Review of the whole project so far

Some plans did not go as well as we wanted them to due to some interruptions. As a group we had to cancel  few meeting sessions because of emergencies, characters missing, and having other important plans that were the priority. I have to admit that at the beginning the group was a bit disorganised as this is the first time we actually filming so we were not sure of how to manage our time and everything else that comes along with it.
However this tuesday which happens to be today we have decided to go off and finally shoot something so we can work on it over the next few days after the holiday. Hopefully everyone will be there and once we set everything up we will be able to succeed with some work being done and finish the rest as soon as possible.

Call sheet

Call Sheet

LONG WINTER

Filming For Scene 1 - Flashback House

Cast. Location. From - To (am/pm) Characters. 

Andreas

House  - 9pm - 10pm Main Survivor

Ellie

House 9pm - 10pm Flashback Female

Filming For Scene 2 - Survivors Camp

Cast. Location. From - To (am/pm) Character.

Andreas

Overgrown Field 11am - 6 pm Main Survivor

Camp.

Daniel

Overgrown Field 11am  - 6 pm Main Survivor

Camp.

Frankie

Overgrown Field 11am - 6 pm Main Survivor

Camp.

Filming tuesday 14th December

After four previous attempts at fiming and discussing every other possible date to do it but to no avail. Extra measures and decisions have been taken to ensure that filming is finished today.

Firstly, all cast and crew have been reminded numerous times where they are needed, at what time, to play what part and for how long.

Secondly, the decisions has been made that no matter who does or does not turn up, as much filming as possible will be done today. Even if main characters are unable to take part, filming will still take place and instead, modify whatever has been changed in the planning work afterwards.

Thirdly, all props, costumes and equipment are organized so that as little amount of time as possible is needed to set up for filming and more time can actually be placed into filming.

Sounds

Throughout our opening scene we choose to have sounds that are relevant to our theme and to create an thriller atmosphere. We also choose to have sounds to replace the dialogue which we have kept very limited in order to make the movie more interesting when it is viewed


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gT6AnrDwew

The sounds that we will be using towards the end of the scene 2 (forest) is based on the film The Road soundtrack. This is because the music that is used is very effective which is what we wanted in our film.


Forest

We also wanted to use sounds that are based on some of the objects that we will be present in our opening scene. The sounds listed below are going to be used to help set the scene as well as creating the atmosphere that we were going for.

• Crackling of the fire
• Wind Blowing
• Crunching of leave or stick

Other Sounds

There will be use of other sounds that we will be using while filming. These will be more to do with scene 1 (house/flashback) which are shown below.

• Background noise from the TV (music may be used instead of this but we haven't come up with any so far)

As a group we will choose the sounds which best fit with our theme and story itself to make sure that is effective as possible. We will download these off

of a website that does non-copyright sounds and music or we may choose to make the sounds by ourselves depending on what we all want and what would work best.

Prop list

Scene 1.

Props

• Candles to create the romantic mood and provide ambient lighting for the scene.

Clothing

• Clothing consists only of casual wear for Andreas and Ellie.

The scene being as short as it is and being set in a normal house, not many props are required other than what is already there.

Scene 2.

Props.

• Small Weathered Tent, set up in the camping area. Daniel, Frankie and Joe will be sleeping in this tent when Andreas wakes them up to leave towards the end of this scene.
• Camping Light, placed inside the Tent. Provides a small amount of light and is used turned on when Andreas wakes everyone up to leave.
• Camping Stool, set up outside the tent. Andreas will be sitting on this stool when he is looking at the Old Weathered Photo.
• Old Weathered Photo of Andreas and Ellie, taken of them before the event. Burnt, dirtied and ripped, the photo is made to look significantly old.
• Bag of Assorted Batteries and an Old Torch for Andreas to look through when he hears the noises in the surrounding forest and needs light to investigate.
• Old and Empty Food Cans placed around the campsite to give the impression of scavenging and survival.
• Characters Bags placed next to the tent containing all of their equipment etc
• Characters Weapons including a crowbar, a shovel, trench shovel and a hammer placed around the campsite to give impression that there is danger enough present to require significant protection.
• Sleeping Bags in which Daniel, Frankie and Joe will be sleeping in while Andreas is sat outside on guard.

