We realise there is a mistake on the timetable and that the 3rd date from the bottom should be Friday 26th March 2010
08/02/2010
Friday, 29 January 2010
How We're Going To Work As A Group
We intend to work as a group by allocating tasks to different group members and sharing bigger tasks. We have planned out a timeline of what needs to be done and when by. It can be seen below. Please click to enlarge.
Why We Chose The Film Task
We decided to choose the film brief as we enjoyed the film preliminary task rather than the magazine task. We also chose the film task as we feel this is more creative and we would like to get more experience in film making and the film industry.
02/02/2010
Why I Personally Chose The Brief
When Creating the print preliminary task i found it extremely uninteresting, i am not a good designer when it comes to magazines and the task did not interest me at all . However when we carried out the video task i found this extremely enjoyable and far more creative than the print task carried out before . If someone enjoys doing something you can guarantee it will come out better than if they dont like it, hence i opted to choose the video task.
23/02/2010
23/02/2010
The Market For Our Product
We have decided to do a mystery horror themed film for our video project. This is because we feel that after comedy ; which is a very hard genre to conquer, this type of genre comes next in the popularity contest. If you look at the results from our Questionnaire given , we can clearly see that a lot of people prefer to go see a horror mystery when going to the cinema . Also we have asked the question in which scenario they would think be best for our film , the outcome was a abandoned forest . This gives us a little idea of what sort of scenario we have to provide to keep the audience happy . The graphs below show the results of the questionnaire 
17/02/2010
17/02/2010
Preliminary Task (Film) - The Wrong Deal
By creating this short film it gave us a great opportunity to practice different angle shots and editing skills which will help us when we come to creating our real film.
08/02/2010
Settings Research
When Researching and Planning for our film we looked at different settings that could be used. As shown inthe post above ^^, we conducted a questonnaire which included a question about what types of settings people like to see in films. Using this information we considered what settings we would use in our film.
A Forest.
A Forest setting is often used in films and are used a lot in horror films, usually when a character is running away from something.
A Shopping Centre.
Films usually set in Shoppping Centres tend to be comedy films, there are a few other genre of film that have chanced the Shopping Centre setting but it can be restricting to what can be done.
A Car Park.
Car Parks are featured in many films of all genres and can make great settings and some important parts of films can take place there.
A House.
A House is another setting used in many films of all genres. It is especially good for horrors and actions. There are a lot of films that use houses as settings but do not use them as main ones and have quick shots in them, this can often be someone runnig through the house or getting something from the house.
Planes.
A Plane is often used in action and thriller films and can be a good part of the storyline to help extend it.
What We Decided
We decided that a forest was a good choice of setting as it gave us a wide variety of possibilities in what we could do with it in our film.
We thought that the shopping centre would be a good setting but was not really suitable for the kind of film we are hoping to produce. It would also be very hard for us to film in a shopping centre wiothout any people getting in the way and also we would probably need permission to do so.
We decided that a car park was another good choice of setting and gave us a variety of possibilites and could fit in with many storylines.
We decided a house was good and we could use it for quick shots or as a main setting in our film.
We decided that even though a plane would be a good setting, it would be incredibly hard to film on and didn't really suit our genre of film.
After considering all of those settings we decided that the best ones for us would be the forest, car park and house. These settings give us a variety of possibilities and major parts of the film can be centerd around particualar settings.
When it came down to which ones to actually use we decided, that the forest was going to be our main setting and most of our opening sequence would be featured there. We also decided that near the end of our opening sequence we should switch to another setting. This setting would be a living room in a house and that this would be where the opening sequence would finish.
18/03/2010
A Forest.
A Forest setting is often used in films and are used a lot in horror films, usually when a character is running away from something.
A Shopping Centre.
Films usually set in Shoppping Centres tend to be comedy films, there are a few other genre of film that have chanced the Shopping Centre setting but it can be restricting to what can be done.
A Car Park.
Car Parks are featured in many films of all genres and can make great settings and some important parts of films can take place there.
A House.
A House is another setting used in many films of all genres. It is especially good for horrors and actions. There are a lot of films that use houses as settings but do not use them as main ones and have quick shots in them, this can often be someone runnig through the house or getting something from the house.
Planes.
A Plane is often used in action and thriller films and can be a good part of the storyline to help extend it.
What We Decided
We decided that a forest was a good choice of setting as it gave us a wide variety of possibilities in what we could do with it in our film.
We thought that the shopping centre would be a good setting but was not really suitable for the kind of film we are hoping to produce. It would also be very hard for us to film in a shopping centre wiothout any people getting in the way and also we would probably need permission to do so.
We decided that a car park was another good choice of setting and gave us a variety of possibilites and could fit in with many storylines.
We decided a house was good and we could use it for quick shots or as a main setting in our film.
