Monday, December 14, 2009
Friday, December 4, 2009
Rough Cut Evaluation:
We approached the editing for the rough cut by firstly digitising all of our footage on to final cut pro. We then had to log all of the footage naming each shot so that we were able to easily find the shots we wanted. We decided to start off by laying down our best wide shot of the band. We did this so we had a basis to work from. From this we were able to find our place in the song easily and also make it easier to sync the instruments with the song. After we had chosen our favourite wide shot we began to choose the shots to lay in to our basis. We were originally going to follow the story board but then when it actually came to editing it we did not use it nearly as much as we thought we would. We chose a tracking shot as our basis to work from because we wanted more movement in the video. Even after all the time spent editing the first draft we still need to turn it black and white, make the whole video tighter and use after effects for the breath.
The weaknesses of our first draft is that the zooming in movement shots, however much we like them don’t fit with the rest of the video. So we have to take these shots out and choose other ones that fit in with the video more. Another weakness is that some of the drums are out of sync and so we have to make sure they are perfectly in sync by the final draft. We also have to vary the shots of the band members more as we are mainly focusing on the lead singer and the drummer at the moment. There are also a lot of strengths in this first draft such as the blending layers already being done. Also the quick cuts of shots at the end of the video, this looks really professional and helps the video to reach a climax. The shots of the third location of the snow I think works really well but will work even better in black and white. All in all I am really content with our first draft but I think that in black and white it will look more professional and unique.
Friday, November 27, 2009
The Shoot Day Photos
Bellow are the stills from our shoot day. I went around with a digital camera taking shots of the shoot. I wanted us to be able to use the photos for continuity and also so we were able to post them on our blogs. I tried to make sure I had pictures of the set, the camera, the lights, the actors and the monitor, so that we were able to show what kind of equipment we used.
Monday, November 23, 2009
First Draft of CD Cover
Bellow is our first draft of a CD cover. We got the image of the girl’s legs off of the internet. We wanted the front cover to be minimalist to attract a mature audience. This is only our first draft and for the real front cover we will be taking our own photos for it. We went through loads of different fonts before ending with this one, which I am still not a hundred percent happy with. I think for the final draft of the front cover we will end up with a different style of font.
Review of Shoot Day
My overall view on the shoot day was very positive all though we did have some difficulties. We had three locations to shoot at for our video. We did two of the three on the day and the third two weeks after. We did this as we did not have enough time for the third one and also because the third location was in a council estate and we did not want to be shooting at a time when it was busy.
The day before our shoot we went to the studio and set up our first location. This was the performance element. We had all of our materials needed including; wallpaper, floor boarding and paint. The remainder of the instruments and props were where to bring in the morning of the shoot. As a group we put up the wallpaper and had help from the design team to put down the floor boards. To create an authentic effect on the wallpaper we used dull paint to stop the shinny effect and ripped bits of the wall paper.
The day of the shoot around 9:50 we all met in the studio with all the props we were meant to bring and the costumes. Each of us in the group had a certain job to do. Finn brought in the shooting schedule, the snow machine, I brought in costumes, instruments, amps and cutlery, Seb brought in the CD and instruments. After gathering the actors and adding finishing touches to the set we began to choose final outfits. This was not a long process as we had also told them to come in wearing plain outfits. We then got the actors on set and into character. We played the song through twice to get in to role and get them feeling comfortable. We talked to each of them making sure they knew what they were doing and how much of them were in shot. This is where we encountered our first problem. Unfortunately the actor we had chosen to play the bass in the performance element did not actually play bass. However the actor we had chosen for the guitar did know how to play the guitar. The lighting we had chosen came mainly from the right side of the set so that it created a shadow effect on the actors and props. The guitarist was standing on the left of the set and the bassist on the right nest to the light. On the monitor you were able to see more of what the bassist was doing then the guitarist so we tried swapping tem over so you were able to see more of what the guitarist was playing however when putting the guitarist next to the light he was underexposed as he was wearing a dark outfit. We had to then swap them back to there original places but just turn them so that the bassist was more side on therefore not showing what he was playing so much.
After this incident it went very well. We could see all that was being recorded on a massive screen above and we were also able to turn it all into black and white so that we could see the overall effect. Because we had decided to have the video in black and white we had to start working with tone instead of colour. We all really liked the outcome and how it looked on the screen I felt it really had a professional touch to it. We tried to keep to the shooting schedule as much as we could. We knew that we would not be perfectly on time for every shot but we wanted structure to it so that we made sure everything got done. The shooting schedule did help us keep on time and I do not think without that organisation we would have been able to get everything we wanted. We thought that we would keep to the storyboard but on the day we wanted more of a variety in shots. We did do a lot of the shots in the storyboard but I believe the shots we came up with on the day were better then the ones in the storyboard. We ended up using a track which really added to the video. It gave the video more movement. The track went from left to right and back, with the band staying in position all on set. On the day I would say the storyboard was more of a guideline.
We made sure that we got shots of the whole band playing and then individual shots of each band member. We tried to get unique alternative shots such as looking down the neck of the guitar from a high angle. All of the performance element shots I felt went really well we only had one problem which was above other then that we were all overly satisfied with the outcome.
After shooting the performance elements we took down the set and tried to shoot the smoke from the smoke machine for after effects. We wanted the effect of icy breath so that we could paste it in post production as the bands breathe. We tried two different things to get this effect firstly the smoke machine. In my opinion I could not picture it looking very realistic in the end. We had a completely black background and only two lights at this point. After using the smoke machine we tried using an aerosol can. I hid behind the light in almost all black covering my hand, face and aerosol can. I felt that the aerosol can actually worked better then the smoke machine.
We then went two our second location (Leigh Hill Place). This was where we shot the lead singer and the snow machine. This was our first narrative bit of shooting and after the performance elements went so well we were apprehensive as to how this would go. To this set we brought the camera, tracks, the snow machine, our actor and a CD player for play back. The snow machine was so loud that you were unable to hear the play back so we ended up not having any play back. Leigh Hill Place was where we met our first real problem; the snow machine, not only was it loud it was extremely messy and the fumes made all that was there cough horrendously. All though the snow looked very good it was rather impractical. However we got a mop to clear it up with and we tried to waist no time and get it done as quickly as possible. We all the shots we needed and all though it did not look as good as the performance elements it looked good enough to go in the video.
Are third location was in a local town, Dorking. We decided to shoot in ‘Goodwyns Council Estate’. We only had two members out of three in our group on this day however we knew what we all wanted and were confident that the missing member would be satisfied with the shots. There were five of us in total including our lead female actor which we had not used in the other shoots. Are shooting schedule for this day was minimalist as we were not shooting a lot. We had done a recky and knew where and what we were shooting. On this shoot we probably stuck to the storyboard more then the other shoots. We made sure we had all the shots we needed and added a few extra ones such as; a reflection shot in a puddle of Tor (the female actor). We also did a tracking shot from the van, we had Tor walking along next to the van and we were shooting from in the van.
All in all I was extremely satisfied with both shoot days and all the locations, all though it is hard to not think ‘we could have done this and we could have done that’ but now that we have digitised the footage and started editing it has all come together very well. If I had to do it again I would not change a thing other then; when we did shots of the different band members we should have played the whole song for each shot so that in post production we could have a little bit more choice.
The day before our shoot we went to the studio and set up our first location. This was the performance element. We had all of our materials needed including; wallpaper, floor boarding and paint. The remainder of the instruments and props were where to bring in the morning of the shoot. As a group we put up the wallpaper and had help from the design team to put down the floor boards. To create an authentic effect on the wallpaper we used dull paint to stop the shinny effect and ripped bits of the wall paper.
