Showing posts with label AS Foundation Portfolio. Show all posts
Showing posts with label AS Foundation Portfolio. Show all posts
Friday, 30 March 2012
Our Ident
Each member of our group made one Ident for our film opening - we ended up choosing my Ident as we felt that it had the right mix of bold animation and some understatement which tied in with the more independent aspect of our film as a whole. I applied the idea of using a gold colour scheme for the one we chose which we all agreed would be a good idea as it would help it stand out, and I feel that we have been successful in this aspect for the particular Ident we used. To create all of our Idents, we used Final Cut Pro X - for the one we have chosen, we used a 'fold' title effect. We also added an audio clip which Sam performed on the ukelele.
Thursday, 29 March 2012
Wednesday, 28 March 2012
Evaluation Question 4
Who are your audience?
Above is a sample survey carried out by a seventeen-year-old male that is a privately educated student, in their penultimate year of secondary school. Having questioned a fairly broad age range of people, I think it is safe to deduce that our target audience will be someone similar to the person questioned above. We aimed to dress our character in clothes similar to those of people our age, and his behaviour and dialogue were also supposed to be relevant to our audience.
Based on our collected data, I think that it is safe to deduce that our target audience fits comfortably into the 15-25 year-old category. They are most likely a student or young adult, probably either currently in higher education or entering/leaving higher education. Of the people that we sampled, the most complimentary and excited by our piece were most definitely people of a similar age to us. Although the themes of our piece would most likely encourage the diversion use and gratification, the actors we used were relatable to teenagers, meaning that personal identity could also be a reason for viewing our piece.
Although several films of similar genres to ours can be classified as 12 or 12A's, if we were conforming to the guidelines of the bbfc, we believe that some of the themes that we chose to include in our piece could be too violent for viewers younger than 15. When asked, the majority of our audience associated our piece with films such as Drive, Collateral, and The Bourne Identity. These films are all classified as 18’s or 15’s, suggesting that our original predictions were correct.
Above is a sample survey carried out by a seventeen-year-old male that is a privately educated student, in their penultimate year of secondary school. Having questioned a fairly broad age range of people, I think it is safe to deduce that our target audience will be someone similar to the person questioned above. We aimed to dress our character in clothes similar to those of people our age, and his behaviour and dialogue were also supposed to be relevant to our audience.
Based on our collected data, I think that it is safe to deduce that our target audience fits comfortably into the 15-25 year-old category. They are most likely a student or young adult, probably either currently in higher education or entering/leaving higher education. Of the people that we sampled, the most complimentary and excited by our piece were most definitely people of a similar age to us. Although the themes of our piece would most likely encourage the diversion use and gratification, the actors we used were relatable to teenagers, meaning that personal identity could also be a reason for viewing our piece.
Although several films of similar genres to ours can be classified as 12 or 12A's, if we were conforming to the guidelines of the bbfc, we believe that some of the themes that we chose to include in our piece could be too violent for viewers younger than 15. When asked, the majority of our audience associated our piece with films such as Drive, Collateral, and The Bourne Identity. These films are all classified as 18’s or 15’s, suggesting that our original predictions were correct.
Evaluation Question 6
What have you learnt about technologies form the process of constructing this product?
Blogger.com – This was very useful for displaying our progress, planning, constructing and evaluation.
YouTube.com – We used this to research thriller openings, which helped inspire us. It was also used to display our preliminary task and our final piece.
Google.com – Arguably one of the most useful forms of technology, as it allowed us to search for and access images, music, and information about similar films for our research section.
Final Cut Pro X – This was used to construct our film, our recce and preliminary task, and also to edit them using things such as filters, titles, colour balancing, and sound balancing that were available with the software. For example, we used an expander to make sections of our dialogue clearer, and we used frame matching to equilibrilize the colour of certain shots. It also had a built-in automatic save feature, meaning that our work was less easily lost.
Apple Macintosh iMac desktop – I found this computer extremely easy to use, and the display was very clear, making editing easier, as we could see problem areas that required correcting.
Sony HD Camera – We used this to film our piece and our recce. We learnt how to use it whilst shooting our recce, and I found it easy to manipulate in order to achieve the necessary shots.
Tripods – We used this to steady the camera, and this in turn helped achieve key shots, such as the wide-angle opening shots of Tower Bridge and the surrounding areas.
Microphone – These were most definitely essential, as even though we had minimal dialogue, the lines that we did choose to include were very important for the audience to hear, therefore we used microphones.
Kaiser Video lights – We decided to include these, as some of our locations were badly lit and therefore required lights, but we also used them in naturally well-lit shots, as it created a better atmosphere, and helped reduce graininess.
Imdb – This was used a great deal to acquire information about directors, films, and production companies, it therefore contributed the most to the research and planning sections of our piece.
DaFont – We found the font that we chose to use in all our titles and the main title of our piece from this website, it was called ‘Bank Gothic’ and we felt it was distinguished from any of the fonts that could be found, both on Microsoft Word and Final Cut Pro X.
Free play music – We obtained the majority of our sound from this website, most importantly, our main music track, called ‘Ascension from the well’ by Peter John Ross. It was useful because it had a wide range of copyright free music.
I feel as though the thing that I have learnt the most about the technologies that we included is how to manipulate them in order to achieve the desired effect. In some cases, such as with Final Cut Pro X, I found it slightly harder to be fully confident with using it, but once I was competent enough, I felt as though it was a lot easier to create the final product that we had envisaged.
Thursday, 22 March 2012
Evaluation Question 5
How do you attract/address your audience?
Narrative + Genre
From the questionnaire, the clearest things established to us were the similar media products to ours – three titles repeatedly cropping up were Drive, Collateral and the Bourne films. It was also suggested from the questionnaire that most people seemed to understand the story behind our film and they saw it as either a suspense thriller or a crime thriller – which we also saw this film as.
The fact that the crime and suspense aspects of the story were the main aspects that reached through to our audience suggests that they saw it mainly as a genre film like, for example, Drive and Collateral. Both of these films are notable for not using exposition in their opening. The opening of Drive, for example, sees the main character beginning a getaway mission while in our film it sees our character beginning his assassination mission. In Collateral, the film begins with the main character as he is leaving LAX airport without an explanation – our film echoes this in the sense that when our main character moves from A to B it is not immediately explained why. Both these films also have strong stylistics and aesthetics – in the opening scenes of both, wide shots of the Los Angeles skyline are frequently used to establish the location as they focus on immersing the audience in the location rather than following generic plot conventions – and our product followed suit, introducing the film with a river view of London. In this way, we have blended escapism – as we follow a suspenseful and dramatic narrative – with realism, as we are immersing our audiences in what are most likely to be familiar locations to them.