We decided that even though a plane would be a good setting, it would be incredibly hard to film on and didn't really suit our genre of film.
After considering all of those settings we decided that the best ones for us would be the forest, car park and house. These settings give us a variety of possibilities and major parts of the film can be centerd around particualar settings.
When it came down to which ones to actually use we decided, that the forest was going to be our main setting and most of our opening sequence would be featured there. We also decided that near the end of our opening sequence we should switch to another setting. This setting would be a living room in a house and that this would be where the opening sequence would finish.
18/03/2010
Research - Actors, Characters, Costumes and Props
Actors
When deciding who we would use to act in our film we considered using our friends, people from school and family members. Ultimately we decided that we shuold all star in it even if it were just for a few seconds. This made it easier for us as we did not have to find a lot of other people to star in our film and once we had decided on our storyline it became apparent that we would only need one other person to act in our film.
Rebecca Broadbent
Characters
When it came to deciding what characters we were going to use, we decided we wanted 3 friends, 2 news broadcasters, and a mysterious girl. For the 3 Friends we all would play 1 friend each. These would be normal characters and we would be basically playing ourself. When it came to the news broadcast team, originally i was the main reporter but i then decided to change it to Daniel our friend as me being the main character in the forest, things may get a bit confusing. Jamie played the other news reporter reporting from the forest. For the ghost like figure jamies cousin was the actor as this was te best choice available.
Billy Warville
Costumes
When we were talking about our film I suggested we just wear casual clothes, so that it would let the viewer know that the characters in the film were just everyday people. It would also help to make the film look realistic, rather than have a set costume type. When it came to the mysterious girl, we decided to have her in dark clothing with her hood covering her face to add to the mystery/scary effect. When we filmed the home footage, we decided that a brighter change of clothes was the best idea as the contrast between the two diferent times would be more obvious.
Billy Warville
Props
While discussing what we will be doing for our main film we needed to decide on some props we could use. We decided to use a remote control to turn on the news, we had a map which the characters would look at while in the forest, house furniture to make the home part of the film seem more realistic and a camera was used during the home footage scenes.
Jamie Brookes
29/03/2010
When deciding who we would use to act in our film we considered using our friends, people from school and family members. Ultimately we decided that we shuold all star in it even if it were just for a few seconds. This made it easier for us as we did not have to find a lot of other people to star in our film and once we had decided on our storyline it became apparent that we would only need one other person to act in our film.
Rebecca Broadbent
Characters
When it came to deciding what characters we were going to use, we decided we wanted 3 friends, 2 news broadcasters, and a mysterious girl. For the 3 Friends we all would play 1 friend each. These would be normal characters and we would be basically playing ourself. When it came to the news broadcast team, originally i was the main reporter but i then decided to change it to Daniel our friend as me being the main character in the forest, things may get a bit confusing. Jamie played the other news reporter reporting from the forest. For the ghost like figure jamies cousin was the actor as this was te best choice available.
Billy Warville
Costumes
When we were talking about our film I suggested we just wear casual clothes, so that it would let the viewer know that the characters in the film were just everyday people. It would also help to make the film look realistic, rather than have a set costume type. When it came to the mysterious girl, we decided to have her in dark clothing with her hood covering her face to add to the mystery/scary effect. When we filmed the home footage, we decided that a brighter change of clothes was the best idea as the contrast between the two diferent times would be more obvious.
Billy Warville
Props
While discussing what we will be doing for our main film we needed to decide on some props we could use. We decided to use a remote control to turn on the news, we had a map which the characters would look at while in the forest, house furniture to make the home part of the film seem more realistic and a camera was used during the home footage scenes.
Jamie Brookes
29/03/2010
Researching Film Genres
The first spider diagram we decided to do was of film genres. We did this to get an idea on what kind of films are out there and what film genres we were interested in and would like to do for our coursework.29/01/2010
Research - Different Characters
In all film genres there is usually a hero, villain or enemy and other characters which play the hero's friends, family or the villains side kick or accomplice. The different things we had to think about before planning out the opening sequence was to discuss whether the hero was going to be male or female, we also had to decide where they came from. After discussing this we did the same for the villain and the other characters.
By conducting research we discovered that the hero was the person who showed heroism, they do a task or deed for some greater good, they also show courage or excellence. We also discovered that the villain was the character who has a negative impact on the other characters.
We then listed some possibilities for villains:
- A human with a disturbed past
- A creature or monster
- Ghost
- Serial killer
- Convict
- Supernatural
After creating this list we decided that a creature or monster will be unsuitable as this would be quite difficult to show in our opening sequence, we also decided not to look further into supernatural for the same reason.
Next we will be researching different genres of film and generate our ideas for the opening sequence.