The day of the shoot around 9:50 we all met in the studio with all the props we were meant to bring and the costumes. Each of us in the group had a certain job to do. Finn brought in the shooting schedule, the snow machine, I brought in costumes, instruments, amps and cutlery, Seb brought in the CD and instruments. After gathering the actors and adding finishing touches to the set we began to choose final outfits. This was not a long process as we had also told them to come in wearing plain outfits. We then got the actors on set and into character. We played the song through twice to get in to role and get them feeling comfortable. We talked to each of them making sure they knew what they were doing and how much of them were in shot. This is where we encountered our first problem. Unfortunately the actor we had chosen to play the bass in the performance element did not actually play bass. However the actor we had chosen for the guitar did know how to play the guitar. The lighting we had chosen came mainly from the right side of the set so that it created a shadow effect on the actors and props. The guitarist was standing on the left of the set and the bassist on the right nest to the light. On the monitor you were able to see more of what the bassist was doing then the guitarist so we tried swapping tem over so you were able to see more of what the guitarist was playing however when putting the guitarist next to the light he was underexposed as he was wearing a dark outfit. We had to then swap them back to there original places but just turn them so that the bassist was more side on therefore not showing what he was playing so much.
After this incident it went very well. We could see all that was being recorded on a massive screen above and we were also able to turn it all into black and white so that we could see the overall effect. Because we had decided to have the video in black and white we had to start working with tone instead of colour. We all really liked the outcome and how it looked on the screen I felt it really had a professional touch to it. We tried to keep to the shooting schedule as much as we could. We knew that we would not be perfectly on time for every shot but we wanted structure to it so that we made sure everything got done. The shooting schedule did help us keep on time and I do not think without that organisation we would have been able to get everything we wanted. We thought that we would keep to the storyboard but on the day we wanted more of a variety in shots. We did do a lot of the shots in the storyboard but I believe the shots we came up with on the day were better then the ones in the storyboard. We ended up using a track which really added to the video. It gave the video more movement. The track went from left to right and back, with the band staying in position all on set. On the day I would say the storyboard was more of a guideline.
We made sure that we got shots of the whole band playing and then individual shots of each band member. We tried to get unique alternative shots such as looking down the neck of the guitar from a high angle. All of the performance element shots I felt went really well we only had one problem which was above other then that we were all overly satisfied with the outcome.
After shooting the performance elements we took down the set and tried to shoot the smoke from the smoke machine for after effects. We wanted the effect of icy breath so that we could paste it in post production as the bands breathe. We tried two different things to get this effect firstly the smoke machine. In my opinion I could not picture it looking very realistic in the end. We had a completely black background and only two lights at this point. After using the smoke machine we tried using an aerosol can. I hid behind the light in almost all black covering my hand, face and aerosol can. I felt that the aerosol can actually worked better then the smoke machine.
We then went two our second location (Leigh Hill Place). This was where we shot the lead singer and the snow machine. This was our first narrative bit of shooting and after the performance elements went so well we were apprehensive as to how this would go. To this set we brought the camera, tracks, the snow machine, our actor and a CD player for play back. The snow machine was so loud that you were unable to hear the play back so we ended up not having any play back. Leigh Hill Place was where we met our first real problem; the snow machine, not only was it loud it was extremely messy and the fumes made all that was there cough horrendously. All though the snow looked very good it was rather impractical. However we got a mop to clear it up with and we tried to waist no time and get it done as quickly as possible. We all the shots we needed and all though it did not look as good as the performance elements it looked good enough to go in the video.
Are third location was in a local town, Dorking. We decided to shoot in ‘Goodwyns Council Estate’. We only had two members out of three in our group on this day however we knew what we all wanted and were confident that the missing member would be satisfied with the shots. There were five of us in total including our lead female actor which we had not used in the other shoots. Are shooting schedule for this day was minimalist as we were not shooting a lot. We had done a recky and knew where and what we were shooting. On this shoot we probably stuck to the storyboard more then the other shoots. We made sure we had all the shots we needed and added a few extra ones such as; a reflection shot in a puddle of Tor (the female actor). We also did a tracking shot from the van, we had Tor walking along next to the van and we were shooting from in the van.
All in all I was extremely satisfied with both shoot days and all the locations, all though it is hard to not think ‘we could have done this and we could have done that’ but now that we have digitised the footage and started editing it has all come together very well. If I had to do it again I would not change a thing other then; when we did shots of the different band members we should have played the whole song for each shot so that in post production we could have a little bit more choice.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Digitised Storyboard
This is the digitised storyboard for our music video. We did this by drawing the storyboard then videoing each individual shot for ten seconds. We then uploaded the pictures to Final Cut Pro creating an almost flick book storyboard to the music. Finally we uploaded the video to Youtube.
Monday, October 19, 2009
The Location and Prop Recky
Bellow are the photos from our location and prop recky. We drove into Dorking on a Friday afternoon to see the Goodwyns council estate and look for some wallpaper. the estate was quite big and better then I remembered. Finn and Seb had not seen it before but they agreed that it would be a good place to shoot and it had the right qualities to fit in with the rest of the video. We drove around taking various pictures of the estate from different angles and directions so that we could start to see what type of shots we would use and were we would use them. After thoroughly look around the estate we went too Wickes to look for the wallpaper we found on the internet however they did not have any in store and told us we would not be able to get it for our shoot. We then went to Doves (Another wallpaper store) and looked through some books of different wallpapers. we did not decide on a specific wallpaper but did decided what pattern we all liked and that we need to have two contrasting bold colours in t6he wallpaper so that it would stand out as we are shooting in black and white.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Friday, October 9, 2009
Outline the institutional context of your band/artist
Name of record label:
Wichita Recordings, Atlantic Records
Type of record label:
Wichita Recordings is an independent Record Label started in London, England working with artist targeting the English Indie Rock market. Atlantic Records started in the 1940s works with American Main stream rock and English Indie, Hip hop, Rap.
Other acts signed to the label:
Wichita Recordings: Bloc Party, the Cribs, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Bright Eyes, My Morning Jacket, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Her Space Holiday, Los Campesinos.
Atlantic Records: Kid Rock, the Notorious B.I.G., Craig David, the Streets, Wiley Gnarls Barkley
Examples of videos/artwork advertising used by the label for their other acts.
Profile Target Audience
-Festival/gig attendees
-Readers of NME
-Listeners of RADIO 1, in particular Zane Lowe and XFM.
-Fashionable people
-Arty people
-Age 16+
-People that care about their subjects
-Attendees of college and university
-Portobello, Oxford Street, Brighton north Lane shoppers
-EXPERIENCERS
-STRIVERS
-TRENDIES
-INOVATERS
-REBELS
-COWBOYS
We would have a range between; B (Middle management/ administration/ professional), C1 (Supervisory /clerical/ junior management), C2 (Skilled manual) and D (Semi and unskilled manual).
-Readers of NME
-Listeners of RADIO 1, in particular Zane Lowe and XFM.
-Fashionable people
-Arty people
-Age 16+
-People that care about their subjects
-Attendees of college and university
-Portobello, Oxford Street, Brighton north Lane shoppers
-EXPERIENCERS
-STRIVERS
-TRENDIES
-INOVATERS
-REBELS
-COWBOYS
We would have a range between; B (Middle management/ administration/ professional), C1 (Supervisory /clerical/ junior management), C2 (Skilled manual) and D (Semi and unskilled manual).
Treatment
Overall Themes:
The two main themes for this music video are isolation and coldness. The lyrics of the song revolve around the two themes. We got our initial ideas from these specific lyrics; 'and it hurts all the time', 'It's so cold in this house', 'for richer for poorer'. We then came up with three elements to fit into our music video that all relates to the song and are linked together through the main themes that are isolation, heartbreak, loneliness, coldness and the contrast in class.
The Performance Element:
The band performance is set at night, amongst the mist. This ties the performance element in with the main underlining themes because of the isolation and intense coldness. They are playing worn instruments as this adds to and fits in with the bands star image.
Narrative Elements 1:
The first of the two is about the lead singer’s journey around his cold empty house. This relates back to the lyrics above. The house is so cold that it is snowing inside and the snow increases in thickness as his journey continues. Amongst other actions, the last one will feature a dinning room with a grand dinning table in the middle of the room; he climbs on top and places himself lying down in the middle of the table face up throwing the plate to the ground, this linking with the drum exploding at the end of the track.
