Monday 30 November 2015

UNIT 1 - Call sheet


Risk assessment for our film



Production schedule

UNIT 22 - my pitch film presentation

Pitch Evaluation

As a group (Myself, Habon and Paris) our task was to come up with a short film which we would then film and produce together. We had to decide the location, genre, plot, characters and other things which was going to be in our film. We then had to present our ideas to the class in a 5 minute presentation and explain what the film will consist of. We gave examples off other films that influenced us. We also gave our own personal reasons for choosing the genre and why we wanted to choose that for our own film.

Strengths

We had talked for about 5 minutes so we filled in the time we were given. We had received some of the classes feedback from our presentation and one of the students (Marcelo) had said that unlike other groups when we showed a video i had paused at each important scene and told the audience why we would put it into our film. Another positive response we received from the class is that we projected our voices very well and we were very clear in explaining our points. This was important as we needed the class to hear and have a clear understanding of what we were presenting. Furthermore, another positive strength that we had in our group is that each one of us had something to say so it wasn't just one person talking the whole time and doing all the work. We each assigned slides from the power point within our group. This ensured that we have equal points to talk about.






(POWERPOINT WONT UPLOAD)






Weaknesses

However even though we had done many things which were good, there were things we could improve on. One of these things was that we could've gone into more depth with some of the slides presented. For example the whole costume and props powerpoint would've been better if we had explained why we are using these props and why we had chosen the costume. Furthermore, another weakness we had was when presenting our idea for our film we should have made the PowerPoint more engaging with the audience by asking them questions for example what genre of movie do they like best. By engaging them more we could've got them to like it more as they feel involved with the production. 

UNIT 1-Legal Issues and regulation

The ASA & BBFC

The key industries which are in charge of regulating films to meet the suitability of audiences are ASA (Advertising standards authority) and BBFC (British border film classification).

ASA

These industries analyse and rate whether an advertisement or film is suitable for audiences or whether they have any misleading information etc. ASA analyse different advertisements to see if they are suitable or not or if they are misleading the audience.

ASA say that their aim is to make sure that all UK advertising, whether it appears legal, decent, honest and truthful and our preferred approach is to work with, rather than against, advertisers, agencies and media to achieve this. To prevent problems from arising in the first place. There is a wealth of advice resources available, many of them free. The ASA recognises the importance of providing a service that is accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities. 

BBFC

The BBFC (British Board of Film Industries) regulate and rate what the age rating for a film should be. They base these ratings on various things such as vilonce, nudity, explicit content and and many more. The BBFC break age ratings into 7 sections these are: 


By rating films with specific age categories BBFC is making sure that the right audience is viewing these films and that nothing is too inappropriate for anyone especially children. 

The BBFC have a very wide range of people who support what they do. Many people believe that some films need to be of a certain age restriction or that maybe the film is too strict in terms of how its aged 18+ when it could be less harsh and aimed at 15 years and older. The BBFC aim and ensure that no innapropriate content is shown to the wrong viewers therefore keeping broadcasting safe and friendly for those specific audiences.






UNIT 22 - Short Film

UNIT 1 - Time management/materials/job roles



Task 1 

Time management 
Time management is an important factor to have in everything that you do. Firstly, in filmmaking, you need to be able to know what you are doing each day. This is important because it helps you keep up with your work.Secondly, it allows you to follow a route that will allow you to make your film stand out and give an effective meaning to your target audience. 

Every good film is one that has been made using time management. One film I think has stuck with its production schedule is Fast and Furious 6. I believe it took quite a while for the film to be and that kept the viewers waiting because they knew something exciting was going to come out from it. The way the movie used all the technique to grab my attention explained how much of a time it took to make it. This is why we are going to make sure our film follows all its production schedule so that it meets our target audience's expectations. 


One of the films that did not stick to its production schedule was a film called 'Boyhood' which took 12 years to make but the film was really good but the point is, is that there wasn't even a delay it was done on purpose to take 12 years and the studio behind the project IFC was all up for it because  they was doling out about $200,000 a year so Linklater could annually gather his cast and crew to shoot a few days at a time for a dozen years followed by, as Linklater put it, “a big chunk at the end” to finish the film.

