Wednesday, 14 December 2016

Developing the company logo


Company logo mind map
We chose to go with Churchill Productions as the final company name. We narrowed it down from FUPA Enterprise, Chef Enterprise and Churchill Productions. I saw Churchill Productions as having the most material that could be use in designing the logo. With the Churchill design I decided to use some of his inspirational quotes to make the designs look inspirational and serious. However on my second idea I decided to use a less serious approach where I used Churchill's face from when he was a child, a teenager and from when he was a adult and place them each in a slot of a film reel.


Patryk's logo  (complete second logo)



























Callum's logos

Wednesday, 23 November 2016

Attack on the Block analysis

How are youths represented in the movie and media?
Attack on the Block

This movie represents the youth in a stereotypical way for the setting of the film. As the film is set in South London England it represents the youth in the stereotypical way they are seen in that area. In that area the youth are usually seen as delinquents and overall trouble makers.

This is seen through out the film as the youths are seen to be involved in many illegal and or mischievous things. The film is set in the council areas of London where it is common to see young people involved in illegal activities such as theft, drug use and many other smaller things, a lot of these are shown to be done by the youths in the film. 

One of the ways that the youths are represented are by the way they rob a women in the first couple of minutes in the film. This is something that media portrays youths to very often do in under developed areas of large cities like London. Ann Gould's theory on youth stereotypes outlines some of the ways that the youths are represented in the media and this film. The stereotypes included in Ann Gould's theory are that youths are rebellious, sexual, nihilistic, self-destructive, artificial tribe and violent. The main stereotypes that are shown in the film are violence and rebelliousness. The youths in the film first portray themselves as violent when they tell the audience that they robbed a women in the streets for her wallet. This is a characteristic that the media often portrays youths with as they know that any punishment they receive will be very light due to them being under aged and protected by the law differently than an adult, and therefore the media always picks at this as they know that young people take advantage of that protection and they see it as a ignorance of youths breaking laws and allowing them to continue with the knowledge that as long as they are under age they have nothing to worry about if  they commit crimes.

A persistent representation of youths in the film is that they use drugs. The youths are constantly seen using drugs through out the film which is a very common thing that the media portrays youths to be very accepting of drug use even though its illegal and that they're doing it at such a young age. Gerbner's cultivation theory reflects on the media's perspective of youth drug use as he talks about how because people watch so much TV and crime shows they are exposed to many cases of young people using drugs and from that knowledge they themselves see all youths as the same as what they saw on TV.       



Monday, 21 November 2016

Film opening- initial ideas

Initial  ideas


Horror-Forrest chase (panicking traveller and axe wielding killer)
Action- Russian hacker (hacker tries to gain access into FBI but gets captured by police)
Sci-fi- Alien invasion (aliens attack a school and have to be captured by the alien busters)

*Autobiography- Old war story (veteran speaks about his past war experiences)
(Callum) Noir- Following a detective as he reflects on his personal and work life

The beginning of the short film will start with the main character (Fritz Christen) Fritz will start with introducing himself and explaining what kind of stories he'll be talking about from his past (with a German accent). He'll welcome the audience as if they're in front of him and asking them to take a seat with him. The camera will slowly pan around him showing the man in full. He'll start to slowly speak (due to his old age) about his first engagement into war. 

After he begins one of his stories a short flashback will start going along with what he's saying. The first story will be about how he was drafted into war and taken from his home and wife (which the flash back will illustrate). The second story will be about his first battle engagement where he was stuck in the trenches and unable to get up. 

The story will be ended with Fritz telling about how at the end of the war he received medals for his bravery during the war. The flash back will appear showing him and a general pinning medals to his jacket and then saluting. He will then tell the audience to leave him as he's tired and wants to sleep, the camera will slowly move backwards away from him as the scene darkens and finally turns black and a quiet voice is heard saying "The battle may have ended, but the war goes on" and then the credits role showing the name of the film and a photograph of Fritz.

Comments:
Hard to film flash backs
Character for the veteran
Filming trench scene
Unique story
Large cast needed
Time scale difficulties

Evaluation

From the comments I decided to change the reading character from being Fritz to being Fritz's grandson as it would've been difficult to find someone that looks to be that age. I changed to end of the film to the grandson reading that his grandfather was awarded medals for war crimes and decides to burn the book at the end. The scenes after the medal awarding flash back will show the room empty with a breeze and then the book will be shown being burnt.

In the end we chose to go with the biography short film about the WW2 soldier story. We chose this idea as we thought that it could be fleshed out the most. The film idea uses a lot of different editing and filming techniques when it comes to the flash back scenes as they would have to be interchanged smoothly from the present to the far past.