20/03/2010
By conducting research we discovered that the hero was the person who showed heroism, they do a task or deed for some greater good, they also show courage or excellence. We also discovered that the villain was the character who has a negative impact on the other characters.
We then listed some possibilities for villains:
- A human with a disturbed past
- A creature or monster
- Ghost
- Serial killer
- Convict
- Supernatural
After creating this list we decided that a creature or monster will be unsuitable as this would be quite difficult to show in our opening sequence, we also decided not to look further into supernatural for the same reason.
Next we will be researching different genres of film and generate our ideas for the opening sequence.
20/03/2010
Researching A Specific Film Genre - Horror
After researching different film genres we decided to get more information on specific genres. We chose to look closer at horror, we generated our ideas in the form of a spider diagram as seen above.
29/01/2010
Analysis Of A Horror/Mystery Film
The Ring - Analysing the opening sequence of a horror/mystery film
I know The Ring is a horror/mystery due to number of codes and conventions conveyed in the opening sequence of the film.
During the first two minutes of this film the audience receives clues on what the film is going to be about, the audience also know where the film is set and who some of the main characters are.
During the first two minutes of this film we see a setting shot of the house, the camera is focused as a mid shot on the house to focus the viewers attention on the house, we then see two girls sitting casually in a bedroom watching TV, this casual nature makes the audience know they are friends who enjoy each others company. The camera then shows a close up on the TV showing the audience that a TV will play a major part in this film. The camera then has a close up on the girls faces as they talk about a mysterious video tape, the close up is so the audience can see their expressions and to focus the audience on their conversation.
Codes
- Raining makes the scene feel miserable and dreary unlike a fantasy which may be very sunny and colourful.
- Static effect on the dreamworks introduction shows that their is a problem with something or someone in the film, shows the audience the film will have a twist or challenge in it.
Conventions
- Dark atmosphere makes the scene scary and eerie.
- Shocked expressions on the girls faces to show they are scared of something or someone, the close up makes the viewers feel scared also.
14/02/2010
14/02/2010
Analysis Of A Horror Film
Pulse – Analysing the opening sequence of a horror movie
The film Pulse is a horror movie; I know this because of the number of codes and conventions in the films opening sequence.
This film’s opening sequence has opening credits to let the audience know different information on the film and a rough idea on what the film will be about.
During the opening credits you can see several clips of the film including quick shots of computer keyboards and chat rooms, this gives us an idea that the film will be a horror, where the internet and chat rooms will play a big part.
Conventions
- Dark Backgrounds is a convention of horror; it makes the whole experience of watching the movie scary, eerie and mysterious.
- Non-diagetic music is a convention of horror; this also makes the whole experience of watching the movie scary, eerie and mysterious.
- The title of the movie appears during the opening sequence.
- A quick image of the killer/murderer/monster appears near the end of the opening sequence which makes the audience scared just before the film begins, it builds up the tension in the audience.
- Dim/dark atmosphere is a convention of horror, I would expect to see the room or scene dark and not light up as this will not make the experience scary.
- Quick flashing images of the titty, also builds up the tension, the audience get a glimpse on what the creature looks like and make up the rest, this makes the viewer of the movie feel like they are involved in the movie.
- First person - like you are in the room, makes the audience feel they are in the movie, builds up the tension and 'scariness' of the movie.
- Build up of music the turns out it is only another character, a common diesease of horror is a build up of music, this keeps the viewer on the each of their seat and interested.
- Flashing men adds to the dim/dark atmosphere also adds to the tension building, the flashing men also make it difficult to see what is happening which adds to the suspense and thrill of watching a horror movie.
Codes
- Black and dark makes it seem the film will involve murder and death; it makes the whole experience of watching the film scary.
- Black and white writing which flashes red - shows death and creates suspense while watching the film, the audience has the feeling 'What's going to happen next'.
- Credits and titles have a static effect, no music playing, the static effect goes with the idea of chat rooms and the internet, also makes the movie feel scary before the movie has properly started.
- Shows the main character at a close up/mid close up shot, makes you know exactly who the main character is.
- A quick image of the monster/creature appears briefly on the window screen and again in the library. Builds up the tension and the idea that the audience have to use their imagination on how the creature looks.
- Character jumps back and hits bookcase, music starts over. Music plays a big part in horror movies, it adds to the tension.
- Monster grabs the character, climax of the opening sequence, what you would have thought would have happened.
- Cuts to a completely different/irrelevant scene of a party, most likely set earlier, before the library scene. I like this effect because you know what is going to happen before the character does, it gives the audience a feel of control, and also something to look forward to, I believe if the film started with this scene less people will be interested.
- Monster - White and scarred skin, no hair, dark eyes and wide open mouth
After analysing this opening sequence it has given me good ideas on what I can include in our opening sequence if we chose to do a horror movie.