The general narrative of the opening scene is straightforward though one or two of our viewers felt that it moved quickly and they were pushed to keep up - this feedback is not totally worrying to us, however, as it was our intention to put the audience in the middle of the story and not focus on story exposition. The possible consequence of this – that the audience have found the film simply confusing – has, we feel, been avoided, as the majority of feedback to our film was positive in the narrative aspect.
We drew upon the influence of actors such as Ryan Gosling when it came to casting and creating our main character, feeling that an actor like him would have widespread appeal to the age bracket that we were marketing this film at.
Our story mainly involves fairly young characters who would appeal to audiences within the 15-25 age bracket as we wanted our audience to be attracted to it through personal identification. Feeling that the personal identification theory would be a good way of appealing to our audiences, we also casted an actor to play the girl who is killed who is the same age as the people we are marketing this film to as we felt that we wanted the characters to be relatable to a teenage/young adult audience. Part of our opening relied on a shock factor to draw in viewers, and so we felt that killing of a girl of a fairly young age would be an adequate way of doing so. This is the aspect of the story that we feel may have led to all the comparisons our film received – to Drive, Collateral and the Bourne films – as the violence/action in each of them is generally unexpected, surprising and shocking. In Drive, one of the main female characters is one of the first people to be killed in the film, while in Collateral the entire third act revolves around a woman in danger. In The Bourne Supremacy, the main female character of the first film in the series is killed in the opening scene.
We believed that our choice of location would appeal to our target audience of 15-24 year olds as London Bridge is very urban and high-tempo and thus appeals to youths who want a familiar, modern, busy setting. They are therefore attracted to the film as it seems like it will be full of action as opposed to a more rural environment in which one might expect a slower-paced film. Furthermore, a great deal of cinemagoers are city-dwellers as there are many more cinemas in the city than in the countryside so said cinemagoers will be attracted to the city-based setting. The urban setting also reflects many other city-based thrillers such as Drive and Collateral so viewers may see the film hoping to have the same experience as with those films.
We chose our actor (Callum Ruddleston) because one could certainly say that he is attractive so would attract young girls and possibly older girls too to the film. We had also modelled our main role on Ryan Gosling's role in Drive and Callum looks quite like Ryan Gosling so this degree of familiarity may further draw audiences in.
The visual mood of the film opening and its cold colour palette suggests a steely, serious, gritty element to the film. The close ups of the main character makes the audience focus on the main character and sympathise with what he's going through and the decisions he has to make.
The synth-based soundtrack suggests that the setting of the film is modern and possibly dystopian. It is slow and brooding and slowly builds tension. The modernism of the synthy soundtrack should relate to our young target audience and connect with contemporary music trends.
Here is a focus interview I conducted to gain some feedback on how we attracted and addressed our audience:
Wednesday, 21 March 2012
Thursday, 8 March 2012
The Film Industry Questions - Exhibition
1. How important is the appearance of a cinema in you returning? Use examples from your own cinema visits.
On one hand, it could be argued that the appearance of a cinema is important in one returning. Geographical factors are not necessarily the most important ones for deciding which cinema to choose as many cinemas are easily accessible by means of public transport or other methods of travel. For this reason, the appearance of a cinema can come to be the deciding factor on whether or not to visit it. After all, the appearance of a cinema is what makes the first impression on someone going to see a film at the big screen meaning that they will be strongly influenced by it and it can come to determine the viewer’s outlook on the whole event. Furthermore, cinemas nowadays can have more features than simply a foyer – some have, for example, cafes, meaning the features of an individual cinema are becoming more and more important regarding people’s choices of cinema.
On the other hand, however, the deciding factor of going to the cinema altogether is almost always where films are on. Due to film marketing, most people will go to cinemas with an idea of what they want to watch already in their head – it is simply a question of which cinemas are showing it at the most convenient time. Most big films are now booked online which show how cinemas themselves are not as important as what they show.
All in all, the appearance of a cinema is becoming more important in convincing viewers to return – however, it will never be a deciding factor over the question of which cinemas show which films.
2. How significant do you think 3D and digital projection facilities will be to exhibitors? What will it allow them to do?
The use of digital projection facilities will allow exhibitors to create more screens as using digital technology is cheaper. This as a result will lead to cinemas making a bigger profit out of showings, firstly because they will have more cinemas and secondly because the showings cost less for them now. The use of 3D is also considered to be a strong turning point in cinema which will draw more people into cinemas on the basis of watching a film in 3D given its relatively new transfer into the mainstream. Furthermore, ticket prices are more expensive with 3D showings meaning that cinemas will make even more profit out of them.
3. Find out more about Vue, Odeon UCI and Cineworld cinemas - who owns them?
Vue are owned by the private equity firm Doughty Hanson & Co.
Odeon UCI have come under various ownerships in the last 10 years, firstly to Cinven in 2000, then to a group of private investors in 2003 and then to Terra Firma in 2004 where it was merged with United Cinemas International.
Cineworld is privately owned, though the Blackstone group invested in it in 2004 and currently hold 20% of its shares.
4. Although audience choice was a central part of the success of the multiplex what actually have multiplexes allowed exhibitors to do?
Multiplexes have allowed exhibitors to make more money out of individual Hollywood films - despite the amount of cinemas in many multiplexes it is usually the case that most of them show the same 8-10 core titles which are usually Hollywood films - barely any of the films shown at multiplexes are arthouse. The increase in multiplexes has led to an increase in aadmissions - they doubled in little more than 10 years - between 1985 and 1997 admissions went from 72 million to 140 million.
5. The main arthouse cinema chains are the Picturehouse and Curzon chains. One of the main differences between these cinemas and multiplex cinemas is in the films they show - Curzon and the Picturehouse cinemas often show independent films with Curzon favouring European or world cinema. Hollywood blockbusters are rarely present in these cinemas and arthouse, world cinema films are rarely present in the multiplexes. Furthermore, these chains do not only show modern films but re runs of old films as well, popular or obscure ones.
Arthouse cinemas also often have less screens than multiplexes sometimes only 3 or 4. They are not made with the intention of making as much money as the multiplexes (of course they do hope to seek profits as well) meaning they have less screens.
6. What are the BFI doing to help promote niche films to UK audiences?
Funding niche products in order to secure their creation and large scale release.
7. Exhibitors are the route to customers. All film makers think carefully about how their production decisions affect the exhibition sector. What do you look for in a cinema?
In a cinema I do not look for anything in particular - it is usually the case that I go to see films based on what films are on in which cinemas. However, since I watch a range of films from major Hollywood films to more independent productions I tend to look for cinemas which show a reasonably wide range of films. This is not always easy, however, as there is an increasingly strong divide between Hollywood productions and independent productions.
