The overall quality of the video isn't great at the moment because we had a bit of trouble exporting it.. However we are planning to re-do this to make it more clearer in 380p instead of 240! Here is our preliminary including 180 degree rule, match on action, and shot reverse shot...
Hello and welcome to my blog, I hope you enjoy reading it and finding out what I've been up to for my A/S Media Studies Project! :)
Monday 31 January 2011
Preliminary Complete!
We have now finished our preliminary task! We have also produced a quick opening to the piece to show our production company! The preliminary is posted on our youtube channel along with our opening sequence, be sure to check it out! www.youtube.com/flickafilms
Thursday 27 January 2011
Preliminary Production Images
Whilst filming our preliminary task, George managed to take some photos of the group in action to post onto the blog! I have gathered a few of them together and put them in a slideshow below for you to have a look at. There are a few images of us recording which look quite good, showing the angles at which Ramtin was standing to film us, and the location of the classroom which we used.
We spent a couple of hours editing the piece today, and is now ready to be posted onto our youtube channel...www.youtube.com/flickafilms
As soon as the preliminary has been uploaded to youtube i'll post the video on the blog allowing you to access it. It is roughly 30 seconds long, short but simple and demonstrates all of the techniques we needed to use in it. Final Cut Express was a bit of a challenge for Ramtin and George, as they didn't seem to enjoy editing on it as much as Sony Vegas, however, it all worked out in the end! We learnt that when importing a song onto Final Cut, you have to render it before inserting it onto the project, otherwise it simply wont play! This caused us a bit of a problem as we didn't know to do this at first, but we soon figured it out. :)
We spent a couple of hours editing the piece today, and is now ready to be posted onto our youtube channel...www.youtube.com/flickafilms
As soon as the preliminary has been uploaded to youtube i'll post the video on the blog allowing you to access it. It is roughly 30 seconds long, short but simple and demonstrates all of the techniques we needed to use in it. Final Cut Express was a bit of a challenge for Ramtin and George, as they didn't seem to enjoy editing on it as much as Sony Vegas, however, it all worked out in the end! We learnt that when importing a song onto Final Cut, you have to render it before inserting it onto the project, otherwise it simply wont play! This caused us a bit of a problem as we didn't know to do this at first, but we soon figured it out. :)
Preliminary Production Images
View more presentations from flickafilms.
Flicka Films - Preliminary Storyboard
Here are the storyboards we produced when thinking of the idea for our preliminary. As you can see in the slideshow below, they are very basic, but outline what we have to do when filming the piece to make sure it is technically correct. The storyboards contain images representing different camera angles and characters, as well as the shot numbers and sound which will be in each clip.
My drawing skills aren't brilliant I know! But I did my best to draw all of our ideas onto paper! We need to keep practising at doing this, as when it comes to filming our main task, it needs to be well structured and flow well.
My drawing skills aren't brilliant I know! But I did my best to draw all of our ideas onto paper! We need to keep practising at doing this, as when it comes to filming our main task, it needs to be well structured and flow well.
Flicka Films - Preliminary Storyboard
View more presentations from flickafilms.
Thursday 20 January 2011
Preliminary Task
George, Ramtin, Sam and myself have been set the preliminary task to do over the next week to introduce us to the film making process. Our preliminary will be roughly 30 seconds long and contain the following criteria:
Match on action
Shot reverse shot
180 degree rule
The exercise we have been given must include...
Character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. We have come up with a storyboard involving a student and headmaster, where the student approaches the heads office, opens the door, and then has a conversation with him, therefore overall meeting the set criteria we have been given. We plan to have 8 shots in total, creating continuity editing all the way throughout with a sensible choice of non diegetic music and sound effects.
We started the storyboarding for our preliminary task in todays lesson, and managed to get all of our ideas down on paper so we have a guideline to work from when it comes to filming the piece. The storyboard we have produced explains each shot and camera position to allow us to cover all 3 of the technical codes in our first short clip, along with the camera shots, we also talk about what music we will be using at the start, as it needs to be royalty free, and sound effects throughout the preliminary. We will be editing the clips on Final Cut Express, installed on the Apple MacBook Pro systems at school. As Ramtin and George are quite experienced in editing, they know how to use the programme well, however Sam and myself may need a bit of tutoring! We plan on uploading all of our pieces onto the Flicka Films Youtube channel, which will be up and running shortly once we've finished the preliminary!
