Below is a link to this video on youtube in case the far right hand side of the screen has been cut off on the blog, this only seems to happen on some computers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUDnvKwuvfM
Tuesday, 10 May 2011
SLOW BURN - OUR FINISHED PROJECT
Below is a link to this video on youtube in case the far right hand side of the screen has been cut off on the blog, this only seems to happen on some computers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUDnvKwuvfM
Wednesday, 20 April 2011
INDIVIDUAL EVALUATION
How does it develop or challenge forms & conventions of other media products?
The majority of the classic and contemporary film-noirs we researched such as 'Double Indemnity' (Billy Wilder 1944), 'Brick' (Rian Johnson 2005) and 'Memento' (Christofer Nolan 2000) all had non-linear storylines which are widely recognised as a noir trademark. We decided to go down this route because with the other films we researched that did this the tone was immeadiately established and they tended to go very quickly into the main story with a disturbing enigma to encourage the audience to watch on. For this we used a familiar technique but the pace of our opening changed quite regularly with the chase in the middle of it. This was what made it differ to the openings of the films mentioned which had a fairly continuous slow pace and somber feel throughout.
Our production was in colour like the majority of contemporary noirs but the lighting was perhaps not as low-key as in some other films although we were able to produce some familiar 'noir style' high contrast lighting in the shot under the bridge and the main characters individual dialogue to the camera.
One of the main inspirations for our idea was the film 'Brick' and certain aspects of our storyline such as the drugs, gangs, doomed love and 'getting in with the wrong crowd' aswell as heavy emphasis on youngsters share similarities. The use of a 'femme-fatale' was another common noir feature we adopted. The opening as well as the rest of our film is from the perspective of the main protagonist although dialogue in our opening was kept to a minimum. We decided against voice-over narration which is a common feature of many film noirs in favour of a piece to camera by our main character near the end of the scene. This meant we were able to be quite artistic with the lighting by focusing a spotlight onto his face with a red filter over it meaning his face was partially covered and what was visible was shown up in red against a black background. This gave the shot a very moody and unnatural look.
On the editing we tried to be as creative as possible to make it uncomfortable viewing for the audience, similar to films like 'Brick'. When we showed the flashbacks we had to distinguish them between real time and we tried to do this by showing them in black and white though not in 'noir style'. For one of the flashbacks we superimposed a close-up of one of the attackers. All this was done to try to emphasise the 1st person perspective from the main character. This did work fairly well although for some shots such as the opening shot we maybe should have cut out quicker to make the action more continuous.
We tried to use a wide range of different shots but we could have maybe made more use of unnatural shots such as extreme close-ups or dutch tilts that are often associated with film noirs. We made good use of the locations available to us especially the bridge where we were able to fully make use of the light underneath to create some silouhette. One thing we struggled slightly on was finding decent music to fit with the changing pace of the sequence. The tracks we found for the slow paced parts worked well as they created a tense, depressing atmosphere but also sounded modern and were not too dramatic. The music we picked for the chase was suitably fast paced but we struggled to find anything that had a suitably downbeat tone, as a consequence some argued that it was to upbeat for what was happening in the opening.
How are particular social groups represented?
Obviously we were trying to represent youngsters and fairly typical real life situations. We tried to make it as contemporary as possible and that is one of the main reasons why we chose to represent teenagers however I feel we were fairly successful in not representing particular social classes which could have been controversial. The representations of this age group does appear negative but this was unavoidable with the storyline. The representations of gender are similar to many of the classic noirs with the presence of a manipulative femme-fatale who has a hold over the male characters, this represents the female character as the one with the power thus going against more widely held perceptions. The place being represented was obviously in a city environment and we felt a park was the most appropriate place as they are often seen as areas of vulnrability and we were also able to avoid any potential negative representations of certain social classes. The fact we were representing people from our own age group meant we didn't feel the need to dress up very differently to how we normally are although one of the characters was wearing a hood which may help to reinforce widely held perceptions that people with hoods are more threatening.
We made sure the music we picked was fairly modern to fit in with the rest of the environment although as mentioned earlier the techno music used for the chase was possibly a little too upbeat compared to something a little older sounding. We tried to reinforce and maybe slightly exaggerate the perception of the park we were filming in by using areas that would appear more isolated (e.g, the tree lined paths or the bridge) than an area with open space. The main message behind the film was that mixing with the wrong people and being easily led or manipulated by others can get you into trouble and put you on a downward spiral (hence the title 'Slow Burn'). Another message that might have been created could be that people who earn your trust can potentially let you down although in the opening sequence that we produced not much is given away making it hard to pick up on these ideas.
What kind of institution might distribute the product.
The distributors of this film would have to specialise in 'gritty', low budget, british dramas and neo-noir style productions, instantly ruling out any of the American giants e.g 'Universal Pictures'. Companies like 'Metrodome Distribution' who distributed 'Donnie Darko' or 'Optimum Releasing', distributors of 'Made in England' and 'Brick' would be appropriate for that reason. This is because they would need to know how best to market and promote the film to its target audience and they would have to be affordable. Similarly if it was to be shown on T.V a channel with a predominantly young audience and a reputation for promoting new ideas and being less stringent the types of content (e.g language) and ideas that its programmes may show.'Channel 4' or 'BBC THREE' would be ideal for these reasons. 'Film 4' could also be considered as it is a channel which specialises in feature length movies and has shown many lower budget British made productions in the past. The film would probably have to be shown after the watershed as while the opening may not do the storyline and tone would suggest that scenes of violence and strong language would often appear. It may however be useful to screen it at a film festival before releasing it to the mainstream to gain feedback and acclaim from critics and audience which would assist in finding a distributor Certain aspects of the plot and messages in the film would probably also result in it being shown late.