8. Exhibitors are increasingly involved in promoting independent films locally - where personal appearances by cast and crew can generate good press. How might this affect the production of low budget British films?
This will allow more publicity - particularly good publicity - of low budget British films reaching local audiences, which may in turn increase the production of low budget British films and secure larger scale exhibitions of them.
9. The exhibition sector in the UK has grown rapidly but now is a period of some consolidation. The advent of digital technology is raising some interesting issues for the relationships between producer, director and exhibitor. What do you think might happen in the future?
I believe that in the future, digital technology will be increasingly used by exhibitors due to the fact that most major productions which are making money are being made using digital technology. Even directors who make their films using film rather than digital may find their films being exhibited using digital technology as they are soon to be in the minority of directors using film - due to the increasing use of digital to film, digital to exhibit may become the norm.
10. Do you think independent cinemas will survive in the future?
I think that independent cinemas will survive in the future, as there is still a reasonably strong market for independent, foreign and old films - particularly in the wake of this year's releases. The Artist, for example, was a European production that went on to win Best Picture at the Oscars. This may open more windows for European cinema altogether - being a silent film and a throwback to the golden age of cinema it may also convince more people to see the old black and white classic films shown in cinemas such as Picturehouses. The Tree of Life and Drive, both arthouse films (Drive being an independent production by a European director), also recieved major releases, critical acclaim and the former was nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
On one hand, it could be argued that the appearance of a cinema is important in one returning. Geographical factors are not necessarily the most important ones for deciding which cinema to choose as many cinemas are easily accessible by means of public transport or other methods of travel. For this reason, the appearance of a cinema can come to be the deciding factor on whether or not to visit it. After all, the appearance of a cinema is what makes the first impression on someone going to see a film at the big screen meaning that they will be strongly influenced by it and it can come to determine the viewer’s outlook on the whole event. Furthermore, cinemas nowadays can have more features than simply a foyer – some have, for example, cafes, meaning the features of an individual cinema are becoming more and more important regarding people’s choices of cinema.
On the other hand, however, the deciding factor of going to the cinema altogether is almost always where films are on. Due to film marketing, most people will go to cinemas with an idea of what they want to watch already in their head – it is simply a question of which cinemas are showing it at the most convenient time. Most big films are now booked online which show how cinemas themselves are not as important as what they show.
All in all, the appearance of a cinema is becoming more important in convincing viewers to return – however, it will never be a deciding factor over the question of which cinemas show which films.
2. How significant do you think 3D and digital projection facilities will be to exhibitors? What will it allow them to do?
The use of digital projection facilities will allow exhibitors to create more screens as using digital technology is cheaper. This as a result will lead to cinemas making a bigger profit out of showings, firstly because they will have more cinemas and secondly because the showings cost less for them now. The use of 3D is also considered to be a strong turning point in cinema which will draw more people into cinemas on the basis of watching a film in 3D given its relatively new transfer into the mainstream. Furthermore, ticket prices are more expensive with 3D showings meaning that cinemas will make even more profit out of them.
3. Find out more about Vue, Odeon UCI and Cineworld cinemas - who owns them?
Vue are owned by the private equity firm Doughty Hanson & Co.
Odeon UCI have come under various ownerships in the last 10 years, firstly to Cinven in 2000, then to a group of private investors in 2003 and then to Terra Firma in 2004 where it was merged with United Cinemas International.
Cineworld is privately owned, though the Blackstone group invested in it in 2004 and currently hold 20% of its shares.
4. Although audience choice was a central part of the success of the multiplex what actually have multiplexes allowed exhibitors to do?
Multiplexes have allowed exhibitors to make more money out of individual Hollywood films - despite the amount of cinemas in many multiplexes it is usually the case that most of them show the same 8-10 core titles which are usually Hollywood films - barely any of the films shown at multiplexes are arthouse. The increase in multiplexes has led to an increase in aadmissions - they doubled in little more than 10 years - between 1985 and 1997 admissions went from 72 million to 140 million.
5. The main arthouse cinema chains are the Picturehouse and Curzon chains. One of the main differences between these cinemas and multiplex cinemas is in the films they show - Curzon and the Picturehouse cinemas often show independent films with Curzon favouring European or world cinema. Hollywood blockbusters are rarely present in these cinemas and arthouse, world cinema films are rarely present in the multiplexes. Furthermore, these chains do not only show modern films but re runs of old films as well, popular or obscure ones.
Arthouse cinemas also often have less screens than multiplexes sometimes only 3 or 4. They are not made with the intention of making as much money as the multiplexes (of course they do hope to seek profits as well) meaning they have less screens.
6. What are the BFI doing to help promote niche films to UK audiences?
Funding niche products in order to secure their creation and large scale release.
7. Exhibitors are the route to customers. All film makers think carefully about how their production decisions affect the exhibition sector. What do you look for in a cinema?
In a cinema I do not look for anything in particular - it is usually the case that I go to see films based on what films are on in which cinemas. However, since I watch a range of films from major Hollywood films to more independent productions I tend to look for cinemas which show a reasonably wide range of films. This is not always easy, however, as there is an increasingly strong divide between Hollywood productions and independent productions.
8. Exhibitors are increasingly involved in promoting independent films locally - where personal appearances by cast and crew can generate good press. How might this affect the production of low budget British films?
This will allow more publicity - particularly good publicity - of low budget British films reaching local audiences, which may in turn increase the production of low budget British films and secure larger scale exhibitions of them.
9. The exhibition sector in the UK has grown rapidly but now is a period of some consolidation. The advent of digital technology is raising some interesting issues for the relationships between producer, director and exhibitor. What do you think might happen in the future?
I believe that in the future, digital technology will be increasingly used by exhibitors due to the fact that most major productions which are making money are being made using digital technology. Even directors who make their films using film rather than digital may find their films being exhibited using digital technology as they are soon to be in the minority of directors using film - due to the increasing use of digital to film, digital to exhibit may become the norm.
10. Do you think independent cinemas will survive in the future?
I think that independent cinemas will survive in the future, as there is still a reasonably strong market for independent, foreign and old films - particularly in the wake of this year's releases. The Artist, for example, was a European production that went on to win Best Picture at the Oscars. This may open more windows for European cinema altogether - being a silent film and a throwback to the golden age of cinema it may also convince more people to see the old black and white classic films shown in cinemas such as Picturehouses. The Tree of Life and Drive, both arthouse films (Drive being an independent production by a European director), also recieved major releases, critical acclaim and the former was nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
Sunday, 4 March 2012
Evaluation Question 7
Going from our preliminary task, which involved filming a short, 30 second sequence with very few actors, a simple set and no major editing requirements, to our actual opening, in which we had to juggle several actors in a complicated location, I feel that I have learned a great deal about the filming process.
