Wednesday, 8 May 2013

Final Post.

This is my last post. This blog is now closed.

Final Vlog

Here is our last vlog of us finishing everything on our As course.


The rest of the film.....

We ended the opening of our film on the shot of Leanne burning the picture. From here we will revert back two weeks and show what has happened. A rough outline of this is that Leanne has double crossed her best friend, which would be me, due to her boyfriend putting pressure on Leanne and as he is in a gang, therefore has access to weapons, like guns to kill her friend. Moreover Leanne's boyfriend double crosses her as he tells the police that Leanne has killed her, which explains why she is scared of the siren From there on we will show the rest of the vie from the scene we filmed for the opening.

Evaluations

Here are our evaluations:

















Thursday, 2 May 2013

Evaluation Progress....

Currently Taneshia and I have written out our evaluation. We have just finalised each question ensuring we have enough information to reach the top grade. This includes several in-depth answers about our film opening including target audience and the certificate including answers on why we chose specifics such as the song due to it appealing to the target audience. Now all that is left is to film it (which will be happening tomorrow) then edit it together including the question and answer with clips edited in from either our film like the credits or scenes from other films from which we got our inspiration.


Evaluation+questions.jpg

Monday, 29 April 2013

Final Film done and dusted

           

              

After months of filming we have finally finished and published our final film. Taneshia, Leanne, Hannah and I are very proud of the final product after worrying about it for so long. This is the opening scene for a film which we filmed which is also the end of the film as we wanted to open with the final scenes then flash back to tell the rest of the story as we thought it was quite different rather then creating an opening and this alowed us to leave suspense with the viewer allowing them to ask questions like 'Why is she burning the picture?' and so on.

We have a rough idea of how the rest of the gang culture film would be. Firstly we would do a flashback from two weeks earlier and have shots of Leanne and her childhood best friend then we introduce Leanne's new boyfriend who is in a gang, however he is jealous of Leanne and her best friends relationship so is forced to make Leanne do horrible things to her eventually leading to the murder of her best friend. I will blog at a later date in more detail of how the story will pan out but that was just a rough overview to give you an insight into our opening.

Sunday, 28 April 2013

The font

As I said in a previous post, the showcase allowed us to critique our film and notice things about it we may have not noticed when previously watching it. I loved the title sequence and thought I'd give some background into why we chose the font. As you can see below the font appears to be shattered which could foreshadow Leanne's broken life, with her killing her friend showing she is shattered and needs to out the pieces back together. Another reason behind it is watching title sequences of other gang culture films and the font they used were also shattered writing therefore our font adheres to our genre. When we first out up a font it was just plane writing but after viewing it we realized it needed more of an edge if our film was to represent a typical gang culture film and it was hard finding the correct font to use.


Saturday, 27 April 2013

Costume

After having our show case it allowed us to critique our film. We realised we hadn't yet explained our costume choice. The vlog explains reasons for the choice of clothing. We chose the jumper as it reflects her gang culture and also shows how she is not making an effort as she has a lot on her mind. She is feeling  depressed therefore her make-up as long as lighting shows her in an negative way to show her pain and upset for what she has done.











Wednesday, 24 April 2013

Certificate


After discussing with our group, we decided it be appropriate if the certificate for our film was a 15. As I have stated before, our film will be gang culture, which is implied through the opening 2 minutes which we filmed. This would then include violence and taboo language and dangerous behavior therefore would fit in to the '15' certificate. Here are a few official guidelines for the certificate which are stated for a 15 -  
  • Frequent use of strong language can be permitted, although very strong language needs to be restricted and would have to be seen as reasonable in the context. Frequent usage of very strong language would be seldom allowed. 
  • Drug taking may be shown but the film as a whole must not promote or encourage drug misuse. Promotion of drugs which are easy to obtain are unlikely to be allowed. 
  • Strong threat and menace are permitted unless sadistic or sexualised. 
  • Dangerous behavior (for example, hanging, suicide and self-harming) can be allowed provided the detail of such is low so that it can not create too much of an impression of the viewer. Abuse of weapons which are easily obtained will not be tolerated.
Here is another image from the BBFC website outlining simple facts on this certificate identifying the difference between a 15 and a 12A also giving a rough guidline to what is expected in  the scenes to a 15 fil which could relate to our film...

After evaluating our opening and taking into consideration the rest of our film, it is definitely not appropriate for viewers under the age of 15 and this is an image of the other ratings we could chose from to certify our film:
                                                 

Monday, 22 April 2013

Evaluation

Taneshia and I have started to write up our evaluation. These are the questions:
  • In what ways does your film opening use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? 
  • How does your film opening represent particular social groups? 
  • What kind of media institution might distribute your film opening and why? 
  • Who would be the audience for your film opening? 
  • How did you attract/address your audience? 
  • What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this film opening? 
  • Looking back at your prelim task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the final film opening?
We are going to talk about the research into our film adding clips in the background to show where our inspiration has come from. This will give an insight to the theme of our story adding clips from films such as 'Sket', 'Kidulthood' and 'Adulthood'. Another thing we plan to do is record in sets from our film as it will be good to get a feel for our setting. 