Who would the audience be?
The characters, storyline, plot, music are all aimed towards an age group of around 15-19, the fact it was produced by people of a similar age group backs this idea up. The BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) gives films a minimum age rating according to the content the film possesses - language, sex scenes and scenes of violence or drug use are main areas that would restrict the age range. With the storyline we had scenes such as this would be fairly prominent and would give the film a certificate 15 or possibly 18 depending on the frequency and graphic nature of these scenes. Although we would probably aim for a '15' rating as are target age group is 15-25 year olds. Therefore the BBFC rating would very much limit the amount of younger viewers. Older viewers would also be limited as many may find the plot and themes hard to accept and they would obviously find the characters harder to relate to.
As mentioned we tried not to represent particular socio-economic groups in our production although, taking VALS into consideration, the plot and themes of the film may have a greater influence on more deprived working class groups as they are maybe more better able to relate to the types of situations being experienced by the main characters. However we aimed to produce a storyline that would appeal to all social groups regardless wether or not they can personally relate to it although while we tried not to show it the vast majority would probably see it as a working class setting. Groups such as 'achievers' or 'believers' are probably the least likely to watch as they would be least likely to approve of the content. The preferred reading would be one that may serve to highlight the consequences of mixing with groups of people and doing things that could land yourself on a slippery slope, or one that shows not everybody you know can be trusted, we tried to get these messages across by encouraging feelings of fear in the audience. If there were any oppositional readings they would probably come from people against the idea of showing things like violence and drug use on screen who may think that by showing it we are promoting it, this should be unlikely though because of the institutions which would promote and show the film.
How did we attract/address the audience?
The characters, issues addressed and themes in this film are clearly related to people of our age group so these were meant to act as a base to initially attract our audience which we could then build on with our locations, music, style etc. We tried to have a storyline and characters that were easily relatable for a group of people a similar age to us. The first shot we see is of one of the characters walking alone through a park and this soon develops into the chase. We felt the use of a park as the location for the opening would be the most appropriate because they are widely seen as areas of high school crime and potential danger from certain groups although a back-alley at night may have been more appropriate for creating a sense of looming disaster and establishing a more negative tone from the start, the park was maybe a little too 'soft' looking in daylight. This would also be good for reinforcing the elements of drugs and gangs that would appear later in the film. The bridge did however make up for this to an extent although it only appeared briefly.
The theme of love was created quite early on with the use of flashbacks to give some idea of why what was happening in the opening was going on. The theme of gangs was less obvious but could still have been interpreted from the chase but the element of drugs was hidden, this could have helped to attract the audience at an early stage although we felt it was important to have a sense of enigma in place.
We tried to make the edit as visually attractive and inventive as possible to increase the visual pleasure for the audience. The opening shot possibly went on for slightly too long considering it was only a wide shot of a character walking which could have taken some of the suspense out of the build-up to the chase. We aimed to make the chase as fast paced as possible with the camera movement and the cuts to allow the urgency of it to transmit onto the audience and make them feel they were a part of it. One thing we did to try to achieve this was have a close up shot of the character's face as he is running to show the fear but also the movement, a steadicam was used to film this. We tried to find music that was dark but also modern i.e something that could create a tense forboding atmosphere but also fit in with the time and the surroundings as well as the characters. This was an area we struggled on slightly especially as we had to use different tracks to fit in with the changing pace of the opening and the music during the chase was slightly too upbeat but it was fast and sounded up to date.
What did i learn about new technologies?
Media is something that changes constantly through the progression of technology and the aim was to exploit this as much as possible during the process of constructing this product. One of the first things we did was set up our individual blogs and this is where all the research and planning was put. With all research and planning being available online it made it easy for the group to share work and communicate and we could back up our points further by adding images and video clips of for instance a scene in a film which we thought was significant to the research. The use of the internet was also vital to research stage and youtube proved to be our most useful tool as we were able to analyse film openings and certain scenes in films which we felt were significant, if we felt they were we could embed the clips onto our blogs. We had already learned about many of the technologies for our final production in the preliminary and exchange exercises such as the Canon HV30 tape camera and sound equipment (YOGA Super Cardoid Shotgun Microphone, headphones) and the the programme 'Final Cut Pro' on the Macbook pro machines. Final Cut Pro enabled us to log and captu what we had filmed onto a group file ready to be edited. Initially we only knew the basics of editing such as establishing continuity and putting cuts in the right places but by the time of the final production we had learned how to use this software to create polished edits with music and a variety of special effects such as superimposition. For converting sound from MP3 to AIFF which final cut pro excepts we used 'Adobe Sound Booth'.
What have we learnt since the prelimenary excercise?
The practical skills I feel I have learned since the preliminary excercise include having greater awareness of shot sizes, distance and timing although shooting was something I seemed to naturally struggle with slightly which meant I did not do as much as others in the group. Teamwork was very important as our individual strengths could help the production come together, it was especially important to work well as a crew during the shooting stage. We also found out it was important to have everybody on hand to point out any errors that may have been observed during the editing stage as small things that are hard to notice can have a very big impact on the quality of the finished piece.