Callum's idea

The idea I have created is a horror, the idea is very generic however it is simple and effective. the film will begin with establishing shots of the scene, it will combine a  range of shots which would include wide and close up shots of the scene. the main character will enter the frame wondering aimlessly, it is possible that he/she is looking for someone however, they have got lost looking for something. the character is unaware but they are being watched by someone, their identity will remain ambiguous  until the end. the audience won't get a clear view of the watcher until later in the film 

as the story progresses, the main character will still be wondering around looking for something. the areas in which this will be shot will be abandoned, therefore the character will be alone for most of the film. the character will receive a call from the person they are looking for, this lost character will tell them to go to an isolated area because that's where the are waiting

upon arrival, the main character is confused-the area is secluded and their friend is not there. the character attempts to leave but the watcher prevents them from going anywhere. the watcher is masked and carrying a weapon. the watcher attacks them and the main character and the realise that the watcher is their friend- the friend has led them into a trap



Synopsis 

The story takes place in a modern era but uses flashbacks to tell the main story of the war character being talked about by the young male character. Flashbacks show the story as the narrator tells the audience what he's reading from the book. The book tells the story of Fritz who was the grandfather of the reader. The grandson finds out what his grandfather really did during the war and experiences a fierce breakdown. 


Ending scene: Slow motion rage scene. Breaking glass and ripping book. Character runs into the field as camera goes into low angle, screen fades and title appears



Title ideas:
The Edge of Weeping
The First End
The Hollow Fable







Script

[Camera goes into room]
Joe- Welcome to my humble abode. My name is Joe Fritz, I hear you're interested in the history of my family. Come in and listen to my voice, relax and have a seat.
[Camera moves the the right of the room]
[Joe presents the book in his hands]
Joe- This book holds the secrets of my grandfathers legacy. 
[Joe opens book as the camera moves back to the middle of the room]
Flash back begins with Fritz's mother reading his letter Joe- His first words say "Mother, I have been drafted for out countries service. I must fight for our land, goodbye and farewell". 
Joe- The war brought many things with it, anger, sadness, fear but my grandfather knew that his duty was to give his life for his country.
[Camera pans in onto expression of Joe, Joe has one tear falling]
[Flash back of trench warfare, narration over the scene as camera zooms in]
Joe- Young men being taken by dictators to be slain, humanity was a term forgotten by the world
[3 Second pause]
Joe- Wait, these don't seem to be the same as what he told me.
[Joe's expression changes to a frown, Joe closes the book violently]
Joe- Have these lies been passed down this long?
[Flash back of soldier execution, the screen turns black and the time is shown approaching NOON. The camera pans from in front of the two towards their backs and cuts off as the shot is fired]
Joe- (whispers) how could he...
[Grips chair violently]  Joe- How can evil be praised for heroism!
[Joe stands up and searches for the book, rips the book]
[Joe throws his glass at the ground, slow motion]
[Joe runs outside, the scene changes to the field]
[After title screen comes up, short pause, screen comes back up to a small fire with the book burning inside]
SOUND- Heavy orchestra  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWTZcZRwQSo



Patryk   Brief synopsis      
Callum   Treatment (colour treatment, editing)    
Patryk   Sample script    
Callum    Story board 
Patryk    Location scouting sheet
Patryk    Site plans 
Patryk    Risk assessments
Callum     Planning for shoots ---- requirements for ---hair and
make-up, costumes, props and locate
Callum   Shoot plan – to cover make-up, costume lighting   
shot types and influential imagery
  Callum    Talent release forms
  Patryk    Location release form
  Patryk     Call sheets                                                    
  Callum    Shoot list
  Callum     Resultant footage
  Patryk    Edit decision list
  Patryk      Production schedule









Wednesday, 16 November 2016

Editing Quiz

Q 1) What is the 180 degree rule?
A 1) The 180 degree rule is used to establish a set to the audience where the camera view is established on one side so the placement of objects and people is kept the same.
1 point

Q 2) What is match on action?
A 2) 

Q 3) What is a jump cut?
A 3) A jump cut is a fast cut from one scene to another usually used in action scenes where a lot is happening in a short time. 1 point

Q 4) What is shot reverse shot? 
A 4) A shot reverse shot is when one scene is shown, then changes to a different shot and comes back to the original shot. Shot A-Shot B- Shot A- Shot B 1 point

Q 5) What is a continuity error?
A 5) A continuity error is when something already established in a previous shot is changed when it's seen in another shot. This would happen if the scenes where filmed on different occasions where clothes or placement of objects could change. 1 point