Firstly, I developed my skills in the planning process of film making due to the logistical issues we faced and needed to overcome. We created shot lists and storyboards for our openings which we felt were important to go through meticulously and rigorously as we originally intended to film some of our sequence on the DLR – for this, we felt that an efficient film shoot was highly important as there were a number of problems we could have potentially faced filming there. We faced one such problem – we were not permitted to film on the DLR train when we arrived at the station for our recce. We felt that we could not subsequently film in our other location which was near the DLR station as there would be location continuities. After performing different recces on different locations, we finally settled on the one we have now – London Bridge and the bank below it.
When we came to filming our film, I found that I progressed a great deal. For one thing, having to transpose our idea into a different setting meant that we had to make some on the spot directorial choices about how we would shoot the scenes and I feel that the decisions and changes we made were adequate and cinematic. This may have come from our research into similar media products of the thriller genre.
We also managed to improve our technical understanding of the equipment far beyond our original knowledge of it when we filmed our preliminary task. I found that I was unsure about how much of the technology worked for our prelim despite the fact that it did not require as much technology as we used for the final shoot. Due to the amount of recces we did however – approximately 3 in total – I felt significantly more confident with regard to using the equipment.
I feel that the area I developed in most, however, was film editing. When editing my preliminary task I had little knowledge of the editing software we were using. Furthermore, we were not required to do much sound editing at all and what continuity editing we had to do was simple and minimal. In our final project, however, the sound of our film – which included cars going across a bridge, church bells and plenty of wind – required much sound editing which I was personally appointed the task of. During the course of the sound editing, I learnt how to detach audio from video clips, how to match audio levels and reduce background hum – each of these tools I used frequently to make our sound seamless. Our continuity editing also improved substantially with the creation of our final product - we successfully managed to use eye line matches, match on actions and shot reverse shots.
Overall, I feel that I have learnt and developed the most in the planning and editing stages - most importantly, I have learnt the importance of these two stages of production as we faced challenges during our production which to overcome relied on the strength of our planning and our skills in the editing process - neither of which we developed a great deal in the run up to our preliminary task.
Firstly, I developed my skills in the planning process of film making due to the logistical issues we faced and needed to overcome. We created shot lists and storyboards for our openings which we felt were important to go through meticulously and rigorously as we originally intended to film some of our sequence on the DLR – for this, we felt that an efficient film shoot was highly important as there were a number of problems we could have potentially faced filming there. We faced one such problem – we were not permitted to film on the DLR train when we arrived at the station for our recce. We felt that we could not subsequently film in our other location which was near the DLR station as there would be location continuities. After performing different recces on different locations, we finally settled on the one we have now – London Bridge and the bank below it.
When we came to filming our film, I found that I progressed a great deal. For one thing, having to transpose our idea into a different setting meant that we had to make some on the spot directorial choices about how we would shoot the scenes and I feel that the decisions and changes we made were adequate and cinematic. This may have come from our research into similar media products of the thriller genre.
We also managed to improve our technical understanding of the equipment far beyond our original knowledge of it when we filmed our preliminary task. I found that I was unsure about how much of the technology worked for our prelim despite the fact that it did not require as much technology as we used for the final shoot. Due to the amount of recces we did however – approximately 3 in total – I felt significantly more confident with regard to using the equipment.
I feel that the area I developed in most, however, was film editing. When editing my preliminary task I had little knowledge of the editing software we were using. Furthermore, we were not required to do much sound editing at all and what continuity editing we had to do was simple and minimal. In our final project, however, the sound of our film – which included cars going across a bridge, church bells and plenty of wind – required much sound editing which I was personally appointed the task of. During the course of the sound editing, I learnt how to detach audio from video clips, how to match audio levels and reduce background hum – each of these tools I used frequently to make our sound seamless. Our continuity editing also improved substantially with the creation of our final product - we successfully managed to use eye line matches, match on actions and shot reverse shots.
Wednesday, 29 February 2012
The Film Industry Questions - Distribution
Did millions of people go to see Pirates of the Caribbean 2 in the first week of release because it is such a great film, or because it is so well marketed? Or Both?
The figure – that 32% of the final gross of the film was made in its opening weekend – suggests that Pirates of the Caribbean was a popular film in it’s first week of release was because of the marketing rather than the quality of the film. It starred three popular actors – Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley – and was of course a follow up to a highly successful and acclaimed blockbuster, meaning it was very anticipated as a film. As a result, it made 135 million in its opening weekend, though this ended up being a substantial amount of the film’s overall earnings suggesting that audiences were not as keen to re-watch it as they were to watch it the first time around.
Why do you think Cloverfield was such a successful movie?
One o f the main reasons why Cloverfield was a success was because of its use of viral marketing in accordance with the ‘found footage’ genre it was part of. The marketing was able to stir up curiosity and interest by giving it a fairly low profile. The first information given about it was a teaser trailer giving no name for the film and only a release date. The main footage shown was a homemade video of New York being attacked by something unidentified, ending with an image of the head of the Statue of Liberty crashing through a street. These glimpses of the film were memorable, and led to audience interest due to the fact that they were not totally explained. Via word of mouth, the interest was heightened as blogs and viral websites posted information about the film, sometimes relating to the backstories of the characters and sometimes cryptically revealing information about the monster story. In this way, the film has a universe which goes beyond the 90 minute film itself, making it a more intriguing experience to moviegoers. Cloverfield was not the first ‘found footage’ film and it is certainly not the last – however, in recent years, very few ‘found footage’ films have put as much effort into making their stories seem believable in the way that Cloverfield did.
To what extent do you agree with the statement that the audience of tomorrow is online? What examples from your own consumption of films and media lead you towards the internet?
I believe that there will be a general tend towards watching films online with the younger generation for several reasons. For one thing, they consume the advertising and publicity of the films they watch mainly online through adverts on youtube and awareness pages on websites and social networking sites such as Facebook. This means that it will feel natural for them to actually watch their films online rather than go to the cinema and see them. Furthermore, the internet opens new windows of opportunity for lesser known or independent directors to get their films seen and can become popular as a result of this.
Personally, I have often favoured watching films at the cinema or at least renting them on DVD as I often find myself particularly drawn towards certain films with certain actors or directors which give me more of an incentive to watch them on the best formats available. However, most of the marketing for films which I have enjoyed recently I have often consumed online – Apple Trailers for example showcase all trailers for upcoming films, and film websites such as IMDb offer information about upcoming films which I may want to see. Online marketing has also opened new opportunities for creating excitement – not only can trailers be shown online but short select scenes from films to advertise the film as a whole to the audience. One particular film that got my attention through this was the film Drive, which released it's opening prologue online before making a trailer.