I feel I became more aware of the importance of checking surroundings during a shoot and being vigilant about any unwanted background noise or anything appearing in shot that is not meant to (after my mistake in the preliminary of accidently allowing the boom to appear in shot). Also I learnt to be more vigilant about any continuity problems although if we were to make this again I would try to make sure to shoot in similar weather conditions.
Time management and organisation were very important considering the amount of pre-production paperwork which had to be done compared to previous excercises because of the large number of aspects which had to be covered such as shot sizes, locations, dialogue as well as any potential health & safety hazards, however I feel I handled this part of the production fairly well. For the editing of the piece I feel I could have made more of a contribution to the practical elements despite the fact this was not my main area of responsibility although I feel I learned alot more about the software since the preliminary excercise.
My main role in the production was Art Director which meant I learned alot about finding a suitable location with the right sort of lighting and an appearance and feel that would be suitable, much of what I learned from here also came from the research. Theoretically I feel I learned how to give a production a tone and a meaning using techniques such as low-key lighting, a range of shot sizes and music which carries emotions. This came from analysing existing productions and I feel I have gained more sophisticated analytical skills for analysing films. This was important for when we were examining concepts such as; representations of people, cinematography techniques, the effects of music and lighting, narrative, messages and ideology and genre. The final production was all about putting theoretical elements we had analysed like editing, cinematography, mise-en-scene and sound into practice to enable our finished piece to have the desired effect on our audience and the exchange exercise allowed us to learn more about this before we undertook the main project. I feel my theoretical skills are probably stronger than my practical skills although since the preliminary task I have learned alot from watching films such as 'Brick' and doing the exchange excercise about various techniques that can be used during the shooting stage and the editing stage to give a production the right editing pace, plot, shot sizes, characters and representations to be as effective as possible in the way it presents itself to the audience.
The majority of the classic and contemporary film-noirs we researched such as 'Double Indemnity' (Billy Wilder 1944), 'Brick' (Rian Johnson 2005) and 'Memento' (Christofer Nolan 2000) all had non-linear storylines which are widely recognised as a noir trademark. We decided to go down this route because with the other films we researched that did this the tone was immeadiately established and they tended to go very quickly into the main story with a disturbing enigma to encourage the audience to watch on. For this we used a familiar technique but the pace of our opening changed quite regularly with the chase in the middle of it. This was what made it differ to the openings of the films mentioned which had a fairly continuous slow pace and somber feel throughout.
Our production was in colour like the majority of contemporary noirs but the lighting was perhaps not as low-key as in some other films although we were able to produce some familiar 'noir style' high contrast lighting in the shot under the bridge and the main characters individual dialogue to the camera.
One of the main inspirations for our idea was the film 'Brick' and certain aspects of our storyline such as the drugs, gangs, doomed love and 'getting in with the wrong crowd' aswell as heavy emphasis on youngsters share similarities. The use of a 'femme-fatale' was another common noir feature we adopted. The opening as well as the rest of our film is from the perspective of the main protagonist although dialogue in our opening was kept to a minimum. We decided against voice-over narration which is a common feature of many film noirs in favour of a piece to camera by our main character near the end of the scene. This meant we were able to be quite artistic with the lighting by focusing a spotlight onto his face with a red filter over it meaning his face was partially covered and what was visible was shown up in red against a black background. This gave the shot a very moody and unnatural look.
On the editing we tried to be as creative as possible to make it uncomfortable viewing for the audience, similar to films like 'Brick'. When we showed the flashbacks we had to distinguish them between real time and we tried to do this by showing them in black and white though not in 'noir style'. For one of the flashbacks we superimposed a close-up of one of the attackers. All this was done to try to emphasise the 1st person perspective from the main character. This did work fairly well although for some shots such as the opening shot we maybe should have cut out quicker to make the action more continuous.
We tried to use a wide range of different shots but we could have maybe made more use of unnatural shots such as extreme close-ups or dutch tilts that are often associated with film noirs. We made good use of the locations available to us especially the bridge where we were able to fully make use of the light underneath to create some silouhette. One thing we struggled slightly on was finding decent music to fit with the changing pace of the sequence. The tracks we found for the slow paced parts worked well as they created a tense, depressing atmosphere but also sounded modern and were not too dramatic. The music we picked for the chase was suitably fast paced but we struggled to find anything that had a suitably downbeat tone, as a consequence some argued that it was to upbeat for what was happening in the opening.
How are particular social groups represented?
Obviously we were trying to represent youngsters and fairly typical real life situations. We tried to make it as contemporary as possible and that is one of the main reasons why we chose to represent teenagers however I feel we were fairly successful in not representing particular social classes which could have been controversial. The representations of this age group does appear negative but this was unavoidable with the storyline. The representations of gender are similar to many of the classic noirs with the presence of a manipulative femme-fatale who has a hold over the male characters, this represents the female character as the one with the power thus going against more widely held perceptions. The place being represented was obviously in a city environment and we felt a park was the most appropriate place as they are often seen as areas of vulnrability and we were also able to avoid any potential negative representations of certain social classes. The fact we were representing people from our own age group meant we didn't feel the need to dress up very differently to how we normally are although one of the characters was wearing a hood which may help to reinforce widely held perceptions that people with hoods are more threatening.
