the audience consider all the different possible outcomes.
What elements of this sequence did you feel were successful?
- 'Good locations. It is a good cliffhanger'.
- 'Creates enigma, who is he?, whats he doing? and wheres he going?'.
- 'Liked the gunshots when the camera angle changed, made it more dramatic'.
- 'The pace was very good- got faster as the opening went on'.
- 'Music sets the atmopshere'.
- 'Props good- Location/Setting reall good'.
- 'I liked how the shots were in time with the music'.
- 'The music complemented the sequence'.
- 'I liked how the camera went in and out of focus'.
- 'The different shots used were brilliant, very professional overall'.
- 'Warm feel with colors, especially the sunset background'.
The overall feedback we received for our film openings first draft was very positive even though we had barely completed the editing. People seemed to enjoy the locations that we used in Willingale, the shots were amazing because of the time we chose to film which brought upon a sunset. Also I can see from the audiences responses that the music was well suited, it isn't copyrighted because it has been remixed, so it has been effectively applied to the modern era. The way in which our director Josh Yates filmed some of the scenes going from unfocused to focused received very good feedback, I personally believe he was the visionary of this whole operation. He was able to captivate his audience in a way that intrigued them into wanting to watch more, this has been perceived through the above quotes; which will be beneficial to our group.
Were there any aspects of the sequence which you felt were confusing/distracting/missing, etc?
- 'Who was the character, why was he there?'.
- 'Titles were missing'.
- 'Doesn't explain why he is fighting/in the woods'.
- 'Lacked a full-on story-line could have more context'.
- 'You couldn't tell who the character was and why he was doing it'.
- 'Who was the masked character'.
- 'Was unfinished'.
- 'No speech, so was hard to fully understand what was really going on'.
These particular responses were slightly unhelpful, they were just stating the things we already knew we were missing. Our next draft will include our titles and all of the gunshots/noises should be edited in creating the masterpiece that is our film opening. People were saying they were confused about the story-line or the characters need to fully understand and appreciate the fact that film openings are supposed to be a mystery in most cases; and to make the audience consider all the different possible outcomes.
Risk Assessment Forms/Health and Safety
Everything that I have mentioned in the presentation above must be applied to the production through a risk assessment form to ensure that everyone in the group are prepared for potential outcomes and willing to continue with the film opening; I have created one below:
Genre and Audience
The action genre is defined as wherein physical action takes precedence in the storytelling. The film will often have continuous motion and action including physical stunts, chases, fights, battles, and races. The story usually revolves around a hero that has a goal, but is facing incredible odds to obtain it.
Action film examples:
@ Die Hard- A New York cop gives terrorists a dose of their own medicine as they hold hostages in an LA office building.
@ Raiders of the Lost Ark - an adventuring archeologist races around the world to single-handedly prevent the Nazis from turning the Ark of the Covenant into a weapon of world conquest.
Our film is most certainly an action film with its slow beginning which transitions into a fast pace combat movie.
A target audience is the intended audience or readership of a publication, advertisement, or other message. In marketing and advertising, it is a particular group of consumers within the predetermined target market, identified as the targets or recipients for a particular advertisement or message. In this instance our target audience is ranged at 15 and above, however to be more accurate the audience will be aged between 15-40, simply because the actors in the opening look particularly young meaning the audience could certainly relate to them.
Action film examples:
@ Die Hard- A New York cop gives terrorists a dose of their own medicine as they hold hostages in an LA office building.
@ Raiders of the Lost Ark - an adventuring archeologist races around the world to single-handedly prevent the Nazis from turning the Ark of the Covenant into a weapon of world conquest.
Our film is most certainly an action film with its slow beginning which transitions into a fast pace combat movie.
A target audience is the intended audience or readership of a publication, advertisement, or other message. In marketing and advertising, it is a particular group of consumers within the predetermined target market, identified as the targets or recipients for a particular advertisement or message. In this instance our target audience is ranged at 15 and above, however to be more accurate the audience will be aged between 15-40, simply because the actors in the opening look particularly young meaning the audience could certainly relate to them.
When deciding our target audience, we had to look at what we were going to include, and how discrete we were going to be. We chose this age specifically because the audience is seen as active producers, to make sense of media text from their social position.
Marketing Campaign
Marketing campaigns promote a product through different media, including television, radio, print and online platforms. Campaigns don't have to rely solely on advertising and can also include demonstrations, word of mouth and other interactive techniques. Businesses operating in highly competitive markets may initiate frequent marketing campaigns and devote significant resources to generating brand awareness and sales.
