Filming -Session 1

I think that filming today went pretty well. Today I was only filming harry who is ‘Reuben’ My main character, I think I did a good job of casting and I think that he fits the role quite well. The locations all seemed to work well and just looking through the film I think that is looks quite natural and flows quite well. Unfortunately the weather took a turn for the worse and it started raining so I didn’t manage to get all of the shots that I wanted to in the day so I am planning to get all of harry filmed and by Thursday 5^th of January but there is still a bit more filming to do as some of my actors have been unreliable turning up to filming so I have had some problems with that. The footage that I have at the moment I am very pleased with but I still have half the film left to record. Hopefully the remaining footage will be done on Friday the 6^th of January when I have made sure all of my cast are free to film. Here are some shots that I thought worked quite well.

Production Cards- Rock the Boat

Over the past few days I have been trying to find suitable boats for my production card ‘A rock the Boat film’ I looked in every toy shop in town and couldn’t find any boats what so ever so I’ve decided to make my boat out of origami. But being made of paper there is one problem, When paper gets wet it melts and falls apart so I have found a good shell for a boat made out of paper and created it out of paper and attached a barbeque skewer on top and attached some tissue to it to create a mast.

Here is some footage that I filmed showing some trial runs of the boat.

The boat seems quite unstable and tilts to one side and after one take then it is totally wet and the bottom of the boat rips

Animatic

Here is my finished animatic.

Production card

I've done some word on my production cards. Here is my main one

It is not yet 100% finished since i am yet to write and add the music, i am currently thinking what type of music would suit it and i am thinking some simple piano music. i have also done some work on my second production card 'A Rock the Boat film' in which i'l have a small boat going across a river then pan up to show the 1st shot

i've looked in lots of different shops and i can't seem to find any boats that would look good in the film, so i was thinking about doing an origami boat but its just a question of whether it floats or sinks or stays upright. Im going to test some different ways of making boats and seeing how they do.

Production Cards

Here are some effective examples of existing production cards:

Both Production cards are very animated which we can't really do at school, but watching I've come up with some ideas and have started work on my production cards.  My ideas at the moment are 'Kings and Queens productions, Which would feature a pair of hands flipping cards over and eventually getting toa king and a queen, then the deck would roll over and on the back of the cards it would gave the writing 'A Kings and Queens Production' with a logo. Then it would follow on to Associated with 'Rock the Boat films'  with a small plastic boat coming across the screen with the Name' Rock the Boat Productions' Coming up underneath, this will be in the film and the scene will then continue, My film was set to begin in the abbey gardens so i could use the river there. I will do some filming and show how I think I'll do this and see if it looks good and see what other people think and get there responses.

I've started planning the 'Kings and queens logo'

Heres how i started to make it:

Target Audience

I have found the target audience for my film.

Target Audience

Age: 15-30 year olds

Gender: Male and female

Religion: Christian/ Undecided                                                                                             Nationality:White/British                                                                                                                                                Likes Music- Indie/Alternative                                                                                                                    Likes watching films- Social realism/ Comedy

 Example of someone in my target audience:

'Hi! I’m Luke I’m 17 years old. I like music and I play the guitar. My favourite band is the vaccines and I love going to gigs. I like watching lots of different types of films, my favourite is ‘Submarine’. I care about my appearance. I’m not currently in a relationship. I like hanging out with my friends. I’m currently doing my a-levels in sixth form. I’m always either on Facebook or on my phone, I’m in a gigging band as a vocalist/Guitarist. I plan on going to university to take music if that doesn’t take off!'

Textural analysis- This is England

Storyline

None of the story line is shown in this opening sequence, Just history of the time that the film is set around. It shows some of the Falkland’s war which the boy in the films dad dies in and some general 80’s history to set the scene of the times. Margret thatcher’s also shown a lot in the opening sequence which shows that it’s going to have a political theme.

The enigma codes

What do these images have to do with the rest of the film?

There aren’t any main characters in the opening sequence but there is a collage of scenes important people and events from the time that the films set. Margret thatcher appears a lot in the scene, Rowland rat who was a popular TV character of the time appears at the beginning, people who were on the miners’ strike appear and there are people who fought in the Falkland’s war

Mise-en-scene

The footage of the film is mainly just short 6 second clips of things from the time so the Mise en scene would just be the fashions of the time like punk for example. So everything is very stereotypical of the 80’s.

The cinematography of the start of the film is all very simple since it’s all just chopped pieces of film there are a lot of close-ups to show the different people in the footage.