We made sure the music we picked was fairly modern to fit in with the rest of the environment although as mentioned earlier the techno music used for the chase was possibly a little too upbeat compared to something a little older sounding. We tried to reinforce and maybe slightly exaggerate the perception of the park we were filming in by using areas that would appear more isolated (e.g, the tree lined paths or the bridge) than an area with open space. The main message behind the film was that mixing with the wrong people and being easily led or manipulated by others can get you into trouble and put you on a downward spiral (hence the title 'Slow Burn'). Another message that might have been created could be that people who earn your trust can potentially let you down although in the opening sequence that we produced not much is given away making it hard to pick up on these ideas.
What kind of institution might distribute the product.
The distributors of this film would have to specialise in 'gritty', low budget, british dramas and neo-noir style productions, instantly ruling out any of the American giants e.g 'Universal Pictures'. Companies like 'Metrodome Distribution' who distributed 'Donnie Darko' or 'Optimum Releasing', distributors of 'Made in England' and 'Brick' would be appropriate for that reason. This is because they would need to know how best to market and promote the film to its target audience and they would have to be affordable. Similarly if it was to be shown on T.V a channel with a predominantly young audience and a reputation for promoting new ideas and being less stringent the types of content (e.g language) and ideas that its programmes may show.'Channel 4' or 'BBC THREE' would be ideal for these reasons. 'Film 4' could also be considered as it is a channel which specialises in feature length movies and has shown many lower budget British made productions in the past. The film would probably have to be shown after the watershed as while the opening may not do the storyline and tone would suggest that scenes of violence and strong language would often appear. It may however be useful to screen it at a film festival before releasing it to the mainstream to gain feedback and acclaim from critics and audience which would assist in finding a distributor Certain aspects of the plot and messages in the film would probably also result in it being shown late.
Who would the audience be?
The characters, storyline, plot, music are all aimed towards an age group of around 15-19, the fact it was produced by people of a similar age group backs this idea up. The BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) gives films a minimum age rating according to the content the film possesses - language, sex scenes and scenes of violence or drug use are main areas that would restrict the age range. With the storyline we had scenes such as this would be fairly prominent and would give the film a certificate 15 or possibly 18 depending on the frequency and graphic nature of these scenes. Although we would probably aim for a '15' rating as are target age group is 15-25 year olds. Therefore the BBFC rating would very much limit the amount of younger viewers. Older viewers would also be limited as many may find the plot and themes hard to accept and they would obviously find the characters harder to relate to.
As mentioned we tried not to represent particular socio-economic groups in our production although, taking VALS into consideration, the plot and themes of the film may have a greater influence on more deprived working class groups as they are maybe more better able to relate to the types of situations being experienced by the main characters. However we aimed to produce a storyline that would appeal to all social groups regardless wether or not they can personally relate to it although while we tried not to show it the vast majority would probably see it as a working class setting. Groups such as 'achievers' or 'believers' are probably the least likely to watch as they would be least likely to approve of the content. The preferred reading would be one that may serve to highlight the consequences of mixing with groups of people and doing things that could land yourself on a slippery slope, or one that shows not everybody you know can be trusted, we tried to get these messages across by encouraging feelings of fear in the audience. If there were any oppositional readings they would probably come from people against the idea of showing things like violence and drug use on screen who may think that by showing it we are promoting it, this should be unlikely though because of the institutions which would promote and show the film.
How did we attract/address the audience?
The characters, issues addressed and themes in this film are clearly related to people of our age group so these were meant to act as a base to initially attract our audience which we could then build on with our locations, music, style etc. We tried to have a storyline and characters that were easily relatable for a group of people a similar age to us. The first shot we see is of one of the characters walking alone through a park and this soon develops into the chase. We felt the use of a park as the location for the opening would be the most appropriate because they are widely seen as areas of high school crime and potential danger from certain groups although a back-alley at night may have been more appropriate for creating a sense of looming disaster and establishing a more negative tone from the start, the park was maybe a little too 'soft' looking in daylight. This would also be good for reinforcing the elements of drugs and gangs that would appear later in the film. The bridge did however make up for this to an extent although it only appeared briefly.
The theme of love was created quite early on with the use of flashbacks to give some idea of why what was happening in the opening was going on. The theme of gangs was less obvious but could still have been interpreted from the chase but the element of drugs was hidden, this could have helped to attract the audience at an early stage although we felt it was important to have a sense of enigma in place.
We tried to make the edit as visually attractive and inventive as possible to increase the visual pleasure for the audience. The opening shot possibly went on for slightly too long considering it was only a wide shot of a character walking which could have taken some of the suspense out of the build-up to the chase. We aimed to make the chase as fast paced as possible with the camera movement and the cuts to allow the urgency of it to transmit onto the audience and make them feel they were a part of it. One thing we did to try to achieve this was have a close up shot of the character's face as he is running to show the fear but also the movement, a steadicam was used to film this. We tried to find music that was dark but also modern i.e something that could create a tense forboding atmosphere but also fit in with the time and the surroundings as well as the characters. This was an area we struggled on slightly especially as we had to use different tracks to fit in with the changing pace of the opening and the music during the chase was slightly too upbeat but it was fast and sounded up to date.
What did i learn about new technologies?