Clothing.

All of the characters will have assorted costume consisting of,

• Military/Industrial Boots. Black in colour, large and covered in dirt. Weathered to show that they have been on for a long time.
• Camouflage Trousers and Jeans. Dirtied and scruffy to show that they have been used for a long time.
• Large Jackets and/or Jumpers with hoods attached, also dirtied and weathered for the same effect.
• Gloves, Scarfs and other assorted Winter Wear to show that it is significantly below temperature.
• Gas Masks, work only by Andreas in the start of Scene Two but worn by all towards the end as they leave. These give mixed messages to the audience in the film intro. It gives the impression that there is reason to wear gas masks, possibility of background radiation or some other kind of danger.

Main characters

Daniel

Andreas

FrankieJoe

These are the main characters we have chosen for our movie.

Location

These are the pictures of the location that we are going to film in. We have chosen this place because it suits the theme from the movie and also we found it interesting.

Completion List Research

Synopsis - completed, requires tweaking to follow changes in ideas.

3 Film Opening Analyses - 2 completed, done by Kyle

9 Frame Analysis - to be done on "The Road", not completed, done by Kyle

Genre Research - thrillers, done by Anetta

Industry and Titling Analysis -  completed by Anetta and Amanda

Technique Research - not done, will be completed by Kyle

Poster and Website Analysis - website analysis completed by Amanda, poster completed by Kyle

Audience and Marketing Research - completed by Anetta

Other Research - further research into the genre, done by Anetta

-further research into sound will be completed by Amanda

-research into costume, makeup etc will be completed by whole group

-research into different title ideas for the movie, in progress

-research into website creation, in progress

Planning Completion List

25 Word Pitch - Completed by the whole group

Script for Movie Opening - Completed by Anetta and Amanda

Location Description and Stills - partially complete, will be done by whole group

Casting Description and Stills - casting complete by Kyle, will be finished by Kyle

Story Board and Overhead Plans - storyboard complete by Amanda, overhead plans in progress

Animatic For Opening Sequence - nearly done by Anetta and Amanda

Test Shoot - not completed, will be done by whole group

Design Drawings - not completed, will be done by Anetta

Group Crew Titles (so far)

Kyle
Director

Photographer

Crew

Filming

Research

Anetta

Sound
Producer

Props

Research

Amanda

Sound
Producer

Costume, Hair and Make up

Research

Planning- The final task

As a group we have discussed different ideas of how to plan our movie opening and what kind of things we will need to do so.These are the following:

• pictures taken of the place the movie will be filmed at
• information of the actors that will be in the movie and their permission ( preparing the forms for them to sign)
• watch different trailers, movie openings from the genre that we have chosen to do. (make notes to share with the group) 
• think about the props that will be needed
• safety equipment (tripods, waterproof jackets, umbrella)

Prelim Task

This is a short video showing what me and my group produced as a preliminary exercise. The purpose of this video was to gain an understanding and practice before we go of to do our own movie. Part of the exercise was to shot a scene and edit it afterwards which we have done as a group also. We have used one camera and variority of shot angles. The whole exercise took us around 2 lessons to do but we have gained a better understanding and practiced at the same time.

Analyses of 'Let Me In'

1.Film makers have used the camera for different purposes.  They have faded the view in and out in order for the audience to focus on one important bit. Also they have used many different shots such as medium close up, over the shoulder, big close up, long shot etc in order for the film to be more effective and to point out certain situations. 

2. The camera was used objectively and subjectively because of different situations that were shown in the film. 

Objectively is when a girl is about to attack a women from above sitting on the tree. This is because we are watching it from no body's point of view. 

Subjectively is when we see a policeman covered in blood reaching for the boy to help him get up. This is because we want the boy to help him to stand up but at the end he just shuts the door and leaves. 

3. Mise en scene used in the film suggests that the girl who is wearing no shoes is a strange character to us as she is not dressed appropriatelly and especially because the scene takes place in winter time so its cold. 

4. The opening of the film suggested that it is going to be something scary and serious because of the actions that were taking place such as a policeman questioning the suspect and also the blurred background that was shown.

5. The sound used in the film was mysterious and scary. It suggested the action will change imidiately when the sound came up and it also suggested it wasn't going to be pleasant for the audience because of the music getting louder and more scary. This was when the policeman was looking for someone in the house he entered with the gun and once he entered the bathroom thats when the sound became louder and more frightening. 

6. Some of the scenes involved in the film were targeted for audience such as 15 plus this was because the scenes that took place were scary and unsuitable for some as this could effect them. Also even for some people that it was suitable for the film seemed really scary. 

Analyses of 2 opening scenes

Lost:
At the beginning of the movie there is a mysterious,tense music played its a very slow music which sets the audience into the mood of the movie. The black background is shown and the white writing slides in on the background. Next thing that comes up is the extreme close up on the character's eye (Jack) who is on the floor as we notice it after few seconds. The camera zooms out from the this character as he is still laying down and breaths heavily. His clothes are dirty which might suggest he have been in some kind of accident as he is laying in the forest dressed in a suit looking scared and unsure of what has happen to him.
The next shot is a long shot of the dog which walks towards (Jack) who is on the floor and a close up again on jack who turns towards walking dog and looks at him very closely. The character picks himself up with pain as we can see his face expressions and the tense music carries on and gets louder and louder.The character is confused and this suggest a close up on his face when he is standing up ad looking around.  The scene takes place in the forest but we don't know what to expect next.

Devil wears Prada:
The opening scene of the movie starts with the big titles and a loud but positive music. The character we see first is a girl who is dressed up in ordinary clothes and a long shot is used to show this to the audience. The over the shoulder shot is used in order to show that the two girls are talking its a girl who came for the job interview and a girl who interviews her. The whole scene takes place inside the building.
The wide shot is used outside th building to show that something is happening in that case its the car coming and the boss inside it as the close up of the car suggest its someone important to them. A variority of wide shots are used of the place inside in order to show people running and being in a hurry.
The boss finally comes in as we see a close up first then a long shot of the women coming out from the lift she is dressed in black and has sunglasses on which might suggest she is a mysterious person that everyone is scared of. The whole scene gives the audience an idea of why are they scared so much of the women , why is she so important and is she like an ordinary boss or maybe something more.

Analyses of Thursday's lesson

On Thursday we have been given a task to do which involved group work. In groups of five we had to make few short scenes from the script we had to make earlier on. My group planned what we going to do step by step  planning carefully the number of shots we had to consider in order to make it relevant with the script and effective at the same time. Once we planned our scenes we had to also record what the other group was doing in order to get an idea of each others work. After this we have began to do our scenes. I have to admit that at the beginning it was a bit of a struggle as we didn't know if the shot we chosen will work as well as we wanted to but after trying out different things we finally got some of the work done. At the end we run out of time but i think the whole lesson was very useful and i have learned allot.
The whole idea of this lesson was to practice before we go off and make our own movie which i found useful.

Analyses of day's lessons

In today's lesson we have learned how to position the camera in the right angle in order to get the right shot we are aiming for. We have discussed the 180% rule and we also have used it. We have used loads of equipment such as camera, lights, tripods and laptops in order to see what picture we are trying to get. I have learned more about how to shoot an affective shot relevant to the scene we are trying to represent and also how to use viority of different shots.
We have used 4 different people two at the time to look at the lights and the way they are positioned on the characters. We have also used a camera and moved it around the characters so they didnt have to move. This was very helpful as we can have many different angles ans shots without the characters moving just operating the camera.