Editing

There are lots of cuts between the film footage to show that the social realism is very simple and they wouldn’t have had lots of editing software in the 80’s so it is all very simple

The music for the opening sequence is ‘54 46 that’s my number by Toots and the Maytals’ which was a classic 80’s song. This is the only sound featured in the sequence there is no sound from the film clips

The titles appear in-between bits of film in white on a black background which make them stand out a lot then going into the same font over the top of the clips.

                                               

Textural Analysis- Quadrophenia

Story Line

Not much of the story line is shown in the opening sequence, you can kind of tell what the film could be about by the face that he's driving a vespa through  a  town and some other men drive past and give him some abuse. The story of the opening sequence is that there is a man staring into the sea, he walks up past the camera and it changes shot to his on a moped. The other characters bike past and give his abuse and he drives on and parks his bike down a little alleyway where there seem to be hundreds of other bikes.

The man staring into the sea at the sun set. Takes a minute to walk up to the camera- Shows its slow paced.

Enigma codes

What was he doing staring into the sea?

Where was he driving to?

Who were the other men?

Characters

The main character of the film is shown a lot here. He was doing something looking into the sea maybe just thinking, so we know that about the main character.  We also can tell by the huge grin on his face that he likes driving his moped.

There were some other characters, which were the other men on the bikes. They were shouting abuse at each other so we assume that they are his enemies.



The Men shouting abuse at each other

Mise-en-scene

The footage so far is all in a town. You can't really see a great deal of set and location because it is quite dark.  The characters are wearing typical mod clothes, suits and parkas etc. His scooter has been modified with another light and more mirrors which shows his love for the bike.

His modified Vespa

Cinematography

The camera angles are all very basic since it is a social realism film. One extreme long shot at the very beginning which the character takes a whole minute to walk up and get into frame showing that it is clearly a social realism film since its so slow paced. There are a lot of medium shots that show the locations and the bike constantly moving, and there are some close ups which show the riders face and enthusiasm he has when riding his vespa.

Editing

there are lots of cuts between shows typical of social realism and there is one fade at the start which gets the light of the vespa to shine into the camera to make it subtle.

Music

There is the music, 'The real me' By The Who which is typical of Mods and people of this time. and there is also the sound of the engines of the bike and the people shouting which is in the film. The Soundtrack builds as he gets on his bike and the drums kick in, maybe symbolising the motor of the vespa.

Titles

The titles come in on top if the film in bright orange so they are easy to read on the dark background, they go under peoples faces as to be subtle and not get in the way







Storyboarding

I have completed my 1st script, im going to try filming with the actors that im casting to see if it all works or it needs changing.

I've started working on my storyboard, it is coming on well using some artistic shots, I have started thinking about locations of filming etc. I've also been thinking about how I can incorporate writing and credits in the actual film rather than editing them in afterwards, i think that it would look better and be more creative like that. The start to 'Waiting for my chance to come' By Noah and the whale uses production logo's etc. so I've come up with some ideas like that.

The words 'The hangman' everywhere, (On leaflet on the floor and on the top of the news paper) and it also features throughout the film so i think it could be quite good to feature the name and/or logo in there somewhere.

Questionnaire results.

For my film idea I went out and did some market research, i asked people in my target audience what they thought of the ideas in my film. Since they all were fans of social realism films they knew the conventions and I got there opinion of what would be good for my story/film

I asked a large number of people to fill in the questionnaire varying from 15 year olds to a 27 year old all being in the target audience. I tried to keep the balance between male and females who i gave the questionnaire to equal so to get a equal understanding of what the people thought of my idea and it could help me in some of the questions.

Justification for asking the questions and the results found.

How old are you?

I asked this question to find out how old the members of the target audience were so I could have a good range of people in the audience rather than lots of 16 or 17 year olds. I could tell that I now have a wider view of people from the older half of my market and some of the younger ages.

Gender

I asked this again to try and get an even number of males and females taking my survey so I would get a wider prospective of the audience so I can get more opinions.

When watching social realism what do you think is the most important? Rank the following highest to lowest, 1 being the highest 5 being the lowest

I asked this question to find out what people thought about different things and the order in which they took notice of things. Then I can see what I should focus on. The others sections will still be important but I just thought it would be good to see what the audience thought. The results that came out were as follows:

Overall people seemed to think that family relationships were a major theme that should happen in social realism and before my story had nothing to do with the family background, so now I can do some changes and add a family into my story.

What gender do you think the main character of my film should be?

I asked this to see what the audience thought rather than me rushing and making it a male then I asked the audience since this could change the theme of the story. But overall the gender that came off ontop was male, I think personally that that would work the best.