Media is something that changes constantly through the progression of technology and the aim was to exploit this as much as possible during the process of constructing this product. One of the first things we did was set up our individual blogs and this is where all the research and planning was put. With all research and planning being available online it made it easy for the group to share work and communicate and we could back up our points further by adding images and video clips of for instance a scene in a film which we thought was significant to the research. The use of the internet was also vital to research stage and youtube proved to be our most useful tool as we were able to analyse film openings and certain scenes in films which we felt were significant, if we felt they were we could embed the clips onto our blogs. We had already learned about many of the technologies for our final production in the preliminary and exchange exercises such as the Canon HV30 tape camera and sound equipment (YOGA Super Cardoid Shotgun Microphone, headphones) and the the programme 'Final Cut Pro' on the Macbook pro machines. Final Cut Pro enabled us to log and captu what we had filmed onto a group file ready to be edited. Initially we only knew the basics of editing such as establishing continuity and putting cuts in the right places but by the time of the final production we had learned how to use this software to create polished edits with music and a variety of special effects such as superimposition. For converting sound from MP3 to AIFF which final cut pro excepts we used 'Adobe Sound Booth'.
What have we learnt since the prelimenary excercise?
The practical skills I feel I have learned since the preliminary excercise include having greater awareness of shot sizes, distance and timing although shooting was something I seemed to naturally struggle with slightly which meant I did not do as much as others in the group. Teamwork was very important as our individual strengths could help the production come together, it was especially important to work well as a crew during the shooting stage. We also found out it was important to have everybody on hand to point out any errors that may have been observed during the editing stage as small things that are hard to notice can have a very big impact on the quality of the finished piece.
I feel I became more aware of the importance of checking surroundings during a shoot and being vigilant about any unwanted background noise or anything appearing in shot that is not meant to (after my mistake in the preliminary of accidently allowing the boom to appear in shot). Also I learnt to be more vigilant about any continuity problems although if we were to make this again I would try to make sure to shoot in similar weather conditions.
Time management and organisation were very important considering the amount of pre-production paperwork which had to be done compared to previous excercises because of the large number of aspects which had to be covered such as shot sizes, locations, dialogue as well as any potential health & safety hazards, however I feel I handled this part of the production fairly well. For the editing of the piece I feel I could have made more of a contribution to the practical elements despite the fact this was not my main area of responsibility although I feel I learned alot more about the software since the preliminary excercise.
My main role in the production was Art Director which meant I learned alot about finding a suitable location with the right sort of lighting and an appearance and feel that would be suitable, much of what I learned from here also came from the research. Theoretically I feel I learned how to give a production a tone and a meaning using techniques such as low-key lighting, a range of shot sizes and music which carries emotions. This came from analysing existing productions and I feel I have gained more sophisticated analytical skills for analysing films. This was important for when we were examining concepts such as; representations of people, cinematography techniques, the effects of music and lighting, narrative, messages and ideology and genre. The final production was all about putting theoretical elements we had analysed like editing, cinematography, mise-en-scene and sound into practice to enable our finished piece to have the desired effect on our audience and the exchange exercise allowed us to learn more about this before we undertook the main project. I feel my theoretical skills are probably stronger than my practical skills although since the preliminary task I have learned alot from watching films such as 'Brick' and doing the exchange excercise about various techniques that can be used during the shooting stage and the editing stage to give a production the right editing pace, plot, shot sizes, characters and representations to be as effective as possible in the way it presents itself to the audience.
RESEARCH AND QUESTIONNAIRE (Produced and conducted by Aiden)
1. Have you heard of the genre 'neo-noir'
Audience Description
Our main audience is aged between 18-30, mostly male, but females would probably enjoy it aswell. The working classes and lower middle classes would probably be able to relate to the characters more than the upper classes. Much older people might find it difficultto cope with the storyline of the film, and find the characters maybe a little un-relateable. Race, ethnicities and religions would probably all enjoy the film equally, as it doesn't involve subject matter that would discriminate agains anyone. The film would probably have a similar audience to the neo-noir film 'Brick' as it has a similar subject matter and deals with some of the same issues as 'Brick' does. I think the distribution would probably go straight into television. I think that 'Film4' would be very interested in the film, as it is very similar to alot of films they like to show. I dont think that a stint in the cinemas would be cost effective as the budget would not be enough to pay for enough advertising to bring in the audiences, to make it really kick off. I think that devoted film magazines will probably see us as an independent indie film, if they like our film and give it a good review, then we may look at putting it through the cinemas.
- Yes - 7
- No -8
- 0-2 - 4
- 3-4 - 8
- 5-6 - 2
- More than 6 - 1
- Se7en - 3
- Transformers - 2
- Black Swan - 2
- Hot Fuzz - 5
- Dirty Dancing - 3
- A chase sequence - 4
- A slow titles sequence - 5
- A dream sequence - 2
- A gun fight - 4
- Yes - 4
- No - 11
- Yes - 4
- No- 7
- Maybe - 4
- Action Film - 3
- Romantic Comedy - 3
- Black & White Film - 1
- Psychological Thriller - 2
- Neo-noir - 0
- Comedy - 7
- Fantasy -4
- Horror - 2
Audience Description
Our main audience is aged between 18-30, mostly male, but females would probably enjoy it aswell. The working classes and lower middle classes would probably be able to relate to the characters more than the upper classes. Much older people might find it difficultto cope with the storyline of the film, and find the characters maybe a little un-relateable. Race, ethnicities and religions would probably all enjoy the film equally, as it doesn't involve subject matter that would discriminate agains anyone. The film would probably have a similar audience to the neo-noir film 'Brick' as it has a similar subject matter and deals with some of the same issues as 'Brick' does. I think the distribution would probably go straight into television. I think that 'Film4' would be very interested in the film, as it is very similar to alot of films they like to show. I dont think that a stint in the cinemas would be cost effective as the budget would not be enough to pay for enough advertising to bring in the audiences, to make it really kick off. I think that devoted film magazines will probably see us as an independent indie film, if they like our film and give it a good review, then we may look at putting it through the cinemas.