Analyses of ''City of God''

On Tuesday's lesson we have watched an opening scene of "City of God". The opening of the scene was very dark and the titles appear in white writing. No music at first just the writing on the black background. The connotation of the scene is when the scene opens and we see a knife that someone is holding and sharpening it.  We start to think that some strange thinks are happening and at first we not so sure what is going on. That's when we come across the enigma code because it keeps us concentrated on the scene and makes as want to know what is going to happen next and why is the moment shown relevant.
When seeing the opening of the scene the audience get an idea of disequilibrium as we can see the knife being sharped which doesn't feel like something positive will appear next. After short time the audience start to get a more positive understanding of the scene as equilibrium comes up which is the positive music in the background suggesting that the knife doesn't appear to us or its not going to affect our attention in the wrong way. Within the scene there are many different shots and angles used in order to make bigger impression on us. There is extreme close up used just at the beginning of the scene of the knife being sharped which makes us feel a bit scared or unsure of what to expect next also there are few flashes within the shot so we get an impression of fear. Another shot used in the scene was a close up on the chicken and the vegetables being sliced which gave a bit more understand of what was going on. Another shot that we come across during these few minutes of watching the scene is a wide shot of the area and a close up on the chicken again looking around. The first scene of the "City of God" really concentrates and shows the audience the chicken as main part of it and we watch it carefully once is being chased. For this moment the big close ups and wide shots has been used the most in order to show the chicken being chased as a main part and the people who actually want to catch the chicken. I also noticed that there has been few long shots used in order to get the audience a bit more familiar with the area that the scene took place in. Also the shot angle was a birds eye so we could see it from above. This might be because we need a better understanding of what kind of people are they that appear there and why they care so much about the chicken and maybe to find out something about their culture. 
Just at the very end of the scene we see a chicken in the middle between a group of people and a boy standing trying to catch the chicken. At this point we can tell that there are bad people in the group opposite as they hold the guns against the boy on the other side. This can mean trouble and it can be life threatening for the boy standing or the chicken. The denotation of the scene can be that there is some violence involved and the knife at the beginning of the scene might be the best example of it. The whole scene has made me think os what to expect next and if the chicken can symbolise anything.

Script opening -Order

Wide shot of the room- white walls with two identical black sofas opposite each other and a table in the middle only. On the table an ashtray and a coffee,a guy (Tom) sitting  in the right corner of the sofa silent smoking a cigarette ,waiting for someone to enter the room.

A close up on the guy's (Jack) shoes entering the room slowly. Jack take a seat on the opposite black sofa in the right corner opposite Tom. 

Tom puts the cigarette down and makes a phone call (close up on the phone) for a minute Tom holds the phone and says with a deep angry voice:

''He is here''

And he puts the phone down.

Jack with a scared look takes his cigarettes out of his pocket and places on the table. Tom is watching Jack very closely who asks:

 ''Can I smoke?'' no reply from Tom just a mysterious scary look

Jack again puts his hand in the pocket in order to light up the cigarette. Big close up on the Jack's and Tom's face at the same time. 

Jack takes a puff and looks at Tom. Mysterious silent carries on as both characters stare at each other. After a short while Jack asks:

''What's the order for today Tom? Do you want me to get rid off the judge or maybe we sort out the little mafia boss from the village?'' 

Tom replies:

'' Non of them son''

A big close up on Jack's face who seems a bit angry when Tom calls him son.

Jack replies:

'I'm not your son''

Tom put his hand in the pocket and takes out a sheet of paper.

He says:

''Thats your order for today''

 Tom takes a zip of coffee and stands up. While he is standing up Jack is staring closely at him again looking a bit confused and unsure. Tom leaves the room and the door shuts.

Jack who is looking a bit unsure takes the paper, takes a close look, reads it and sets it on fire.After that he places the paper in the ashtray, puts his cigarette down as well takes a zip of Tom's coffee and leaves too. Extreme close up on the paper burning and Jack leaving. 

Kidulthood analyses.

The opening of the British drama Kidulthood is very mysterious because of the settings and the way the different shots are used. At first we hear voices talking and screaming loudly before the actual picture is shown. First  think that comes up is a close up on the football that a boy is playing with. The picture comes with slow motion. The scene is set in school and we can see students standing outside. (wide shot) There is music played in the background which is dramatic to set the audience in the right mood. Throwout the scene there is a boy shown with a big close up wearing goggles and operating a drilling machine, he is only shown for a moment but he comes up again. This might suggest that we should concentrate on him as he might be something suspicious.
The   scene is set on the dark, cold day because of the clothing the students wear, it might be an autumn.
Variety of wide shots are used in order to show the type of environment the scene is set in and also to show the  students and their actions which is them talking to each other. There are loads of them shown but a big close up is used on couple of students to show that they might be the main characters that we should concentrate on further in the next scenes.

