Wednesday, 9 May 2012
6.What have you learnt about technologies from the process of producing your product?
6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of producing your product?
Throughout the process of making our opening thriller movie sequence a variety of technologies were used: both ones that we were already familiar with and ones which were as if going to new territory. The process of producing our product were split into various sections such as research, planning and production which all used specific technologies tailored for them. To begin with for the research and planning of our opening sequence for a thriller movie the internet was the main technology used to find the research. This is a technology which although does not seem it to the younger generation, is actually a type of new technology however we were and are still very familiar with the usage of the internet therefore was easy to use to complete the research and find any images required. Youtube on the other hand is definitely an example of new technology that was used to embed interactive clips to our blogs to create visuals when analyzing existing products as well as showing our final product to an audience post production to make it easily accessible. DV cameras were an example of a technology in which we were introduced to at some point in our lives however during the process of producing our product we developed our skills such as how to have a controlled zoom to add an effective of tension and to create suspense which was our primary task in order to meet the conventions of a thriller. We did find problems however with the final image produced by the DV camera such as the grainy and dull colours given off which in some cases could be useful but in our case we wanted a cleaner cut image which we did not get. The sound was also a problem since the microphones didn’t pick up the clearest sounds are grainy and sound unprofessional therefore the only way to overcome the problem was to minimise the amount of dialogue used within the product. Finally, imovie is a modern technology we used which we were completely unfamiliar however due to its simplicity it was very user friendly therefore we got the grasp of it in a short period of time. The down side of this free software is that is it not industry standard meaning that if our film was to be released to the public it would not get the same ratings as one that has used a software to make it more clean cut and audience ready.
5.How did you attract/address your audience?
As stated previously the target audience that we were aiming to attract were preferably males ranging from mid teens to early twenties. In order to achieve this it was important for us to base the content of our film around the influences of the '15' film certificate as it set a vital guideline which was important to follow to address the right audience.
Further more the forms and conventions were also seen as vital and it was important to use certain conventions to our advantage in order to attract out target audience, these
conventions consisted of:
Theme/Genre:
In order to attract our audience we decided to give our film a theme of crime as we
believed that it would appeal to many teenagers in particularly boys as we believed that the prospect of crime would excited them as it has major links with action, which once again draws many youths in.
Casting:
We used male teenagers as characters due to the fact that they can appeal to, male youths
of a similar age, because they can relate to them and understand the characters a lot more, as they may share particular things in common with them, or they may have gone through
similar experiences.
Location:
As regards to Location we purposely based our film in a very urban society, this without a doubt would address our audience, as it can appeal to many teenagers as they may have
grown up in a similar urban society so once again this allows them to relate to the film.
Score:
The urban element of the score is very modern as well as contemporary and this alone will appeal to many youths especially males as it is well within there comfort zone, this aspect
will definitely attract them.
The audience feed back was extremely important as it determined whether we were successful in trying to attract our audiences. The feedback was positive, clearly indicating that we had achieved our goal.
Our film was posted on youtube for distribution:
4.Who would be the audience for your media product?
After many hours of careful research, choosing the audience for our product was difficult as it is what rounded off the planning of our final product as we would have had to design specifically for the audience. Though our certification was chosen to be a 15 it did not mean that was the age of our audience over all as it just means that that age group was allowed to watch the movie. Our audience's age was chosen to be from about 15 to young adults such as early 20's as our theme of gangs in London would appeal to these ages most. With a young audience it opens up more opportunities to attract them and distribute the sequence via social networking sites such as facebook and a video site such as youtube as these sites are very popular with a young audience and is also free.
The gender however was chosen to be mainly males as again the theme of gangs in London would appeal to the males more which is why we cast mainly male character in the sequence so that they would relate to each other. Our thriller genre also tends to appeal mostly to males due to the suspense, the tension and the subgenres of action being able to relate to it which entertains the male audience much more than that of the female audience.
Sunday, 18 March 2012
'The Edge' Second Shooting 18/03/12
Similarly to the first shooting, the second shooting of the film ran very smoothly. The scenes that we filmed on this day didn't require any extensive camera shots, they were basic but effective and once again we managed to complete the session ahead of schedule, we did however want to perfect the scenes therefore we did a number of different takes but that is the nature of shooting schedules.
Saturday, 17 March 2012
'The Edge' First Shooting 17/03/12
The first shooting for The Edge was considered a success, despite being forced to film our scenes in the rain, we believed that the rain created and reflected a sort of dark and edgy mood which corresponded with the theme of the film extremely well, furthermore we managed to film all the scenes that we had planned to ahead of schedule which was great and saved us a lot of time, we were forced however to repeatedly remove the tripod and camera away from the road as cars drove by which was becoming a bit frustrating during some scenes. Finally filming these scenes was an enjoyable experience and we as a collective group had fun which was a plus side.
Friday, 16 March 2012
'The Edge' Shooting Schedule 2 18/03/12
Date:Sunday 18th March 2012
Time: 10am - 12pm
Location: Sergy's House
Shots: 1 - 3
Actors: Sergy (Malcolm)
Crew:
-Migle (Camera Man)
-Sergy (Director)
-Catherine (Props & Assistant Director)
Costumes and Props:
-Casual clothing for Sergy (Malcolm)
-Sharp weapon, such as the knife, Mobile Phone, Keys
Equipment:
-Camera
-Tape
-Tripod
Potential Issues:
The aren't really much potential issues which could trouble us, we will be filming inside therefore we can easily adjust the lighting of the room etc.
Risk Assessment:
The Risk Assessment is low
'The Edge' Shooting Schedule 17/03/12
Date: Saturday 17th March 2012
Time: 1pm - 3pm
Location:
-Chertsey Court Estate, Richmond
-Cherstey Court Road Bus stop
-Alley way, Mortlake
Shots: 4 - 8
Actors: Sergy (Malcolm) Carlos (Antagonist) Marlon (Extra/Malcolms friend)
Crew Members:
-Migle (Camera man)
-Sergy (Director)
-Catherine (Props & assistant director)
Costumes and Props:
-Casual clothing for Sergy (Malcolm) Dark casual clothing for Antagonist, with a hood.
Equipment:
Camera, Tape, Tripod
Potential Issues:
On this day the weather forecast displays that there will be rain, therefore we will have to find a way around this issue apart from that, everything should be fine.
Risk Assessment:
The only real risk that we may come across, is to try and avoid the cars which may possibly drive past as the scenes 5-8 will be shot on the road, therefore we must be fully aware of our surroundings to avoid any accidents.
Screen Play Format 'The Edge'
INT. MALCOLM'S ROOM. DAY
MALCOLM receives a suspicious phone call.
MALCOLM
(Anxiously)
"Hello...yeah alright cool, I'm on my way now"
INT. MALCOLM'S ROOM. DAY
MALCOLM gets ready he puts his shoes on, zips up his jacket and take the weapon and places it in his pocket, he then walks towards the front door.
INT. MALCOLM'S HOUSE CORRIDOR. DAY
MALCOLM opens the front door steps outside, he look anxiously at the weapon, places it back in his pocket as carries on walking.
EXT. STREET. DAY
MALCOLM walks down the street and walks past a mysterious looking character and they both stare each other in the eyes. MALCOLM then walks away to the bus stop.
EXT. BUS STOP. DAY
MALCOLM waits at the bus stop, however there is no sign of the bus after a while so he decides to continue his journey by foot.
EXT. RUN DOWN STREET. DAY
MALCOLM walks past a dark alley way and a mysterious figure lurking in the alley way, the mysterious character begins to trail behind MALCOLM without him knowing, suddenly the mysterious character lunges as MALCOLM knocking him down and attacking him.
Location
Bedroom - The first scene will be shot in my bedroom (sergy). The bedroom will be used as Malcolms bedroom, who is a teenager, therefore my bedroom will be a suitable environment for Malcolm as i myself am a teenage boy, just like Malcolm, furthermore the fact that we are filming inside allows us to adjust the lighting for the scenes.
The corridor - This scene is to be filmed inside and the fact that we can adjust the lighting, can be used to our advantage for the different scenes, furthermore there are not real risks.
Chertsey Court Estate - The film is based around an urban setting therefore, these urban block of flats are great, as they truly denote an urban environment fitting in with the sub genre of the film very well. Furthermore the only risk that we will have to deal with is the cars, driving past which could be an issue if we are in the middle of filming a scene.
Chertsey Court Bus Stop - This bus stop will be very convenient for us to film from, we specifically chose this bus stop due to the fact that it faces away from the road, this allows us to film without getting obstructed by cars on the road, furthermore this also lowers the risk's as there is a decreased chance of any accidents.
Alley Way - This alley way comes across as very intimidating and it will be a perfect location, for the antagonist to appear and attack the protagonist. The only potential problem from filming in this location is that, we will need to place the tripod on the road to film, this could obstruct the cars and cause an accident, which is a potential issue especially if we are in the middle of filming a scene.
New Film Planning
SYNOPSIS:
'The Edge'
Growing up in the rough urban environment, life as always been hard for 16 year old Malcolm being forced to fend for himself in the troubled neighbourhood in order to survive. This lifestyle comes with huge responsibility as well as consequences as Malcolm soon realises as he finds himself in hospital after an attack. Malcolm is now determined more than ever to get his revenge
.
CHARACTERS:
'Malcolm' Played by Sergy
Malcolm is the 16 year old main character in the film. Due to the fact that I am a teenager and roughly the same age I realistically fit the role of playing Malcolm very well, furthermore the actors appearance is also important in this instance, I come across and look innocent, this is useful as I am the protagonist and also the victim therefore the audience will grow attached to Malcolm due to the actor appearance, which fits the conventions of thriller movie.
The 'Attacker' Played by Carlos
The attacker must come across as menacing and intimidating and I believe that Carlos fits the role. He is physically bigger than Malcolm therefore he will come across as intimidating from the audiences point of view. Also due to the actors ethnicities once again the roles seems realistic as you would expect young black males to live in urban locations, rather than having white males.
Extra, Malcolms Friend to be played by marlon
Marlon will play the role of Malcolms friend in the film, he doesn't do much in the film and is only used in one scene. Malcolms friend is a teenager roughly the similar age to the character he is going to play, therefore the role will come across as believable.
New Film Idea
After some careful consideration we as a group have decided to move onto and begin the filming of one of our other ideas, as we all agreed although the first film idea was coming along well, we didn't think that it truly contained the conventions as well as hybrids of a crime thriller film, it some what lacked the suspense and anticipation that you would expects from a thriller movie. Not everything however will be changed, we will still keep certain camera shots and scenes from our previous film as they were successful, the location of this new film will also be the same/similar to the first film idea as they both share the same concept of an urban crime thriller and furthermore target the same audience age group.
Wednesday, 14 March 2012
Tuesday, 13 March 2012
First Shooting
The first shooting went pretty smoothly as we managed to shoot some good scenes for our film, however we did experience some trouble as the sun was directly facing the camera, interfering with the shots that we needed to film, therefore we were forced to abandon the session for a little while as we were forced to wait for the sun to settle and due to this problem we only managed to film scenes 1-6 therefore we will now need to reconsider and re-arrange the shooting schedule and attempt to complete the filming on Saturday the 17th and Sunday the 18th.
Monday, 12 March 2012
first shoot
This establishing shot, though fairly good as the lighting was perfect and the scenery was normal, has been decided not to be used. This is because the establishing shot which pans from the top (will be shown below) seems more pleasing to the eye. Also the blue sky shown could be a great background for production titles as it is more interesting than just a black background. The camera work makes the pan from top flow better and more smoothly than when we tried to film it panning from the right though it does show the traffic on the side.
Wednesday, 7 March 2012
practice takes
Over the shoulder practice 1:
the first panning is from too up close as when it pans up the face of the character is not seen clearly, making it look messy and unprofessional. In our actual footage we need to make sure we pan fast enough and from far enough away.
The second time panning we had a similar problem however when doing it from further away seemed to make a difference as the face was more clear in the end. When we do our official footage then we will have to try to pan up more like this however still try maybe faster so the whole character is shown clearly.
This over the shoulder shot was well practiced however through the mistakes we know how to make it better in the official footage. The zoom in this shot was messy and therefore needs to be practiced to accurately capture the correct part of a character and make it look clean cut.Monday, 5 March 2012
Storyboard explained
This storyboard consists of 21 shots all together. We have decided to put the film title at the end of the opening thriller sequence to add suspense and to show how the package found and the whole beginning sequence is the body of the rest of the film. There is a use of cross cuts which creates tension, also, the zooms create anticipation and dramatic irony keeping the audience engaged. A variety of camera angles have to be used in order to make the main character's journey look a lot more interesting and engaging and have a rhythm. The sequence begins with fairly slow editing however once the "action" begins the editing becomes faster in order to create suspense in the audience.
Wednesday, 29 February 2012
Shooting Schedule (2)
Date: 17/03/12
Time: 12pm-3pm
Location: Chiswick bridge
Shots: 7-8, 11-13, 17-21, 1-3
Actors: Sergy
Crew: Migle (director and camera), Catherine (props, assistant director)
Costumes and props: package, watch, uniform and bag for Sergy
Equipment: Camera, DV tape, tripod
Potential issues: Lighting-if the weather is cloudy the lighting wont be as strong. Weather-it could end up being rainy or cloudy which would affect the lighting but could also damage equipment and affect the continuation of the scenes.
