New Plans

Whilst out filming yesterday - in the rain - we decided we are spending too much time worrying about the weather so have now decided to work with it. Considering this is England and it rains more then any other weather we have decided to incorporate it into the scene. After Leanne has started her journey and we've seen her in Trafalgar, nearer the end of the 2 minutes it can then start to rain and that's when the protagonist starts to run. This will create a sense of intensity and portray how things are beginning to close in on her. However we do not want it to come across that she starts to run due to the rain so maybe she can start to run then there is a downpour. Although this is only if we continue to have bad weather so we will keep you updated as to whether we follow through with it.

Drum role please...

WE FINALLY WENT OUT FILMING... After deciding we would get all the shots needed in the Christmas break, we finally decided to go filming after delaying it for so long. Unfortunately Hannah could not make it as she was working but Taneshia, Leanne and I had a very productive day filming. We went around Enfield and got the shots needed here and re-recorded many shots also. Here are a few images of yesterdays work:

Related Films...

I have been looking into some Gang cultured films like 4.3.2.1, Adulthood and Kidulthood. These are all similar to the genre of film we are choosing for our opening. It gives us an insight into how our film will turn out and also gives us a few shot ideas in order to represent the protagonist in a mysterious similar to how we are wanting to show Leanne as it will come across she has a big secret.The film 4.3.2.1 includes a running scene, much like the one we need Leanne to do with various shots and angles like panning across with a close up of the feet and a wide shot in order to see the panic in her face, leaving us with wandering why she is running after hearing a siren.

Research

Here is some research to help us with the opening of our film opening. The first page includes information on the reasoning for joining a gang with info on how to join and leave gangs, helping us with a guideline to why our protagonist will join a gang. We then outline our storyline including information on why we got the idea to do gang-culture, which is mainly due to the article down below of how a girl was involved with a boy who was in a gang which resulted in her being involved in the London riots even though she is from a privileged background, much like how we want to represent Leanne. We then include information on depression as Leanne is going to be a depressed character, with sad emotion. We highlight key aspects in relation to our storyline also making it easier to identify how we want to present Leanne.

RESEARCH 2 Min Opening

Group Vlog

Last Wednesdays lsson we had a group apdate on where we are at so far. Everyone is now up to date on everything an we have finally buckled down and started to film.

Vlog update...

Here is mine and Taneshias most recent Vlog. We are updating you on our filming and any adjustments made. We our thinking about a plan B incase the filming does not work out, for example if our time lapse does not look great in Trafalgar square we will move location to a better suited one and also, as we have been told we need a permit to shoot on trains so we may get shots of her on the bus on the way home rather then risking getting caught, but we may find a way to work around this.

The Music

We have been thinking of a few ideas for the music in our opening. Considering the genre of our film will be 'Gang Culture' we are wanting to play an urban, gang style song as we believe they will fit well together therefore identifying the genre and feel of the opening clearly. Playing the song will be copyright so we have decided to show that leanne is wearing headphones and that is why the song is playing even though it is done a lot in these types of shots moreover getting Leanne to rip out her headphones so we here the muffled sound of the music playing allowing us to put ambient sound in the background also. Here are the possible contenders for our opening:

First Time-Lapse

As we have decided to start with a time lapse in the opening of a film we have decided to to a practice run to see how it turns out. By doing this it gives us a chance to see how we can edit it and how to arrange the things like the positioning of the camera. We placed it in the class on a cabinet to see if it is difficult to speed up while preparing to film the time-lapse even though we want to get the change from dark to light. This is how it turned out, it's a bit boring but not bad for our first attempt:

Final Idea

So after all this faffing around we have finally got together and storyboarded all our ideas. Here is our Vlog about the idea and the different shots we want - including waking up at 5:00 AM - and as we are all finally up to date on the idea we can now start filming

Rough Ideas

Here is just a quick video of an overlook on our groups idea by Taneshia Hannah and I...

Brainstorming

Here are a few images of us brainstorming our ideas. We will be putting up the Vlog of us saying our final ideas so you can see the final idea before we start filming. These images are us in intense thought thinking about what we will be doing....