Marketing campaigns can be designed with different goals in mind, including building a brand image, introducing a new product, increasing sales of a product already on the market, or even reducing the impact of negative news. Defining a campaign's goal usually dictates how much marketing is needed and what media are most effective.
The Warriors Title Research
http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/the-warriors/
0:04 - 0:09 Paramount pictures presents (production Company)
0:18 - 0:24 A Lawrence Bordan production ( production company)
0:30 - 0:34 The Warriors (Film Title)
0:37- 0:49 Actors
1:50 - 1:55 Music by
2:23 - 2:28 Edited by
2:49 - 2:54 Art directors
3:48 - 3:53 Director of Photography
4:10 - 4:15 Executive Producer
5:10 - 5:15 Screenplay by
5:32 - 5:37 Produced by
6:15 - 6:20 Directed by
0:04 - 0:09 Paramount pictures presents (production Company)
0:18 - 0:24 A Lawrence Bordan production ( production company)
0:30 - 0:34 The Warriors (Film Title)
0:37- 0:49 Actors
1:50 - 1:55 Music by
2:23 - 2:28 Edited by
2:49 - 2:54 Art directors
3:48 - 3:53 Director of Photography
4:10 - 4:15 Executive Producer
5:10 - 5:15 Screenplay by
5:32 - 5:37 Produced by
6:15 - 6:20 Directed by
Evidence of Planning
This is Jamie Hewlett, researching some ideas that he needs to tick of the media checklist.
Here is our chief editor Joshua Yates who decided to take on the most difficult responsibilities, which he maintains in his free time.
This is the last of the group Samuel James Hooper who has the rewarding job of motivating his other group members, and took on numerous tasks relating to the film opening.
Thursday 15 December 2016
Film Opening First Draft
This is the first draft of our Film Opening. It contains the majority of the scenes put together in their final form apart from the fighting scene at the end. As well as this it is missing the titles and the special effects (gun shots etc.)
Sunday 11 December 2016
Film Review #2
Rogue One hit theatres on 14th December 2016, just under a year after the last Star Wars film entered theatres and became an instant hit. However this film is a standalone film, a prequel to the very first film (made, not in the series, so Episode 4) and tells the story of how the rebels came to get the plans for the Death Star in the first place. The film is directed by Gareth Edwards and features a brand new set of characters with a few cameos and scenes from iconic droids R2-D2 and C3PO as well as Darth Vader and Grand Moff Tarkin. The film also has music composed by Michael Giacchino in the classic Star Wars style, however is noticeable different to John Williams style.
(SPOILERS AHEAD)
The film starts off unlike all of the other Star Wars films, without the iconic 'Star Wars' text bursting onto our screen and the text crawl accompanied with the classic opening music. It still remained true to the theme of starting in space and the frame focusing on the main protagonist's (Jyn Erso) current home Lah'mu.
We meet Jyn Erso in her younger years along with her father Galen Erso and mother Lyra Erso hiding out in exile away from the rest of the galaxy in attempt to hid from the empire. Here we learn that Galen Erso is an Imperial Scientist and is key to the construction of the Death Star.
The film later flashes forward to the Jyn Erso we all know and love, in her older, more rebellious form currently (as expected from Jyn) in captivity in an imperial camp on the planet Wobani. She is rescued by a squad of rebels and taken back to the rebels headquarters on Yavin 4 where her adventure starts. Here we also meet familiar characters from the original trilogy, Mon Mothma, Bail Organa and everyone's favourite fish-alien Admiral Ackbar as well as some other Generals and characters some may recognise from the Star Wars EU (where we learn more about them) or other official canon.
Jyn and her new companions Cassian Andor and reprogrammed imperial droid K-2SO set off on their journey to find out information on the whereabouts of Jyn's father Galen Erso. From here onwards the film is packed with fast paced scenes and action as well as some more heart-breaking scenes, one character (Saw Gerrera), a rebel extremist who we met earlier on as the saviour of Jyn and a good friend of Galen, dies very quickly into the film from the Death Star's first test on the holy city of Jedha. Many fans may have expected to see the character have more scenes in the film, but unfortunately we see his departure pretty quickly, not to say that the scenes he was in weren't cool though, they were.