Filming for this task will begin next Tuesday (25th January 2011).
Match on action
Shot reverse shot
180 degree rule
The exercise we have been given must include...
Character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. We have come up with a storyboard involving a student and headmaster, where the student approaches the heads office, opens the door, and then has a conversation with him, therefore overall meeting the set criteria we have been given. We plan to have 8 shots in total, creating continuity editing all the way throughout with a sensible choice of non diegetic music and sound effects.
We started the storyboarding for our preliminary task in todays lesson, and managed to get all of our ideas down on paper so we have a guideline to work from when it comes to filming the piece. The storyboard we have produced explains each shot and camera position to allow us to cover all 3 of the technical codes in our first short clip, along with the camera shots, we also talk about what music we will be using at the start, as it needs to be royalty free, and sound effects throughout the preliminary. We will be editing the clips on Final Cut Express, installed on the Apple MacBook Pro systems at school. As Ramtin and George are quite experienced in editing, they know how to use the programme well, however Sam and myself may need a bit of tutoring! We plan on uploading all of our pieces onto the Flicka Films Youtube channel, which will be up and running shortly once we've finished the preliminary!
Filming for this task will begin next Tuesday (25th January 2011).
Wednesday 19 January 2011
Name & Logo!
After all coming together thinking of many different names which we could call our production company, we thought of 'Flicka Films' as some people refer to films as 'flicks' we decided to include this within our name. Flicka Films also sounds like a realistic name of a production company, as we didn't want to decide on a name which would be laughed at. With the decided name of Flicka Films, we then wanted to create a logo which would stand out and look professional. Both George and Ramtin came up with different ideas on how we could reflect the 'F' backwards creating a nice effect of having the two F's together. George came up with the main base of the idea, which Ramtin then developed onto photoshop with his touch of magic creating our final logo!
We're really pleased with the final outcome, as it looks smart and professional.
Tuesday 18 January 2011
Comparison of 3 Film Openings
In this post I am going to be looking at 3 different film openings, and comparing the similarities between them to help me with my research towards my final piece. I will do this by watching the first 2 minutes to Inception, Batman - The Dark Knight and Avatar to allow me to evaluate them individually.
Inception:
After watching the beginning opening 2 minutes of this film, I gathered lots of information about the genre and topic of the movie as straight away it sends a message to its audience that something has happened to the main character in the scene. This is done through the use of sound effects of the water, showing the man has been washed up on the beach, and the use of a hand held camera enabling the audience to connect with whats happening. With the soldier being armed with large gun in one of the main shots of the opening scene, it tells the viewer that this could potentially be a follow on from a previous event. The actor at the begininng of this film shows a large sense of confusion when being washed up on the beach, telling the audience that he seems uneasy in the area he is in and questions himself to what he is doing. The psychological genre is illustrated well right from the opening scene through the use of Mise-En-Scene and the actor. I came to the conclusion that the film was action packed right from the first 2 minutes of watching it. Later on in my blog I will refer back to inception, creating a more detailed post on the film including camera shots, Mise-En-Scene and editing to relate the film in more depth to our 2 minute opening, as this is the film we are trying to base ours around.