Do you think the titles to my film should be overlayed on top of film, within the film or in-between shots?

My audience has seen other films and will have probably noticed the credits of the film, so I asked them whether they would like the credits over the top of film or actually in the film. Overall I think I am going to do a bit of both, I think it would be more effective that way. The results seem to show that its balanced between Overlayed on top of the film and within the film. So I am happy with the results

What social realism films have you seen?

This is just a way of finding out the kind of films that my audience watch so I can look at themes of storylines etc.

Do you take much notice of the title sequence at the beginning of a film?

This is to see whether people actually pay attention to the opening scene, and followed by the next question

‘Are there any that you can remember from other films that you really like or think are interesting?’ more people said no but then overall more people could name films that had an ‘Interesting opening’ So I will look at these films and see what people liked about them and possibly get some ideas.

What type of location do you think would be suitable for a social realism film?

There are lots of different types of social realism films and so I think it would be useful to see what the audience like in films. The story line could change. Overall the area chosen was urban which is the most conventional for a social realism film.

What soundtrack do you think would be suitable for an opening sequence for this genre of film?

Since I’m planning on writing the music for the film I think it would be useful to know what I’m writing so I can get some inspiration from existing songs and films of this genre.

Indie came out on top followed by acoustic, I had a comment saying 'I would have liked to tick more than one, Indie/Folk/Acoustic I think since the two top answers were indie and acoustic i could stick with that style. This was also used in 'SUBMARINE' I’ve come up with an idea and have started recording and writing lyrics.

Here is the link for my questionnaire: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/YB8JL7V

Storyline Synopsis

Synopsis

The main story for my film focuses on a young boy and his want to have a band/fame/ play festivals etc. The story follows him making a band playing gigs and eventually making it. His academic parents don’t want him to do it or take the risk of not having a ‘Proper job’ as a doctor or lawyer, but he doesn’t listen and follows his dream.  He’s brought up in a poor area so can’t afford the equipment but eventually his talent pays off as he lands a record contract.

I would prefer to have credits like this:

http://vimeo.com/22958368

which are a mixture of being in the film and over the top of the film.

There is a brief example of an idea I have for my opening sequence below, but I have thought I could use other instruments to present titles like on a drum kit bass drum skin and on the side of amps etc like bands use at gigs

Writing could feature on the bass drum skin or on amps'

Opening Sequence.

So my opening sequence will begin as a boy (Reuben- The main character) sits on a wall and receives a text message saying 'Hurry up where are you?!' He Picks up his guitar case and sets off walking to his band practice at his freinds house while the credits appear, its a slow paced opening sequence that will show the key locations of the film as he walks about town getting to the rehearsal. The credits can be on the guitar case and on other things that he walks past. i would prefer it if all of the credits were on actual objects rather than edited on afterwards.

Opening Credits- Billy Elliot

Billy Elliot

The opening sequence to Billy Elliot shows a boy doing his morning routine of dancing, then going and making breakfast for him and his grandma. It seems like he has no mu or dad and needs to look after himself and also his old grandma how has wondered off.

The credits appear by fading in and out with ‘Billy’ jumping and dancing over the top of them. Random boy parts float over the screen as the words enter and exit. Once again like in ‘submarine’ there are only companies etc. that have funded or been associated with the film. No actors, directors or producers.

The genre is very clear throughout this opening sequence. Starting with a boy dancing which was uncommon of the time, then a poor messy kitchen that the boy needs to do all of the cooking in, then the fact that he’s looking after himself and his grandma.

The music throughout the 1^st section summarises what’s going on in the film

When he’s jumping and dancing- ‘I was dancing when I was twelve’

When his grandma’s not there in bed- ‘What’s it like to be alone’

Opening Credits- Submarine

Submarine

The titles come in intertwined between pieces of film in white on top of a bright blue background

·         Who funded the film (then again funding and ‘the film agency wales’

·         In association with…

·         There are no actors or the director or anyone directly working on the film listed in the opening credits.

The film shows a small messy boys bedroom. It then goes to show shots of the welsh country side, the shots are very artistic that show it’s made by warp films because they care for taking time to make more artistic films. Possibly showing that it’s going to be a slow paced film, these shots also set the scene for the story showing that it’s a showing that it’s a remote relatively normal area near the sea; it shows important locations in the story.

PROLOGUE ends the credits/ opening sequence.

There is a brief monologue that sets the mood for the film showing it could be a social realism film about self-discovery.

