Final piece

My final piece of film below:

Preliminary task

This was shot for my preliminary task for my media studies A level course

Evaluation 5

How did you attract/address your audience?

Evaluation 7

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the final product?

I feel that during my preliminary task I new only very basic skills in camerawork and editing and almost none in sound and lighting. During the preliminary task I didn't use any mics for my dialogue and I didn't use any lighting. I used some editing techniques such as cross cutting to show for example a man walking up to a door and then a hand turning the door handle linking the two. I also followed the 180 degree rule and used shot reverse shot. I didn't do anything much more complicated than this and my preliminary task was very short and simple.

In my final piece I stuck to the basics but also explored a lot more techniques with lighting and sound. With sound I used a directional mic for my dialogue and also used the mic from the camera so that I could choose which one I thought sounded better. In the end the camera mic sounded better in most of the scenes and the directional mic in only one. I am glad I chose to use both the camera and the directional mic because otherwise I could be stuck with sound that doesn't sound very good. With the lighting I added filling lights to some shots and main lights to other ones. With both of these I used kaiser battery video lights. I had a helper to hold them most of the time but when it was just me and my actors I held them, I used the shutters around the edge of the lights to change the amount of light on the actor's faces and also the position of the lights to portray different things such as overhead lighting to give mystery with the detective as because of his hat it created a shadow on his face and hence you couldn't really see him. I also used back lighting for a shot to create a silhouette of the detective which worked well creating more mystery and combined with the mirror next to him I think looked quite professional and it achieved what I wanted it to. I used some more techniques for camerawork than I knew back when I did my preliminary task. In my final piece I used camera positioning such as high shot and low shots, establishing shot and also tracking and movement. I have learnt that using a high angle shot on a character shows the characters vulnerability and perhaps that they are weak or inferior. The low angle shot is the opposite showing power. An establishing shot would introduce the location and let you know where the characters are. Tracking shots and movement shots are a little too complex for my film however I have learnt how to do certain shots such as zooms and panning but not used them in my film. I've used editing techniques such as fast paced to keep pace up and action and then slow paced editing to create tension and focus on what's going on in the scene, like the shot where the detective enters the building via the staircase and he's a silhouetted figure. I've also learnt how to use final cut pro x to a higher level than before. I now know how to put effects onto my shots and how to reverse some shots. I also know how to lift the colour on a shot or change the colour to something different. I've learnt how to sync the sound by using a clapper board and also how to add sound effects. I've also improved a lot on continuity and tried very hard to keep this the case in my final piece however there are still some aspects of the final piece that aren't flawless. For instance the lighting frequently changes as it's very hard to have a shot with lighting from far away as you would be able to see the light and the person holding it whereas if you're close up you can hide the person holding the light and it isn't an issue. This is what i've done in various scenes which I thought was fine during filming but then when looking back on my scenes I realised that the continuity was a problem, however didn't have time to fix this. There was also a shot that was meant to come after a night shot that was shot during the day time, this too I didn't have time to fix but I managed to use various different shots and add effects on to make it darker and so the continuity didn't look too bad in the end.

Evaluation 6

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this film opening?

I have learnt a variety of useful things about technology. Through the process of making my film I've used many different pieces of technology. I've used:
Blogger
YouTube
Final Cut Pro X
HD Video Camera
Directional Mic
Tripod
Battery Lights
I have learnt to use these very well and they have helped a lot along the way. I've used blogger to upload a lot of my essay type questions and the progress on my film and my whole year of media has been based mainly around this website. I've used YouTube to upload rough cuts and final products of my film as well as evaluation questions i've answered visually or orally. I've used Final Cut Pro X to edit together my final piece and rough cuts along with questions i've answered and preliminary tasks. I've learnt how to edit fairly well and learnt several techniques such as cross cutting, continuity editing and sound bridges. I've used the HD Video Camera to film everything i've used. I've learnt techniques with this as well like zooming, panning and framing. I've also learnt camera positioning such as high shots to show vulnerability or low shots to show power. I've used the Directional Mic to record the audio files in my film. I've learnt via preliminary tasks how to use the mic and how to optimise the recorder so that the audio is of the best quality. I've used a Tripod to keep my camera still whilst filming and i've learnt how to use the level so that the camera isn't lopsided on the ground. I've used battery lights to light some of the scenes that were too dark. I've learnt how to use these so that the scenes aren't too dark or even too light, i've learnt different lighting techniques to show different things such as top lighting is flattering and filler lighting.

Evaluation 3

What kind of media institution might distribute your film and why?