Narrative Elements 2:
The second of the two narrative elements is the journey of the female actor. She is the ‘other half’ of the relationship split. She walks around a council estate removing items of clothing as she goes. The council estate shows the contrast of life styles and how money doesn't count for anything, as the singer is isolated and cold but seems to be living in a much better ‘life style situation’ then the girl. The girl is taking off her clothes to represent that she no longer lives in that cold environment. She is walking back into a busy warm community and becomes more optimistic and warmer than him
The two main themes for this music video are isolation and coldness. The lyrics of the song revolve around the two themes. We got our initial ideas from these specific lyrics; 'and it hurts all the time', 'It's so cold in this house', 'for richer for poorer'. We then came up with three elements to fit into our music video that all relates to the song and are linked together through the main themes that are isolation, heartbreak, loneliness, coldness and the contrast in class.
The Performance Element:
The band performance is set at night, amongst the mist. This ties the performance element in with the main underlining themes because of the isolation and intense coldness. They are playing worn instruments as this adds to and fits in with the bands star image.
Narrative Elements 1:
The first of the two is about the lead singer’s journey around his cold empty house. This relates back to the lyrics above. The house is so cold that it is snowing inside and the snow increases in thickness as his journey continues. Amongst other actions, the last one will feature a dinning room with a grand dinning table in the middle of the room; he climbs on top and places himself lying down in the middle of the table face up throwing the plate to the ground, this linking with the drum exploding at the end of the track.
Narrative Elements 2:
The second of the two narrative elements is the journey of the female actor. She is the ‘other half’ of the relationship split. She walks around a council estate removing items of clothing as she goes. The council estate shows the contrast of life styles and how money doesn't count for anything, as the singer is isolated and cold but seems to be living in a much better ‘life style situation’ then the girl. The girl is taking off her clothes to represent that she no longer lives in that cold environment. She is walking back into a busy warm community and becomes more optimistic and warmer than him
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Advanced Production Portfolio Second Post
Research into real artists of a similar type:
Images:
Websites:
Music videos:
Advanced Production Portfolio
Proposal for a new popular music artist:
Band Name: 'White Noise'
Genre: 'Alternative'
Type of act: 5 people all male
Star image: Known for their strong views against racism, play a strong part in the organisation 'love music hate racism' and enthusiastic, energetic behavior on stage.
Target Audience: 16- 24 Female/male
Choice of track: 'Like Eating Glass' by Bloc Party, we chose it because all members of the group like the song, it has meaningful lyrics and it is a known song but is not a top hit.
Band Name: 'White Noise'
Genre: 'Alternative'
Type of act: 5 people all male
Star image: Known for their strong views against racism, play a strong part in the organisation 'love music hate racism' and enthusiastic, energetic behavior on stage.
Target Audience: 16- 24 Female/male
Choice of track: 'Like Eating Glass' by Bloc Party, we chose it because all members of the group like the song, it has meaningful lyrics and it is a known song but is not a top hit.
Friday, September 11, 2009
A2 Advanced Portfolio Initial Ideas:
Tv on the Radio 'I was a Lover'
Hole 'Malibu'
David Bowie 'Rebel Rebel'
1.
Band: TV on the Radio
Track: I was a Lover
WHAT IS THE STAR IMAGE OF THE ARTIST/BAND:
The band TV on the radio relate to the younger generation, however they combine modern and classic styles of music doing covers of David Bowie. they use a range of styles and genres in their music making each song very different and individual. They portray a chilled, artistic image as a group. They are not a commercial band and are known for their music not their appearance.
TREATMENT FOR MUSIC VIDEO:
For the music video I would want to relate to the lyrics, especially the ones repeated about sight; 'I can see clearly', 'eye contact' and 'look at stars'. (performance/symbolic) I would want the first shot to be of and eye blinking in time with the beat. I would want there to be two sequences, firstly to do with eyes and then secondly focussing on the band as a unit playing their instruments.
2.
Band: Hole
Track: Malibu
WHAT IS THE STAR IMAGE OF THE ARTIST/BAND:
They are known for the lead singers fame (Courtney Love). She is the only really famous band member and s the media are interested in her not so much the band. this is because of her rebellious streak.
-Youthfulness
-Rebellion
-Sexual Magnetism
-An Anti-Authoritarian Attitude
-Originality
-Stage Presence
These bullet points are what attract fans to the band other then their music.
TREATMENT FOR MUSIC VIDEO:
I would want this music video to be mainly about the lead singer. I would shoot it on the beach (as if it was Malibu). I would want all of the band to look like rock stars but still feminine. The camera would be mainly on Courtney Love the lead singer. There would be two sequences; one of them on the beach and one of the band busking on the side of the road with their instruments.
3.
Artist: David Bowie
Track: Rebel Rebel
WHAT IS THE STAR IMAGE OF THE ARTIST/BAND:
-Fashionably (known for wearing outrageous outfits especially when performing)
-Enthusiastic
-Crazy Performance style
He is known for really getting a crowd going and surprising his fans with individual songs and an individual lifestyle
TREATMENT FOR MUSIC VIDEO:
This video would be revolved around partying and the celebrity lifestyle. The band would be included but not nearly as much as the lead singer. it would be all about him and his lifestyle. There would be a narrative of him being dressed up to go out by other people and then his journey out and then the actually party itself. everything would be bright and old school. it would end by everyone being passed out and knackered at the end of the party.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Evaluating Audience Feedback
Having received extensive feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of the finished product (from the sequences exhibition on Youtube) we were able to evaluate some of the specific criticisms and praise. These include,
‘This is a believable ghost story and is extremely effective in generating tension. Mise-en scene works well and is very nicely lit. I would certainly like to see the rest of the movie. I would like to know more about why the Haunting takes place. This narrative is a bit one dimensional.’
I understand that the narrative is one dimensional as we did not want to reveal too much of what the haunting came from in order to create tension.
‘This sequence obviously works, as I too really wanted to know what happens next. This snapshot is useful, but tells me relatively little and leaves me wanting more!’
I understand that it does not give you much information but we wanted to do that to intrigue our audience and leave them wanting to know more.
‘Very ambient and enigmatic piece. Great use of mise-en-scene. Further external shots (of the house) in the opening bedroom scene would help to further generate suspense. Editing is very tight and delivers excellent pace. High impact ending. What happens to the man? Is she evil or just restless? It would be useful to know!’
In response to this comment I agree that we should have had a longer or a few different angle establishing shots it would have helped a great deal in generating tension. However we were unable to do many establishing shots as things such as the weather got in the way. As for the question ‘What happens to the man?’ last questions we did not want to reveal what happens to the man because we wanted our audience to watch the rest of the film to find out.
‘Incredible. Use of sound to create suspense is brilliant and good use of lighting.’
‘I thought this was amazing - I really enjoyed it. The use of sound created such suspense and created a very eerie atmosphere. The shots were quite lengthy but worked really well and really established a setting. ‘
‘A really good use of sound to heighten tension, and the colour pallet also works really well.
I also like the tense silence and stillness.’
In response to the three comments above we did spend a lot of time choosing the sound as to get the perfect one to not only fit with the sequence but also to really build the tension and generate suspense. I was really glad to see that people had commented on the sound as one of our best points as our group also thought the sound went well with it especially for the ending of the sequence.
To see vour thriller 'Whisper' on youtube and the comments bellow it click on this link bellow.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cK8zj_aIC84
‘This is a believable ghost story and is extremely effective in generating tension. Mise-en scene works well and is very nicely lit. I would certainly like to see the rest of the movie. I would like to know more about why the Haunting takes place. This narrative is a bit one dimensional.’
I understand that the narrative is one dimensional as we did not want to reveal too much of what the haunting came from in order to create tension.
‘This sequence obviously works, as I too really wanted to know what happens next. This snapshot is useful, but tells me relatively little and leaves me wanting more!’
I understand that it does not give you much information but we wanted to do that to intrigue our audience and leave them wanting to know more.
‘Very ambient and enigmatic piece. Great use of mise-en-scene. Further external shots (of the house) in the opening bedroom scene would help to further generate suspense. Editing is very tight and delivers excellent pace. High impact ending. What happens to the man? Is she evil or just restless? It would be useful to know!’