08/02/2010
Analysis Of A Mystery Film
Se7en - Analysing the opening sequence of a mystery film
The film Se7en is a mystery movie; I know this because of the number of codes and conventions in the films opening sequence.
This film’s opening sequence has opening credits to let the audience know different information on the film and a rough idea on what the film will be about.
During the opening credits you can see several clips of the film including quick shots of police investigation files and disturbing images, this gives us an idea that the film will be a mystery, where the police and some kind of disturbing case will be a big part of the film.
Conventions
- Dark background is a convention of mystery, makes it difficult to see what is happening, the experience of viewing the film is mysterious.
- Erie/scary music that may distract the audience from the film itself.
- Disturbing images, the film is going to involve death or murder.
- Police files, the film will involve detectives and investigations, which is a key convention in a mystery film.
Codes
- Black and dark makes it seem the film will involve murder and death; it makes the whole experience of watching the film scary and mysterious
- Black and white writing which flashes red occasionally - shows death and creates suspense while watching the film, the audience has the feeling 'What's going to happen next'.
- Static effect on the writing, the producers/editors have made even the titles mysterious.
- Quick images
After analysing this opening sequence it has given me good ideas on what I can include in our opening sequence if we chose to do a mystery movie.
25/02/2010
Researching A Specific Film Genre - Comedy
As we already researched the horror genre , we thought it would be better to do another genre at the other end of the spectrum. All 3 of us went onto the internet and researched different things to do with comedy, at the same time, a lot of ideas were just general knowledge. The ideas above are the simple things that go into making a comedy piece of footage.
29/01/2010
Analysis Of A Comedy Film
Dumb and dumber - Analysing the opening sequence of a comedy film
The Film dumb and dumber is a comedy film , i know this by the codes and conventions used in the opening sequence , and the actors wh o are involde . Also the dvd cover (above) shows us that this film is a comedy.
The fim opens with a elegent looking lady standing at what looks like a bus stop , a short while after a posh black limousine pulls up and the back window opens . lloyd ( jim carrey ) pops his head out and asks where a certain place is , the audience thinks that lloyd is the passenger, but as the window gets done up , he jumps over the seat int o the drivers chair and drives off. He pulls off a couple of jokes whilst talking to the lady which immediately lets us know that this is a comedy film. It then cuts to harry , his best mate , whos is currently running late for a dog grooming contest. WIth 5 dogs in the back of hes van this is funny as it is , but when the camera zooms out and we realise hes whole van has transformed into a dog this makes us laugh even more . Below are the codes and conventions used in the opening sequence of this film .
Codes
Researching A Specific Film Genre - Thriller And Action
After we researched and produced spider diagrams for the other 2 genres we decided to do one more for another genre. We did our third spider diagram on Thriller and Action, as a group we came up with ideas for this genre. Our spider diagram can be seen above.
29/01/2010
Analysis Of A Thriller/Action Film
The Bourne Identity - Analysing the opening sequence of a thriller/action film
I analysed the opening sequence of a film in the Thriller/Action genre. The film I chose to analyse is called The Bourne Identity.
The film is produced by Universal Pictures and stars Matt Damon as the main character. The film centres around the mian character trying to find out his identity and why he's the target of an american agency and avoiding obstacles in that journey. The opening sequence is 6mins 11seconds long.
This film can be classed in the Thriller/Action genre because of certain codes and conventions in the film that are those of the Thriller/Action genre.
Quick cuts and changes of the camera angle are well known to a lot of genres including thriller. The first few shots of the film quickly change back and forth between two settings/happenings.
Not finished
The film is produced by Universal Pictures and stars Matt Damon as the main character. The film centres around the mian character trying to find out his identity and why he's the target of an american agency and avoiding obstacles in that journey. The opening sequence is 6mins 11seconds long.
This film can be classed in the Thriller/Action genre because of certain codes and conventions in the film that are those of the Thriller/Action genre.
Quick cuts and changes of the camera angle are well known to a lot of genres including thriller. The first few shots of the film quickly change back and forth between two settings/happenings.
Not finished
Continuation of Analysis Of A Thriller/Action Film
With each of these quick changes the camera angles change.
The camera angles of the shots continue to change throughout the opening sequence, using a wide range of shots.
The first few shots also play with the viewers mind and make the audience think; as it's not clear whats happening. The backgrounds of the shots are also quite dark, added with the music makes the film unnerving. Non-diegetic sound, usually music can be heard throughout the opening sequence, at first only qietly so more diegetic sound, such as noises from the action going on can be heard. As the opening sequence continues the music gets louder, by having it like this means it adds tension.
The use of lighting to create shadows is also used quite a lot in thriller films. This could be to add an aspect of mystery, to add darkness or to highlight something in the shot.