Story Boarding

The group and I got together to do a story board of our ideas so we could finalise a few shots and get everything sorted as we were all a bit confused about the shots. This was very predictive as we are all on the same level now. We are thinking of possible songs like 'Deepest Shame - Plan B' and we are now organising days to go out and shoot. The main area we are planning to shoot is in Trafalgar and from then on the journey home. We are also planning to add a siren voice that triggers a memory and from then on you see 'Leanne's mental state deteriorating.

Ideas Vlog

Here is my group and I talking over a few ideas of ours. We have now expanded on it and got all of our shots sorted out now. This was the first time we recorded our ideas but we now have a more in-depth clip of our finalised ideas.

Opening of 'Devil Wears Prada'

I have been watching the opening of a few films to find inspiration and I thought that the Devil Wears Prada has a good opening to the film. I like the idea of showing the variation between the different people throughout the scene, especially when they are showing the different shoes as it has been put together cleverly. It is so simplistic but draws you in and the music suits the scene so well. There is a variety of shots like a close up on the eyes whilst they are doing their make-up, a lot of tilt is used to show the person which is effective as it changes throughout. Also there is only one speech which is 'good luck' letting the viewer ponder why she needs luck

Shot Ideas

Fortunately the group and I all have a similar idea for an opening of a film. We have had a discussion and agreed that we want to include a time-lapse in Trafalgar, like seen below, then carry on getting shots around London, including several underground shots. The main idea we all like and believe would look good is to have one of us feature in each shot as we go around London, eventually ending up in Enfield, then returning home where the person bursts into tears leaving the audience wander why. I have found a few images of shots we hope to recreate or that I believe will look good in our short opening.

Here is the time-lapse in Trafalgar:

This is an image of the train moving which we want with the person standing on the other side so you can see as the train moves away.

This is a good underground shot also as it looks mysterious and enclosed. 

Practice Filming...

The group and I went out filming when we first got our equipment. We were told to make a black and white practice film, so we messed around a bit and this is our final product (it is a bit cheesy)... The use of non diagetic music creates a sense of enthusiasm. We enjoyed filming it and having fun re creating several shots, like the pan used. Moreover we wanted to film several other shots to practice before the real film like the Dutch tilt or tracking shot, which we did by putting the camera on a trolley and wheeling it along.

The equipment...

Last lesson we were given the equipment needed to make our final film. We were given things such as:

• A sony HD video cam
• Tripod
• Tripod Plate
• A flip cam
• An equipment bag

We are all looking after the equipment and have started to film a practice video using various shots so we can have practice before we start to film the real thing and get a feel for the camera/. Here is an example of a practice film we need to make, including the panning shot with the black and white colour palette:

Vlog on our Ideas

Taneshia and I vlogged about our ideas on filming. Last wednesdays lesson, Taneshia, Hannah, Leanne and I tried to brainstorm a few and this is what we came u with...

Vlog on Sinister

***Spoiler Alert***
 Here is Taneshia and I vlogging about Sinister.
Watch this vlog if you want us to spoil Sinister for you, we are describing the opening and other shots.

The Groups Vlog on Editing the Prelim, wohoo

Here is my groups Vlog. We decided to do a group vlog about our editing and surprisingly we worked well Vlogging together, well good enough. We introduced hannah into the vlogging world. Watch the vlog and see how we felt editing our prelim went:

Outtakes Video

After editing our final prelim video my group and I decided to put a video together of our outtakes. This video made us chuckle but it was a lot of fun messing around with IMovie to put together the different shots and finding more tools to make our video groovy. Check it out:

Prelim...

Leanne, Hannah Taneshia and I have just finished editing our final prelim. I think the final video looks great and does show a range of the shots we filmed, the main shots are a close up of the characters faces, like the opening of Hannah's face. We have also showed various editing techniques like slow motion when 'Jack' runs in the room as it emphasises the scene more also we have lowered the pitch of Taneshias voice in that clip to suit the scene. Overall I believe we worked really hard and looking back I think we could go pro, check it out...

Looper

Last Saturday I went to see the film Looper. There was a use of various shots throughout adding tension to the film. It was a really good film although i felt it was a lot like 'In time'. I especially thought the ending was great as it was not predictable, like most films. Here is the trailer to the movie, and I do recommend seeing it.