PRE-PRODUCTION PAPERWORK & WHO DID WHAT
Alot of paperwork had to be completed before we were allowed to go out and film, among these were a storyboard which are used to give a clear idea of shot sizes etc so we know exactly what we have to do when the shooting stage arrives. A synopsis was necessary to enable anybody outside of our group to have a basic idea of the plot and perhaps the most important of all was a treatment. This is essential to giving us a clear understanding as to how we can give our film the desired tone and feeling and how it can interact with the audience. Editing, cinematography, mise-en-scene and sound all had to be covered in the treatment. Among the secondary pieces of pre-production paperwork was an overview of the planned locations including photographs and a rough sketch. to see how suitable they were not only for the film but for other factors such as health & safety of the crew, a risk assessment was completed to go with this. A call sheet was also needed to enable us to contact members of the group in an emergency. Of course all this was distributed evenly and fairly round the group.
The four of us were allocated our own specialist roles and responsibilities. I was given the responsibility of art director meaning I was in charge of mise-en-scene including reviewing the suitability of locations regarding wether or not the amount of light and atmosphere would be in keeping with the desired feel and atmosphere of the film. Becca was in charge of the editing which is what gives the product its rhythm and certain techniques can be used to give the sequence a very disorientating feel. Rhys was the director so he was in charge of making sure everything in the shooting stage was done properly. Aiden was the producer.
The four of us were allocated our own specialist roles and responsibilities. I was given the responsibility of art director meaning I was in charge of mise-en-scene including reviewing the suitability of locations regarding wether or not the amount of light and atmosphere would be in keeping with the desired feel and atmosphere of the film. Becca was in charge of the editing which is what gives the product its rhythm and certain techniques can be used to give the sequence a very disorientating feel. Rhys was the director so he was in charge of making sure everything in the shooting stage was done properly. Aiden was the producer.
Tuesday, 29 March 2011
SCRIPT
MAIN CHARACTERS' PIECE TO CAMERAS
NATHAN and AMY stare dead-pan into the camera simaltaneously in a close-up shot
NATHAN and AMY stare dead-pan into the camera simaltaneously in a close-up shot
NATHAN and AMY
(somber)
I didn't know she'd get me into that much trouble, it wasnt my fault.
FINAL DIALOGUE
AMY speaks over the 'Slow Burn' titles, she can be heard but not seen
AMY
I betrayed him
Friday, 25 March 2011
TREATMENT
Art Director’s Treatment
Location
Opening wide shot: This shot allows the audience to view the entire area where the scene is taking place. It is important to get an idea of how open and remote the area is as it creates an increased sense of vulnerability to the main character who can just be seen walking into a wooded area. The path can be seen disappearing into the wooded area which shows he is walking into an area that is likely to be quite dark and secluded even during daylight. This shows he is walking into an area where he is more likely to be pursued and caught than a lighter, more open area where there will be a better chance of escape and less opportunity for the pursuers to catch the character unawares. From a distance the darkness on the entrance to the wooded area can also be seen.
First chase area: The chase begins in a path lined with trees where the two pursuers will eventually jump out of. This creates more of a sense of insecurity because there is less chance to escape and the trees also make the area look darker. The positioning of branches against the sky could also create some noir style high contrast lighting. The bit where the character runs with the steady-cam is shot in a more densely wooded area again to make his face and the background darker.
Before the bridge: Before the character disappears under the bridge where he will eventually be caught the bridge can be seen with the path disappearing underneath it. However with the outside being fairly bright in comparison to the bridge and the positioning of the camera the bridge he is running under comes across as almost pitch black like a tunnel, which therefore gives the idea that he is running into a place with no means of escape which suggests to the audience that he is about to get caught.
Under the bridge: After the character disappears we cut to a shot under the bridge facing the entrance where the character ran into. However the audience don’t know it’s a bridge and the positioning of the camera makes it look like he has just ran into an area with no escape. Around 7 seconds after he runs in his pursuers catch him and the darkness under the bridge combined with the comparative brightness outside means the characters appear only in silouhette.This works especially well for the pursuers as their powerful and threatening stance can clearly be seen.
Flashbacks, piece to camera and titles
Flashbacks, piece to camera and titles
Main character’s piece to camera: This part of the sequence is introduced to give the audience a hint about the storyline and involves the main character and the femme-fatale doing an individual piece of dialogue to the camera superimposed over each other with the two taking turns to be shown up with more prominence. A close up of the characters are shown with nothing but blackness as the background. The red screen was put over the spotlight and the positioning of the light allowed only half the character’s faces to be shown in red. This gave both shots a very threatening, unnatural look and feel which helped add to the tone of the rest of the sequence. The appearance of two characters' faces in one shot also help add to this confusing and unnatural appearance.
