IMG_0014 THE WITNESS EDITING TIMETABLE
This is an example of the editing schedules we drew up for the editing process. Overall i think our schedules were very efficient, as they gave other group members insight into who they'd be working with and allowed the teachers to stay up to grips with what we were continuing to do. Not only this but they allowed us to set targets for each week to hopefully keep. We made sure each of us had an equal amount of editing for that week, so we all felt involved. Not only did we make sure we had enough individual editing sessions, but also whole group ones, as these allowed us to feedback all together and decide as a whole what we needed to change- which we could then continue to do individually.
Showing posts with label Philippa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Philippa. Show all posts
Monday, 4 April 2011
Female Character Costume
For our female character who is a prostitute we have decided as a costume to give her:
- A bright red strapless top, as red is very lustful and provocative.
- Ripped black tights- to show she has been through some kind of struggle and also the dragging across the forest floor would have realistically made some of these rips too.
- A short black skirt- making her seem promiscuous and eager to flaunt her body (as a prostitute would)
- Black leather high heels- these emphasise the femininity and add to the 'dolled up' look, showing us that she has been somewhere, or in the prostitutes case, been to work.
- Hair untied, messy- can show the struggle she has obviously had wit the men and also through the dragging can emphasise she is dead- cannot fix her hair- it is left messy, and clearly out of the ordinary compared to the rest of her attire.
Inspiration For Our Opening Sequence
Not only this but it also uses the youth music and relatable characters to everyday life in order to attract and address its audience and also give it a realism, adding to the drama.
We aim to film at night as seen in the poster of Eden Lake above, but as we are only a small media group, we do not feel we will have enough lighting equipment a crew, therefore, as with the actual film of Eden Lake, our opening sequence will be shot in the daytime. However this seems to still work in Eden Lake, as the denseness of the forest acts as a cover rather than the dark lighting, so we do not feel the lighting will be a problem.
Again drawing parallels from Eden Lake to our intended project, in Eden Lake the 'hero' is unlikely, as it is a woman, someone who the audience would probably believe would be overpowered by the young predominantly male gang- breaking the stereotype. In our piece the unlikely hero is the young boy, facing the older male gang.
Unlike Eden Lake, we intend to have a happy ending to our film, as we feel for a young audience a sad ending can be a bit hard going. Also as it is so relatable, we feel it could even evoke hope to the audience in real life situations (at an extreme measure).
Screening
We organised a premier of our film so that we could get feedback on our sequence and identify how we attracted our target audience by each member to fill out a questionnaire. The event was well publicised, with announcements in a whole school assembly, a Facebook page was set up by Philippa and a poster was put up around the school leading to a turnout well surpassing the 35 we expected.
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| Event page |
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| Film Poster |
Earlier this day I held a test screening to ensure all sound was working.
Our screening is shown below, it features the audience reactions alongside the sequence.
Also, after our preview screening, we messaged people on the event with a YouTube link to our opening sequence, enabling those who could not attend the screening to watch it and leave feedback as well as encouraging them to repost it show friends and family.
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| Event message |
As well as this I posted our sequence on the social network site Twitter to widen our range of feedback and spread the word.
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| My posts |
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| Feedback and example of people sharing our film |
Feedback
We had a screening of our opening sequence with 50 members of our target audience, both male and female. We gave them all a questionnaire to answer:
IMG_0018 THE WITNESS QUESTIONAIRE
Our feedback was mostly good, and everyone rated our film between 6-10 out of 10. However, in general the boys rated our film higher than the girls with an average rating of 9/10, whereas the girls had an average rating of 7/10. This reflected our original plans, because males were a more prominent portion of our target audience, and females were only a secondary audience.
Almost all of the people questioned understood what was happening in the sequence, which meant our continuity was good. However there was a fundemental error in the opening which alot of the questionees brought up. We don't actually show Jack spotting the girl being dragged, which meant that he ran for no reason. This was something that we realised quite late in the editting process and therefore couldn't fix it.