In response to this comment I agree that we should have had a longer or a few different angle establishing shots it would have helped a great deal in generating tension. However we were unable to do many establishing shots as things such as the weather got in the way. As for the question ‘What happens to the man?’ last questions we did not want to reveal what happens to the man because we wanted our audience to watch the rest of the film to find out.
‘Incredible. Use of sound to create suspense is brilliant and good use of lighting.’
‘I thought this was amazing - I really enjoyed it. The use of sound created such suspense and created a very eerie atmosphere. The shots were quite lengthy but worked really well and really established a setting. ‘
‘A really good use of sound to heighten tension, and the colour pallet also works really well.
I also like the tense silence and stillness.’
In response to the three comments above we did spend a lot of time choosing the sound as to get the perfect one to not only fit with the sequence but also to really build the tension and generate suspense. I was really glad to see that people had commented on the sound as one of our best points as our group also thought the sound went well with it especially for the ending of the sequence.
To see vour thriller 'Whisper' on youtube and the comments bellow it click on this link bellow.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cK8zj_aIC84
Friday, March 13, 2009
Final Blog Entry
Final Blog Entry
1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
It is hard to compare our end thriller product to a real media product as they are so contrasting as we did not use high production values such as; the budget, the casting and the equipment. When shooting a real media project the budget is very high and does not necessarily have a limit to it. Our media group had a set budget which had a rough limit. Although the different film industries also contrast in price values.
When it comes down to casting Hollywood use the actors that are A-list to confirm audience views. So by using a famous actor that is well known it ensures a higher audience, where as we were unable to use any A-list celebrities or qualified actors there for leaving us with what we could get which did a great job at we were asking them for.
The independent film industries spend millions on equipment e.g. lighting, camera and film. We did not spend millions on our equipment but used the school equipment. We used only two lights and one camera. This equipment was very efficient for what we needed.
Although there are so many contrasts between a real media product and our media product we tried our hardest to mimic how they would do it by following the industrial and technical conventions as much as possible.
2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Our media product does not deal with any particular social group but the main character in our product does deal with affluent social class, this is because he is in a grand house. But there is no explicit discussion of any distinct social groups in our product. However it does deal with gender issues such as a reverse of character. As men generally have the stereotype of being fearless, our main character does not re-enforce this stereotype.
3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
As our product is not grand and does not have high budget production values or high level special effects because of this it would be un-lightly that our product would be a Hollywood institution but would be more along the lines of and independent British film company e.g. WARP
Refer back to: ‘Discussion of what institution would produce our film’
4. Who would be the audience for your media product?
Refer back to: ‘Account of you target audience’
5. How did you attract/address your audience?
We attracted our audience by gratifying there expectations and requirements. As our target audience would be the older generation of males we would show some female nudity. The film would also show destruction and violence.
6. What have you learnt about technology from the process of constructing this product?
I have learnt a great deal about technology from the process of constructing this product, I have learnt about mise-en-scene, sound, camera’s, lighting and editing. I now know how to work with all of these tools in depth.
Refer back to: Other Blog entries.
7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Refer back to: ‘Overview and evaluation of the finished product’
1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
It is hard to compare our end thriller product to a real media product as they are so contrasting as we did not use high production values such as; the budget, the casting and the equipment. When shooting a real media project the budget is very high and does not necessarily have a limit to it. Our media group had a set budget which had a rough limit. Although the different film industries also contrast in price values.
When it comes down to casting Hollywood use the actors that are A-list to confirm audience views. So by using a famous actor that is well known it ensures a higher audience, where as we were unable to use any A-list celebrities or qualified actors there for leaving us with what we could get which did a great job at we were asking them for.
The independent film industries spend millions on equipment e.g. lighting, camera and film. We did not spend millions on our equipment but used the school equipment. We used only two lights and one camera. This equipment was very efficient for what we needed.
Although there are so many contrasts between a real media product and our media product we tried our hardest to mimic how they would do it by following the industrial and technical conventions as much as possible.
2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Our media product does not deal with any particular social group but the main character in our product does deal with affluent social class, this is because he is in a grand house. But there is no explicit discussion of any distinct social groups in our product. However it does deal with gender issues such as a reverse of character. As men generally have the stereotype of being fearless, our main character does not re-enforce this stereotype.
3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
As our product is not grand and does not have high budget production values or high level special effects because of this it would be un-lightly that our product would be a Hollywood institution but would be more along the lines of and independent British film company e.g. WARP
Refer back to: ‘Discussion of what institution would produce our film’
4. Who would be the audience for your media product?
Refer back to: ‘Account of you target audience’
5. How did you attract/address your audience?
We attracted our audience by gratifying there expectations and requirements. As our target audience would be the older generation of males we would show some female nudity. The film would also show destruction and violence.
6. What have you learnt about technology from the process of constructing this product?
I have learnt a great deal about technology from the process of constructing this product, I have learnt about mise-en-scene, sound, camera’s, lighting and editing. I now know how to work with all of these tools in depth.
Refer back to: Other Blog entries.
7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Refer back to: ‘Overview and evaluation of the finished product’
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Overview and Evaluation of the Finished Product
I am now in a position to evaluate the finished product of our opening thriller sequence. This is after creating the concept, securing the concept, pre-production, principal photography and post production. We were told that “the sequence must be generically authentic and generate significant rising tension and atmosphere”. We achieved this in several different ways.
For the pre-production we ensured that the location availability was finalised. We did this by asking the house keeper so giving him the time schedule and warning him on where we would be shooting so that he knew the amount of space we would be taking up. As group we also had to make sure that the props and costumes were prepared and in a reliable place that we could collect them all from on the morning of the shoot. We were shooting on the Monday morning so we had to prepare the props and costumes on the Friday as we would not have time before the shoot on Monday. Each of the group had different props to bring in so we had to rely on each other to bring them in. I was in charge of organising what each member of the group would bring in. I was also in control of the costumes so I organised the costumes picking more then one in case of sizes etc. and made sure they were in a safe place to collect first thing Monday morning.
For the pre-production of the day we also called the cast to finalise the times they had to arrive and leave and also send them the shooting schedule and the storyboard. The time and weather were not an issue we had created a shooting schedule that was sufficient. We did not need to check the weather report as it was all shot inside.
Finally for the pre-production we had to make sure that the equipment was prepared for the shoot. That we had all the lights we needed the camera and the microphones.
Some specific shots, mise-en-scene, editing and sound I feel made our product a success. In editing we were unable to use some of the specific shots which I really thought had great lighting and created a great atmosphere. Such as the shot were Russell (the main character) walked down a dingy corridor which almost looked like a hospital corridor. There was an electrical tube light on the ceiling of this corridor which flickered at random. It was accidental but it created a great atmosphere. However we cut this shot as we had others that we needed to use and also because it gave the impression of the thriller being more modern.
Another shot which stood out because of the lighting was one of the last shot of the ghost in the fire place. We put an unmasked Redhead video light with the barn doors removed and it was fitted with a Tungsten bulb. This light was put in front of the ghost (Gabby one of the actors) in the fire place. The ghost was positioned with her back towards the camera so that it looked as though the light was coming from inside the fireplace. This created a bright glow around the ghost creating a supernatural feel. It also made the ghost look like a silhouette which I really liked the silhouette effect as it created audience proximity as the audience can not see clearly what the silhouette is there for creating tension and anticipation.
A third memorable shot was when we got a shot of smoke coming through a key hole. It was another shot that we got by accident. We wanted to originally just use one of the lights from behind the door shinning through as Russell walked through. However when the light was close to the door it made the metal around the key hole smoke which created an even better effect then the light. It is a close up on the key hole and it looks as though the smoke is seeping through. And as we used the candles smoke in numerous shots it connected to them and so worked really well as a repetitive sequence.
My last memorable shot was when we took the camera off of the tripod and did a hand held shot leading Russell through one of the rooms. We had not used a handheld shot before so it was good for our variety of shots. However it was too dark and did not look right along side to our other shots.