My film is a low budget British film that wouldn't be distributed by a big company. I think a company such as Film 4, bbcfilms or momentum pictures could distribute the film as those companies usually distribute indie low budget British films. It says on the bbcfilms website that "BBC Films is committed to finding and developing new talent, collaborating with some of the foremost writers and directors in the industry" which I think reflects my film well. I also think that some of the films they distribute, such as Headhunters, would attract a similar audience to mine, as the film includes a lot of thrills and has a sort of elicit world and my film has a stylised feel and a stereotyped genre of thriller with a twist, which is similar to that of Headhunters. I think that my film could be shown in some arthouse cinemas, such as clapham picture house or the ritzy, but would probably be immediately distributed by DVD and not even make it into cinemas. However the film could become more famous perhaps by being entered into film competitions, or a film festival such as the London Film Festival that takes place every year, and then shown at some cinemas and perhaps make it into a multi screen cinema, like the odeon, or even a multiplex. Depending on the success of the film it could possibly be picked up by US film distributers like 20th century fox and be shown to a larger audience. The fact that the film was made in England wouldn't effect it much as it is still understandable in other parts of the world and doesn't particularly focus solely on British life.

Evaluation 4

Who would be the audience for your film?

In the initial stages of the planning for our film I decided that a certificate of 15 would be appropriate for my film. I decided this was because I didn't want to certify it as a 12A as I didn't want to risk children who are under the age of 12 to see the film and possibly be scared by it as there is a possibility that could happen and we could get into trouble with laws. Looking at the films that people my age watch I think that my film is fairly similar to the ones they watch and enjoy and so for this reason and for certification I have decided that an audience of 15-21 would be most appropriate for my film. I've chosen a young audience. One reason i've done this is because the actors in my film are a similar age to that of 15-21 and also similar to the type of actors that they like. The genre of the film is also the type of genre that most of the people in the 15-21 age group enjoy watching. The gender of my audience doesn't matter as I think it appeals to both girls and boys however maybe leans slightly more towards the male side as guns and violence are shown throughout the opening. I've learnt all this from the planning stages of my film in which I conducted a survey and found this information out.

I conducted a questionnaire after a viewing of my film. From this I found that there were 4 males and 11 females, which isn't really representative of my actual audience as I think that there was an unnatural ratio of male to female at that point. I think that my audience would still be half male and half female. I also found that 11 of the 15 people where in the age group 15-21 confirming my suspicions of the fact that most of my audience will be in the 15-21 group. There were 2 people in the 21-45 age group and 2 more people in the 0-15 age group however these groups would not make up much of my audience. Once a fortnight was the most chosen option for how often they watch films. This shows that my audience aren't hardcore cinema goers but do go fairly regularly or watch a film at home. They also picked that they watch films on TV or on the internet rather than going to the cinema showing my audience is of a younger audience as they use technology rather than going and sitting in a cinema.

Evaluation 2

How does your film opening represent particular social groups?

My film opening focuses on three social groups as it follows three different characters in the opening. The first character it follows is the girl, played by Morgan. Her social group is a middle class white girl. I borrow ideas from noire films and she is the fem fatale of the film. Yet i've tried to put a spin on this stereotype by going slightly over the top on her. I added the bright red lipstick to highlight her social group and the fem fatale stereotype. It also contrasts well with her pale skin and blonde curly hair which gives it an unnatural feel. The girl is seen as a victim at first but when you see her smile and you see that she has the power in this situation you feel less sorry for her and class her more as a villain, but perhaps not as much as the actual villain at the computer. Along with the graphic effect i've put onto the film I think this portrays her social group well whilst also adding a twist to it.

The second character is the detective. He is of a lower class than the girl and we can see this because he is coming to her for help and he is dressed mysteriously and you can't see his face. She is also smiling when she whispers something in his ear and he stays serious and starts to run away, like it's just a game to her and he is taking it seriously. His social group is also shown by the fact no one sees him until right at the end and he works alone. This character at first because you don't know why he's following the girl you see him as a villain but it changes once she smiles at him and he starts to run and you can tell he's a good guy detective, his clothing also helps this. He is below most of them in class but he is also above them in status because he wins in the end.

The last character is the villain. He is also middle class and above the girl shown because he is watching her on the cctv. He's definetely above the detective as well in class but he is below him in status because in the end he dies by the detective's hand. His costume is smart but casual enough that he knows he doesn't have to dress up and make an effort because he is so far up the ladder he doesn't have anyone to impress. Unlike the girl who has to dress fairly smart and attractive to impress him. This character unlike the others is seen throughout the entire opening as a villain. From the start you see he's the bad guy and when you see his emotionless expression at the end before he dies you don't particularly feel sorry for him and you get a sense he deserves it. The main way in which the social groups are shown is through costume.