Injuries and violence are also common to action films. In this film a large part of the opening sequence focuses on the injuries sustained by the main character which clearly came from violence. Guns are another things often featured in action films and evidence of them are seen in the opening sequence.
During the opening sequence the screen darkens and light blue letters can be seen which then move to form the white block letters of the title. The letters then disassemble theirselves to their original blue form.
All of these are codes and conventions of thriller/action genre films. When film makers put together films they use these codes and conventions to show what genre the film is and to make successful films.
31/03/2010
The camera angles of the shots continue to change throughout the opening sequence, using a wide range of shots.
The first few shots also play with the viewers mind and make the audience think; as it's not clear whats happening. The backgrounds of the shots are also quite dark, added with the music makes the film unnerving. Non-diegetic sound, usually music can be heard throughout the opening sequence, at first only qietly so more diegetic sound, such as noises from the action going on can be heard. As the opening sequence continues the music gets louder, by having it like this means it adds tension.
The use of lighting to create shadows is also used quite a lot in thriller films. This could be to add an aspect of mystery, to add darkness or to highlight something in the shot.
Injuries and violence are also common to action films. In this film a large part of the opening sequence focuses on the injuries sustained by the main character which clearly came from violence. Guns are another things often featured in action films and evidence of them are seen in the opening sequence.
During the opening sequence the screen darkens and light blue letters can be seen which then move to form the white block letters of the title. The letters then disassemble theirselves to their original blue form.
All of these are codes and conventions of thriller/action genre films. When film makers put together films they use these codes and conventions to show what genre the film is and to make successful films.
31/03/2010
Analysis of Horror/Mystery Film-The Fog
The Fog was made in 2005 in America. The film is about a town celebration where a new statue of the founding fathers is unveiled, which awakens the ghosts of the crew of a boat; Elizabeth Dane, who want to get revenge for being slaughtered by the founding fathers. The name of the film is based on the fog that covers the town when the crew of the Elizabeth Dane are awakened.
This film can be classed in the Horror/Mystery genre because of certain codes and conventions in the film that are those of the Horror/Mystery genre.
The Codes and Conventions of this film are as follows:
• The openings of horror tend to have music to them, which is unnerving, spooky or eerie. This film is no exception, it starts by showing the production titles a while music which is unnerving at times and kind of creepy plays. As the opening sequence moves on the music changes.
• After the production titles the screen goes completely black. White smoke or fog starts to move around the middle of the screen, then credits appear in this fog. The words fade away and the fog moves to where the next credit appears and around the screen. The titles being like this is well known in horror films, where the credits tend to follow the horror theme by being creepy, having title movement and weapon images with them.
• As the credits continue weird noises are heard, then more fog appears and the title comes onto the screen. The screen then clears and sound from action in the film is heard. On the screen movement can be seen but it is dark and shadowy. Parts of the film being dark and shadowy are also common to horror films and can be found in many of them.
• The audience can’t really tell what is going on, on the screen. By doing this it keeps them thinking about what it could be and building up anticipation. Building up anticipation is common in horror films and is used in some of the best most memorable parts of films.
• More non-diegetic sound is heard with screams and what is thought to be birds squawking can be heard. Horror films tend to have a lot of non-diegetic sound added to them for effect and to set the mood in the film.
• As the opening sequence continues the shadows are replaced by fire which fills the whole screen, a lot of diegetic, object movement and action, sound is heard in this part. It is still not clear what is going on and contuse to keeps the viewers in the dark to what is going on. This creates a mystery which runs throughout the film.
• The first death of the film happens within the first few minutes but is not clear that, that is what is going on. This also adds mystery to the film as to why this person was killed.
• Super human killers are featured in the majority of horror films and this film continues with the trend.
• Main characters in horror films tend to be young and beautiful, as they are in this film.
• Horror films and many other films of different genres tend to be focused on the fight between good and evil and so is this film. At the end of the film the good character usually survives and has defeated the bad character or the good character dies while in the process of defeating the bad guy and ends up defeating them at the price of their own life.
• Horror films also tend to start by showing people living an ordinary lifestyle. The Fog does show this but not until after the main part of the opening sequence.
• The camera angles used in horror and mystery films tend to vary greatly from close-ups to long distance shots. The type of shot used depends on the effect the film maker is going with for that part of the film.
All of these codes and conventions add to make great horror and mystery films and will continue to for ages to come.
01/04/2010
The Genre We Have Chosen To Do
We have decided to make our film under the genre of Horror/Mystery. This is the mix of 2 genres and gives us a wide range of things to work with. We have also chosen this because in a previous task we used a horror theme and found it enjoyable, so picking the same kind of theme and expanding it is a good option .
27/02/2010
27/02/2010
Which Institution Would Develop Our Product?