The figure – that 32% of the final gross of the film was made in its opening weekend – suggests that Pirates of the Caribbean was a popular film in it’s first week of release was because of the marketing rather than the quality of the film. It starred three popular actors – Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley – and was of course a follow up to a highly successful and acclaimed blockbuster, meaning it was very anticipated as a film. As a result, it made 135 million in its opening weekend, though this ended up being a substantial amount of the film’s overall earnings suggesting that audiences were not as keen to re-watch it as they were to watch it the first time around.
Why do you think Cloverfield was such a successful movie?
One o f the main reasons why Cloverfield was a success was because of its use of viral marketing in accordance with the ‘found footage’ genre it was part of. The marketing was able to stir up curiosity and interest by giving it a fairly low profile. The first information given about it was a teaser trailer giving no name for the film and only a release date. The main footage shown was a homemade video of New York being attacked by something unidentified, ending with an image of the head of the Statue of Liberty crashing through a street. These glimpses of the film were memorable, and led to audience interest due to the fact that they were not totally explained. Via word of mouth, the interest was heightened as blogs and viral websites posted information about the film, sometimes relating to the backstories of the characters and sometimes cryptically revealing information about the monster story. In this way, the film has a universe which goes beyond the 90 minute film itself, making it a more intriguing experience to moviegoers. Cloverfield was not the first ‘found footage’ film and it is certainly not the last – however, in recent years, very few ‘found footage’ films have put as much effort into making their stories seem believable in the way that Cloverfield did.
To what extent do you agree with the statement that the audience of tomorrow is online? What examples from your own consumption of films and media lead you towards the internet?
I believe that there will be a general tend towards watching films online with the younger generation for several reasons. For one thing, they consume the advertising and publicity of the films they watch mainly online through adverts on youtube and awareness pages on websites and social networking sites such as Facebook. This means that it will feel natural for them to actually watch their films online rather than go to the cinema and see them. Furthermore, the internet opens new windows of opportunity for lesser known or independent directors to get their films seen and can become popular as a result of this.
Personally, I have often favoured watching films at the cinema or at least renting them on DVD as I often find myself particularly drawn towards certain films with certain actors or directors which give me more of an incentive to watch them on the best formats available. However, most of the marketing for films which I have enjoyed recently I have often consumed online – Apple Trailers for example showcase all trailers for upcoming films, and film websites such as IMDb offer information about upcoming films which I may want to see. Online marketing has also opened new opportunities for creating excitement – not only can trailers be shown online but short select scenes from films to advertise the film as a whole to the audience. One particular film that got my attention through this was the film Drive, which released it's opening prologue online before making a trailer.
Saturday, 25 February 2012
Evaluation Question 1
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
One of the main ways in which our media product defied conventions of similar media products - that is to say, British crime thrillers - was in the costumes of the characters. While most British crime thrillers such as Kidulthood often have hooded or unsavoury looking characters, we made our characters well dressed, one of them wearing a suit and the others dressed fairly inconspicuously. Through this, we hoped to give our characters a more unpredictable edge and not make them caricatures of British street criminals.
We also decided to make our opening rather slow-paced and use no shaky camera motion for it. This is unlike other thriller openings we studied such as Collateral or London to Brighton, and we chose to shoot the opening in this way to establish the characters and setting rather than put the audience into the action, as we felt that our film would be more of a slow-burn character piece. This meant that we often focused on the main character in between scenes of shot progression such as when he meets the two other men and begins following the girl. This reminded me of the film No Country For Old Men, which focuses as much on the behaviour and actions of the main characters than the general crime story it is based around.
For the graphics, we decided to go for a font called Bank Gothic - this font has been used in many films and TV shows, such as 24, The International and X Men.
We were influenced by some other more character based crime dramas for our opening, notably the films Drive and Heat in terms of cinematography, location and costume. Drive is noticeable for its lack of handheld cameras and slow-paced cinematography, while Heat opens on the Los Angeles MTA and uses several establishing shots - we were originally going to have our film set on the London DLR though could not. We did, however, use several establishing shots of the location in the way that Heat did.
^It can be seen here how the cinematography of Heat is atmospheric and consists of slow and steady cinematography which our film also had elements of.
The main characters in Heat and Drive are also dressed fairly inconspicuously when we first meet them: Robert De Niro's character in Heat in the opening is in fact dressed in disguise as an ambulance driver, while Ryan Gosling's character in Drive wears a simple satin jacket and jeans.
We did, however, not want to make our characters seem totally inconspicuous as we wanted to also build a mounting sense of mystery with regard to the story. Drive also influenced us directly in this aspect as we had our character wear leather gloves identical to those that the main character in Drive wears. In this context, these are particularly suspicious given that the character is not a driver.
One trope present in many crime films of a similar budget and setting to ours, however, was having a female character killed or attacked. This is often more surprising than killing off a less innocent looking male character and can be used to put the audience on the edge of their seat. We decided to make the character getting killed female as it demonstrated the dangerous nature of our possibly sociopathic main character.
One of the main ways in which our media product defied conventions of similar media products - that is to say, British crime thrillers - was in the costumes of the characters. While most British crime thrillers such as Kidulthood often have hooded or unsavoury looking characters, we made our characters well dressed, one of them wearing a suit and the others dressed fairly inconspicuously. Through this, we hoped to give our characters a more unpredictable edge and not make them caricatures of British street criminals.
We also decided to make our opening rather slow-paced and use no shaky camera motion for it. This is unlike other thriller openings we studied such as Collateral or London to Brighton, and we chose to shoot the opening in this way to establish the characters and setting rather than put the audience into the action, as we felt that our film would be more of a slow-burn character piece. This meant that we often focused on the main character in between scenes of shot progression such as when he meets the two other men and begins following the girl. This reminded me of the film No Country For Old Men, which focuses as much on the behaviour and actions of the main characters than the general crime story it is based around.
For the graphics, we decided to go for a font called Bank Gothic - this font has been used in many films and TV shows, such as 24, The International and X Men.
We were influenced by some other more character based crime dramas for our opening, notably the films Drive and Heat in terms of cinematography, location and costume. Drive is noticeable for its lack of handheld cameras and slow-paced cinematography, while Heat opens on the Los Angeles MTA and uses several establishing shots - we were originally going to have our film set on the London DLR though could not. We did, however, use several establishing shots of the location in the way that Heat did.
^It can be seen here how the cinematography of Heat is atmospheric and consists of slow and steady cinematography which our film also had elements of.
The main characters in Heat and Drive are also dressed fairly inconspicuously when we first meet them: Robert De Niro's character in Heat in the opening is in fact dressed in disguise as an ambulance driver, while Ryan Gosling's character in Drive wears a simple satin jacket and jeans.
We did, however, not want to make our characters seem totally inconspicuous as we wanted to also build a mounting sense of mystery with regard to the story. Drive also influenced us directly in this aspect as we had our character wear leather gloves identical to those that the main character in Drive wears. In this context, these are particularly suspicious given that the character is not a driver.
One trope present in many crime films of a similar budget and setting to ours, however, was having a female character killed or attacked. This is often more surprising than killing off a less innocent looking male character and can be used to put the audience on the edge of their seat. We decided to make the character getting killed female as it demonstrated the dangerous nature of our possibly sociopathic main character.
Thursday, 16 February 2012
Assessing our Filming and Construction
Decisions we made:
• One of our main stylistic choices for our sequence was to have little to no moving camera shots, especially for the first half of our film. This we felt was necessary as we wanted to find a medium between having the opening start in the middle of an event for the character and building up the atmosphere and immersing the viewer in the location.
• Once the character finds the person he is assigned to kill, we have more shots where the camera is moving or panning to establish pace and build up tension.
• We decided to make the characters reasonably well dressed, with one character wearing a suit and the others wearing fairly smart clothing. We made this decision as we felt that once the characters begin acting suspiciously (receiving cryptic instructions, abruptly putting on leather gloves), the audience would have more curiosity into what is happening.
Revisions of our planned sequence:
• We were of course originally going to set the first half of our film before the main character finds his target on the DLR, though we had to change as we found filming on the trains impossible.
• We had intended to set our film at twilight to night time, though we found that the lighting at London Bridge during the middle of the afternoon was suitable for our film – sometimes harshly grey, sometimes more cool and blue, this set the somewhat bleak yet stylish tone to our film.
• On our recce, we found our original location for the alleyway scene at the end of the film – it was in a darkened car park. However, we chose a different location – round the back of an office block and terrace – for many reasons. For one thing, we found lighting the car park particularly difficult, meaning it would not have looked particularly impressive. We also particularly liked the terrace the characters walk across as they come towards the alleyway, as it was suspiciously quite at the time of our filming.
Problems we faced:
• One of our main problems was with the sound of our film. The first few shots of our sequence were on a bridge, and the middle of it was under it. This meant that we picked up a fair amount of ambient noise of cars travelling past and wind, which sometimes made our characters’ voices hard to hear. For this reason, we have had to re-record one of the opening lines.
• We also found that, at times, the lighting was difficult to work with. It was very bright and harshly lit, meaning that many of our low-angle shots of the actors or locations were often too dark on their faces or images. We managed to remedy this problem to a certain extent with our actors as we used our lights, though obviously there was no way to ensure that, for example, our low-angle shot of the Shard building was well-lit without simply having to use ambient lights.
• One of our main stylistic choices for our sequence was to have little to no moving camera shots, especially for the first half of our film. This we felt was necessary as we wanted to find a medium between having the opening start in the middle of an event for the character and building up the atmosphere and immersing the viewer in the location.
• Once the character finds the person he is assigned to kill, we have more shots where the camera is moving or panning to establish pace and build up tension.
• We decided to make the characters reasonably well dressed, with one character wearing a suit and the others wearing fairly smart clothing. We made this decision as we felt that once the characters begin acting suspiciously (receiving cryptic instructions, abruptly putting on leather gloves), the audience would have more curiosity into what is happening.
Revisions of our planned sequence:
• We were of course originally going to set the first half of our film before the main character finds his target on the DLR, though we had to change as we found filming on the trains impossible.
• We had intended to set our film at twilight to night time, though we found that the lighting at London Bridge during the middle of the afternoon was suitable for our film – sometimes harshly grey, sometimes more cool and blue, this set the somewhat bleak yet stylish tone to our film.
• On our recce, we found our original location for the alleyway scene at the end of the film – it was in a darkened car park. However, we chose a different location – round the back of an office block and terrace – for many reasons. For one thing, we found lighting the car park particularly difficult, meaning it would not have looked particularly impressive. We also particularly liked the terrace the characters walk across as they come towards the alleyway, as it was suspiciously quite at the time of our filming.
Problems we faced:
• One of our main problems was with the sound of our film. The first few shots of our sequence were on a bridge, and the middle of it was under it. This meant that we picked up a fair amount of ambient noise of cars travelling past and wind, which sometimes made our characters’ voices hard to hear. For this reason, we have had to re-record one of the opening lines.
• We also found that, at times, the lighting was difficult to work with. It was very bright and harshly lit, meaning that many of our low-angle shots of the actors or locations were often too dark on their faces or images. We managed to remedy this problem to a certain extent with our actors as we used our lights, though obviously there was no way to ensure that, for example, our low-angle shot of the Shard building was well-lit without simply having to use ambient lights.
A History of British Cinema - Questions
1
One of the major developments in the UK film industry has been the increase in politically and socially progressive films, mainly coming into the centre stage during the Thatcher years, with directors such as Ken Loach and Mike Leigh at the forefront of this style of social realism. Even Four Weddings and a Funeral, which was less focused on the harsh qualities of the Thatcher era and more focused on the upper middle class of England, was certainly a film based on class and proved to be greatly successful here and in the USA. One of the most radical and famous examples of the gritty form of British cinema that emerged in the 80s and 90s was Trainspotting, starring Ewan McGregor, Robert Carlyle and Ewen Bremner. Focusing on the acid house culture of 90s teen life in the UK, it had a strong and noticeable influence on many British films, inspiring such films as Human Traffic and Boston Kickout, which all starred now famous British actors. Often these films would have a mix of realism and surrealism, focusing on the UK drug culture and its highs and lows. Films like these challenged traditional views on youth, though youth culture was not the only aspect of British society which had new light shed on it by British films. Directors such as Shane Meadows began to explore English society outside London with films such as This is England (set in Nottingham). In general, British cinema had began to explore the lives of the 'underclass' which was emerging during the 90s, with films like Brassed Off and The Full Monty being prime examples of such films.
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3
Momentum Pictures tend to distribute low to medium budget films, usually UK or foreign films. Recently, for example, they distributed Shame, a British film starring Michael Fassbender, and Valhalla Rising, by Danish director Nicholas Winding Refn. They distribute films of many different genres, from actioners such as Haywire to the Oscar winning drama The King's Speech, though there is a recurring trend for them to distribute more independent or arthouse films - they have distributed and are distributing films for sophisticated, independent or arthouse directors such as Steven Soderbergh (for Haywire), John Hillcoat (for the upcoming Wettest County), Nicholas Winding Refn, David O. Russell (for The Fighter) and Gus Van Sant (for Milk). They have also frequently distributed films for Mike Leigh, the famous British social realist director.
One of the major developments in the UK film industry has been the increase in politically and socially progressive films, mainly coming into the centre stage during the Thatcher years, with directors such as Ken Loach and Mike Leigh at the forefront of this style of social realism. Even Four Weddings and a Funeral, which was less focused on the harsh qualities of the Thatcher era and more focused on the upper middle class of England, was certainly a film based on class and proved to be greatly successful here and in the USA. One of the most radical and famous examples of the gritty form of British cinema that emerged in the 80s and 90s was Trainspotting, starring Ewan McGregor, Robert Carlyle and Ewen Bremner. Focusing on the acid house culture of 90s teen life in the UK, it had a strong and noticeable influence on many British films, inspiring such films as Human Traffic and Boston Kickout, which all starred now famous British actors. Often these films would have a mix of realism and surrealism, focusing on the UK drug culture and its highs and lows. Films like these challenged traditional views on youth, though youth culture was not the only aspect of British society which had new light shed on it by British films. Directors such as Shane Meadows began to explore English society outside London with films such as This is England (set in Nottingham). In general, British cinema had began to explore the lives of the 'underclass' which was emerging during the 90s, with films like Brassed Off and The Full Monty being prime examples of such films.
2
Never let me go
View more presentations from kayleighderocco.
3
Momentum Pictures tend to distribute low to medium budget films, usually UK or foreign films. Recently, for example, they distributed Shame, a British film starring Michael Fassbender, and Valhalla Rising, by Danish director Nicholas Winding Refn. They distribute films of many different genres, from actioners such as Haywire to the Oscar winning drama The King's Speech, though there is a recurring trend for them to distribute more independent or arthouse films - they have distributed and are distributing films for sophisticated, independent or arthouse directors such as Steven Soderbergh (for Haywire), John Hillcoat (for the upcoming Wettest County), Nicholas Winding Refn, David O. Russell (for The Fighter) and Gus Van Sant (for Milk). They have also frequently distributed films for Mike Leigh, the famous British social realist director.
Thursday, 9 February 2012
The British Film Industry - Questions
1 - Based on the statistics, does the British Film Industry seem to be in good shape?
These statistics suggest that the British Film Industry is in reasonably good shape - certainly a sustainable one - though it is clear that there are some weaknesses with regard to it at present, many of which could be put down to the current economic conditions. The value of domestic production has fallen by 22%, and the median budget of UK films has gone from approximately 3 million pounds to 1 million. Nonetheless, the British Film Industry remains the third largest in the world. It has seen some prolific accolades and successes over the past few years - for example, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 earned almost £1 billion, and The King's Speech, a fairly low budget British film, went on to become a huge success and winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture.
2 - How does film production in the UK seem to be very different from the Hollywood model?
One of the main differences between UK film production and Hollywood film production is that the UK often has co-productions between several different production companies and distributors, whereas Hollywood films often rely one one major film production company such as Universal Studios or Warner Bros. Many British films also rely on European or American investments, e.g. Ken Loach's Looking for Eric had investment from Germany and Spain, while The Dark Knight was a UK/American co-production.
3 - What does the table tell us about the state of the UK film industry in 2010?
The table tells us that the vast majority of films released in the UK are in fact American, and that these films have the largest box office earnings of all films released. It also suggests that UK independent productions are not nearly as popular as UK studio-backed productions, given that the studio-backed productions had a 10% higher share of the box office than independent productions, when the latter had around 100 more released. Overall, it states that a quater of the box office share was from UK films - though this is pale by comparison to the USA box office share, it is also very high above the share of films from the rest of the world combined.
4 - How many of these cilms could be considered British films? What does this say about the scale of the UK film industry?
Shrek Forever After - this was distributed by Paramount UK.
Twilight Saga: Eclipse - this was distributed by E1 entertainment in the UK.
Sherlock Holmes - this was distributed by Warner Bros UK.
Alvin and the Chipmunks - this was distributed by Twentiefth Century Fox UK.
Sex and the City 2 - this was distributed by Warner Bros UK. It also recieved worldwide New Line Cinema distribution.
None of these films can be considered wholly British, as most of them had American production companies backing them and recieved worldwide distribution, with most distribution companies such as Warner Bros and Paramount also distributing in the USA, Ireland, European and other countries.
5 - Which of these two films recently released in the UK do you think is a BBC co-production and why?
My Week with Marylin, given that it seems to be a majorly British film with an all-British cast - it is also set in England.
6 - Why do you think the Coalition government decided to close down the UKFC?
It would appear that the UK Film Council used it's money unwisely - sometimes investing in arthouse pictures which do not often make profit, while at other times investing in bigger budget films that could have found money elsewhere. Furthermore, in the year leading up to it's closing down, it put £160 million of Lotery monney into more than 900 productions, not all of which were successful. It had recieved criticism for narrowing the rate of return for the industry.
These statistics suggest that the British Film Industry is in reasonably good shape - certainly a sustainable one - though it is clear that there are some weaknesses with regard to it at present, many of which could be put down to the current economic conditions. The value of domestic production has fallen by 22%, and the median budget of UK films has gone from approximately 3 million pounds to 1 million. Nonetheless, the British Film Industry remains the third largest in the world. It has seen some prolific accolades and successes over the past few years - for example, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 earned almost £1 billion, and The King's Speech, a fairly low budget British film, went on to become a huge success and winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture.
2 - How does film production in the UK seem to be very different from the Hollywood model?
One of the main differences between UK film production and Hollywood film production is that the UK often has co-productions between several different production companies and distributors, whereas Hollywood films often rely one one major film production company such as Universal Studios or Warner Bros. Many British films also rely on European or American investments, e.g. Ken Loach's Looking for Eric had investment from Germany and Spain, while The Dark Knight was a UK/American co-production.
3 - What does the table tell us about the state of the UK film industry in 2010?
The table tells us that the vast majority of films released in the UK are in fact American, and that these films have the largest box office earnings of all films released. It also suggests that UK independent productions are not nearly as popular as UK studio-backed productions, given that the studio-backed productions had a 10% higher share of the box office than independent productions, when the latter had around 100 more released. Overall, it states that a quater of the box office share was from UK films - though this is pale by comparison to the USA box office share, it is also very high above the share of films from the rest of the world combined.
4 - How many of these cilms could be considered British films? What does this say about the scale of the UK film industry?
Shrek Forever After - this was distributed by Paramount UK.
Twilight Saga: Eclipse - this was distributed by E1 entertainment in the UK.
Sherlock Holmes - this was distributed by Warner Bros UK.