‘Most people think of themselves as individuals, like there’s no one on the planet like them. This thought motivates them to get out of bed, eat food and walk around like nothing’s wrong. My name is Oliver Tate’

In the next section it’s a scene of a classroom and the teacher is talking. He clearly sets the mood that it is a social realism film.

‘What kind of a young person am i? That’s the challenge, talk about challenge. Well that’s the challenge I’m giving you this term, a gauntlet so to speak. But this gauntlet is also an opportunity, an opportunity for self-discovery’

Horror or social realism? Decision

Overall I’ve chosen Social Realism, the genre appeals to me more than horror I feel like I have more background knowledge in it. Since our last lesson I’ve thought and came up with the look and how I would like my film to look like.

I really like the grainy look of super 8 film but they don’t make the film anymore so I’ve stuck to using my dad’s old film camera I now have the software to turn the film into a dvd. Here’s a bit of filming I’ve done with an idea for the opening credits.

Horror or social realism? -Social Realism

The conventions of Social Realism

Story line

Someone who doesn’t fit in,  Ordinary life, Self-discovery.

Characters

Loner, usually young, average looking normal people

Mise-en-scene

Relatively poor background, urban areas apartment buildings

Sound

Music that the characters would listen to, lots of dialogue

Editing

Slower than horror not much going on so fits the pace on the film

Close ups for emotion

Long shots for showing location

Pros

The location is much easier to find.

I enjoy watching social realism films more than horror

It’s easy to come up with an original story.

Low budget

Cons

The genre could be hard to determine if the locations aren’t used effectively

Horror or social realism? -Horror

The conventions of horror films

Plot

-Normal life, but then something supernatural or abnormal happens.

Characters

Victim- Stupid, venerable

Antagonist- Could really be anything could be a normal person or could be supernatural, maybe more than one thing e.g. the zombie apocalypse.

Mise-en-scene

-Night time, dark, old houses in remote areas

Sound

-Dramatic, tense, screams and whispers

Editing

-the speed of the camera goes with the plot.

Pros of making a horror film

The genre is easy to create since the conventions are only really in horror

Cons of making a horror film

There have been so many horror films it would be hard to think of an original idea.

Location would be difficult because I live in the middle of an estate which has lots of houses around so it could be hard to film.

The cameras aren’t the best at filming in the dark

Not a great deal happens in the first 2 minutes of a horror film so it could be hard to show anything without it being a trailer.

I don’t really like horror films and I don’t watch a lot of them so I wouldn’t really know what to look for in camera angles etc.

Usually quite a high budget

It’s hard to do without it looking cheesy

The Induction Task - Conclusion

Overall i think that the induction task was a success, the original location was 'Eds place' but unfortunatly another group beat me to it so i had to relocate to the library which was slightly noisier but i think it worked alot better there, it looked a lot like the story board and animatic.

I made a few changes to the original story board, but overall the story stayed the same. Shots seemed to work closer up in reality. The script was originally written for Matt, but being my brother didn't seem to take the film too seriously so there are some moments that you can notice, such as the last 'Sorry'.

Im happy with the music i've written for the film, i think it fits with the mood.

The Induction Task- Match-on-action

Match on action happens through the whole film expecially in the final 9 seconds.

The Induction Task- Shot reverse shot

There is a lot of shot reverse shot when the two characters are speaking.

The Induction Task- Eyeline match

 This is an example of eyeline match from the film where Matt is looking across at Sophie, then in switches over to Matts prospective.

The Induction Task - The 180° Rule

The 180° Rule

The 180° Rule was used here so the characters were only shown this way around as to not confuse the audience.

The Induction Task

Here is my Finished Induction task, I think it turned out quite well since this is my 1^st bit of proper filming and editing. I’m very happy on how much it related to my animatic.

My Animatic.

My Finished Induction Task.

I followed the brief to use the suggested camera angles: the 180° rule, match-on-action, shot reverse shot and eyeline match.



Previous Filming Experience

I havent actually ever done any filming before so my 1^st filming and editing has been on the induction task and I thought it went quite well! I found some quite good shots in the photo task which captured the correct emotions and had some creative angles.

Eyeline Match

Eyeline Match is when you have a shot of someone looking at something (out of shot), then the shot of the object.

Shot reverse shot

when one character is shown looking at another charactor, then the 1nd character looks back at the 1st character. since they are shown facing in opposite directions the viewer assumes they are looking at each other.

Match-on-Action

Match-on-Action is when you cut from one shot to another following through with one movement e.g
the movements been shot twice but it seems like its one continuous movement. its very useful editing technique which distracts the audience from noticing there is a cut.