Nowadays there are many film production companies in existence and more are created yearly. There are a number of major ones, the major American companies are sometimes referred to as the big six but as time goes on that has been changed and it is publically seen that there are at least eight major film companies.
If our film were to be really made we would have to consider what institutions would be involved in this process. We would need to choose an institution which would be best for the creation, distribution and production of our product. Below are the main companies that could do this.
Universal Studios is a subsidary of NBC Universal. The main motion picture production/ distribution part is called Universal Pictures. It's a very well known company and has produced and/or distributed famous films such as Love Actually, Back to the Future, Jurassic Park, E.T. the Extra Terrestrial and Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho.
The Walt Disney Company, known as Disney, is best known for films for children and familes. They make a lot of animation films and many live actor films; including, The Pirates of the Caribbean film series, Enchanted, Finding Nemo, the Incredibles, National Treasure, Bolt, High School Musical and Flubber. The company also has some famous subsidaries such as Pixar, Touchstone Pictures and Miramax Films.
Warner Bros. Pictures is a major film studio and subsidary of Time Warner. It makes a range of films of different genres and for audience's of different ages. Some famous films it has produced are: The Harry Potter film series, Miss Congeniality, The Matrix, Troy, One Missed Call, Friday the 13th and The Shining.
If our film were to be really made we would have to consider what institutions would be involved in this process. We would need to choose an institution which would be best for the creation, distribution and production of our product. Below are the main companies that could do this.
Universal Studios is a subsidary of NBC Universal. The main motion picture production/ distribution part is called Universal Pictures. It's a very well known company and has produced and/or distributed famous films such as Love Actually, Back to the Future, Jurassic Park, E.T. the Extra Terrestrial and Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho.
The Walt Disney Company, known as Disney, is best known for films for children and familes. They make a lot of animation films and many live actor films; including, The Pirates of the Caribbean film series, Enchanted, Finding Nemo, the Incredibles, National Treasure, Bolt, High School Musical and Flubber. The company also has some famous subsidaries such as Pixar, Touchstone Pictures and Miramax Films.
Warner Bros. Pictures is a major film studio and subsidary of Time Warner. It makes a range of films of different genres and for audience's of different ages. Some famous films it has produced are: The Harry Potter film series, Miss Congeniality, The Matrix, Troy, One Missed Call, Friday the 13th and The Shining.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc, MGM, is an american media company and mainly produces and distributes film. Some films they have produced/distributed are Fame, Stargate film series, Premonition, Casino Royale, Lucky Nimber Slevin, Basic Instinct, Legally Blonde, De-Lovely and Halloween.
Paramount Pictures is the film company owned by Viacom, and parent company of DreamWorks. Films released by these companies include: Meet the Parents, Meet the Fockers, Along Came a Spider, Bridge to Terabithia, Shark Tale, Shrek and sequels, Friday the 13th and sequels, G.I. Joe, Failure to Launch, Just Like Heaven, Madagascar, The Terminal, Pulse, War of the Worlds and The Godfather. As of February 2009 DreamWorks films are released through The Walt Disney Company.
Columbia Pictures Industries Inc, is an american film production and distribution company. It's parent company is Sony Pictures Entertainment. Films Columbia has produced/ distributed include Men in Black, Spider Man, White Chicks, The Grudge, Are we There Yet?, Rocky Balboa, Hancock, 30 Days of Night and 2012.
Twentieth Century Fox is one of the newest film studios to be classed as major. It's parent company is Fox Filmed Entertainment, owned by News Corporation. It's most famous films include Star Wars, Ice Age, X-Men, Die Hard, Planet of the Apes, Night at the Museum, Home Alone and Predator.
Lion Gate Entertainment Corporation originated in Canada and is a very successful independent film and television company. Films released by the company are: the Saw franchise, Bratz; The Movie, Disaster Movie and Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire.
I think the most appropriate choice for us, considering the genre of our film is either Columbia Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures or Paramount Pictures. This is because of these companies previous experience with large scale horror, thriller, action and mystery movies. Also Paramount Pictures is responsible for the horror film Pulse, and a large part of our film is based on ideas and presentation used in Pulse. Another choice would be Lions Gate becasue they own the highly sucessful Saw franchise. These films are very popular horror films that produce high profit.
28/02/2010
Script
Script
First scene with dialogue - Home footage going through the forest
For this first scene we decided to have the characters feel excited, curious and scared about what they may find.
Rebecca: What’s that?
Billy: What’s that?
Rebecca: Up there, Look up there.
Billy: Nah serious.
Second scene with dialogue - Home footage looking at the map
For this second scene we decided to have the characters feel scared, anxious and a sense of excitement when they see the map.
Billy: It’s gotta be ‘round here somewhere, innit.
Jamie: Oh my god.
Rebecca: Look a map!