IMG_0018 THE WITNESS QUESTIONAIRE
Our feedback was mostly good, and everyone rated our film between 6-10 out of 10. However, in general the boys rated our film higher than the girls with an average rating of 9/10, whereas the girls had an average rating of 7/10. This reflected our original plans, because males were a more prominent portion of our target audience, and females were only a secondary audience.
Almost all of the people questioned understood what was happening in the sequence, which meant our continuity was good. However there was a fundemental error in the opening which alot of the questionees brought up. We don't actually show Jack spotting the girl being dragged, which meant that he ran for no reason. This was something that we realised quite late in the editting process and therefore couldn't fix it.
Saturday, 19 March 2011
Sign Off
Thanks to the hard work and efforts of James and Lewis during deadline week we have been signed off.
The final week saw:
The final week saw:
- Minor shot re-arrangements
- New music for both halves off the opening sequence
- New titles created on the mac book
- Sound effects, including police sirens
- Dubbing the reactions of the bad guys
- Adjusting the contrast on shots to ensure they all match
These minor adjustments were still significant and enhanced our sequence. We have enjoyed the production part of this project and will now move on to the evaluation in Mondays Lesson
Friday, 4 February 2011
Storyboarding
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| Group Story Boarding 4.2.11 We have got our actors, location and story line all set. We are now working on our storyboard, after this we shall colour code each shots i.e blue post it notes for Close ups or pink for Long Shots. 7.2.11 Today we continued work on our group storyboard making a few changes to some shots, as well as colour coding.  During this meeting, we colour coded our shots to make it easier to quickly identify them. Medium shots - Pink Extreme Close Ups - Yellow Long shots - Blue Close ups - Orange During this meeting we decided to withdraw some shots from our sequence, however we created 'recycling bin' where unwanted shots are placed. If we have time on shoots we will shoot these shots because as a group we feel that it is better to have too many shots rather than too little.  Tomorrow we will present our storyboard to our teachers with the aim of getting singed off ready for filming this coming weekend. |
Planning as of 21st January
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This is the result of our original planning on Friday 21st January after agreeing on our sequence  First of all, we wanted to establish a storyline for our film, so started putting ideas together developing Sam's initial idea. We decided that we would have a teenage boy called Jack who is involved in a drug deal in the wood. He oversees the burial of a body but and is a witness however his drug dealing makes him an anti hero. He cannot tell anybody because he drops his phone and the killers no who he is, and blackmail him to reveal his drug dealing ways unless he keeps quiet. The story line will naturally develop and change.  We brainstormed possible actors, we decided we wanted a boy who was around 6 foot tall and slim/athletic. After going through the names of people in our group we decided on Lewis Allison (A member of our group) as this is most practical and he is an experienced actor.  We wanted to film in a wood, but needed somewhere close to home to maximise shooting opportunities and that was accessible during the night when we wanted to film. This made Grovelands and Trent Park difficult, where as The Orchard in  We brainstormed Titles, keen on the idea of seeing or watching. This inspired titles such as Dark Witness and Fixation (from fixated). We then settled on The Witness as the film revolves around Jack and he is the witness so this seemed like a perfect title. |
Monday, 31 January 2011
Brainstorming
We decided to expand on our thriller genre idea, with an aim to establish a title, possible location and actors as well as building a story line.
1. Is it practical?
- Yes as we are shooting in a location that is a 2 minute walk from Sams house which we can use as a base. We are also using actors/actresses from within the group as it is alot more convinient as we know that we will be comitted to shooting when we want to. Only one of the roles requires some skill in acting, and this role is played by Lewi who does drama AS.
2. Is it an idea that works to the strengths of the group?
- Yes, we have all had experience in shooting and editting before. Some of us have also had acting experience.
3. Will it show off the skills you have learnt so far on the course?
- Yes, we will be using what we have learnt about shooting, editting and continuity from our prelim task. We will also be appllying the Todorov's theory of equillibrium, where the equillibrium is disrupted by the two men carrying the dead body.
4. Is it something you can reasonably shoot and edit in the time available?
- Yes, it isn't a very complicated plot and dosent require any extensive editting.
5. Can you get access/ permission to shoot in the chosen location at the chosen times?
- Yes, we are shooting in a public park open for anyone.