Task 2

Self made materials
Self made materials are by hand, not having any help from anyone which refers to being independent resources.
Achieve materials
Achieve materials are when you buy something or if your working on something and you finish it to a good standard.

Library materials
Library material resources are something you borrow and don't do your own research.

Props
A Machete which will make the film more realistic and will relate to our target audience and to make them feel scared and tension.
A Horror costume this will make our film look like a block buster  movie in the cinemas.

A Segway will make the film have humor and not really serious which people don't really see in horror movies.
Technological equipment
Apple macs
Camera
editing
Budget list
Horror gown costume- £20.00
Fake machete-£3.00

Task 3 







This is the release form for myself that we had to distribute to each of the people that were involved in our production getting filmed. We needed clearance from the people on cocked so that we have permission to use them in the film. If we did not get them to sign the release form then they would not be allowed to be filmed in the production.

Sunday 29 November 2015

UNIT 1 - A1 - Locations


For our film, we have decided to film outside school unlike other groups who have decided to stick with being inside school. By doing this we believe it will give us a wider range to express our ideas and will also mean we have a better chance of doing things we wouldn't normally be able to do in school

The location we have chosen is Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens and the main area of Vauxhall. The reason as to why I chose this was because I know the area very well and it has some great spots for us to film. We decided to film at the times of 4:45-5:45pm as it gets quite dark very quickly these days and it will also add to the effect of horror, seeing as our film is horror based the time and look will have a great effect of on the audience.

The first scene will be one of the characters who ends up getting stabbed in the hotel lobby coming out. The hotel we have chosen is The Park Plaza hotel based near the river Thames. This hotel has a great look to it and is very eye catching. This will in my opinion look very good and add to the quality of the film.

Here is a look of the hotel.


This is the angle we will use when the character comes out (a low camera shot).  This angle shows that the character is very important as it shows the audience looking up to him. This in my opinion will work very effectively. This scene will take up to about 10 seconds as it has my character coming out of the hotel on the Segway.

The next scene the camera will be following me (a tracking shot) through various parts of Vauxhall. During this there will be a cut scene to the other characters where one of them is calling/ texting me to see where I am. My character is too busy 'snapchatting' and listening to music to respond or pick up. 

The camera will follow me through this: 

This will be filming with diegetic sound which is grime music from the characters iPhone playing. This will enable the audience to hear what the character is hearing so again the production is linking to the audience.

There will then be some cross cutting to the other characters who will be sitting and waiting on the bench waiting. The audience will know this is happening simultaneously as the scenes will be quick to cut.

The camera will cut to this

This is a medium long shot showing the characters getting annoyed and also showing their body language. The lighting is also very good as it is under a lamppost. The lighting focused on the characters who are on the bench and then the darkness behind them also indicates a theme of horror and that something bad was going to happen.

As that scene ends. The camera cuts back to my character still in his own world 'segwaying along'. This will add some humour as I explained how we are going for some laughter as well as screams. I believe the two genres of horror and comedy are the most intriguing as they entertain the audience the most. 

The camera will then cut back to my character in this area 

The camera will stay in this position as I am going in zig-zag motion away from it as I am videoing myself and saying "obviously mans on his segway". This again adding to the humour. The scene then cuts to one of the 3 characters who are waiting on the bench in the park for me where he is getting frustrated and is ringing/calling my phone. This will be the angle and shot:


This is the same bench but in a lower angle to show the character on the phone getting angry. This scene will last 5-8 second and then will cut back to a medium shot of one of the other characters saying "he's really taking the piss now it's been 15 minutes and he's still not here" then Habons character goes "oh don't worry I'm sure he's just around the corner rushing to get here". Then the scene cuts to my character in the corner shop Londis choosing what food to buy. This again showing humour.


 The scene then shows me getting out of Londis and actually on my way to my friend who have been waiting a long time. I then get to a tunnel which I have to go through. When I go through the Tunnel the camera will be following me from behind smoothly (a tracking shot) this will be added so that we have a variety of different angles and shots. 