Wednesday, 20 March 2013

Title Sequence

Before we download our film onto our blogs here is a sneak preview of the title sequence. Surprisingly we had a lot of trouble with the title sequence as there was a lot to consider. Rather then just throwing writing on the screen we had to deicide whether we wanted the text on a black screen or not. The size and style of font in order to fit with our film and the placing on the screen and how long it was kept on. In the end we decided for the credits to come on screen at the top and bottom corner of the page during the time lapse keeping the same edgy font which we downloaded after finally deciding it was right choice for the film. We originally wanted the writing to appear on the bus but it was too complex and it would go too quickly for us to read the name and title of the person. Here is what we went with:









  Another problem we faced was the name and positioning of the film title. We went with 'Double Cross' as it went well with the genre of the film'. We then used an effect for the 'Double' and 'Cross' to brush past each other as they are crossing relating to the name. Fortunately the worked perfectly as it looked good in the shot with Leanne jumping of Trafalgar. This is it:

                                                                  

Tuesday, 19 March 2013

FINISHED

It's official... We have finished our opening 2 minutes. Everything is edited, the sound put in, filming completed, with a last minute change to the music, now being 'Plan B - deepest shame' rather then 'rudimental - not giving in' everything. It feels weird to say we have completed our opening shots after months of stress and hard work. We exported it after a stressful time with our sound. I hope the examiner likes it as much as we enjoyed making it and now we have outtakes to edit. Here is some footage of me editing the sound to try and get it in time when Leanne rips out the earphones:


Thursday, 14 March 2013

Vlog on final footage

Here is the vlog Leanne and I did of the final day of filming. We have edited everything and done our production company so are feeling good about our film. However we did have some trouble with the sound as it kept getting messed up and out of sync when we added more clips resulting in us deleting the sound then adding it in again which took forever:

Monday, 4 March 2013

Vlog

Here is the vlog Taneshia and I recorded before halfterm. Eventhough it is quite dated now we are still not much further. We have edited a bit more and got the muffled sound perfect.:

Saturday, 9 February 2013

Latest update

As you know, on Friday we went out filming to get our final shots. We hopped to finish everything so we could focus on editing however as we did not have much time we didn't get everything done. We manage to get everything filmed in forty hall, including the last scenes where Leanne goes to burn the picture - we found a great location for this shot so pictures will be posted soon. We used a picture of when me and Leanne were young to show how long we have been friends and to leave the audience wandering why she is ruining the photo. There is also another person in this photo (my brother) so the audience could also be left wandering who he is and why Leanne is ruining the photo of us. I think it went really well considering it was freezing and Leanne was ill however it would have been great if we finished everything. Photos and vlogs of the days filming will be put up soon.
 
 
  





Thursday, 7 February 2013

Example of Credits

Hannah made an example picture of how our credits will look if we are planning to stick with the names on the bus. Now seeing it like this I am really liking it and think we should stick with this idea; however it is very time consuming and thanks to your ever so helpful countdown on fronter i am worried we may bot have time to do so. This is what it looks like:



PLANS FOR TOMORROW:
Tomorrow is our last day of filming...maybe. We are hoping to get all our shots done by tomorrow, which is:
  • Forty hall scene
  • Train shots
We will then start to edit it all fully and if we need to re-film any shots we will do so. We will also archive some photos of the last day filming.

Monday, 4 February 2013

The Title Sequence

So as we are all clear on what is left to be filmed and are cracking on with the editing, we started to think of names for the opening of our film and how the credits will appear. We currently have a blockage on the title but we have decided as a group that we want the credits to appear during our time-lapse as it already takes up a lot of film time so will be a perfect opportunity for the credits rather then a black screen. We had an idea to slow down the time-lapse when there are buses as they are quite bold and red then edit in the writing as it will look nice but it is very time consuming so we may have tore think this idea.

Wednesday, 30 January 2013

Footage we have and what we now need...

So far we have already got the time lapse. The time lapse was the initial idea for the film as it not only looks great but we believe it emphasises how the protagonist is feeling alone in the world, with everything moving fast pace but her staying still, oblivious to the world. This is followed by her getting up from trafalgar square where she starts her journey and from there become more anxious. We then see her walking into the train station - this shot we still need to record for the scene to make sense - followed by the shots we have of her sitting on the train becoming increasingly anxious as she gets closer to home. We then see her walking the ally's, frightened and aware of her surroundings making us ponder why, implying at this points she is hiding a secret. Furthermore, we are going to edit in a siren sound which triggers something in her mind and at this point she begins to run implying she may be in serious trouble. She continues to run with her ending up in forty hall which leads onto our last shot - still needed to be recorded. She then goes to pull a picture out of her pocket then ends leaving a cliffhanger, not giving to much away and to avoid making a short film. In all the shots Leanne has her earphones in allowing us to work with the sound allowing us to entwine diabetic music to the clips but when she begins to run the earphones fall out to show she is listening to the music. Also we have tried to make Leanne look rough, suggesting she has been up all night as she has too much on her mind to sleep. Final shots will hopefully be filmed this week, leaving plenty of time to edit so we can see if any more shots need to be re-done.