Six shot scene

Me and my group were working on the 6 shot scene. We had to use different shots in order to show different angles of the characters. The whole idea was to create a scene but to stick with the rules. The whole video was silent. 

After we finished the video we had to answer few questions:

• What did you find most difficult in planning?

I think the most difficult thing was to think about what the scene will be about and how to put in on the paper. 

Also once we planned it, we found a bit difficult to search for the game that we needed for the shot.

• What was the most successful part of your planning?

I think we got on well and after short period of time we knew what we going to make the scene about.

• What was the effect of the restrictions of having no dialogue to tell the story?

At the beginning it was a bit stressful but we managed to do it ok.

• What did you learn from editing the film?

I think i enjoyed this part the most i learned a lot such as how to make the scene darker or mute the sound completely and now i know how to edit the movie. 

• What will you do differently next time?

I think next time i will think about drawing the plan first and then using more shots to make a greater affect.

Media homework

This week we have been asked to look at the British TV drama of our choice and to analyse the way it has been set.
I have looked at EastEnders and analysed the following:

• Shot/size angles
• mise en scene 
• sound
• editing

Shot/size angles- there was loads of shots and size angles used such as long shot,medium close up,big close up,close up, over the shoulder ,low. They were used in order to show exact moment or place that the scene took place so the audience get a better understanding of message that is being delivered.

Sound- There were some moments when the sound was loud and clear and there was loads of background music used.

Mise en scene- the scenes took place in the village and mostly outside but also inside the houses. There was loads of many different costumes used for men and woman also different make up depending on the character and the role they were playing.

Editing- At the beginning  of the episode  titles were used in order to show the name of the drama that is being watched by the audience. Also I came across the company's name being shown that made the drama.

Homework 14.09.2010

For this week we have been asked to record our use of media outside the media lessons.
Throughout the four days i have definitely used media alot.  I have listened to music on my way home or anywhere i was going in oder to entertain myself in the places i found a bit boring eg: buses or trains. I have also used media while staying at home like watching my favorite channels on TV with family and I have noticed that media helps us interact with each other as we can discuss it and it's sort of entertainment too. In my spare time when i don't study of course I also use my laptop to go on different sites eg: Facebook,  Twitter , YouTube where I listen to music or watch videos or talk with my fiends  in my spare time.
Last but not least i also use my mobile alot so it's media too which allows me to contact with other people and send messages across to them. I also have access to internet which makes it easier as i can use it while going to school or just going out.
Over the four days (Friday-Monday) i have noticed that media helps me to entertain myself and others around me as i have noticed loads of people use it in their everyday life. Media can also teach and show which is really good as we need all those thinks. I noticed that anywhere i go and whatever i do everything around me involves media.

Second lesson of Media

In today's lesson we have been introduced to different aspects of the TV episode which was a drama episode that we have watched.

We have analysed the way the camera is positioned in order to make a good shot of the things or characters that take a part in it. These are the things that has to be considered while filming:

• focus
• location/set
• wardrobe and make up
• lighting- position ,make sure is the right angle
• body language of the character, eye line ,performance
• shot size and angle which come with different sizes such as: cu, mcu,ms,ws,bcu depending on the scene and place that is shown. 

First lesson of Media

In my first lesson of Media we have covered the three different sections of it. We have also learned the difference between each one of them. They divide into three sections:
-Print media - newspapers,magazines
-E media -internet, tv,radio,social networking
-Audio-visual -radio, films/cinema

Our teacher gave us a task to do which was to create an account on the Gmail in order to move on to the next task. I have to admit that this was a bit of a challenge as i couldn't create the account. This might sound funny but the system didn't let me because of the fault that has occurred. At the end i have done everything at home and i was ready for the next lesson.