Flashbacks: Obviously the flashbacks have to be distinguished from the rest of the action and this has been done by editing it in black and white to show it is in the characters memory and adds to the first person perspective of the sequence by appearing to get inside the mind of the character. We also superimposed a close-up of one of the gang members over one of these flashbacks which helped give a hint about the storyline and gave the enemy a very threatening impression.
Titles: The graphics we used for the titles showed neo-noir and more classic horror elements. The neo noir elements are shown when 'Corruption Productions' first appear and are shown in a dark 'electro' style which makes it look very modern. A haunted house appears in the 'Black House Distributors' logo which gives it a more conventional horror appearcance but is effective all the same in eastablishing the mood and tone. The title of the film, 'Slow Burn' appears towards the end and is shown in a simple, very large roman style font centre-aligned.
The editing for our sequence is crucial on several levels. Primarily, the entire rhythm and momentum of our project is based within the cuts we have used. We have several fast cuts in the edit, in order to maintain a sense of motion and urgency, crucial to the feel of the chase sequence. We have also used fades to black to mask small continuity errors, meaning parts of our edit were remedial. The final cut switches from a shot in a tunnel to a close-up of the protagonist in low-key red lighting. We decided to use this shot as we felt it presented the urgency of the scenario to the audience as immediately as possible. The shot was inspired by the film ‘Bronson’, in which several sudden close-ups are used to present the titular character as a stark contrast from his surroundings and others within his environment.
Flashbacks: Obviously the flashbacks have to be distinguished from the rest of the action and this has been done by editing it in black and white to show it is in the characters memory and adds to the first person perspective of the sequence by appearing to get inside the mind of the character. We also superimposed a close-up of one of the gang members over one of these flashbacks which helped give a hint about the storyline and gave the enemy a very threatening impression.
Titles: The graphics we used for the titles showed neo-noir and more classic horror elements. The neo noir elements are shown when 'Corruption Productions' first appear and are shown in a dark 'electro' style which makes it look very modern. A haunted house appears in the 'Black House Distributors' logo which gives it a more conventional horror appearcance but is effective all the same in eastablishing the mood and tone. The title of the film, 'Slow Burn' appears towards the end and is shown in a simple, very large roman style font centre-aligned.
Sound Treatment (written by Rhys)
The sequence we shot is fairly non-diegetic. We have focused on overlaying sound, instead of using the sound from the shoots themselves. We have done this to create a sense of motion in the shots, since the concept of the sequence is the chase. The idea which inspired our choice of music was inevitability, as we were trying to create an almost claustrophobic atmosphere, enabling our audience to truly share the protagonist’s experiences.Editing (written by Rhys)
Cinematography (written by Rhys)
We are trying to make the cinematography interesting, and varied we are going to use a lot of straight cuts. And a couple of fade outs, we will be using this to show a passage of time, whether this is short or long will be shown in the next shot. We are going to use a straight cut to a different scene showing a deadpan shot to the camera, where the main protagonist does a short speech to the audience. This is the final shot in our sequence, but we do have plans to put titles in between shots, these are going to be either clean cuts used to show a transition between two shots. Or they will be fade cuts into a title sequence, these will be used to show a transition, these could also be used to slow down the sequence if we run into difficulties, these can be used to cover up continuity errors, we have used this to cover up some of a sloppy shot, this is an effective method of “damage control”. SYNOPSIS (written by Rhys)
Nathan, a small-time drug dealer, is found by a couple of rival dealers. He has been seeing Amy, the girlfriend of Jamie, Nathan’s rival. Jamie and his friend catch Nathan in the park, and chase him down. As Jamie runs from his pursuers, he reflects on recent events, largely involving drugs and Amy. Jamie realises that Amy has betrayed him, and decides that he needs to confront her, in order to clarify the situation.
Thursday, 24 March 2011
ANOTHER UPDATE...
We have now shot, captured and edited just about everything we need for the opening to our noir thriller titled 'Slow Burn' and after viewing it we are fairly satisfied. What we had planned was fairly ambitious when you consider the number of locations we had to use and this meant we fell behind shedule abit, we also had to do a couple of re-shoots which didn't help. However we enjoyed a fairly productive session on tuesday as we were able to do all the reshoots and the shots still to be completed, including the flashbacks (which will be mentioned in the treatment) in the first half and then in the second half were able to edit them in to what we already had saved. The final piece is not fully complete as yet as we need to distinguish the flashbacks quite effectively and dramatically from the rest of the sequence by editing them in black & white to add to the noir feel. As for the re-shoots we have eliminated the continuity error found in the shots just before the start of the chase. The weather unfortunately caused us some problems as the Sun which had been missing for the original shoots came out for the re-shoots. We have tried our best to cover this up as much as we can and without the continuity problem the scene does now look smoother and more polished than before.
In Tuesdays lesson we also managed to find a piece of music with a tempo and a tone suitable enough for the chase scene. We also managed to find a seperate track which provided a build-up to the chase which was especially useful as it allowed for a smooth transition between the slow pace and melancholy feel of the opening shots and music compared with the much urgent and dramatic feel of the chase itself.
Overall I feel our group have made alot of progress in the last week and with a brief 10-15 minute polish of the final piece at the beginning or just before next tuesdays lesson our project should be ready for viewing.