The film continues and Jyn eventually meets her father at around the half way mark in the film, possibly a bit after, so rather a somewhat yet understandable slow start to the film, but all of the story-telling is well done, well scripted and very well executed as well as necessary. A few of my friends (very few) have said that the film is 'rubbish' or 'really slow at the start', however, I obviously disagree and when asked for a reason, the best response given is "it's just boring" or "too much talking at the start" which answers the reason why they didn't like the film. They simply do not appreciate the story-telling which is very necessary and frankly not boring at all (unless you're a simpleton like these people who only care for constant action scenes or explosions, in which case, I suggest they go and watch a Michael Bay film). So there, sure you could argue that it takes a while to get to the proper action scenes (which is epic, I'll get to that) but is appropriate to the rest of the story and is done as quickly as possible, any faster and the film start would have been rushed, some points would have been left out and emotional moments wouldn't have had the same impact as they do because we wouldn't get a chance to spend enough time with those characters beforehand.
We also meet the end of Galen Erso in the same scene, when I say Jyn meets her father, I mean, Jyn meets her father dying on the floor as he says his last words, even still, same thing essentially, certainly upsetting too.
The team (along with new members) continue their journey and come to the Imperial dominated planet of Scarif, where the empire keep all of their plans and data files (ayy, see where they're going with this?). Our characters gain entrance to the planet thanks to the imperial droid K-2SO as well as an imperial pilot (now rebel) and a friend of Galen Erso picked up along the way. This is where the sweet action scenes start. The Imperial Shuttle lands on Scarif with a team of rebels also where Jyn, Cassian and K2SO attempt to gain access to the data files and get the plans for the Death Star whilst the rebels create a distraction all over the island, causing confusion in the empire. And so, the battles begin, and oh boy is it cool, explosions across the island, epic gun fights all whilst our heroes climb and make their way through the 'data tower' to get to the plans. The battle gets even cooler when Rebel Headquarters learn that there are Rebels on Scarif and send out the Rebel Fleet for backup (the Rebel High Council recently declined to help Jyn out). This is when X-Wings, U-Wings and Y-Wings get through the shield gate and begin giving air support to those on the ground. Reinforcements are dropped from both sides as well as the deployment of AT-ACT (like AT-AT's but used for transporting building materials etc). Not only an epic ground battle but also a space battle outside of the planet, hundreds, and I mean hundreds of T.I.E. Fighters are deployed and an epic battle in the sky ensues accompanied with epic music. After a good 20-30 minutes of fast paced action and just generally cool scenes, we meet the end of villain Krenic, as well as K-2SO, and eventually Cassian and Jyn (And all of the other companians).
So a sad ending to this film, but certainly a good if not great ending to the film. I personally think this film was better than The Force Awakens (and TFA was good) as it brought back a sense of nostalgia being a prequel, as well as given us some backstory behind how the rebels got the plans for the Death Star. I also really liked the fact that we saw the heroes die too, not in a sadistic way, but more of a satisfaction as it seems like the heroes always win with little to no losses, at least nothing the audience cares about (if a rebel trooper dies who you never knew, you don't exactly cry about it).
The fact that the characters died felt different for a change, as well as that the battle on Scarif and above Scarif was much, much cooler than any of the fight scenes/battles in TFA, sure we had a Lightsaber battle in TFA and yeah that was cool as well as important for the storyline, but we didn't really see any proper battle scenes on the ground between two large forces (like the battle on Kashyyyk in Revenge of the Sith, because that was cool). The new location choice was also great too, we haven't seen a desert island before in the Star Wars Galaxy, it is a shame to see it destroyed, but there's bound to be more out there. As well as all of this great points, the game 'Star Wars: Battlefront' also had Rogue One: Scarif DLC added to it which was/is a lot of fun to play. And that's why I thought this film was great, like so good I'm going to see it for the third time soon good, better than The Force Awakens in terms of storytelling, script-writing, acting (yeah some acting in TFA was a bit patchy) and everything else. The camera work was of course amazing, they always do a great job on that as well as the special effects and practical effects. So overall, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, go and see it, right now. Even though I've spoiled it all essentially it's still worth seeing 10 times. Give them your money, it's really good. Now we've just got the Boba Fett Standalone movie as well as the other two movies in the new Trilogy.
Overall Rating: 9/10
Saturday 10 December 2016
Film Review #1
On the 17th December 2015, 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' hit theatres and cinemas all around the world. As any keen fan of Star Wars and all around geek, I went to see the film on the opening night with friends, spoilers of the film had been spread around the school but some of us managed to make it throughout the day not having heard them and essentially shutting ourselves away from everyone else, all for the sake of seeing the film and experiencing everything ourselves.