Now this is where the horror part comes in. There will be an angle from another characters point of view who is the killer/stabber. This angle is a canted angle where it shows the killer stalking me and following my move. The killer is behind a tree and is lurking without me noticing.


Sunday 22 November 2015

UNIT 22- pitch evaluation


Pitch: Our pitch consisted of us telling the audience what our film was all about. We explained some of the features we will be putting into our film such as camera angles, props, characters, and how we will be spreading the word of the film itself.

We all had turns in talking about these features. We added some influences from other films such as Insidious, we played a short clip of some of the ideas we have taken from the film. The audience throughout this clip were engaged and paying close attention which shows that our film may have the same effect. I played close attention to the audiences reaction when there was a jump scare and decided to put that into our film to add the same effect.

In our pitch me, Paris and Habon took turns in presenting our ideas. We designated a specific slide for each of us to present and show to the class. By doing this we made sure that the presenting was done equally and wasn't just one person doing the whole thing. In terms of things we done good I would say that our voices were very loud so that the audience could hear what we were saying. Another thing that we done well in our presentation I think we got our idea across and the class understood what our idea was. We spoke clearly and went through every slide with ease.

When we got our feedback the class had asked questions such as "is there any stereotypical characters within the film" I explained each characters characteristics and how they'll act to give a better picture on what to expect in the film. I think it would've been better to clarify that to the class in the first place. Furthermore from the feedback we got after we had presented I would say that most of the comments from the class were very positive.

More specifically one thing we done different to the other groups is that not only did we decide to publicise our film through social media but we are gonna use the social media called 'Snapchat' to show behind the scenes of the making of the film to increase the entertainment and thus will also increase the likeability towards the film from the audience. 

The genre of our film that we as group decided would be horror with a little bit of humour to add to it. By combining the two genres I think this would make the film more engaging for the audience as I know from personal perspective that horror and humour intrigue an audience the most. We will also add some modernity to the production so that the audience we target who are teenagers 16-19 will be able to have a better connection with the production and in effect will probably add a little escapism.

In a sense of what is expected from my groups production I am expecting to see a wide variety of entertainment, quality acting and camera angles/ movement. Now, the camera movement or a significant camera movement we are going to implement into our film is the panning shot. The panning shot enables the audience to see the emigre surroundings of characters and see the scenery within the shot. I believe by doing this will create an atmosphere for the audience to imagine that they are in the film too.

Friday 20 November 2015

UNIT 1 - Funding

Funding

There are many ways in which you can fund for a production. Some of them are: Personal Investments, License fee , Crowd funding, lottery funding.

Personal investment is when a person on their own accord decides to invest into making their own production. This can be done with their own funds and would be very costly for them. However this give them some overall production power as they can decide what their film is going to be about and they can decide what and who will be needed. This can be done by them managing everything themselves or assigning others to help make the film. Personal investment producers usually use their own initiative in making their own films and will have a rough idea i what direction they would want to go in in terms of following through their film.

The next type of funding is crowd funding. This is when you ask fans of a series or just the general public to help fund with the making of a film. Crowd funding usually has a target amount of how much money is needed for the production to go ahead. The public may think the production may be a good idea or they want their favourite/show to come back on to television. This can also help small film producers make their dream become a reality as they'd need the funds to afford everything needed to make the film. A website which you could use when using crowd funding would be the website Kick-starter. This website enables upcoming film makers to get help from the general public with money. This helps as you can set a target amount of how much you'd need (realistic amount) and the funding should start, however not everyone gets funded.

Furthermore, another way which you can get funding for a film would be through License fees. Film studios are a very helpful source due to the amount of equipment and funds they have available. if the film studio likes your idea for a film they might even fund it to be produced as long as they think they can make more money off it when its put out to the audience. The BBC are a very well known television company and they'd have a lot to offer if you were to go to them with an idea of yours. if they took it into consideration then they would probably provide the funds towards your idea and help you. This type of funding is rare and persuading the film studio to help and trust your production can be a little hard. however if successful then studios would be able to provide for you and help every step of the way in terms of funding. If the production turns out successful then the studio would be able to use the money off that to either carry on the series or make a new production.