Monday, 28 January 2013

Samsung Smart TV Advert



Whilst I was in the cinema this advert came on, the start is a bit seductive however there are several shots and edits that are very clever. The first shot I really like is when there is a long shot of all the men in the window scrambling to get out and you can see all the different scenarios in the window. Furthermore, the scene of the builders running down the stairs has been edited very smartly with a triple scene adding to the effect of how ridiculous the men are. This feature is recurring so adds continuity to the advert and more humour as the men are acting like children. As the lady opens the door, they have used the door number '69' as a prop which is used as an innuendo conforming to the stereotype. In the end we find out they are advertising a TV so the main purpose is to attract the male viewer. However there is relevance as we could use the three picture shot as an edit when Leanne is walking to show how she has been out all day as her paranoia increases although it may not make sense so we will see.

Sunday, 27 January 2013

Plans for next week...

As recently planned we were meant to have got all the footage needed by this week so we were able to just focus on the editing however due to the snow last week we were unable to record due to continuity issues in our shots. Next week we are planning to go out and get the rest of the shots needed which are: End shots in forty hall and the final train station shots. Also, whilst we watched our shots as a team last lesson we notice there is a shot which needs to be re-filmed to look more professional so we are hoping to get this done too. We have estimated this to take a day to film so by the following week we are ready to edit and re arrange several clips so the 2 minute opening starts to shape and make sense. We will be posting pictured to archive our final filming session.

Saturday, 26 January 2013

Analysis on Kidulthood...



Kidulthood is a gang cultured film - similar to our two minute opening. This scene is very similar to one we would like to re-create so I think it helps us a lot. It opens with an establishing shot showing the location - London town (known by the black taxi) then the man uses taboo language which is very unnecessary but common for the youth today.  I believe it is only similar as it follows the protagonist walking which we need to do with Leanne, it has great use of the Snori Cam which is clever due to us being able to see the characters expressions clearly which we need to show Leannes increasing paranoia.  I think the music adds effect as the back beet implies her instability and disconnection to the world which we want to portray in the clips. The split screen is also a great use of the editing and looks very clever as we are able to see the comparison between characters.

Friday, 25 January 2013

Les Miserables

Last Saturday I went to see the film 'Les Mis'. I thought it was an amazing film however some scenes in the beginning were quite long winded although it concluded several scenes in the end. The use of effects were fantastic, especially when the whole cast were together at the end singing the final song, it was a very chirpy ending making me love the film more. Due to it being the French Revolution there were many guns and canons used to add effects which was filmed very cleverly even though it was a tear jerker when Gavroche died. Also the scene where Enjolras was shot then fell out the Window with the red flag was very powerful, a mid shot was used to film it with only him in the frame hanging from the window with the flag to add effect of how tortuous it was also becoming such a powerful heart renching scene.

Friday, 18 January 2013

Group Vlog session

Here is the group blog we did the other day keeping you up to date on our whereabouts. We are also facing a slight problem due to Snow being for cased over the next few days so may have to postpone our last filming sessions, that's british weather for you...

Problem Solved...

Hoorah... due to some help from Miss, we have overcome the time lapse situation. What we did was, put the time lapse to its maximum speed then uploaded it to youtube. We then converted the clip and downloaded it back onto iMovie where we then spead up the clip even more - to the speed we wanted. We then cut this into our final footage at the beginning and continued editing the rest of our footage. We are all very pleased with the opening so far, fingers crossed the rest of the footage looks great.

Wednesday, 16 January 2013

Slight Problem...

After we had a very productive break, getting most shots needed we were all very enthusiastic to start editing. The first lesson back we downloaded all the clips onto iMovie. We started to edit the time lapse first and all was looking great but unfortunatly the time lapse took most of our opening. The tool used to speed it up hit the speed limit so we couldnt spead up the footage any more. However, all the other shots are looking great and steady which is a bonus.

Vlog on Train

Here is the vlog from the past week me and Taneshia took on the days filming up London:

Saturday, 5 January 2013

Short clip in One Tree Hill

Here is a clip from 'one tree hill' that I saw when I was watching it. I am posting this because I feel the various shots used really added effect within the situation and are similar shots to ones we need. I liked the shot of the close up, track of the feet which then reverted to a close up track of Haleys face which is similar to a shot we are needing to film. Several shots and angles have been used and I feel that when I watched this gave me more knowledge of how we need film our opening and what will be most effective... Ignore the French voice over - it's the only clip I could find on youtube

You will not believe it...

After our recording session last week we have finally buckled down and filmed the TIME LAPSE. We went out to Trafalgar early morning to get the shot then got the shots of Leanne on the train on her journey home becoming anxious. We have now pretty much got all the shots needed, now all that is left is to get a tracking shots and a few close ups of Leanne. We are all very happy we have the shots needed. Here is a few pics of  the days hard work: