Week 8 - Institutional Logos

DreamWorks is a very well respected company however i have a slight problem due to our genre of film. This company specialises in animations to please the younger age groups creating such films as: Shrek and Kung-fu Panda whereas our film is more 18-32 target audience. Making this excluded from our groups selection towards the institutional logo at the start of our film.

Paramount is more our target audience and a very successful match to our film as they have created: Paranormal activity 3 and hugo. I feel if we used this it would have a good reason as to why we chose this and it would give the feel of professionalism giving the audience a mind set before our movie has started which is always a good thing.

Again, another great aspect to the film industry, instantly giving of the feel of professionalism with a film roughly based around our target audience and genre however the films that have been created are: Cowboys and Aliens and Tower Heist which as we know are not up with the big names that have come from companies for example paramount pictures. I feel our film needs to have every positive going for it as we personally don't have a name for ourselves, first created film so we need the promotion and professional feel from the highest level.

20th Century Fox, one of the most well known institutional companies ever created. Supplying a wide variety of films and very popular ones at that. I personally feel this will be the one we eventually choose, due to our research this will represent our film in the best way offering us the most compared to others that we have researched into.

Week 8 - Wednesday Lesson Plan

Week 8 - Mondays Lesson Update

We all had arranged to turn up early in which we all did to prepare for filming period 1. Everything was ready and set up for filming, we tell Mr Ellen what actions and shots were focusing on so he can co-orperate his acting with our filming. Filming was fluent and we had an amazing set of shots that we were very happy with.

We then returned back to the class room and split up singly to produce a cover a higher range of work made within the group. These job roles will be explained separately in Voki's.


Fehinti's Job Role:

Fehinti was in charge of finalising the intro with our company logo animated. He done everything he could up to the point of him needing software he has at home so that will be complete very soon and sent to me for editing.

Charlie Greens Job Role:

Charlie Green was in charge of uploading the footage then to transfer it to my laptop. It was not her fault however the footage took the rest of the lesson to upload so we did not manage to transfer the footage onto my laptop. Im sure this will be suceeded very shortly.

My Job Role:

Week 7 - Plan of Action for Monday

I will be editing on Monday whilst Charlie Green gets to be behind the camera filming integration scene. Fehinti needs to get all props ready and set up prior to the lesson. Mr Ellen needs to be reminded to come along and get him into our costume design relatively quickly and get the filming complete before ending of the lesson and report back to me for any problems or concerns.

**NOTE TO MYSELF: BRING LAPTOP AND MEMORY STICK IN**

Week 7 - Lesson Update

Main aspects we discovered from this lesson are as follows:

- The tempo of our filming looks more effective if we slow it down to create more tension then the normal clip tempo

- Editing is being held at my house on wednesday due to the closure of the school

- Filming was originally Wednesday Period 1 but set up before hand as we only had an hour with our actor Mr Ellen.

**CONCERN: SCHOOL CLOSURE ON WEDNESDAY, REORGANISE FILMING**

Week - Font Software

This is another possibility we could use for our font. The software is called 'Live Type' and offers a high range of professional tools to create a very effective out come.

That was an over look on the software which we took whilst we were playing about with different effects and tools to give us an understanding of what we can create.

Week 7 - Interrogation Locations Pros and Cons

Pros:
The room is bright and has no posters or advertisement on the wall. Offers a good levels of natural light for the colour balance in the filming.

Cons - Dept of field is restricted due to the space we have. We would have to clear all chairs out before filming and we will struggling with the 180 degree rule due to the restricted space

Pros:
We have the ability to move the table where ever and set up how ever because it is all portable

Cons:
We need to create the atmosphere of an interrogation room therefore we need to use the most of our props we have selected and even that was set at a bare minimum.

Pros:
We found out the light forms more on one side of the room, i had an idea we can purposely use this to our advantage so we can make one character lighter then the other to signalise power.

Cons:
Will the light different cause a dramatic change when we are filming the speech on an over head shot on both of them.

Pros:
We can keep our character "9" to a bare minimum due to the light.

Cons:
Will we be able to fit in a master shot on both on them if we are restricted by space

Week 7 - Cancellation

School is closed on wednesday due to the strikes which was our original day for filming the integration. Due to this we are having to find out Mr Ellens free periods and re book the filming process!

Week 7 - Editing

Filming was ment to be shot on Wednesday but as we all know schools were shut due to the strikes so i thought we could still use our day of as a chance to get ahead of the work and really boost into our coursework.

I organised a day round my house because i have the editing software on my laptop and also i had the footage from the filming at Apsley Paper Mill. Unfortunately Charlie Green had to pull out due to work ground so me and Fehinti had a nice early start on the project.

We got a lot done and in which we had:

- Imported all the material we have filmed at the moment

- Ordered the clips and cut all the excess footage before and after the actual shots and made them run back to back fluently

- Started thinking about our credits and titles and how we can interpret them into our shots

Problems we struck across:

- We were filming in the wrong camera format for the location we were in causing for it to be pixelated slightly

- Pans were not fluent and were making a noise because the panning was stiff on the tripod

- Found that the phone footage was not reacting to the software due to it being in the wrong format however we found a website in which we could convert completely free

The pictures published below will show you how we converted them to MP4 so we could access them in final cut pro.

Appart from that a very successful day and got masses of amounts done.

Week 7 - Confirmed Main Actor

Please let me introduce Mr Ellen, a current teacher at Astley Cooper. We are very excited as he has explained hes background before teaching. He was a professional actor and has worked with big names and companies, he suits the part of Mr Lewis Court our interrogator and believe he could be a real aspect to our film. This also ensures we will be able to film quite freely due to him being a teacher at the school our interrogation scene is at. Taking in consideration he is a teacher we are currently noting his free periods so we can get filming done as soon as possibly ready for editing.

Week 7 - Animated Film Openings

This is the website that Fehinti discovered which is really helpful to our group as a whole.

Ill explain through the website and what it offers to us.

Week 7 - Font Research

All of our group were set the task of font research for our credits. I personally used a website www.dafont.com as it offers a service where you can find the font you like then download so you can use in editing software which is ideal for our film.

I think this font would be perfect for the opening title of 'Hidden' however as ive tried in the screen shot to your right it would not be as effective on the credits of actors, producers and companies.

This font struck my eye as it gives of a sign of un perfectness and releases mystery. I think this would possibly work better with the credits then the actual title.

This again would be an amazingly effective font for the title 'Hidden' however to over the top for credits. The main title gives me the feeling of something is being watched and the crosses on the letter 'D's resembling a window pain or a snipper. Also it is clear what the font is saying but everything is connected, just like our film the connections are endless!

Grading

I have received my predicted grade back. Its fair to say my internet was down for two weeks meaning that the work was limited however i could only really update my blog round family or friends houses or even spare time at school which is not a lot however through out i was making notes on what i need to blog about when i do have the internet back in access so when it was back on a friday night i spent my whole weekend blogging and catching up which was a little to late as sir had done the marking on the wednesday that week. I did not take the grade to heart as i know that the work was there but not being published so hopefully next time round i can be given a genuine mark that i can commit to and improve upon.

Published below is a voki of what i can improve on at this point.

Week 7 - Fehinti's recreation for a logo design

Fehinti has struck up an idea whilst doing font research for our credits and had come up with a new company logo design.

Basing my general ideas upon this i thought it does not give our name justice as our name is very universal for such a basic logo design however when explaining this to Fehiniti he had agreed but showed me something very interesting. This was a print screen of a website called www.flixpress.com and on this website they offer a service where there give you a basic format of an animated logo and you then enter your company logo then it adds it all in for you then creating a profession animated logo. This immediately struck me as i was on the path to learning how to animate for my group however even with the knowledge i have built it would not of create something as professional as this and saved me a lot of time.

Week 7 - Action Plan

In this week we would like to achieve the following:

- Make sure we have an official instrumental we are putting in our film

- Research into fonts for credits

- Where the credits will go and how we will interpret them cleverly into our shots

- Start getting familiar with Final Cut Pro so we all are able to edit when needs be

- Make sure actors and producers and equipment hire know when we are filming so all runs smoothly when it comes around

Week 6 - Music Soundtrack

In this blog you will learn on how i made the first type of sound track as my group asked me to create a heart beat.

Here i am creating a new project, naming it sensibly so i can find it in my documents when uploading it.

Here i am creating a new track. In this case i have selected software instrument as i am not playing it in live, i will be using MIDI.

This is the sound track of samples they had in presets. I then import this in and play it all the way through until i find the one i feel is the most effective. I then cut that part out so its on its own.

Here is what i am left with. Now i duplicate the sampled sound so it is one after the other.

Then i duplicate the actual tracks so i am left with two

Last of all i then pan them left and right meaning the sound is sent to both left and right speakers to create a fuller sound. It is very effective and more powerful.

And here is my final outcome:

I feel this wont be the one we use for the actual piece as the beats are too close together and the symbol drowns the heart beats out and makes it sound very unprofessional.




Soon i will be creating a better quality in which may please my group with better software and better techniques.

Week 6 - Music Discussion

In our lesson we have started the discussion that is possibly one of the most important aspects to a film, music. Fehinti had got hold of a local producer that creates instrumentals that would fit well with our film and they agreed for us to use any of the tracks under no charge which is very helpful, this is one of our possibilities.

I personally have a music background and work well with music software and is currently taking music technology AS level so i have a good knowledge on how to create themes. However i did not like the fact of the pressure as i only have little experience in this genre so i have told my group i would come up with something and show them to see if they approve.

Week 6 - Filming

We are well into the project now and it is nice to see that all our planning and research all forming together to create a good piece of coursework. Our first location included: Producers Charlie Green and Myself also actors Laura Blastock and Fehinti. This was at the Apsley Paper mill in which we had been given the opportunities to explore the wonders of the dark, mysterious venue and start our filming, the kidnapping scene. All in which went to plan, we had finished early so myself and Fehinti stayed late so we could pull together some external shots so we had shots to think about credits or even just so we had more then enough footage to play with in the editing.

Week 6 - Action Plan

Monday

 Prepare for the shooting on tuesday; this means: - Getting the props together - Make sure we are clear about the requirements of our actors and when we want them to arrive - Getting costume - Contact actors 

Tuesday (record day) 

We hope to record shots 6-11 with the added shot of the criminal '9' walking towards the space (we hope in doing this we will show more of the space and further emphasise the creepy period mise en scene) 

Get recordings of sounds: 
- of Laura pleading 
- and/or the back ground e.g footsteps, water flowing 

Wednesday

   We will look over the footage and decide where we should add music and what mood and tone the music should have. We will also look into where we can add titles and credits although some title placements will have already been chosen whilst filming e.g. When filming we may film with extra room on the left to add titles.

Thursday

I am planning to research different sound tracks to get inspiration from to use in our film. I will then post them on my blog and show Adam as he is in charge of sound, to put our ideas together.

Roland Barthes

Roland Barthes was a very intelligent man who had discovered three codes that are used in every detective film and i will be explaining how we have followed them and took them into consideration to our coursework.

- The enigma code: We used a mystery character in our film to for fill this code.

- The proairetic code: This relates to the scene where the kidnapped girl bites the ear of the kidnapper causing a vast amount of tension.

- The semantic code: We had succeeded with this code as we feed the information the bite was to the ear, a specific part of the body.

His three codes had helped create a stable story board in which we could attract viewers and satisfy them. We done an interview on a target group of men aged 18-35 and they all agreed on the things that pull them into our genre of film, detective is that you can really interact with the silent clues and within the action how it can create tension and possible excitement.

Location of interrogation - Risk Assesment

Charlie Green has filled in her original risk assessment format with the information she has found from our next location at Astley Cooper School.

Where is the location?
Astley Cooper School.

Is the location inside or outside?
Inside.

Are there any electrical hazards?
Not that i can see.

If so, where are they and how can they, if at all, be solved?
N/A

Are there any weather hazards?
No, the location is inside.

If so, where are they and how can they, if at all, be solved?
N/A

Are there any other hazards?
Not that i can see.

If so, where are they and how can they, if at all, be solved?
N/A

Is the location well ventilated?
No, i'm not sure the windows open.

Other notes
The things i mentioned in my other post would have to be removed from the room to make the location seem more authentic.


From my knowledge on the location scout me and Fehinti done on the next location her answers are accurate and correct.

Gravitational Studios - Filming Update

We started our filming on 16th of November (yesterday) at the Apsley Papermill. We got the shots for the kidnapping scene, the location was highly effective and the shots we got were perfect, more then what we expected.

In the video below it will show Fehinti thanking the guy that made this location happen who has supported us all the way through our project so far.

Gravitational Studios - Location Scout 2

Gravitational Studios - Production Plan For Filming

Monday 
Prepare for the shooting on tuesday; this means:
-getting the props together 
-make sure we are clear about the requirements of our actors and when we want them to arrive
-getting costume 
- contact actors 


Tuesday (record day)
we hope to record shots 6-11 with the added shot of the criminal '9' walking towards the space (we hope in doing this we will show more of the space and further emphasise the creepy period mis on scen) 

Get recordings of sounds:
-of Laura pleading 
-or the back ground e.g footsteps ,water flowing 

make sure that we get the desired effect from both cameras the phone camera and the normal one.

Today i received the schools camera and tripod as a back up in case adam does not bring his along with this i plan to bring along:

-My phone camera (to shoot hand held scenes with the criminal)
-bring a towel/ pads for Laura's knees 
-bring chalk to mark camera spots 
-tights and a trench coat for criminals costume
-story board and plan for the day to help explain to the actors what's going to happen

then on wednesday we hope to look at our footage and talk about how it might go together and what music we want over it and what effects will be used. we will also need to talk about the layout/ design of the titles in the video. we then need to plan out our other location and check our actor availability for the dates we want and to confirm where we want to go.


This was published by Fehiniti however as a group we all need to keep record on our blogs for evidence.

Location Scouting - Apsley Papermill

Our first location we though would be a suitable area for us to film our coursework was the Apsley Papermill, the people there were very supportive and showed us the hot spots taking inconsideration of our genre and story board.

We also filled in a risk assessment whilst here so the pictures listed below are our questions and answers.

Gravitational Studios - Film Classification

I researched into the British Board of Classifications in a film and along side me was our filming plan and story board and our generated ideas...

• Our film does not contain any discrimination in any aspects

• Our film does contained drug scenes however we do not promote the misuse or promote drugs in any way shape or form

• Our film does not contain any dangerous behaviour with the aspects of: Hanging, suicide of self harming however we do have a story line set amongst a kidnapper and some what violent scenes

• Our film contains the likes of strong language inflicted into our dialogue however not to a misconception of the strongest terms are not used out of line

• Our film does not contain any nudity at any point in the film

• Our film has no sexual active scenes at any point

• Out film does not permit on the infliction of pain or injury however we do contain some violence due to the situation of our story line

Therefore i have come to a conclusion our film is rated a 15+

Characters/actors and Costume - '9'

• Name: N/A

• Nickname: 9

• Gender: Male

• Location: N/A

• Personality: Cocky, Arrogant, Keeps himself to himself and does not give much away

• Profession: Kidnapper/Serial Killer

• Costume: Smart Casual...

- Dark Trousers

- Dark Shoes

- Black Trench Coat

- Mask

- Earthy Colours that do not stand out

• Basic Look - 

Characters/actors and Costume - Detective Lewis Court

• Name: Lewis Court

• Gender: Male

• Location: Hemel Hempstead

• Personality: To the point, calm and when pushed very aggressive and loud spoken

• Profession - Detective

• Costume: Smart...

- Plan White Shirt (tucked in)

- Black Trousers

- Dull Blazer (hanging of chair in interrogation)

- Dull Tie

- Smart Black Shoes

- Black Belt

The reason we have gone for a dull look is because it resembles his profession, you can walk into an interrogation room with a coloured blazer and tie you need to look plain and get the job done.

• Basic Look -

Characters/actors and Costume - Laura

• Name: Laura

• Age: 18

• Gender: Female

• Location: Hemel Hempstead

• Personality: Innocent young lady, very outgoing and confident, very sociable however gets nervous and scared in threatening situations

• Profession: Student at West Herts College

• Costume: Casual wear...

- Comfortable Jumper

- Leggings

- Bare Foot

• Basic Look:

Gravitational Studios - Interrogation Room Props

In our Interrogation room we will supply props listed in the following:

- Mug of Coffee

Two Glasses of Water

A Jug of Water

Laptop

Two Chairs

A Table

We limited our props to the absolute minimum as the location we are working with has not got much room and we picked out the basics of what you would find in a Interrogation room so we can still create tension in a believable atmosphere.