6. Can you organise lighting to use in that location?
- This is our biggest problem as it will be dark when we shoot, we will have to have lots of different lights sources, or shoot when it's slightly lgihter.
7. Have you included dialogue? If so, will it work to shoot conversation in that location?
- The only dialogue will be added in after we shoot, so you won't actually see anyone talking.
8. Do you have guaranteed high quality reliable actors to play the characters?
- Yes, Lewi has agreed to act for us which is uselful because he does drama A-level.
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| The brainstorm |
1. Is it practical?
- Yes as we are shooting in a location that is a 2 minute walk from Sams house which we can use as a base. We are also using actors/actresses from within the group as it is alot more convinient as we know that we will be comitted to shooting when we want to. Only one of the roles requires some skill in acting, and this role is played by Lewi who does drama AS.
2. Is it an idea that works to the strengths of the group?
- Yes, we have all had experience in shooting and editting before. Some of us have also had acting experience.
3. Will it show off the skills you have learnt so far on the course?
- Yes, we will be using what we have learnt about shooting, editting and continuity from our prelim task. We will also be appllying the Todorov's theory of equillibrium, where the equillibrium is disrupted by the two men carrying the dead body.
4. Is it something you can reasonably shoot and edit in the time available?
- Yes, it isn't a very complicated plot and dosent require any extensive editting.
5. Can you get access/ permission to shoot in the chosen location at the chosen times?
- Yes, we are shooting in a public park open for anyone.
6. Can you organise lighting to use in that location?
- This is our biggest problem as it will be dark when we shoot, we will have to have lots of different lights sources, or shoot when it's slightly lgihter.
7. Have you included dialogue? If so, will it work to shoot conversation in that location?
- The only dialogue will be added in after we shoot, so you won't actually see anyone talking.
8. Do you have guaranteed high quality reliable actors to play the characters?
- Yes, Lewi has agreed to act for us which is uselful because he does drama A-level.
Friday, 28 January 2011
Our Institution
We are 'Bite The Bullet Productions', and we specialise in action/thriller films targeting national and international audiences (anyone who is a fan of the genre). We also have a backlog of relatively low budget and gritty/unusual films that have become big successes.
Thursday, 27 January 2011
Music research
We think, as our film would be set in East London, a way to instantly portray this would be through the music.
The music, for the chase scene especially would add to the atmosphere of the moment as this music does for this clip:
A song we like is Water Torture by Cee Why, it is from the Kidulthood soundtrack (also portraying the same part of London). We like this as it has a eery squeak to it that shows bad is going on (with the disposing of the dead body). It also has a quieter beginning which could contrast the shots of our innocent victim and then the shots of our antagonists. However, this music is not very tense for the moment when our victim is hiding, and just builds on the adrenaline for when our victim is running.
We also feel that this music would work well, as it has a gan gstyle feel to it and could also work well with a running sequence.
So, for the beginning of our sequence we think it should be very quiet with only diegetic sounds of the forest and our main character moving, and for the dialogue of our antagonists. However when the characters start running i think the music above or something similar would fit in nicely, as the bass and beat seem to represent the adrenaline heartbeat of the protagonist.
The music, for the chase scene especially would add to the atmosphere of the moment as this music does for this clip:
A song we like is Water Torture by Cee Why, it is from the Kidulthood soundtrack (also portraying the same part of London). We like this as it has a eery squeak to it that shows bad is going on (with the disposing of the dead body). It also has a quieter beginning which could contrast the shots of our innocent victim and then the shots of our antagonists. However, this music is not very tense for the moment when our victim is hiding, and just builds on the adrenaline for when our victim is running.
We also feel that this music would work well, as it has a gan gstyle feel to it and could also work well with a running sequence.
So, for the beginning of our sequence we think it should be very quiet with only diegetic sounds of the forest and our main character moving, and for the dialogue of our antagonists. However when the characters start running i think the music above or something similar would fit in nicely, as the bass and beat seem to represent the adrenaline heartbeat of the protagonist.
BLK FEEDBACK TO MEETING
3 Main Issues Our Meeting Raised Were:
- Was it realistic to do a night shoot? A lot of equipment needed etc.
- Should the main character be a bit more of a victim ?