Batman - The Dark Knight:
When watching the opening scene to Batman, I could tell straight away that the film was going to be action packed with both violence and chaos due to the camera shots and acting being quick and precise. At the beginning, the characters are breaking out of a tall building using guns, and high technology, as well as having their faces covered with an unusual looking mask. The use of all of these props shows the audience that the film is going to be actin packed and alarmed due to the characters being quite distinctive. As 'The Dark Knight' continues, theres parallel action showing the viewer that two things are happening at the same time, a group are robbing a bank, and the other members of the team are disabling security systems. The intense non-diegetic music running in the background of the action throughout the build up to the bank robbery creates suspense for the audience as they want to know whats going to happen next, leaving them with questions that need to be answered at this point of the film. When the two characters are disabling the security systems, one of them shoots the other, telling the audience that now something is going to happen in the film as they were meant to be working together, this adds to the psychological thriller genre as this wasn't expected. Possibly one of the most interesting parts of the opening 5 minutes was when the bank robbery gets turned around onto the robbers as the manager of the bank shoots one of them with his shotgun. The audience at this point in time would be stunned by the way the manager has the ability to start ruling the main action of the film, as there is only one of him and a gang of robbers. As the opening proceeds, the robbers one by one are slowly getting shot by each other, as it seems for the audience that they all want the money by themselves, throughout each scene to the point where the bus arrives another member of the robbing gang is killed, leaving the audience wanting to know why this is the case. The point where one of the well known - main characters of the filmed is unmasked (The Joker) reveals that the plot is clearly understandable for the first 5 minutes to the audience as they know he is the enemy in the film. The first 5 minutes show the audience Batman is going to be based around action and crime, giving them a clear insight into what it is still to come in the rest of the film. The dialogue clearly outlined what the storyline is at the time of action through the use of mise-en-scene and location.
Avatar:
I found the first 2 minutes of Avatar very different to the other 2 films I have looked at. Avatar went for a different approach and had a narrator running all the way throughout the beginning, telling the story of the main characters past as he has just been released from a scientific hospital in space, this has been used for Avatar to get the audience interested straight away with the storyline and relate them to how the character is feeling at this moment. Psychological thrillers need to get the audience involved and produce unanswered questions throughout the film to allow the audience to stay alert and attentive all the way through. The storyline is being told to the audience to engage them with the film, however, the genre is clearly identified through the use of location, sound effects and different camera shots to represent it as a Sci-Fi Action Film. The way the characters are floating around the space hospital produces questions that the audience need aswered.. Where are they? What are they doing? and Why are they there? this all relates to how we want to aim the beginning of our film. The director of the Avatar uses a flashback on the main characters life to where his brother died, allowing us to find out more about why he is in hospital and what exactly they are doing. The narrator in the opening two minutes allows the camera to back up the dialogue and relate to what he is saying, making it easy to understand and follow whats happening, this could be used within 'Black Out' for people to understand a bit more about whats going on and keep action flowing constantly. As the film continues more of the story starts to unwind as we now know he accepted the offer of taking over his dead brothers contract and joining the army, as the camera cuts to him inside a travelling system with all of the other army colleagues, sending the audience a message that he's prepared to take risks as it is a dangerous job. This film relates to the others by it being involved with action right from the beginning, as it is reflecting back on the past allowing the viewer to have a clear idea into whats going to happen next.
Summary:
Overall all three films follow the same pattern of making their audience involved with action and the storyline right from the beginning. In all of the films, the viewer has something to think about, and is given the opportunity to understand the characters and what is happening. All of the films show parts of the story line in the opening scene, grabbing the attention of the viewer and leading on to the rest of the film. Inception, Batman and Avatar are all based around new technology and action, making them enjoyable films to watch.
Inception:
After watching the beginning opening 2 minutes of this film, I gathered lots of information about the genre and topic of the movie as straight away it sends a message to its audience that something has happened to the main character in the scene. This is done through the use of sound effects of the water, showing the man has been washed up on the beach, and the use of a hand held camera enabling the audience to connect with whats happening. With the soldier being armed with large gun in one of the main shots of the opening scene, it tells the viewer that this could potentially be a follow on from a previous event. The actor at the begininng of this film shows a large sense of confusion when being washed up on the beach, telling the audience that he seems uneasy in the area he is in and questions himself to what he is doing. The psychological genre is illustrated well right from the opening scene through the use of Mise-En-Scene and the actor. I came to the conclusion that the film was action packed right from the first 2 minutes of watching it. Later on in my blog I will refer back to inception, creating a more detailed post on the film including camera shots, Mise-En-Scene and editing to relate the film in more depth to our 2 minute opening, as this is the film we are trying to base ours around.
Batman - The Dark Knight:
When watching the opening scene to Batman, I could tell straight away that the film was going to be action packed with both violence and chaos due to the camera shots and acting being quick and precise. At the beginning, the characters are breaking out of a tall building using guns, and high technology, as well as having their faces covered with an unusual looking mask. The use of all of these props shows the audience that the film is going to be actin packed and alarmed due to the characters being quite distinctive. As 'The Dark Knight' continues, theres parallel action showing the viewer that two things are happening at the same time, a group are robbing a bank, and the other members of the team are disabling security systems. The intense non-diegetic music running in the background of the action throughout the build up to the bank robbery creates suspense for the audience as they want to know whats going to happen next, leaving them with questions that need to be answered at this point of the film. When the two characters are disabling the security systems, one of them shoots the other, telling the audience that now something is going to happen in the film as they were meant to be working together, this adds to the psychological thriller genre as this wasn't expected. Possibly one of the most interesting parts of the opening 5 minutes was when the bank robbery gets turned around onto the robbers as the manager of the bank shoots one of them with his shotgun. The audience at this point in time would be stunned by the way the manager has the ability to start ruling the main action of the film, as there is only one of him and a gang of robbers. As the opening proceeds, the robbers one by one are slowly getting shot by each other, as it seems for the audience that they all want the money by themselves, throughout each scene to the point where the bus arrives another member of the robbing gang is killed, leaving the audience wanting to know why this is the case. The point where one of the well known - main characters of the filmed is unmasked (The Joker) reveals that the plot is clearly understandable for the first 5 minutes to the audience as they know he is the enemy in the film. The first 5 minutes show the audience Batman is going to be based around action and crime, giving them a clear insight into what it is still to come in the rest of the film. The dialogue clearly outlined what the storyline is at the time of action through the use of mise-en-scene and location.
I found the first 2 minutes of Avatar very different to the other 2 films I have looked at. Avatar went for a different approach and had a narrator running all the way throughout the beginning, telling the story of the main characters past as he has just been released from a scientific hospital in space, this has been used for Avatar to get the audience interested straight away with the storyline and relate them to how the character is feeling at this moment. Psychological thrillers need to get the audience involved and produce unanswered questions throughout the film to allow the audience to stay alert and attentive all the way through. The storyline is being told to the audience to engage them with the film, however, the genre is clearly identified through the use of location, sound effects and different camera shots to represent it as a Sci-Fi Action Film. The way the characters are floating around the space hospital produces questions that the audience need aswered.. Where are they? What are they doing? and Why are they there? this all relates to how we want to aim the beginning of our film. The director of the Avatar uses a flashback on the main characters life to where his brother died, allowing us to find out more about why he is in hospital and what exactly they are doing. The narrator in the opening two minutes allows the camera to back up the dialogue and relate to what he is saying, making it easy to understand and follow whats happening, this could be used within 'Black Out' for people to understand a bit more about whats going on and keep action flowing constantly. As the film continues more of the story starts to unwind as we now know he accepted the offer of taking over his dead brothers contract and joining the army, as the camera cuts to him inside a travelling system with all of the other army colleagues, sending the audience a message that he's prepared to take risks as it is a dangerous job. This film relates to the others by it being involved with action right from the beginning, as it is reflecting back on the past allowing the viewer to have a clear idea into whats going to happen next.
Summary:
Overall all three films follow the same pattern of making their audience involved with action and the storyline right from the beginning. In all of the films, the viewer has something to think about, and is given the opportunity to understand the characters and what is happening. All of the films show parts of the story line in the opening scene, grabbing the attention of the viewer and leading on to the rest of the film. Inception, Batman and Avatar are all based around new technology and action, making them enjoyable films to watch.
Who I am..
Hi I'm Jamie, I am in year 12 doing the first year of my A-levels in Media Studies, Product Design and AGCE ICT. Throughout my blog I will be uploading posts commenting on the film production process working towards a final piece of complete coursework, which will be submitted at the end of the year. I enjoy Media a great deal, and I'm aiming for a high grade in both my coursework and exam.
For my coursework I have decided to work in a group with George H, Ramtin T and Sam C. We are currently deciding on a name for the production group and undertaking research which will help us decide on a genre and topic for our 2 minute opening piece to a film.
For my coursework I have decided to work in a group with George H, Ramtin T and Sam C. We are currently deciding on a name for the production group and undertaking research which will help us decide on a genre and topic for our 2 minute opening piece to a film.
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