Evaluation 1

In what ways does your film opening use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real films?

My film borrows some ideas from many films, such as sin city and watchmen. One of the ways I did this was making my main character, the detective, much like that of the character rorschach in watchmen. The clothes he wears are very similar, with a trilby like hat and a long trench coat. I've also made sure that you don't properly see the detective's face until the end of this sequence, much like rorschach who wears a mask and doesn't show anyone his face either. This is an archetypal character that's present in various different films. Another way in which i've attempted to make my film similar to sin city is playing with colour and effects. I've added a graphical effect onto all of the shots to make it look more like a comic. In sin city you can see this is done much more effectively as they have better equipment and editing softwares and more skill. However I think i've added enough effect that a viewer would make the connection of the two films. The font I decided to use is a font called Mistral which I found on final cut pro x. I believe this font looks comic like and is similar to the sin city font. This adds to the comic book feel. In many noir films there is a stereotype of a woman in trouble and a man saving her. In my film i've attempted to subtly challenge this idea. At first the detective follows her into the alleyway but he needs information off of her and so she is in the power place here and looks more in control. I've tried to keep to a conventional genre of thriller, a villain against a detective who uses a girl to get information about him. However i've added a slight twist to this genre by introducing the game idea to my film. The idea was that the detective needs to find the villain by using a series of clues and pursuing him. This isn't entirely obvious but with the dialogue of "Game over" and the film title "Game Plan" I think it's hinted at enough to give the viewer an idea that this isn't just a standard thriller film.

Rough cut 3

In this roughcut i've added a soundtrack I found on a copyright free music website. I've also changed the positioning and wording of the title sequences. For instance the title now comes in later when the gun shot is heard and the title's near the start show the actor's names. I've also added nearer the end a sound effect of someone's heart beating to add tension, but i'm not sure about how it sounds. This is not a fine cut piece and things need brushing up. I might for instance change the soundtrack and see how it sounds with a different one.

Rough Cut 2

This is the first rough cut i've done after I got all of my filming done. I finished editing all the footage together in about 2 hours and this is the very first piece of rough cut I have. I need to do a lot with sound, for instance add a soundtrack, delete the sound completely off of some clips and add in some non diegetic sound for others. There are also some shorts which looks slightly too dark or slightly too light compared to the shots next to it so i'm going to add some effects to play around with the lighting on these ones. I'm also not sure about having the title come in so quickly. Originally I was going to have the title come in after the blackout but before I had the scene with the gunshot I put the title in when the bus goes past the screen. I however might change this to my original plan as I think it may look better and look less like a trailer. I will do this over the next few days hopefully and upload a second rough cut with these improvements made. I will then fine tune the piece until it's how I want it.

A rough cut of the first few scenes

Above is my first rough cut of the first few scenes. I have a lot more to add to this and the black frames you see throughout the video are place holders for other shots I have yet to film. I like a lot about this footage, the first few shots with the soundbridges and the way the girl turns around and some opening credits comes in at the same time as an SFX sounds, this is similar to the shot after where the detective enters the screen and more opening credits and another SFX. I also like the way the title comes in as it comes in at the same time a bus goes by. The shot after this I really like as well because you see a police car go past and it gives it a noir feel which a red tinge of the nightlife. There were however a few issues that I had to correct. For instance in one of the scenes the lighting is too light because the shot before it it looks much much darker. I have tried to fix this by deleting some of the scenes I don't necessarily need and adding effects to some scenes I do need to keep but I think the best thing to do is to reshoot these few scenes at a later date. There was also an issue with the light in the tunnel. In the few scenes in which you first see the alleyway the tunnel is almost pitch black and in the next scenes there's a light so you can see her face. I've tried to fix this by adding in the light turning on but I may reshoot these as well, or add a shot of the actual light in the tunnel turning on. I also like the final shot we see of the detective running up to the building as I like the diegetic noises in the background and the redness of the shot resembling the night time.

Plan for half term and the next week

Over the next week I need to have completed my filming and my editing. I require some more film to complete my filming. On tuesday 12th I will complete another scene of filming after school with two of my actors, then the weekend of that week, the 16th / 17th I will film my last scene. Altogether there's not that much more footage that I need but they are necessary to complete the editing or even a rough cut. I will then edit over the week after half term and possibly during half term if I have time to come in and start the editing.