Not many films these days have the power to make (some) people shut themselves off from the world to avoid hearing spoilers for the film, however this film, Star Wars is a reboot of the classic and nostalgic film series that everyone knows and loves, you can show anyone a picture of Darth Vader or another classic character and be certain that they will know their name (anyone who doesn't needs to reconsider their lives).
Director J.J Abrams delivers the first chapter in a brand new trilogy in the world of Star Wars. With familiar faces (such as Luke, Leia and Han Solo etc) returning to our cinema screens. The film was sure to be a thriller and one to remember.
(SPOILERS AHEAD)
Having entered the cinema, excited and surrounded by other avid fans, the film began, in none other than the classic text roll iconic to all other 6 movies, everyone sat giddy and happy in their seats when the 'Star Wars' text burst on screen with the loud, classic music (composed once again by John Williams) to accompany it.
Throughout the film there was non-stop action with heart warming scenes and some less so. The scriptwriting and dialogue was well done, with some scenes arguably being a bit patchy, but none-the-less still felt real and didn't take away from the excitement of the film. Moments to remember in the film were when iconic characters Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and his co-pilot and partner smuggler Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) re-entered the Millennium Falcon for the first time accompanied by inspiring music and the cinema audience (genuinely) went up in applaud and different chants such as "WOOO" and "YESSSS!", that is the true power of film and clearly was very well executed by Abrams and the rest of the Star Wars crew, as well of course Harrison Fords well executed and frankly emotional line "Chewie... We're home." followed with Chewie's growl.
A few other scenes had the same impact (not as crazy though) such as when Princess (now General) Leia (Carrie Fisher) appeared on screen and met with Han Solo, this scene also saw the re-introduction of everyone's favourite droids RT-D2 and C3PO. C3PO who of course interrupted the emotional reunion with a witty and funny line "Goodness, Han Solo...".
Another scene that saw a more upsetting response from the audience was the upsetting death of an iconic character, Han Solo, killed by his own son Ben Solo, known more commonly as Kylo Ren. The cinema was left silent with a few people expressing there upset with muffled gasps and whispers to their friends, from there on everyone felt dismal and distressed that we'd lost such an iconic character in the film franchise, and for some, a person who brings a lot of nostalgia. Despite his death, the film went on now with a burst of inspiration, as if Han Solo's death meant that our 'good guys' had to succeed. Epic action scenes continued with classic X-Wings, Tie Fighters and of course a cool lightsaber battle between our main characters in the new trilogy Rey and Finn and new villain, Vader's grandson Kylo Ren.
Overall the film was a great entrance into the new trilogy and brought back a sense of nostalgia as well as introducing new characters for the next generation of Star Wars lovers. Some may argue that the film was too similar to 'A New Hope' and that Abrams played it safe, whatever way you look at it, it worked well and received a very positive response from fans and newcomers around the world.
Rating: 8/10
Rating: 8/10
R.I.P
Carrie Fisher
1956-2016
1956-2016
Kenny Baker
1934-2016
Friday 9 December 2016
Film Poster Analysis #1
This poster is from the film 'The Dark Knight', the second film in a trilogy of films directed by Christopher Nolan and was released in 2008.
This poster shows the main villain protagonist 'The Joker' which instantly tells the audience that this character is going to have a large influence in the film. The Joker is a creepy looking character and is standing in a destructive setting, this tells us that the film is an action film and will also be quite dark and sinister, indicated by The Joker's appearance.
The title of the film is clearly labelled at the bottom of the poster in a white bold font which stands out against the dark background/darker aesthetic of the poster. The title also shows Batman's iconic logo with a bright glow around it which helps the title stand out more. It also teaches (viewers who may not know) that this is a film about Batman.
As well as the title at the bottom of the poster, there are also the production companies and the institution logos at the bottom of the poster, all shaded blue and faded slightly to fit in with the aesthetics of the poster without standing out too much. The label 'Coming Soon' is also seen in a slightly brighter blue and larger font with the films website address underneath it in a similar fashion to the production logos. At the top of the poster there are the main/most popular actors listed, these will help influence people to see the movie as a good, reputable actor usually indicates a good film/storyline or plot.
Thursday 17 November 2016
Production Diary
Production Diary
15/11/2016 – In today’s lesson we discussed who would do what planning. Josh is to organize the shooting schedule. Sam is making the storyboard and I am doing the Production Diary. We also discussed specific props and costumes and how to organise the scenes that we are recording.