Risk Assessment: Low-however people could be in the alley such as teenagers therefore there could be a danger there
Shooting Schedule (1)
Date: 10/03/12
Time: 12pm-3pm
Location: Chiswick bridge
Shots: 14-16 4-6 9-10
Actors: Segun, Sergy, Marlon
Crew: Migle (camera and director), Catherine (props and assistant director)
Costumes and props: tracksuits for Segan, casual clothes for Marlon, uniform and bag for Sergy
Equipment: Camera, DV tape, tripod
Potential issues: Lighting: it could be dark due to the alley way. Weather: could be raining meaning that we have post pone the filming to another day as the rain would get over the lense of the camera and disfigure the image
Risk assessment: Medium- as we are filming firstly by a road for the bus scenes therefore a car might hit the equipment. Also the alley way could be a dangerous place depending on who residents in it
Planning
'Monopoly'
Film Synopsis:
Life has has always been a challenge for 16 year old Jay growing up in 'The Neighbourhood' being forced to evade a string of bad influences and trouble which surrounds him, however one day on his usual journey to school, he unexpectedly stumbles across a vicious attack, possibly a murder, which throws him into a crossroad of crime and danger and a split second decision from Jay has resulted him to live life on 'The Edge' as his life now hangs in the balance, will he ever escape the clutches of corruption?
Film Script:
EXT. ON STREET. DAY
JAY casually strolling down the street on his way
JAY casually strolling down the street on his way
home from school. On his journey JAY is being followed and watched by a mystery character.
EXT. BUS STOP. DAY
JAY makes his way towards the bus stop and waits for the bus, whilst still being followed
JAY
(Frustrated)
"Come on, where is this bus!"
INT. ON THE BUS. DAY
JAY on the bus home, staring outside of the window.
EXT. STREET IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD. DAY.
JAY continues to walk towards his
house down the street, suddenly he hears a cry for help.
VICTIM
(Cry for help)
"Ahh Help, Help!"
EXT. NEIGHBOURHOOD. SCENE OF ATTACK. DAY
JAY rushes around the corner, hides behind a wall/car and to his surprise witnesses an attack. The attacker escapes the scene running past JAY and they both exchange eye
contact, as he staggers away the a suspicious package falls out of the attacker pocket, with full temptation JAY glances at the package, rushes towards it picks it up and leaves the scene, once
again being persuited by a mystery character.
Our initial story board was similar to the final draft, however it didn't really match the expectations of a Thriller Genre as it lacked a real story line and tension, therefore for the second draft we decided to include a mystery suspect who seems to appear everywhere and seems to be following the main character throughout, this in turn creates and builds up a
lot more tension as well as anticipation and suspense which grips the audiences. Furthermore the fact that the film is set around an urban surrounding and the main character
is a school student, will appeal to the target audience of teenagers as they can relate to the location and the characters.
Characters:
Jay
Jay is a 16 year old secondary school student who is also the main character in the sequence and is going to be played by me. Jay is a school student therefore he must be attired in school uniform and carry a school bag denoting and emphasising the fact that he is still a student, furthermore i myself am roughly the same age as this character therefore the role that i am playing would be a lot more believable, rather then casting someone older.
Attacker
The 'attacker' will be played by Segun Beckley. The 'attacker' pla
Victim
The 'victim' will be played by Marlon. Just like any ordinary victim the the actors appearance comes across as innocent which indicated a sense of vulnerability, therefore he really fits the role of the character. The 'victim' is around 16 to 17 years of age, and will be attired in casual everyday clothes which is usually associated amongst teenagers.
Locations:
First Location:
This location represents an urban neighbourhood denoted by the dull brown bricks as well as the block of flats, furthermore due to the urban characteristics the audience will get implications that the neighbourhood may be a bad crime ridden area, this is important regarding the film as we are targeting the mid teens, who may have also grown up in these types of environments, furthermore the fact that the film has the sub genre of a crime thriller, it is suitable to set it in this location.
Second Location:
The second Location is the Bus Stop, where the waiting for the bus scene will take place. To avoid the dangers of having to film the the scene on the road and obstructing cars etc. we specifically chose this Bus Stop as it faces the pavement instead of a Bus Stop which faces the road, therefore it is a lot more convenient and safer for our cast.
Third Location:
The third location is the ally way as to where the attack will take place, once again there are denotations suggesting that it is set in an urban area, which fits in well with the concept of the film. Around this location there isn't as much lighting as the other locations therefore the low key lighting will create a lot more tension as the audience will anticipate danger due to the conventions of the thriller genre. Out of all the locations in terms of health and safety, due to the fact that we will be placing the tripod and camera on the road to film, this location carries some dangers as we will have to watch for cars.
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