The genre ‘Thriller’ is one of the hardest genres of movie to identify as it is a ‘meta-genre’. So from the beginning as a group we knew it was going to be really difficult to create a successful thriller sequence. We knew that we needed to create suspense, tension and fear for our audience. We did this by creating a solid plot which we had a reaction to. We thought we would generate fear from our audience by not making it modern. We used the method of time because then for the audience it is harder to connect with and not being able to connect with a film can sometimes be disturbing therefore intriguing. We decided not to go with the idea of the elder in the sequence being the one in control but the younger character being in control. Because we found the idea of that unoriginal as we knew other groups were doing that. The idea of the child being in control over the adult we thought would raise more questions. We created tension through a sense of delay and anticipation. We made sure that the little girl (the ghost) was not revealed until the end creating character audience proximity with the old man, making the audience feel a sense of recognition and compassion, as you follow him around his house from the moment he wakes up to the moment he sees the ghost. For the sound we used an eerie high pitch sound which rose and rose in volume and pitch. This creates anticipation for the audience, because as the sound raises the audience our waiting it to peak and the sound rising suggests it is rising up to something.
We had a few key flaws in our product but I believe our main weakness was our lighting continuity. I didn’t think that the lighting looked dark enough as our thriller sequence was set at night and the lighting created more of a day light effect. In one of our shots we used a purple jell where as we had used a blue jell in our others. The purple jell did not look good in the flesh but on the camera it worked really well and I think that we should have used the purple jell through out the entire shoot. Also when editing I don’t think that the lighting continuity through out was strong it looked a lot lighter at some points or a lot darker. Although we did have other flaws I felt that was our major one.
I feel as a finished product we came out with a lot more strengths then weaknesses. I believe that we had a good plot that worked well as a thriller although it suggested that the rest of the film would continue into being also a horror.
One of our main strengths was the flow of our sequence. I think that our cutting turned out to look very proficient. The shots looked right along side each other as a package. I also think that one of our main strengths was our build up; it escalated tension very well with the sound. It escalated well because of the sounds we decided to use and how the volume rises as the old man grows closer to the ghost. Another main strength I believe we had was our titles. This is because originally we didn’t want more then three titles however we had to include more and when we did put more titles in and chose a font and the way they would appear on the screen it in fact added to the thriller. This also includes our title ‘Whisper’, we could not decide on a unique title until we had edited it and watched it finished and when we did straight away we came up with the idea of ‘Whisper’ we all agreed and felt it suited our thriller.
In conclusion I feel all of our strengths overrule our weaknesses because in the end we did not want to change it and as whole were really satisfied with the out come.
For the pre-production we ensured that the location availability was finalised. We did this by asking the house keeper so giving him the time schedule and warning him on where we would be shooting so that he knew the amount of space we would be taking up. As group we also had to make sure that the props and costumes were prepared and in a reliable place that we could collect them all from on the morning of the shoot. We were shooting on the Monday morning so we had to prepare the props and costumes on the Friday as we would not have time before the shoot on Monday. Each of the group had different props to bring in so we had to rely on each other to bring them in. I was in charge of organising what each member of the group would bring in. I was also in control of the costumes so I organised the costumes picking more then one in case of sizes etc. and made sure they were in a safe place to collect first thing Monday morning.
For the pre-production of the day we also called the cast to finalise the times they had to arrive and leave and also send them the shooting schedule and the storyboard. The time and weather were not an issue we had created a shooting schedule that was sufficient. We did not need to check the weather report as it was all shot inside.
Finally for the pre-production we had to make sure that the equipment was prepared for the shoot. That we had all the lights we needed the camera and the microphones.
Some specific shots, mise-en-scene, editing and sound I feel made our product a success. In editing we were unable to use some of the specific shots which I really thought had great lighting and created a great atmosphere. Such as the shot were Russell (the main character) walked down a dingy corridor which almost looked like a hospital corridor. There was an electrical tube light on the ceiling of this corridor which flickered at random. It was accidental but it created a great atmosphere. However we cut this shot as we had others that we needed to use and also because it gave the impression of the thriller being more modern.
Another shot which stood out because of the lighting was one of the last shot of the ghost in the fire place. We put an unmasked Redhead video light with the barn doors removed and it was fitted with a Tungsten bulb. This light was put in front of the ghost (Gabby one of the actors) in the fire place. The ghost was positioned with her back towards the camera so that it looked as though the light was coming from inside the fireplace. This created a bright glow around the ghost creating a supernatural feel. It also made the ghost look like a silhouette which I really liked the silhouette effect as it created audience proximity as the audience can not see clearly what the silhouette is there for creating tension and anticipation.
A third memorable shot was when we got a shot of smoke coming through a key hole. It was another shot that we got by accident. We wanted to originally just use one of the lights from behind the door shinning through as Russell walked through. However when the light was close to the door it made the metal around the key hole smoke which created an even better effect then the light. It is a close up on the key hole and it looks as though the smoke is seeping through. And as we used the candles smoke in numerous shots it connected to them and so worked really well as a repetitive sequence.
My last memorable shot was when we took the camera off of the tripod and did a hand held shot leading Russell through one of the rooms. We had not used a handheld shot before so it was good for our variety of shots. However it was too dark and did not look right along side to our other shots.
The genre ‘Thriller’ is one of the hardest genres of movie to identify as it is a ‘meta-genre’. So from the beginning as a group we knew it was going to be really difficult to create a successful thriller sequence. We knew that we needed to create suspense, tension and fear for our audience. We did this by creating a solid plot which we had a reaction to. We thought we would generate fear from our audience by not making it modern. We used the method of time because then for the audience it is harder to connect with and not being able to connect with a film can sometimes be disturbing therefore intriguing. We decided not to go with the idea of the elder in the sequence being the one in control but the younger character being in control. Because we found the idea of that unoriginal as we knew other groups were doing that. The idea of the child being in control over the adult we thought would raise more questions. We created tension through a sense of delay and anticipation. We made sure that the little girl (the ghost) was not revealed until the end creating character audience proximity with the old man, making the audience feel a sense of recognition and compassion, as you follow him around his house from the moment he wakes up to the moment he sees the ghost. For the sound we used an eerie high pitch sound which rose and rose in volume and pitch. This creates anticipation for the audience, because as the sound raises the audience our waiting it to peak and the sound rising suggests it is rising up to something.
We had a few key flaws in our product but I believe our main weakness was our lighting continuity. I didn’t think that the lighting looked dark enough as our thriller sequence was set at night and the lighting created more of a day light effect. In one of our shots we used a purple jell where as we had used a blue jell in our others. The purple jell did not look good in the flesh but on the camera it worked really well and I think that we should have used the purple jell through out the entire shoot. Also when editing I don’t think that the lighting continuity through out was strong it looked a lot lighter at some points or a lot darker. Although we did have other flaws I felt that was our major one.
I feel as a finished product we came out with a lot more strengths then weaknesses. I believe that we had a good plot that worked well as a thriller although it suggested that the rest of the film would continue into being also a horror.
One of our main strengths was the flow of our sequence. I think that our cutting turned out to look very proficient. The shots looked right along side each other as a package. I also think that one of our main strengths was our build up; it escalated tension very well with the sound. It escalated well because of the sounds we decided to use and how the volume rises as the old man grows closer to the ghost. Another main strength I believe we had was our titles. This is because originally we didn’t want more then three titles however we had to include more and when we did put more titles in and chose a font and the way they would appear on the screen it in fact added to the thriller. This also includes our title ‘Whisper’, we could not decide on a unique title until we had edited it and watched it finished and when we did straight away we came up with the idea of ‘Whisper’ we all agreed and felt it suited our thriller.
In conclusion I feel all of our strengths overrule our weaknesses because in the end we did not want to change it and as whole were really satisfied with the out come.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Reviewing My Shoot Day:
There were several goals I wanted to achieve personally from shooting our thriller, for instance showing the progress by comparing our thriller shoot to our preliminary task. I feel as a group we most definitely accomplished that. The preliminary task was a simple shoot. We used actors from our class group, for lighting we used the classroom lights, for the sound we recorded it only on the camera-mic connected to the camera. We did accomplish that goal by learning more about the technical aspects and putting them into use. Another achievement was that I now have a more detailed understanding of production processes, and an increasing understanding of the technical abilities involved in shooting. I now understand the technical idiosyncrasies of the mini DV camera i.e. how to set up and use it, I know what shots work the best and what shots don’t for specific situations.