Another form of funding is Lottery funding. With this type of funding they are responsible for distributing funds raised by the National Lottery for "good causes". The lottery can help fund funds to those who need it to make a production as they may just be starting and they wont be financially stable to start it off themselves. hence why they distribute money so you can achieve your goal. This is one of the easiest ways of getting the funds to make your movie however not everyone will have the luck to win this type of money.



Wednesday 4 November 2015

UNIT-1 Type of production

Type of production

In the brief it explains that I should make a film which is 2-4 minutes long with my given group. my original idea was to make a hybrid genre film which consisted of the genres horror, drama and comedy.

My original film idea featured a serial killer on the loose chasing two friends through this block. the boy would go into this fire exit which lead him through a maze of walls. the killer would be slowly approaching them. The two friends would be hiding and the killer get one of them with the other one oblivious. when the main character finds his friends dead body he is in shock and tries to run away but the killer jump scares him and he drops leaving him crawling back saying "please don't do this". the boy is "stabbed" multiple times and the killer walks away but then we see the body being dragged away by someone else. As the scene fades away there is a flash back to what happened before. This makes the film Non-Linear.

The film would be open ended as I believe that it makes the film more interesting because the audience would still be asking questions after the film is done. And personally from personal experience I enjoy films when I can be left with questions or when the film leaves me curious. furthermore I've made the film Non-Linear as I think it adds to the excitement and since i want my film to engage viewers i think this will be the best type of production.

Tuesday 3 November 2015

Production log



This week we arranged times for each of us to meet up at the first scene location after school at 4:30pm to around 7:00pm. We managed to get a lot of the scenes done within this time period. We shot at Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens and the tunnel which was next to the park. We chose this as our spot as the lighting set the mood of the film and was relatively close to us. When we started to film, we had practiced the scenes a few times so that when it actually comes to recording then we wouldn't have to have too many outtakes. This enabled us to get the scene perfect to our best possible ability.

We managed to get a lot of the scenes done within our time chosen. This made the next time of filming very simple and straight forward and saved us the time of coming back to the location and filming again. We had decided the cast and crew before hand and what days they'd have to come in to rehearse so nothing was all over the place. This turned out to be very effective as we didn't need some of the characters for specific scenes.  

UNIT 1 - Story boards

Storyboards

These are our storyboards for the film we are producing. In these story boards are the scenes and shots we will be taking with the specific sounds and dialogue. These scenes show us and make it easier to know when and where to shoot so we don't have to remember the script etc from memory.

The second page of our storyboards was 
the second shots of filming. The scenes were happening simultaneously happening so we filmed the scenes needed 





Friday 30 October 2015

Production log

we had finished most of our filming and are now onto making sure we had ticked off the scenes not/done from our storyboards. By doing this it made going back for reference easier and far not quicker than trying to remember which scenes we'd done the previous week.

We also had added some other ideas into our original film plan so the bringing back of a character (me) who had been originally set out to be murdered. By doing this it creates controversy and makes the audience watching ask questions so they'll find it more interesting.

We had finished off some of the editing needed in our film to make it have bag extra quality for the viewers to watch and enjoy. By making sure the viewers that are watching are interested in the film then that would make it an automatic success and we'll receive positive feedback.

Wednesday 21 October 2015

Production log

In this weeks update we had made the big decision of changing the genre of our film from horror comedy to drama/ comedy. We felt as a group that our film didn't fit in with the concept of the genre and felt it suited the title of a drama instead of it being misleading and out of place.

We also added a few scenes and locations which will be used towards the end of our film. These new scenes are one of me and Habon at the time of 12:30pm around the park as my character has come out of hospital after being stabbed by the masked freak. She will tell me information on the masked menace which then leads us to the next location which is a block of flats where I have a weapon in my hand and aim to get my revenge. This will be the ending of our film as the audience will want to know what happened next.

We also added the scene where Habon encounters the masked menace and hits him (knocking him out). She then finds his text message with Paris (set-up chick in the film) and then finds my body and calls for help. There will be a cut which says "2 months later..." And it will cut to the scene of me and Habon in the park. by changing this we have extended our film from 3:15  to complete the full 4 mins +.