- Would a woodland tracking shot in the dark be too optimistic? Maybe a different kind of shot or change the plot?
Resolutions
-Shoot not a night, but early morning, so the shots were dusky and not completely black
- Make the main character a drug user with a harsh background in comparison to a drug dealer
- We have decided to keep the tracking shot, but make it rough and handheld with a lot of CU's of body parts rather than a straight MS
- Was it realistic to do a night shoot? A lot of equipment needed etc.
- Should the main character be a bit more of a victim ?
- Would a woodland tracking shot in the dark be too optimistic? Maybe a different kind of shot or change the plot?
Resolutions
-Shoot not a night, but early morning, so the shots were dusky and not completely black
- Make the main character a drug user with a harsh background in comparison to a drug dealer
- We have decided to keep the tracking shot, but make it rough and handheld with a lot of CU's of body parts rather than a straight MS
Sunday, 23 January 2011
First responses to the brief
On Thursday January 20th, our group first discussed our thoughts on the brief during our lesson. We were all excited about the task and couldn't wait to get started.
To begin with we decided to choose what genre we were interested in, after a few suggestions including comedy and drama we narrowed it down to the genres of: Dark Comedy and Thriller
At the end of this meeting we decided the best thing to do was to go home and think up an initial idea (film sequence) for the next day. When planning we were advised to refer to a list of 8 questions which told us if our ideas were too complicated.
Friday 21st
We met again during a lesson and presented each other our ideas.
James - Dark Comedy. James - Dark Comedy. A boy who has phsycological issues,becomes fixated on a girl. After months of stalking one day after school he follows her and kidnapps her believing she will marry him. The film gains it comedic elements from an awkward stand off between the two in his parents garage.
Phillipa - Thriller. A male teacher at an all girls school is in fact a paedophile and obsessed with one of his students. The opening sequence featured him going home and revealing a wall full of pictures of the innocent girl.
Lewis - Dark Comedy. A young male walks down a country lane, with his voice narrating his thought process. He is obsessed with what people think about him, and in comedic fashion ends up with two people in the boot of his car. This would be the same comedic style as Sean Of The Dead.
Sam - Thriller. A teenage boy is wondering in a forest when he overhears the conversation of two males in a hut in the forest discussing how to bury a body. They notice him eavesdropping and he runs for his life, they person him intent on keeping their crimes a secret.
After reviewing the practicalities and potential of our ideas we settled on Sam's thriller idea. We arranged to meet our teachers at lunch and present our idea for the sequence later that day during lunch, prior to this we held another group meeting on Friday lunch where we built an initial story line.
To begin with we decided to choose what genre we were interested in, after a few suggestions including comedy and drama we narrowed it down to the genres of: Dark Comedy and Thriller
At the end of this meeting we decided the best thing to do was to go home and think up an initial idea (film sequence) for the next day. When planning we were advised to refer to a list of 8 questions which told us if our ideas were too complicated.
Friday 21st
We met again during a lesson and presented each other our ideas.
James - Dark Comedy. James - Dark Comedy. A boy who has phsycological issues,becomes fixated on a girl. After months of stalking one day after school he follows her and kidnapps her believing she will marry him. The film gains it comedic elements from an awkward stand off between the two in his parents garage.
Phillipa - Thriller. A male teacher at an all girls school is in fact a paedophile and obsessed with one of his students. The opening sequence featured him going home and revealing a wall full of pictures of the innocent girl.
Lewis - Dark Comedy. A young male walks down a country lane, with his voice narrating his thought process. He is obsessed with what people think about him, and in comedic fashion ends up with two people in the boot of his car. This would be the same comedic style as Sean Of The Dead.
Sam - Thriller. A teenage boy is wondering in a forest when he overhears the conversation of two males in a hut in the forest discussing how to bury a body. They notice him eavesdropping and he runs for his life, they person him intent on keeping their crimes a secret.
After reviewing the practicalities and potential of our ideas we settled on Sam's thriller idea. We arranged to meet our teachers at lunch and present our idea for the sequence later that day during lunch, prior to this we held another group meeting on Friday lunch where we built an initial story line.
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