From this shoot we also had to learn about working with a narrative and following a shooting schedule. This was quite hard to follow a strict schedule, but it did help so much as it gave us a structure and something to rely on. It was almost a rule that was there to be broken. Anything we ended up disagreeing with we could change and try doing it another way.
Team work was another goal we had to accomplish. We had only been working as a team for a few months. However I think we did a very good job of sticking to our roles and but also helping each other and working together. We helped each other to keep with in the shooting schedule and rejected no ideas from each other.
We did not have any major location, casting or props issues. Our location was always definite. We checked it was allowed by the national trust to shoot there long before the day of the shoot. The location of the shoot (Leith Hill) was only ten minutes so the journey was not an issue, although we did have to take a detour to one of the other boarding houses to collect a mattress. Our transport had also been sorted before the day of the shoot. We used one of the school mini-buses which were big enough to fit all our equipment in perfectly.
We had a minor issue with Russell’s costume, I had brought two pairs of pyjamas for him to try on and a nightgown the nightgown fit fine but the nightdress which we decided looked better had a rip down the back of it. We thought about getting some safety pins but then decided that Russell would just wear the dressing gown over the top of it so that it was hidden. You could only see the tear in one shot which we decided not to use in the end.
Our thriller sequence was set in the middle of the night. We thought that may be an issue and that we would have to black of the windows as curtains do not completely black out the windows. However we were lucky enough to find that all the windows had big wooden shutters and also curtains over the top of them. Although the hallway where the stairs were that we were shooting had a big window above it without shutters and the curtains did not shut. This was not an issue as we decided to shoot all the other shots and to then come back to it. When we did come back to it, it was a bit light so we waited for a while until it was a little darker outside.
There was no problem with the casting or actors they both fit the parts adequately. Russell turned up on time and was there the whole day. Olivia’s sister was a little late but with her being late it gave us time to set one of the rooms for her so that when she did arrive we could start shooting her immediately. Olivia’s sister’s costume fit perfectly, with her make-up we only put a little bit on and decided we could adjust it if we wanted whilst editing.
These were the only problems we came across, they were all minor problems which we dealt with sufficiently, or worked around them.We met in the media sweet at ten to nine to get all the equipment in the mini-bus and make sure we had everything. We left around nine and returned back at school around five thirty. It took us about twenty minutes getting there and back as we had to pick up and then drop of a mattress from one of the boarding houses. In that amount of time we shot all the shots on the storyboard and a lot of extra shots that we decided to add in. the only shot we didn’t manage to get was the external shot of the house, this wasn’t because we didn’t have enough time, but because the lighting was not right. So we ended up using one of the boarding houses (Cornhill) as an external shot. We shot this only a few days after the actual shoot when the lighting was right for the shot.
This was other only shot we didn’t do on the day. We worked out the day so that we had plenty of time for shooting and also time for lunch and breaks if needed. In order to execute our shoot we employed a range of video based equipment. This included the use of a Sony PDR 170 mini DV cam, a fluid head Vinten tripod, a Sennheiser directional microphone (placed in a suspension unit and a Rycote softie to eliminate unwanted wind noise) and two Redhead video lights which were covered with blue lighting Gels to achieve tungsten light that mimics daylight. On one key shot (the LS at the top of the staircase) we used a purple Gel to achieve a more mysterious ambience.
When using the camera we had to set it up on the tripod and make sure it was levelled. The camera was used to capture key shots and to ensure clarity and composition.
The directional microphone was pointed directly to the source of sound by the boom pole operator. And the microphone connected to the camera was also pointed to the source of sound as it pointed in the same direction as the camera was facing. We used the camera attached to the boom pole was used more as it was more effective and we could get it closer to source of sound.
For the lighting we used two lights that were used to deflect shadows and camera exposure adjusted to prevent bleaching. The majority of the time we used both lights other then on one occasion in the opening bedroom sequence where we attempted to use one light to make the room seam darker, however we ended up using two because of the shadows being projected onto the subject. All of our shots were in the same location (Leith Hill), other then our external shot (Cornhill Manor). All the rooms that we shot in at Leith Hill were large and open with plenty of room for all of the equipment. We shot in five different places around the house (the bedroom, the stairs, the door at the bottom of the stairs, the corridor and a big empty room) which were not far apart from each other and easy to get to. We only had too dress two of the sets (the bedroom and the last room). For the bedroom we had a mattress and bed sheets, there was already a bed stand. We also bought in old photos, paintings, candles and vases to create an old Victorian set. We also covered up a modern radiator with a dirty old blanket. For the last room we removed a table that was in there. We also found an old arm chair which we used and put some of the old pictures that we used in the bedroom scene on the ledge above the fireplace.
We had a set timetable for roughly how long we would spend on each location. We did not stay exactly to that; however we shot it in good time. We spent a lot longer on some shots the others for example; opening shot we spent a long time on because it was new to us at the time and so were trying to adjust and learn the best ways of doing it.
It did not take long setting up the equipment as we knew how to do it, however it did take a while to get the lights in the exact right place. We had all been allocated parts by each other as a group decision all though some roles did get changed. I started of with the role of the ‘Director’, Olivia with the role of ‘Camera Man’, Oscar with the role of ‘Editor’ and Ellie with the role of ‘Continuity Girl’. We ended up with Olivia being ‘Camera man’, Oscar being ‘Sound Man’, Ellie being ‘Continuity Girl’ and me taking on the role of ‘The Director’ and ‘Producer’.
I was allocated the role if the director because I like to be in control of the situation and I do acting myself so communicating with our actor Russell was very natural for me.
I really enjoyed being the director on the shooting day I was able to put my opinion across very clearly. I am also not as technical as some of the others in the group. However being director I also helped with the camera and mainly setting up the mise-en-scene so that it was how we imagined it to be. I bought me camera with me on the shooting day so that I could keep track of the continuity.
As a group we helped with every role, so that we could learn about all of them individually. We used our storyboard as more of a guideline then a strict schedule. We used the majority of the shots from it, but as we did the storyboard before seeing our location and casting it was rather hard to compare them as they look so different.
I think the reason we did not follow the storyboard picture for picture, word for word was because; creating the storyboard in a class room with your group is very contrasting to being on the set, with the actors in costume and seeing all the different, more adventures shots you could be taking in the space and with the props provided changes your vision of how the shots should be. The storyboard is a great way to keep the team concentrated and on track, however I feel it is not to be followed perfectly otherwise you may not have enough variation or too much variation. The shots we described in our storyboard were not showing a variation of shots they were simple and easy to do. However the storyboard was still there to remind us of the shots/angles that would look good and would create tension.
One of my favorite shots that we ended up with was the shot of Russell (our male actor) walking down the stairs. This shot was not in the storyboard as we had not seen our location and so did not know what the stairs would look like. we had always wanted a shot of him coming down the stairs but we did not have a very unique type of shot to do it in. when we turned up at Leith hill we shot all the shots other then the 'stair case' shot as we had to wait until the light had gone down. We had not decided how do this shot yet as we were concentrating on the others. When we did get to do the 'stair case' shot we decided to do it with the camera looking through the banisters. We had used purple gels over one of the lights to create the effect of night time. The shot was so good because the mice-en-scene combined together had made an amazing package such as, the lighting, the banisters in the frame making it look as though it was almost a P.O.V shot, having Russell fit in the frame perfectly and finally having Russell's shadow follow him after he had exited the frame. This is a perfect example of how following your storyboard to the letter is not almost the best way.
We decided on which shots to shoot and which shots not to shoot as a team, if we did not think they would work we would explain why to the remainder of the group and if they did not agree then we would shoot it to understand why it would not work. The majority of the time we all agreed if a shot would work or not. We mainly tried to get all the basic and practical shots in a sequence and then we would try different shots. The two main technical factors we had to monitor were the lighting and the sound, but also the camera, tripod and the continuity. We had to monitor all of the sound levels to avoid peaking and distortion. For the sound we also had to make sure the two channels were balanced. The directional mic was plugged into channel two and the camera mic was plugged into channel one. We had to make sure they stayed balanced through out filming. With both mic’s we had to make sure they were pointed directly at the source of sound so that there were no interferences of sound and so the sound would be as clear as it could be. However doing this with the directional mic attached to the boom you had to make sure the mic was never in the frame when filming.