Tuesday 20 October 2015

TASK 3 - Narrative Endings

Narrative Endings

Open ended films

One form of a narrative ending is an open ended film. An open ended film is film in which when coming to an end has a cliff-hanger or a scene which leaves the viewer/audience in suspense and questioning what could happen next.

An example of a film which has an open ended theme is the film 'I Know What You Did Last Summer'. This film is a horror film so already the  tension levels on the audience will be high. Due to this an open ended film would be the icing on the cake as it adds to all the suspense. The film towards the end had three people; a couple and a serial killer sailor. Throughout the scene the sailor was chasing the girlfriend as she was trying to escape his sight, whilst this was going on the boyfriend was trying to rescue his partner. This was all a massive build up in suspense and caused a lot of tension. As the scene went on the serial killer sailor was then caught on a wire and had his hand chopped off and then was thrown into the sea leaving the couple to be rescued. The film then cuts to one year later.

The scene then starts off with the girlfriend Hellen in the showers where she was on the phone to her boyfriend Ray, as soon as the conversation is over she heads back to the showers but in the fog that the heat has created written on the glass of the shower is written the words "I know what you did" as Helen gets closer to the writing a classic jump scare is added as a mysterious figure smashed through the glass and supposedly grabs her. This is where the film ends and leaves the audience in confusion as to what might of happened as we thought the antagonist was dead and who could possibly be still out for her one year later from the incident. This can lead to many unanswered questions as most open ended films do. A uses and gratification the audience can get from this can be some escapism from their own problems and into this world where this one individual is facing more severe problems. This to me is a great effect as it had me thinking and questioning even though the film had come to an end which I think makes a great movie.


With the Incredibles  it was targeted at a younger audience being of course a Pixar film production. Because of this being an open ended film the anticipation in my opinion may of died to those who watched the film many years ago being younger. As it has taken such a long time for there to be a sequel the audience may have changed their views towards the film. However there have been rumours that the sequel will be coming out next year (2016)

Closed Ended films

A closed ended film is a production which has a clear cut end. There are no cliff hangers, there are no questions being held at the end of the film by the audience. Most close ended films end in happy endings and most close ended films are known as being fairy tales as they leave the audience subtle and in pleasure as they know their favourite protagonist is safe and sound. Close ended film are highly compared to open ended films but both are very effective.


An example of a close ended film is the film Aladdin. This film is a very well known Disney piece in which there is a poor thief who falls in love with a royal princess, the poor thief (Aladdin) then finds a magic lamp which a genie appears from granting him three wishes.

That is the basic summary of the film however towards the end as most closed ended films do the good guy always wins. In Aladdin Jafar (antagonist) is defeated and in the end the genie is set free to live life as he pleases and Aladdin and Jasmine ride off into the moonlight on their magic carpet. This is a classic example of a closed ending as there is no questions being asked based on the end and there is no confusion with what will happen next.


Another Film which has the closed ended theme is Shrek. Towards the end Fiona (The Princess) is about to get married to Lord Farquaad (Evil king), then Shrek barges in the church to yell "I object" at the last minute to stop the wedding from happening. Fiona is then surprised by this and ends up letting her feelings for Shrek show and then they kiss turning Fiona to her natural form which was also an Ogre. Shrek and Fiona end up having their own wedding and live happily ever after. This film as you could've guessed was bound to end in a happy ending as it is after all a fairy tale mixed with some modernisations. This film was loved by man for its quite unusual love story but adored for its cute happy ending which was a high important factor for the film to be at its best.

Many people compare the two themes closed and open ended films quite a lot. Some may say that closed ended films are better as they dont add to the stress of wondering what's going to happen next and there will be no need for us to wait in anticipation for the next movie to come out to have our questions answered. However, some people may think that open ended films are more interesting as they lead the audience on to think what might happen next or as some people say they hate it when their favourite film comes to an end. Whereas with open ended films the ideas are endless leaving the audience to talk with friends and family over what they might think will happen next. So there really is a diverse opinion on which style of ending is better but in my opinion both are that of high quality entertainment and both give the audience some escapism to enjoy some quality film entertainment.