Billy: Right, map right. So if we go....
Jamie: Yeah but I heard she disappeared like somewhere ‘round here.
Rebecca and Billy: Yeah!
Billy: That’s what I heard as well, around there.
All three characters: Right come on, lets go, yeah.
Third scene with dialogue - Home footage finding the way out
For this third scene we wanted the characters nerves to build, we also wanted them to feel like they were in danger when they reach the ‘No Trespassing’ gate.
Billy: What’s that?
Jamie: Oh my god!
Rebecca: We should go back
Fourth scene with dialogue - Bye!
In this scene the characters say ‘bye’ to each other. In this scene we still wanted them to feel scared and anxious.
Billy: Right, I’ve gotta, I’ve gotta go, see you, see you later.
Jamie and Rebecca: Bye
Fifth scene with dialogue - Watching the news three days earlier
In this scene the characters first act normally, then their anxiety builds when they watch the news then they all act shocked and surprised when the TV cuts out.
Billy: Come on, argh!
Rebecca: Missed did they?
Billy: Does it look like it?
Jamie: Have you seen the news?
Billy: What news, what?
Rebecca: What’s happened?
Billy: What’s happening J, what’s happening?
Rebecca: Why’s it not working?
(News broadcast)
Newsman 1: Good evening, a 13 year old girl is feared missing after she failed to return home last night, my correspondent Tom Fowler is there now, Tom.
Newsman 2: Thank you Josh, I am here now outside Kings forest where the girl was supposedly last seen, her whereabouts are unknown but the hunt for her continu….
(TV cuts out)
Billy: What happened there, what’s happened to the TV J?
Rebecca: What was that?
Jamie: Oh my god!
29/03/2010
29/03/2010
1 - Filming
Filming commenced today. We filmed the main parts of our opening sequence and hope to film the rest of the shots later this week. We are ahead of our planned schedule but we still do have a few bits of planning to finish off over the next week.
01/03/2010
01/03/2010
Stage 2 - Continuation of Filming
We are continuing to film. Although we were initially ahead of our timeline we are now near the end of the period of time we set to complete our filming in. As a result of this we are going to have to try really hard to complete our filming by the Friday 19th March.
16/03/2010
16/03/2010
Stage 3 - Filming
We completed filming last night. We think we have got all the shots we need to edit together our film, but if we realize there any parts left out we will have to do a quick filming session to complete these. The next stage is to start to edit and put together our film.
Stage 4 - Editing
The next stage in the production of our film is editing. We got all the shots we had filmed together. Then we picked out the parts we would use in our film and got rid of the rest. Over the next few days editing the film together took place. As the editing of the film was done sound was added in and adjustments made to some bits of the film and some of the sound. The editing process was finished on Friday 26th March 2010. We are very proud of our finished product.
29/03/2010
29/03/2010
Stage 5 - Audience Feedback
On Sunday 28th March our video was uploaded onto Rebecca's Youtube account. We did this so we could get people's opinions about our video and so we could use these opinions as audience feedback in our evaluation. The film has also been shown to our families for their opinions.
The link to the video is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HVvptjP5TQ
Feel free to give us your opinions! :)
Overall we have had good feedback about our film. Some of this can be seen underneath the film on YouTube.
29/03/2010
The link to the video is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HVvptjP5TQ
Feel free to give us your opinions! :)
Overall we have had good feedback about our film. Some of this can be seen underneath the film on YouTube.
29/03/2010
How I Edited The Film
When it came to the footage of us in the house it was up to me to edit it. I decided to keep the camera running throughout the whole filming of this scene even when we wernt acting. This was because i could edit it much easier. After the footage was filmed i uploaded it to i movie to edit. I watched all the footage and clipped out all the unnecessary bits which was quite a lot. I was left with the actual recording and then had to trim certain parts to make it fit. When it came to our news broadcast being on the TV it failed at first as the laptop would not respond to the cable. We then decided to burn it to a dvd and play that on the tv, that also failed. In the end we placed the News Broadcast over the TV as this was the only option available. It still looked good and we were all happy with the result. I decided to brighten up the front room scene to contrast it from the forest footage to show from scary to normal.
30/03/2010
30/03/2010
How I Edited The Film
Once we had all the footage film and uploaded onto the mac it was time to edit it. We put it into iMovie to edit it. In iMovie we had all the footage together. I edited the forest footage. I picked the footage we would use in our final product. We decided that we did not need a lot of the early forest footage, as this was mostly the footage we filmed to look like home videos. In our final prodct we only sed quick shots of the home video footage. The other forest footage was of the main part of the film storyline, this would take p the most time in our final product. From the footage we had for this I picked the bits we would use and got rid of the footage that was no longer needed. Jamie then edited together the remaining footage to make our final product. In the process of this he took time to show us how to edit different parts of the film.