When monitoring the lighting we had to make sure the exposure was right. This was so that the image through the camera was not to bright or too dark. We also had to monitor the white balance and the gain. We did use the gain at some points when filming but tried to stay clear of it as it makes the film poorer quality.
For monitoring the continuity I used a camera as it is a lot more reliable then drawing or just taking mental images. We could check the continuity as it was a digital camera so we could look back at past photos. We had to make sure the continuity was never ruined because if the continuity rule had been broken then the audience’s belief would also have been ruined. So for that reason we made sure that every shot was not touched or altered in between shooting so that it was the same as the shot before.
When monitoring the camera and tripod you had to make sure every time the camera was taken of and then put back on the tripod that the tripod was bubbled. This was to make it harder or easier to pan or tilt the camera. We did not have any major problems with the technical, continuity, 180 degree rule, sound or lighting. We had a few minor problems with the continuity which were all in the first location in the house (the bedroom) such as, the dressing gown always hanging of the end of the bed in the same way, the candle being in the same place in the same position and the duvet cover folding over (when Russell got out of bed) in the same position every time.
The video camera we were using always had battery and enough space on it. We had no difficulties with keeping to the 180 degree rule and the sound was always very efficient. I am not surprised to say I learnt a lot from shooting the opening sequence of my thriller, and not just from shooting it but from preparing for it and for everything I did to work up to it.
When we shot the preliminary task we were naive about the technical and physical side to shooting anything. We also only had three people in our group for the preliminary task, until we were shortly joined by another team member just into time for our thriller.
When we did our preliminary task we were given a ready-made storyboard. Our hands were being held the entire way when doing the preliminary task as we had to be taught everything from nothing. We used our own actors in the preliminary task (me & Oscar); we used no lighting and used the mic attached to the camera. We used no costumes, no props, and no set location and read a simple narrative. It was only very short with no unique angles or excitement. However this was not the job of the preliminary task it was to teach us the basics which it did, it was there to prepare us for our thriller which it did.
We prepared for our thriller for a couple of months. We had to firstly individually think of a Thriller idea, present it to the remainder of the group. We then had to vote for the favorite and most practical. We then began to work on that idea, change it, add to it and take away from it. Unlike the preliminary task we created our own storyboards from scratch writing what the lighting, sound and mice-en-scene would be like. We then had to research the costumes, characters, location and props, finding out if we were able to get them in time for the shoot and if they would work. When shooting our thriller we had equipment such as, professional lights and gels, a video camera, tripod and two different mic's. We had none of this technical equipment when shooting the preliminary task. It showed us how much the technical equipment made a difference. Not only did all this contrast to the preliminary task but also the editing. It only took around three hours all together or less to edit the preliminary task however editing the Thriller takes a lot longer. this is because there are more rushes so it takes a lot longer to log it but also because with the thriller we are adding music, cutting shots to perfection and making sure we have a variation of shots, that there our no continuity issues. We could not have done all this too our preliminary task because it was very short and it had no purpose to it.
I have learnt so much from this entire experience; for starters that I really enjoy the role of Director and think my character works very well with that position, which has even given me hope for the future. I have also learnt so much about the technical side of media and shooting a film. I know now the basics to editing, how to set up a camera (e.g. bubbling it on the tripod), that you use two lights too stop the shadow of one on the subject you our filming. it has also expanded my dictionary for words used I’m the media industry such as what a director has to say before shooting and when stopping shooting ('Stand By...standing by...Rolling Camera...camera rolling...Action...Cut)
Not only have I learnt the technical side but I have also learnt how to work in a team with specific roles. but I did discovered that the roles are not always equal, and that you should not keep to your set role but try and get involved in every role as you come out with a lot more knowledge and many more skills from it.
In conclusion I do not think you can compare our Preliminary Task to our Opening Thriller Sequence as they are on two different levels showing two different styles and abilities from our group towards shooting, understanding the technical side and understanding more about the media industry.
From this shoot we also had to learn about working with a narrative and following a shooting schedule. This was quite hard to follow a strict schedule, but it did help so much as it gave us a structure and something to rely on. It was almost a rule that was there to be broken. Anything we ended up disagreeing with we could change and try doing it another way.
Team work was another goal we had to accomplish. We had only been working as a team for a few months. However I think we did a very good job of sticking to our roles and but also helping each other and working together. We helped each other to keep with in the shooting schedule and rejected no ideas from each other.
We did not have any major location, casting or props issues. Our location was always definite. We checked it was allowed by the national trust to shoot there long before the day of the shoot. The location of the shoot (Leith Hill) was only ten minutes so the journey was not an issue, although we did have to take a detour to one of the other boarding houses to collect a mattress. Our transport had also been sorted before the day of the shoot. We used one of the school mini-buses which were big enough to fit all our equipment in perfectly.
We had a minor issue with Russell’s costume, I had brought two pairs of pyjamas for him to try on and a nightgown the nightgown fit fine but the nightdress which we decided looked better had a rip down the back of it. We thought about getting some safety pins but then decided that Russell would just wear the dressing gown over the top of it so that it was hidden. You could only see the tear in one shot which we decided not to use in the end.
Our thriller sequence was set in the middle of the night. We thought that may be an issue and that we would have to black of the windows as curtains do not completely black out the windows. However we were lucky enough to find that all the windows had big wooden shutters and also curtains over the top of them. Although the hallway where the stairs were that we were shooting had a big window above it without shutters and the curtains did not shut. This was not an issue as we decided to shoot all the other shots and to then come back to it. When we did come back to it, it was a bit light so we waited for a while until it was a little darker outside.
There was no problem with the casting or actors they both fit the parts adequately. Russell turned up on time and was there the whole day. Olivia’s sister was a little late but with her being late it gave us time to set one of the rooms for her so that when she did arrive we could start shooting her immediately. Olivia’s sister’s costume fit perfectly, with her make-up we only put a little bit on and decided we could adjust it if we wanted whilst editing.
These were the only problems we came across, they were all minor problems which we dealt with sufficiently, or worked around them.We met in the media sweet at ten to nine to get all the equipment in the mini-bus and make sure we had everything. We left around nine and returned back at school around five thirty. It took us about twenty minutes getting there and back as we had to pick up and then drop of a mattress from one of the boarding houses. In that amount of time we shot all the shots on the storyboard and a lot of extra shots that we decided to add in. the only shot we didn’t manage to get was the external shot of the house, this wasn’t because we didn’t have enough time, but because the lighting was not right. So we ended up using one of the boarding houses (Cornhill) as an external shot. We shot this only a few days after the actual shoot when the lighting was right for the shot.
This was other only shot we didn’t do on the day. We worked out the day so that we had plenty of time for shooting and also time for lunch and breaks if needed. In order to execute our shoot we employed a range of video based equipment. This included the use of a Sony PDR 170 mini DV cam, a fluid head Vinten tripod, a Sennheiser directional microphone (placed in a suspension unit and a Rycote softie to eliminate unwanted wind noise) and two Redhead video lights which were covered with blue lighting Gels to achieve tungsten light that mimics daylight. On one key shot (the LS at the top of the staircase) we used a purple Gel to achieve a more mysterious ambience.
When using the camera we had to set it up on the tripod and make sure it was levelled. The camera was used to capture key shots and to ensure clarity and composition.
The directional microphone was pointed directly to the source of sound by the boom pole operator. And the microphone connected to the camera was also pointed to the source of sound as it pointed in the same direction as the camera was facing. We used the camera attached to the boom pole was used more as it was more effective and we could get it closer to source of sound.