Q 6) What is eye line match?
A 6) Eye line match is done by filming at eye level of the person being filmed. This could be used in nuetral scenes like if the person if thinking about something or in interviews where both people are talking to each other and the eye line match establishes neutral power. No point

Q 7) What is cross-cutting?
A 7) Cross-cutting is used when multiple different scenes are being used in quick shot changes like action scenes where many different actions are happening and have to be shown. No point

Q 8) Why is pace important in video editing?
A 8) Pace is important in editing as it's needed to establish to the audience what is happening in the scenes. In senses where important plot lines are being explained have to be slower paced so the audience can understand whats happening where as in action scenes the pace will increase to show all the different things happening. 3 points

Q 9) Transitions- what is a wipe and fade in?
A 9) Transitions are used to change from one scene to another. A wipe scene is used to change to another scene by wiping the scene from a side to show a different shot. A fade in is used to darken the shot to establish that it is ending and another scene is following it. 2 points

Q 10) List 3 types of editing special effects.
A 10) Background sounds like clapping or laughing. Pitch or sound increases.  2 points

Sunday, 30 October 2016

Sound

Sound 



Diegesisa narrative or plot, typically in a film
Sound scape- All the sounds in a text
Score (music)-A film score also sometimes called background score, background music, movie soundtrack, film music or incidental music is original music written specifically to accompany a film
Diegetic-Sound- whose source is visible on the screen or whose source is implied to be present by the action of the film: voices of characters. sounds made by objects in the story. music represented as coming from instruments in the story space
Non-diegetic-Sound- whose source is visible on the screen or whose source is implied to be present by the action of the film, sounds made by objects in the story
Dialogue Speech, language and accents- the different ways that individuals speak in terms of colloquialism 
Mode of addressMode of Address simply means how the text speaks to the audience, and involves them 
Direct Address-direct address is the name of the person (normally) who is being directly spoken to
Voiceover- speech inserted by someone who isn't a character in the story or a third person explaining the situation
Ambient Sound- the background sounds in the scene
Sound bridging  (part of continuity editing)- sound bridge is a type of sound editing that occurs when sound carries over a visual transition in a film 
Sound effects-  a sound other than speech or music made artificially for use in a play, film, or other broadcast production
Sound perspective-sound's position in space as perceived by the viewer given by volume, timbre, and pitch
Naturalistic-derived from or closely imitating real life or nature
Non naturalistic-not closely imitating or based on real life or nature
 Foley-relating to or concerned with the addition of recorded sound effects after the shooting of a film.
Synchronous-existing or occurring at the same time
Asynchronous-not existing or occurring at the same time
Incidental music- music used in a film or play as a background to create or enhance a particular atmosphere
Sound motifsA theme is usually defined as a message, statement, or idea, while a motif is simply a detail repeated for larger symbolic meaning. In other words, a narrative motif a detail repeated in a pattern of meaning can produce a theme; but it can also create other narrative aspects







Wednesday, 19 October 2016

Video Auxiliary Equipment

Track & Dolly

This piece of equipment is used in video production as it allows the camera operator to film scenes in smooth motion as compared to a handheld camera view which would sway and rock due to the person walking to film to scene.







Steadicam

A Steadicam essentially combines the stabilized steady footage of a conventional tripod mount with the fluid motion of a dolly shot and the flexibility of hand-held camera work. While smoothly following the operator's broad movements, the Steadicam's armature absorbs jerks, bumps, and shakes.




Tripod

The tripods use in video production is to function as a stable stand for the camera whilst still allowing movement for the camera.











H1N

A audio recording device. It allows control over audio as its being recorded if the audio is too loud or too quiet. High audio recording quality.









Shotgun mic

Is used to record audio in one direction. The mic records audio in a small area in which its pointing to to only record that audio.














Monday, 17 October 2016

Preliminary video task


Interview-Politics


Roles

Camera operator- Callum
Director- Patryk
Actors- Joe
Actor scout- Joe
Editor- Josh

Interview- Election season

Interviewer takes the side of one candidate as the interviewee argues for their candidate turning the interview hostile as the two argue for their candidate.
1= Host
2= Trump supporter
3= Clinton supporter