30/03/2010
30/03/2010
How I Edited The Film
I used several different pieces of software to edit our film. For the camera effect on the home footage scenes I used Adobe Flash, I first imported the movie into Flash and then created the battery, time etc... and placed them over the original video, I then had to export the video as a .mov file to import it into iMovie. I did this also for the news part of the film. Instead of the camera effects I done a news bulletin at the bottom of the screen with scrolling text. For the static effect on the 'Kings Forest' text for example I also used Adobe Flash. I first wrote out the text then changed the alpha on the first and last frame. I then created a motion tween to make the text fade in and out, I then removed the text on several frames to make the text flash and give it the static effect, the reason we decided on the static effect was because it is a code of horror. I then had to export the video as a .mov file to import it into iMovie. For the 'jumping' effect on the ghost I used a psychotic effect on Photo Booth on my MacBook. I then recorded my cousin walking towards the camera will the effect was on, the finished result can be seen in the film. Finally to have the soundtrack and effects running over the video I imported the clips into iMovie then muted or lowered the volume on them and then ran the soundtrack over the top. While doing this I included sound bridges and dips in the volume to make the film more realistic.
29/03/2010
29/03/2010
List Of All Equipment Used
This is a list of all the equipment(hardware and software) used in the process of completing our project :
- Video Camera x2
- Digital Camera
- Camera Microphone
- Tripod
- Memory Sticks(transportation)
- DVD's
- PC
- Mac
- Microsoft Word 2007
- Inspiration 8
- Photobooth
- Blogger.com
- iMovie
- iMovie HD
- Garageband
Looking Back at the Timetable
How We Planned Our Time
We planned our time using the timetable I made at the start of the project. We mostly stuck to it, at times we were ahead of it. Towards the end of the project we got a little bit behind but it wasn't major.
Allocation of Tasks
There was no real way that the tasks were allocated. We decided who would do each task by who had more experience in that area or who would prefer to do that task. The bigger tasks were undertaken as a group with each of us doing different parts and working together.
29/03/2010
We planned our time using the timetable I made at the start of the project. We mostly stuck to it, at times we were ahead of it. Towards the end of the project we got a little bit behind but it wasn't major.
Allocation of Tasks
There was no real way that the tasks were allocated. We decided who would do each task by who had more experience in that area or who would prefer to do that task. The bigger tasks were undertaken as a group with each of us doing different parts and working together.
29/03/2010
Looking Back At The Genre Of Our Film
We feel that looking back at the genre of our film, that it has moved from the genre of Horror/Mystery, that we were aiming for to more of a Horror/Thriller. This is due to our original storyline being expanded and changed in the process of making the film. We are still very proud of our film and feel it is successful in it's genre.
01/04/2010
01/04/2010
The Soundtrack
We found the soundtrack on GarageBand. The track was called - Contemplative Synth 03, the reason we decided on this soundtrack was because we thought it suited our film perfectly. We thought the soundtrack was scary, eerie and mysterious. Before importing the soundtrack into the movie I edited it a little to make it suit our film better. For example I changed the pitch and volume on parts of the soundtrack and also shortened some parts. As well as this soundtrack we also needed some sound effects. The sound effects we chose to have was a heartbeat which we also found on GarageBand, once again I edited it in the same way as the soundtrack. A crow/bird effect to add more atmosphere to the film, I recorded this will in the forest. A scream effect which was created by my cousins and a louder 'walking through the forest' effect, this effect was created by placing cornflakes on a table and breaking them up. Using all these effects and tracks we managed to create a successful horror opening sequence.
Main Task (Film) - Revenge Of The Lost
This is our finished media product. It is the opening sequence to our horror movie called - Revenge Of The Lost. We decided on this as the title as we believed it was suitable for the story and genre. The story is about a group of friends who go into the forest after they discover a girl disappeared in there, however the group discover more in the forest than they intended!
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HVvptjP5TQ
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HVvptjP5TQ
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Evaluation
Below is our evaluation it contains our answers to the seven given to use by the exam board. It includes how we targeted the audience and also how we were able complete the project successfully and as a group.
01/04/10
The End is Nigh
So today is the deadline and we are so close to finishing it actually unbelievable. We're all going to have a massive party when it's over and we never want to hear the words media and coursework ever again. Hopefully we will be finished within the next few hours, with only 2 or 3 things to do it shouldn't take long.
Anyway, Goodbye!
Rebecca Broadbent, Jamie Brookes and Billy Warville
:):):):)!!!!
Anyway, Goodbye!
Rebecca Broadbent, Jamie Brookes and Billy Warville
:):):):)!!!!
Blog Finished
Blog was finished at 21:03 on Thursday 1st April 2010. Any changes to the blog after this time is not down to us.
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