17/11/2016 – Today in lesson we all worked on research and planning for out film opening. Josh made and completed a shooting schedule; Sam researched film openings and titles, and I made and completed a document on costume research. We uploaded two posts onto our blogs as they were finished then Josh started on music research and I stated primary and secondary audience research.
20/11/2016 - Today we went out to Willingale to do the main bulk of our recording for our film opening. Overall the day of recording went well, everyone showed up and we recorded all the main fights scenes to a high standard that looked very well done and realistic due to the different angles we used we needed but unfortunately we over-recorded the main scenes with different angles that when we looked over the footage at the end of the day we realised some of the transitions between scenes were choppy and the main protagonist, Sam, looked like he was skipping out stepping between scenes and made us wonder how he got there. We have organised a re-recording on Sunday the 4th of December to record filler scenes and even record another fight so that our film opening can be to an even higher standard.
21/11/2016 - In todays lesson we took all the footage off the camera and started to organise the footage and edit it. Josh worked on special effects on after effects and I ordered and cut the footage in Premier. Sam worked on research for titles that we could use for the opening.
22/11/2016 - Today in lesson Josh worked on the special effects of the gun shots, since I already ordered and cut the footage me and Sam worked on research for different aspects of the marketing and titles.
23/11/2016 - In lesson Josh had finished doing the special effects so he practiced editing random clips to makes sure when he edits the new set of recording clips he can do it faster and to a better quality. Sam continued to research and I worked on the production diary.
24/11/2016 - Josh continued practicing his ability to do special effects whilst we waited to record the next scenes. I worked on the production diary and helped Sam record the storyboard to post on our blogs.
25/11/2016 - I worked on editing the storyboard video whilst Josh continued to practice. Sam worked on marketing research for ideas of what we can do after the main editing is done.
27/11/2016 - We were unable to record as the group and actors had problems with work so we had to postpone the recording until the 4th of December.
29/11/2016 - As a group we reflected on Josh's editing and suggested different ways he can add the effects and how he can make the effects look more crisp and professional.
1/12/2106 - As a group this hour was wasted as we where unsure on what to do with lack of footage due to a unfortunate setback. From this we learned that we need to always make the most of our time and when we have nothing to do work on research for other parts of the film opening.
4/12/2016 - Today we went to record our next set of footage but we had another problem, the other actors all decided to leave without notifying us. So me, Sam, and Josh recorded the opening as just us three. The scenes we recorded worked and flowed a lot better than our last set of film, we over-recorded this time to make sure that we have enough footage to be able to edit properly.
5/12/2016 - Today josh worked and a new set of special effects for the new scenes and I worked on the production diary. I will be editing the footage together after josh has finished the main special effects. Sam worked the behind the scenes and finding the footage the we can use to make a good behind the scenes post.
6/12/2016 - Today Josh worked on the first half of the opening scene, he was working on adding the plasma shots to the gun as he had already done the plasma launcher. I worked on editing an d uploading the video storyboard evaluation. Sam worked on risk assessments and made a prezi about it so that it is interesting to look at.
8/12/2016 - As a group today we sat down and reflected on what we have done and haven't done. Me and Sam were caught up to date wit how far Josh was with editing and Josh was told what Me and Sam had and hadn't done. We also talked about what we were planning to do.
12/12/2016 - In today's lesson Josh worked on editing the second half of the opening scene, he was editing a shield on my arm to reflect bullets that Sam shot at me. I worked on the Film poster whilst Sam worked on the marketing for the film.
14/12/2016 - Today Josh finished off the second half of the special effects for the film opening. Sam worked on making a post about audience and I finished of the poster and sent it to Sam so he could add it to the marketing post.
16/12/2016 - Josh has finished the special effects for the film opening and is now working on adding diegetic sounds and the titles. Sam reworked some of the old post to update them of the new plot line. I worked on sending Josh the timings for the titles and the order of the people in the titles.
19/12/2016 - Josh finished off the titles an dis now adding the last few diegetic sounds to the film opening. Sam was not in today so he couldn't update his blog. I worked o genre conventions of our film genre which I made a post about.
11/11/2016 – In today’s lesson we made a presentation based on our opening scene which includes topics like the target audience and the narrative. Then presented it to the class and the class were asked to give feedback and constructive criticism and how we could improve or what they liked about it.