1: Good morning and welcome to the show, Im (insert name here) and today were going to discuss last night’s presidential debate.  Joining me today is Donald Trump supporter, (insert name here) and Democratic supporter (insert name here)
2 and 3:  Thank you (insert name here).
1: So who do you think won last nights debate?
2: Obviously it was a huge victory for Trump. He pushed crooked Hilary on tough subjects like ISIS and she had no plan. Clearly Trump is the only one who can make America great again.
3: Thats wrong on every level. Hilary was far more presidential in nature and focused on real issues compared to Trump's large focus on conservationism.
1: May we slow down and try to be civil about this (pause as if you're thinking for a appropriate word) controversial.
3: Well could we discuss the recent uncovering of some of Mr Trumps indecent comments about women, I want to see what (inset name) thinks about his comments.
2: So I see what you'll be trying to bring up today, you're just bringing up things Mr Trump said out of character that he said as a joke and not actually saying what he truly believes.
3: Nothing changes the fact that Donald has shown throughout his life that he has very little respect and care for what he says about women,
2: I thought we were going to talk about the subject of the debates and not the personal lives of our candidates. If we're doing it this way than I would love to talk about the e-mail scandal that your beloved Hilary is facing no repercussions from.
1: Please, lets calm down, its only 7:30 lets not get too worked up alright. Lets keep on topic and keep it calm and civil, please.
3: Mhmm, can we talk about Donald's claim that he refuses to accept the outcome of the final vote in November.
2: That could be due to fact that Hilary has a history of rigging results and cheating the system with her powerful and corrupt connections that have sometimes ended with people mysteriously disappearing
3: (interrupting) Ok I think we'll end it right here. Thank you for watching NF morning talks on political matters for the first time, (quieter) and the last, lets change to Debby for dinner ideas.














From reviewing the original recording we found a couple of issues. One of those issues was the shading and lighting of the background. We saw that the background would be very dark compared to the person in shot. We used a lighting tool to lighten up the background in the areas that were to dark. There was also a problem with sound when the camera was in a over the shoulder shot and was recording the person on the opposite side. This made the audio hard to hear. We had to increase the volume in a short segment so that the audio was audible.

One of the requirements for the video was to have someone walking through a door at the beginning. We had two of the actors walking though an already opened door, which turned out to have to be opened by the person.

The camera operator used many different types of angles through out the video. At the beginning a mid shot was used as the host was introducing the actors. Over the head shots were used when the two opposing actors were arguing with each other. A wide angle was used at the very end when one of the actors stood up during the argument showing all of the actors faces and body language. A long shot was also used at the beginning when the actors were shown walking into the room.

As the director I was in charge of organising the actors and the set. I used the tables in the room to create a setup where I would be in the middle as the host and the two actors would be positioned by my side in a V formation. This way the camera operator could easily follow the 180 degree rule as everyone could be seen just by swiping the camera from one person to another. This setup also allowed for other shots like over the head shots form one person back to show both of the other actors.
















Monday, 3 October 2016

Editing

Editing

Cut- going from one shot to another. Changing perspectives or locations
Cut aways- going form one shot and back to the previous shot
Cross cutting- cutting from two different shots back and forth, creating suspense 
Jump cut- cutting the same scene as time goes by, used in montages 
Match cut- cuts from one shot to a shot in similar composition 
Fade in/ fade out- dissolving form white or black, used in montages and for the passing of time
Smash cut- abrupt change, usually shown when someone wakes up, going from action to peace or peace to action
Wipe- when a shot is wiped of the screen in transitions
L-cut- when the audio transitions from one shot to another 
J-cut- when the audio of a scene starts before the scene is shown
Invisible cut- a cut not shown in the scene used in magic tricks
Continuity- to make things seem continuous  
Continuity editing-
180 degree rule- to orientate the viewer, to establish the placement of characters, it must stay in an established 180 degree view point to make sure the characters are shown in the same positions throughout the scene
Match on action- is part of invisible editing which creates flow when watching a scene
Shot reverse shot-when a shot goes from shot a, shot b, shot a, shot b continuously to create a connection between them
Eye-line match-is following a shot that follows what a character is looking at, makes cuts smoother the audience expects the cut to happen and is eager to see what happens next or what the character is looking at
Cross cutting-cutting from two different shots back and forth, creating suspense
Insert shot- an insert is a shot of part of a scene as filmed from different angle or focal length from the master shot. Inserts cover action already covered in the master shot, but emphasise a different aspect of that action due to different framing
Cutaway- is a video scene that cuts away to relevant images or footage 
Editing- the modification of media using different methods to create a presentable product 
180 degree rule was used to orientate the audience of the surrounding area which was the class room in this case. 0:14                                0:52                                          1:25
Match cut was used to go form the main scene to the surrounding people and back to to the scene to show the people emotions and feelings through their facial features 0:52
Cutting was used to change the perspective of the scene 1:14




0:29 the glass of juice was changed to water
0:35 his top changes from a purple sweater to a white t-shirt
0:37 the girls hair is tied back 
0:37 the tv is turned on in the background
0:45 his top changes again to a white top with an image on it
1:01 his top changes again to a black top