Alvin and the Chipmunks - this was distributed by Twentiefth Century Fox UK.
Sex and the City 2 - this was distributed by Warner Bros UK. It also recieved worldwide New Line Cinema distribution.
None of these films can be considered wholly British, as most of them had American production companies backing them and recieved worldwide distribution, with most distribution companies such as Warner Bros and Paramount also distributing in the USA, Ireland, European and other countries.
5 - Which of these two films recently released in the UK do you think is a BBC co-production and why?
My Week with Marylin, given that it seems to be a majorly British film with an all-British cast - it is also set in England.
6 - Why do you think the Coalition government decided to close down the UKFC?
It would appear that the UK Film Council used it's money unwisely - sometimes investing in arthouse pictures which do not often make profit, while at other times investing in bigger budget films that could have found money elsewhere. Furthermore, in the year leading up to it's closing down, it put £160 million of Lotery monney into more than 900 productions, not all of which were successful. It had recieved criticism for narrowing the rate of return for the industry.
Sunday, 29 January 2012
Studio Idents - Research and Planning
This is a simple, bold and iconic studio logo which also has an powerful theme. This logo often draws me into films due to its own timelessness, so I feel that we should also attempt to make an eye-catching Ident, simple yet iconic.
Like the other Idents I have posted, the main colour scheme of the writing on this Ident is gold - unless we would like to give our studio Ident a more understated look, I feel that we should consider using gold. What I particularly liked about this was the use of spotlights, which is very eye catching.
This is a more understated logo which I imagine that our Ident would look more like. It is, however, as eye-catching and interesting as the other more prestigious Idents I have posted due to the bold font and recognisable logo. This Ident has been frequently used in films which have had it modified or have played music/sound over it. It is possible that we could do the same for our Ident if we were to have one similar to this.
For our Ident, I would like to design something similar to the Legendary Pictures logo. I do not feel that our Ident symbol - if any - should be overstated and large, in order for it to reflect the somewhat low-key nature of our film. Ideally, I would simply have text giving the name of our studio logo, though with a sleek animation to it which would also reflect the stylish and urban atmosphere of our film. Like the Idents I have researched, I would like to possibly have a gold font to our Ident in order to make it stand out, though have the font style itself fairly low-key, perhaps even like the Bank Gothic font we have chosen for the titles themselves.
Saturday, 28 January 2012
Recce 1 and 2 - Comments
Our original plan for a recce, which involved taking the DLR from Canary Wharf to Deptford Bridge on the 11th of January and filming on the latter station did not work out at all. Upon boarding the DLR and setting up to film our first shots, we were told by a steward that we could not film on the DLR without permission which, unfortunately, we did not have. Furthermore, we were not allowed to film on the station which we had originally intended to.
After some discussion about where we could re-film our sequence, we decided that we would film the station sequence at Lewisham, the train scene on the overland service and the alleyway sequence in it's original location - near Deptford Bridge station. However, when we began shooting on the overland train, it became apparent to us that filming on this train would be equally problematic, as there was very little space to film and a fair amount of co-passengers. At this point, we decided that we would have to scrap the idea of filming the first half of the opening on the train and would film at another location.
We decided on filming the first half of the opening on London Bridge, as it had a modern, industrial feeling, similar to the one we hoped to achieve by filming near Canary Wharf. We found that we could transpose the narrative from a train to the bridge easily, with very few changes - the most notable ones being shots of the surroundings of London Bridge to establish the more vast location rather than shots of the train moving and arriving at the different stations. The second half takes place in a river walk rather than a station, which has many interesting paths and staircases that would make good locations. The main problems that we will need to iron out include lighting and sound. Many of our low angle shots or close ups often result in the actors being silhouetted by the natural lights. This will mean that we will have to strongly light our actors in the actual shooting. We are also intending to use a microphone for both dialogue scenes in the opening. As a point of note, we also hope to film the final alleyway scene in a car park - however, the lights in this particular car park only seem to turn on after approximately 4:45, and our recce footage of that location, which we filmed before the lights were turned on, was particularly grainy. We may consider waiting until the lights have turned on to film in that location so as to avoid the grainy effect.
After some discussion about where we could re-film our sequence, we decided that we would film the station sequence at Lewisham, the train scene on the overland service and the alleyway sequence in it's original location - near Deptford Bridge station. However, when we began shooting on the overland train, it became apparent to us that filming on this train would be equally problematic, as there was very little space to film and a fair amount of co-passengers. At this point, we decided that we would have to scrap the idea of filming the first half of the opening on the train and would film at another location.
We decided on filming the first half of the opening on London Bridge, as it had a modern, industrial feeling, similar to the one we hoped to achieve by filming near Canary Wharf. We found that we could transpose the narrative from a train to the bridge easily, with very few changes - the most notable ones being shots of the surroundings of London Bridge to establish the more vast location rather than shots of the train moving and arriving at the different stations. The second half takes place in a river walk rather than a station, which has many interesting paths and staircases that would make good locations. The main problems that we will need to iron out include lighting and sound. Many of our low angle shots or close ups often result in the actors being silhouetted by the natural lights. This will mean that we will have to strongly light our actors in the actual shooting. We are also intending to use a microphone for both dialogue scenes in the opening. As a point of note, we also hope to film the final alleyway scene in a car park - however, the lights in this particular car park only seem to turn on after approximately 4:45, and our recce footage of that location, which we filmed before the lights were turned on, was particularly grainy. We may consider waiting until the lights have turned on to film in that location so as to avoid the grainy effect.
Thursday, 12 January 2012
Narrative for Thriller Opening
Screams are heard over a black screen, they get louder and bridge into the screeching of the DLR on the tracks. A man is sleeping inside one of the carriages, in the third row from the front. He wakes up and exchanges a few ambiguous words with an unseen stranger sitting next to him. This second character is never shown fully and remains a mysterious figure for the audience. The first character turns to look out of the window, and when he looks back, the man is gone. The train doors shut and the second character is shown leaving the train. The first character notices a book that has been left on the seat next to him by the mysterious man. He opens it and it contains a piece of paper with the name of the station where he presumes he is supposed to get off, consequently it is the one approaching. He exits the train and asks a man on the platform for the time, who replies ‘yeah, you’re late, red hat’ suggesting he isn’t a stranger and is fully aware about what is going to happen. The first character looks around the platform, and turns back to the man, who is already gone. He then notices three men leaving the station, one of which is wearing a red arsenal hat. He also notices a young girl, mid-teens, wearing a red hat, leaving the station. He takes his chances and decides to follow her. She doesn’t realise and walks on; it is getting darker by the minute. She crosses a dark street and the man drags her down an alley. The screams from the beginning are played again, and the screen fades to black.
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