14/11/2016 – In lesson today we made and produced an evaluation for our opening scene presentation based on the feedback we were given by the class to help us understand how audiences feel about our film opening. We also let the audience choose the name for our film which is “Outlaw”
14/11/2016 – In lesson today we made and produced an evaluation for our opening scene presentation based on the feedback we were given by the class to help us understand how audiences feel about our film opening. We also let the audience choose the name for our film which is “Outlaw”
15/11/2016 – In today’s lesson we discussed who would do what planning. Josh is to organize the shooting schedule. Sam is making the storyboard and I am doing the Production Diary. We also discussed specific props and costumes and how to organise the scenes that we are recording.
17/11/2016 – Today in lesson we all worked on research and planning for out film opening. Josh made and completed a shooting schedule; Sam researched film openings and titles, and I made and completed a document on costume research. We uploaded two posts onto our blogs as they were finished then Josh started on music research and I stated primary and secondary audience research.
20/11/2016 - Today we went out to Willingale to do the main bulk of our recording for our film opening. Overall the day of recording went well, everyone showed up and we recorded all the main fights scenes to a high standard that looked very well done and realistic due to the different angles we used we needed but unfortunately we over-recorded the main scenes with different angles that when we looked over the footage at the end of the day we realised some of the transitions between scenes were choppy and the main protagonist, Sam, looked like he was skipping out stepping between scenes and made us wonder how he got there. We have organised a re-recording on Sunday the 4th of December to record filler scenes and even record another fight so that our film opening can be to an even higher standard.
21/11/2016 - In todays lesson we took all the footage off the camera and started to organise the footage and edit it. Josh worked on special effects on after effects and I ordered and cut the footage in Premier. Sam worked on research for titles that we could use for the opening.
22/11/2016 - Today in lesson Josh worked on the special effects of the gun shots, since I already ordered and cut the footage me and Sam worked on research for different aspects of the marketing and titles.
23/11/2016 - In lesson Josh had finished doing the special effects so he practiced editing random clips to makes sure when he edits the new set of recording clips he can do it faster and to a better quality. Sam continued to research and I worked on the production diary.
24/11/2016 - Josh continued practicing his ability to do special effects whilst we waited to record the next scenes. I worked on the production diary and helped Sam record the storyboard to post on our blogs.
25/11/2016 - I worked on editing the storyboard video whilst Josh continued to practice. Sam worked on marketing research for ideas of what we can do after the main editing is done.
27/11/2016 - We were unable to record as the group and actors had problems with work so we had to postpone the recording until the 4th of December.
29/11/2016 - As a group we reflected on Josh's editing and suggested different ways he can add the effects and how he can make the effects look more crisp and professional.
1/12/2106 - As a group this hour was wasted as we where unsure on what to do with lack of footage due to a unfortunate setback. From this we learned that we need to always make the most of our time and when we have nothing to do work on research for other parts of the film opening.
4/12/2016 - Today we went to record our next set of footage but we had another problem, the other actors all decided to leave without notifying us. So me, Sam, and Josh recorded the opening as just us three. The scenes we recorded worked and flowed a lot better than our last set of film, we over-recorded this time to make sure that we have enough footage to be able to edit properly.
5/12/2016 - Today josh worked and a new set of special effects for the new scenes and I worked on the production diary. I will be editing the footage together after josh has finished the main special effects. Sam worked the behind the scenes and finding the footage the we can use to make a good behind the scenes post.
6/12/2016 - Today Josh worked on the first half of the opening scene, he was working on adding the plasma shots to the gun as he had already done the plasma launcher. I worked on editing an d uploading the video storyboard evaluation. Sam worked on risk assessments and made a prezi about it so that it is interesting to look at.
8/12/2016 - As a group today we sat down and reflected on what we have done and haven't done. Me and Sam were caught up to date wit how far Josh was with editing and Josh was told what Me and Sam had and hadn't done. We also talked about what we were planning to do.
12/12/2016 - In today's lesson Josh worked on editing the second half of the opening scene, he was editing a shield on my arm to reflect bullets that Sam shot at me. I worked on the Film poster whilst Sam worked on the marketing for the film.
14/12/2016 - Today Josh finished off the second half of the special effects for the film opening. Sam worked on making a post about audience and I finished of the poster and sent it to Sam so he could add it to the marketing post.
16/12/2016 - Josh has finished the special effects for the film opening and is now working on adding diegetic sounds and the titles. Sam reworked some of the old post to update them of the new plot line. I worked on sending Josh the timings for the titles and the order of the people in the titles.
19/12/2016 - Josh finished off the titles an dis now adding the last few diegetic sounds to the film opening. Sam was not in today so he couldn't update his blog. I worked o genre conventions of our film genre which I made a post about.
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