In Tuesdays lesson we also managed to find a piece of music with a tempo and a tone suitable enough for the chase scene. We also managed to find a seperate track which provided a build-up to the chase which was especially useful as it allowed for a smooth transition between the slow pace and melancholy feel of the opening shots and music compared with the much urgent and dramatic feel of the chase itself.
Overall I feel our group have made alot of progress in the last week and with a brief 10-15 minute polish of the final piece at the beginning or just before next tuesdays lesson our project should be ready for viewing.
Wednesday, 16 March 2011
UPDATE...
We are now well underway with our main production entitled 'Slow Burn' but i'll admit, this is turning out to be rather harder than I thought it would be. We have our idea fully in place (the final synopsis, detailed treatment, storyboard etc will appear on this blog shortly), done most of our shoots and have a near complete rough edit. We have spotted some continuity problems along the way though that need to be addressed, but one of our group members has lost the shirt he wore in the original shoot so either we wait for his mate to hopefully give it back or in case we run out of time he wares something similar and we only shoot him from a distance, either way we'll manage it somehow. We also need to re-shoot a jump-down shot involving me and Aiden because we've spotted a continuity error although if we watch our continuity second time round this should be fairly straight forward. Finally we've encountered a problem with an artistic piece-to-camera shot for late in the scene which looks great visually but after capturing it we found some background interference which appears to have come from the machinery rather than the backgroun, basically it sounds like a badly tuned television on the wrong channel. The worst thing about this is we haven't got a clue how this happened as we were all being vigilant about any sound problems at the time. Unless we can find a way to get round this by maybe putting some subtle music over it we may have to re-shoot this aswell which is incredibly frustrating.
There are only a couple of shots we haven't done yet and these are flashbacks we have been advised to put in before the chase starts to give the audience a better idea of our plot and to give some more variety and creativity to the piece. In the sound department we have some music for the slow movement scenes but we are struggling a bit to find anything decent for the chase. If only we didn't have the copyright issues to deal with!
Nevertheless if we can overcome all the obsticles and get this all together there is no reason why we can't make this work.
There are only a couple of shots we haven't done yet and these are flashbacks we have been advised to put in before the chase starts to give the audience a better idea of our plot and to give some more variety and creativity to the piece. In the sound department we have some music for the slow movement scenes but we are struggling a bit to find anything decent for the chase. If only we didn't have the copyright issues to deal with!
Nevertheless if we can overcome all the obsticles and get this all together there is no reason why we can't make this work.
Tuesday, 11 January 2011
EXCHANGE EXERCISE & EVALUATION
My main responsibilities during the pre-production of this video were helping to create a storyboard of around 12 shots and helping to find, plan and draw suitable locations. I was also jointly responsible for completing all of the necessary paperwork such as the risk assessment and call sheet which were needed before filming could start. During the production I was able to be involved with both acting and shooting and for the post production work I was able to find a piece of music that was used at the beginning of the film. The whole group was involved in editing the piece together.
Overall I think I contributed effectively with the pre-production paperwork as I was responsible for making sure everything was complete and in order before filming could start. Ideas from all members of the group went into the eventual storyboard. For the actual filming I feel I could have been slightly more vigilant for any continuity errors especially in the final few shots as a continuity error was spotted during editing. For the post production work the piece of music I found didn't fit in with the on screen action as well as I initially thought but this is something I will learn for the next excercise. I will try to put more thought and research into what music would be appropriate before choosing.
Most of the new skills we learnt from this exercise were theoretical as we had already familiarised ourselves with the filming and editing equipment. We were able to put many of the techniques to make a film thriller into practice for the first time. This included the use of foreboding music, unnatural camera angles such as close-ups or dutch tilts and an enigma at the center of the plot. After feedback from colleagues and the tutor we now know how we can enhance these techniques to make the more effective in the final piece. We also learnt about finding a suitable location and finding background music to have the desired effect on the audience. On the practical side one new thing we learnt was how to add music to the film and edit it so certain parts of the track appear where we want it to.
Overall the lighting and the sound in the film worked well with the only notable problem being a continuity error near the end although we were able to cover this up during the editing.
I think our use of editing worked well especially near the end of the film where we were able to flash between the closing titles and the closing image of a character on the floor after supposedly being killed. I feel we could have used a wider range of shots such as more usage of close ups to give it more of a noir/thriller feel although the lighting in the park where a low sun created some high contrast lighting worked particularly well. However we probably should have used costumes to give the characters a better representation of those found in noir/thrillers. Most of the audience were able to follow the storyline.
Overall despite a couple of errors with camera positioning and continuity the exercise as a whole ran relatively smoothly and the most of the ideas came across as planned and we got the basics such as the 180 degree line rule correct. The feedback from the audience was generally positive with the only criticisms being the lack of an establishing shot and no costumes being used. There was also a bit of confusion regarding the storyline. Overall the audience saw the same positives and negatives as we did. If we were to get a chance to do the excercise again I would try to add more genre specific mise-en-scene such as costumes for the characters
Sunday, 2 January 2011
EXCHANGE EXCERCISE BRIEF
The exchange excercise was our second filming excercise and required us in groups of four to plan a sequence of no more than 12 shots focusing on the exchange of a mysterious item. The sequence was to be set in the style of a thriller with no dialogue and the only sound being music. The idea of the task was to get us to be more innovative with our camera shots and editing to help reinforce the thriller style and give us further ideas of what we will be required to do on the noir opening. This excercise was to also give us more time on the filming and editing equipment.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)