Screenshots of the prelim

Here are a few screenshots from my groups preliminary task last week. They are of Taneshia and Hannah, so I thought I would go to the trouble of posting them to showcase there 'amazing' acting skills. Even though they did laugh a lot during the process of filming it, the final outcome will be good, with a lot of laughs from our out takes video also.

We are currently editing our prelim so not long till we will be posting the final thing so here's some images to tease you while you wait for our final piece...

My first vlog!!

Here is mine and Taneshia's first Vlog. We are explaining how are prelim went and the different shots used. As explained in the vlog we have finished filming our preliminary task, which was inspired from a scene in titanic, we tried to use various shots such as a close up and wide shots to set the scene. As a first time using a camera I feel it went quite well with us exploring several shots. As we move onto editing we are planning to put a montage of the clips together creating the sequence furthermore add the titanic song over the top to make the preliminary better showcasing our abilities.

Direct Line Advert

I saw this advert and thought the way it was structured was well done. So thought I would share it for you all to see.

The opening scene is quite clever as it pans down from the sky to a bold red phone which is followed by a tracking device of a row of people which is then followed by a shot reverse shot giving various angles of the people. It then reverted to people with spanners still using a tracking device to follow the people. The continuous use of a track creates a sense of realism to the audience showing the journey through to when the women gets her dog. This was a very clever advert, with a lot of shots used allowing us to see the journey in different perspectives.

Wishlist Gadget...

The sonic screwdriver may be fictional but this would be on the top of my christmas list. I would love to own this gadget.

Favourite Actress

Although Sophia Bush may not be as well known as Angelina Jolie, she doesn't lack in talent. Bush is my favourite actress as she has the power to turn the least important scene into a powerful scene and I believe she is a fantastic actress.

Favourite Film

Although you can only watch Elf in one season (winter), it has to be my favourite film of all time. As soon as christmas comes round it is the first thing in my DVD player. I believe Will Ferrell is a fantastic actor and this film never fails to make me laugh.

Another childhood film

Although I love thumbelina, one of my alltime favourite childhood movies is Aristocats. When me and my twin brother were younger we loved this film and would always sit and watch the video, we even had beany babies of the characters.

Best Childhood film

I have to say that Thumbelina was my most memorable childhood film. I can remember most sundays when I was a little girl my parents would put the video in and my siblings and I would watch it and never get bored of it.

Olympic Games advert

Here is an advert i saw before the olympic games. I really liked this advert and eventhough it is an animation; I believe there are several great camera movements in certain shots and felt I should share it with you to watch. As I have stated, even though it is animation there are some great shots used, opening with an establishing shot, setting the scene of London. Moreover it helps us establish what will be happening, panning down into the different events. With the use of non diagetic music to help inspire us for the event. Furthermore the editing techniques are brilliant with the transition from the diver to rower showcasing more technical ability.

Favourite movie line

Here is a clip from shrek with my favourite line in "not my gumdrop buttons".

Past opening of films

After viewing many of last years opening to a film, this has to be my favourite opening in terms of shots. I will start by complimenting the title, i loved the play on words in comparison to the movie, which becomes clear it is about drugs in the final scene. I also thought the various camera movements and angles were skilful, with various shots showing Elisha cycling. Moreover I like the simplicity of the opening how even though she is only cycling the various shots used along with the sound of the bikes breaks and song playing creating a jolly feel which is contradicted at the end when she drops the drugs. The originality of this opening is why I like it so much as they focus more on technical features then the story line.

John Lewis Advert

I am posting a link to view the John Lewis advert. We had a discution about this on Friday and all agreed that it is a clever advert in terms of media terminology. It uses split screen which is a great technique to be able use and pull off well showing contrast between the two eras. The music also creates a big impact on the advert as it is talking about how 'two worlds colided' which is a lot of what this advert is about. Moreover the use of editing is of high quality as when the split screen is first used the van driving has been edited so it drives through the two generations which is done perfectly and been shown excelently in this advert.  This can help a lot in the future.

Media Studies Course Booklet

ECS as and A2 Media Studies Course Booklet
Here is a useful link to help me throughout this media course.

Filmmaking techniques video

This is my first official post in my new blog for media studies. I will be posting various other media related things such as videos, pictures and ideas for film making along with vlogging about various activities media related. This video is very interesting and relevant to the course which has a lot of useful information providing us with help in the future.