For the lighting we used two lights that were used to deflect shadows and camera exposure adjusted to prevent bleaching. The majority of the time we used both lights other then on one occasion in the opening bedroom sequence where we attempted to use one light to make the room seam darker, however we ended up using two because of the shadows being projected onto the subject. All of our shots were in the same location (Leith Hill), other then our external shot (Cornhill Manor). All the rooms that we shot in at Leith Hill were large and open with plenty of room for all of the equipment. We shot in five different places around the house (the bedroom, the stairs, the door at the bottom of the stairs, the corridor and a big empty room) which were not far apart from each other and easy to get to. We only had too dress two of the sets (the bedroom and the last room). For the bedroom we had a mattress and bed sheets, there was already a bed stand. We also bought in old photos, paintings, candles and vases to create an old Victorian set. We also covered up a modern radiator with a dirty old blanket. For the last room we removed a table that was in there. We also found an old arm chair which we used and put some of the old pictures that we used in the bedroom scene on the ledge above the fireplace.
We had a set timetable for roughly how long we would spend on each location. We did not stay exactly to that; however we shot it in good time. We spent a lot longer on some shots the others for example; opening shot we spent a long time on because it was new to us at the time and so were trying to adjust and learn the best ways of doing it.
It did not take long setting up the equipment as we knew how to do it, however it did take a while to get the lights in the exact right place. We had all been allocated parts by each other as a group decision all though some roles did get changed. I started of with the role of the ‘Director’, Olivia with the role of ‘Camera Man’, Oscar with the role of ‘Editor’ and Ellie with the role of ‘Continuity Girl’. We ended up with Olivia being ‘Camera man’, Oscar being ‘Sound Man’, Ellie being ‘Continuity Girl’ and me taking on the role of ‘The Director’ and ‘Producer’.
I was allocated the role if the director because I like to be in control of the situation and I do acting myself so communicating with our actor Russell was very natural for me.
I really enjoyed being the director on the shooting day I was able to put my opinion across very clearly. I am also not as technical as some of the others in the group. However being director I also helped with the camera and mainly setting up the mise-en-scene so that it was how we imagined it to be. I bought me camera with me on the shooting day so that I could keep track of the continuity.
As a group we helped with every role, so that we could learn about all of them individually. We used our storyboard as more of a guideline then a strict schedule. We used the majority of the shots from it, but as we did the storyboard before seeing our location and casting it was rather hard to compare them as they look so different.
I think the reason we did not follow the storyboard picture for picture, word for word was because; creating the storyboard in a class room with your group is very contrasting to being on the set, with the actors in costume and seeing all the different, more adventures shots you could be taking in the space and with the props provided changes your vision of how the shots should be. The storyboard is a great way to keep the team concentrated and on track, however I feel it is not to be followed perfectly otherwise you may not have enough variation or too much variation. The shots we described in our storyboard were not showing a variation of shots they were simple and easy to do. However the storyboard was still there to remind us of the shots/angles that would look good and would create tension.
One of my favorite shots that we ended up with was the shot of Russell (our male actor) walking down the stairs. This shot was not in the storyboard as we had not seen our location and so did not know what the stairs would look like. we had always wanted a shot of him coming down the stairs but we did not have a very unique type of shot to do it in. when we turned up at Leith hill we shot all the shots other then the 'stair case' shot as we had to wait until the light had gone down. We had not decided how do this shot yet as we were concentrating on the others. When we did get to do the 'stair case' shot we decided to do it with the camera looking through the banisters. We had used purple gels over one of the lights to create the effect of night time. The shot was so good because the mice-en-scene combined together had made an amazing package such as, the lighting, the banisters in the frame making it look as though it was almost a P.O.V shot, having Russell fit in the frame perfectly and finally having Russell's shadow follow him after he had exited the frame. This is a perfect example of how following your storyboard to the letter is not almost the best way.
We decided on which shots to shoot and which shots not to shoot as a team, if we did not think they would work we would explain why to the remainder of the group and if they did not agree then we would shoot it to understand why it would not work. The majority of the time we all agreed if a shot would work or not. We mainly tried to get all the basic and practical shots in a sequence and then we would try different shots. The two main technical factors we had to monitor were the lighting and the sound, but also the camera, tripod and the continuity. We had to monitor all of the sound levels to avoid peaking and distortion. For the sound we also had to make sure the two channels were balanced. The directional mic was plugged into channel two and the camera mic was plugged into channel one. We had to make sure they stayed balanced through out filming. With both mic’s we had to make sure they were pointed directly at the source of sound so that there were no interferences of sound and so the sound would be as clear as it could be. However doing this with the directional mic attached to the boom you had to make sure the mic was never in the frame when filming.
When monitoring the lighting we had to make sure the exposure was right. This was so that the image through the camera was not to bright or too dark. We also had to monitor the white balance and the gain. We did use the gain at some points when filming but tried to stay clear of it as it makes the film poorer quality.
For monitoring the continuity I used a camera as it is a lot more reliable then drawing or just taking mental images. We could check the continuity as it was a digital camera so we could look back at past photos. We had to make sure the continuity was never ruined because if the continuity rule had been broken then the audience’s belief would also have been ruined. So for that reason we made sure that every shot was not touched or altered in between shooting so that it was the same as the shot before.
When monitoring the camera and tripod you had to make sure every time the camera was taken of and then put back on the tripod that the tripod was bubbled. This was to make it harder or easier to pan or tilt the camera. We did not have any major problems with the technical, continuity, 180 degree rule, sound or lighting. We had a few minor problems with the continuity which were all in the first location in the house (the bedroom) such as, the dressing gown always hanging of the end of the bed in the same way, the candle being in the same place in the same position and the duvet cover folding over (when Russell got out of bed) in the same position every time.
The video camera we were using always had battery and enough space on it. We had no difficulties with keeping to the 180 degree rule and the sound was always very efficient. I am not surprised to say I learnt a lot from shooting the opening sequence of my thriller, and not just from shooting it but from preparing for it and for everything I did to work up to it.
When we shot the preliminary task we were naive about the technical and physical side to shooting anything. We also only had three people in our group for the preliminary task, until we were shortly joined by another team member just into time for our thriller.
When we did our preliminary task we were given a ready-made storyboard. Our hands were being held the entire way when doing the preliminary task as we had to be taught everything from nothing. We used our own actors in the preliminary task (me & Oscar); we used no lighting and used the mic attached to the camera. We used no costumes, no props, and no set location and read a simple narrative. It was only very short with no unique angles or excitement. However this was not the job of the preliminary task it was to teach us the basics which it did, it was there to prepare us for our thriller which it did.
We prepared for our thriller for a couple of months. We had to firstly individually think of a Thriller idea, present it to the remainder of the group. We then had to vote for the favorite and most practical. We then began to work on that idea, change it, add to it and take away from it. Unlike the preliminary task we created our own storyboards from scratch writing what the lighting, sound and mice-en-scene would be like. We then had to research the costumes, characters, location and props, finding out if we were able to get them in time for the shoot and if they would work. When shooting our thriller we had equipment such as, professional lights and gels, a video camera, tripod and two different mic's. We had none of this technical equipment when shooting the preliminary task. It showed us how much the technical equipment made a difference. Not only did all this contrast to the preliminary task but also the editing. It only took around three hours all together or less to edit the preliminary task however editing the Thriller takes a lot longer. this is because there are more rushes so it takes a lot longer to log it but also because with the thriller we are adding music, cutting shots to perfection and making sure we have a variation of shots, that there our no continuity issues. We could not have done all this too our preliminary task because it was very short and it had no purpose to it.
I have learnt so much from this entire experience; for starters that I really enjoy the role of Director and think my character works very well with that position, which has even given me hope for the future. I have also learnt so much about the technical side of media and shooting a film. I know now the basics to editing, how to set up a camera (e.g. bubbling it on the tripod), that you use two lights too stop the shadow of one on the subject you our filming. it has also expanded my dictionary for words used I’m the media industry such as what a director has to say before shooting and when stopping shooting ('Stand By...standing by...Rolling Camera...camera rolling...Action...Cut)
Not only have I learnt the technical side but I have also learnt how to work in a team with specific roles. but I did discovered that the roles are not always equal, and that you should not keep to your set role but try and get involved in every role as you come out with a lot more knowledge and many more skills from it.
In conclusion I do not think you can compare our Preliminary Task to our Opening Thriller Sequence as they are on two different levels showing two different styles and abilities from our group towards shooting, understanding the technical side and understanding more about the media industry.
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