What i've done today

Today I did some more of my rough cut edit. I added a few shots that I previously filmed. I added a few colourisation effects to some shots to allow continuity between one shot and another, before I added the effect the orangeness of one shot was contrasting with a greyness of another but after the effect was added both shots combined nicely. I also reversed one shot in which the girl looks to the left and then straight on so instead she looks straight on and then to the left which works well with continuity as in previous shots she is looking straight on. I deleted a few of my shots in which the lighting was too light as it was meant to be light, I may reshoot these scenes at a later date but for now I've removed them to see how the continuity goes without them.

I have now changed the positioning of my titles back a couple of seconds so instead of the music coinciding with just the titles coming into screen it also coincides with what's happening in the scene, for example now the title and the sound come in at the same time as the detective enters the screen.

Filming planning

My plan for filming this weekend is to film around half of my shots, or at least the biggest scene in the film on the saturday night. I will work from 4pm until possibly 7 or 8pm. It needs to be dark as the scene is at night. I have borrowed all of the equipment that i will need. This includes a high definition camera, a battery powered light, a power pack and a battery charger, a tripod, a clapper board, an audio recorder and a directional mic. I will also be using a ladder to get the high angle shot. On the saturday i will charge the battery light and make sure that all the cameras and directional mics are working. I will take the equipment over to location before 4. We will be setting up 4 until about 4:15 or 4:30 if we can't get something working. We will then be filming the shots around that area from 4:30 until around 5:30, i don't think that getting the shots on that location will take more than an hour, hour and a half tops. From around 5:45 until 7 i will be getting shots of them walking down the streets. This shouldn't take too long but i think an hour and 45 minutes would be enough time for this. I will then get some of the shots of just the detective running through the streets at night, and also possibly the shot of the detective looking up and going towards the big building. This will cover a lot of my shots and scenes and all i will have left to do is the scene in the building and the scene of the girl and detective walking during the  day time which will have to be filmed a different day.

Graphics planning

This is a short gif I created using the animation package Flash CS5. This is just a short test of the program. At the moment i've called is multi colour productions but I might change the name later on. This program was quite difficult to use but good preparation for my actual graphics. For my actual graphics i'm going to use stop motion with drawing as this is too difficult to use.

Planning for filming

For the few weeks ahead of me I have a lot to do. The main thing is to get all of my filming done. My aim is to get all the main filming done by the first of february and if there is anything I can see is missing or needs to be re-filmed I will have time to do that before half term. My next aim is to get a good solid edit done by the 15th of february but obviously if more work is needed I can finish up the editing the week after. I also will have to get the graphics, the title sequence, the ident, by the 22nd of march, at which point I will also have done all of my evaluation for the final piece. I aim to have everything done completely by 22nd of march.


This week i've looked at planning for my graphics and over the next week I aim to have finished my graphics and possibly also the title sequence as well as the ident. I also would like to get a few scenes of filming done.

Short recce of lighting + sound

Above is a short recce me and my classmates did. We learnt how to use a directional mic, and made some errors for instance not having the levels high enough. We learnt how to sync the sound with the clapper board. We also learnt how to light certain scenes. There were a lot of errors in this but we have learnt from them and will hopefully be more prepared for the final piece.

Sound Planning

For my sound I will have lots of diegetic sound in the background. Most of this will be picked up by the mics and the camera I use so I wont have to worry too much about that. I will also have the sound of conversation between the detective and either the villain or the girl. For this I will have to use different kinds of mics. For the scene between the detective and the girl in the alleyway I will have to either film it twice and use a mic that's in shot for some of it. I could however use a directional mic for when there's a close up of the girl and she speaks as we will be able to hide the directional mic from the shot. For the scene between the detective and the villain I will use a directional mic as I will be able to hide the directional mic from shot.

I will also have some non-diegetic sound. For instance near the end when you hear a gunshot I will add that in later, in editing. This can be found on final cut so I wont have to worry about that.
I'd also like a soundtrack for the background of most of the film. This will be hard to find as it will have to be copyright free. I will have to look on copyright free sites such as:

http://www.royaltyfreemusic.com/

http://freemusicarchive.org/

I will find something similar to the songs below, which are uploaded and made by youtubers but as I can see from the comments other people have been asking if they can use it in a film and he has replied that they can so I could potentially ask if I can use it in the actual film.

I like these songs because I think they'll go with the feel of the film.

Locations - Alleyway + Building - Video

This is the video in which I talk about two of my locations, the alleyway and the building.