Evaluation Activity 7

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feels you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?

To begin with for our preliminary task I took more of a directors role but I did get a bit hands on with the camera. I feel as my skills have greatly increased since our preliminary task because we have been able to understand much better how our film should be filmed, like where from and what angle will give us the best effect when filming.


Camera Work:
During our first filming of our preliminary task we went into I with great ideas of how to film it but didnt come out with the desired effect. The camera work wasnt to great and the shots didnt really convey much story.

However our final piece blows our preliminary task out of the water because we factored in what angle will best suite this type of scene and how it will dvelop the story. As you can see due to the angle the character looks to be in the right place and the setting shows that too.

180 Degree Rule:
Next we see the difference between us using the 180 degree rule. In the prelimniary task we only used it really just to film the task, it didnt have much effect or meaning. Whereas in our final piece its used with great effect to introduce the characters and help the audience understand the realtionship between the two charcters, it also helps identify the setting of the film compared to our preliminary.

Editing:
During both pieces of filming I played a small role in the editing process, i was more there to help find what will make our piece great. With our preliminary task our editing was very basic because it was the first time we had used the software before, hence the jumpy cuts etc. but after a couple of attempts we mastered it for our final piece, for instance to cancel out some camera wobble we edited in some camera smoothing, this greatly improved our piece because it editing that out also created a great sense of suspense as the characters confronted.

Summary:
Due to doing these to pieces i feel my role as a amatuer film producer has vastly increased because not only have my camera skills increased, my director skills and editing skills have increased with it. This means my future pieces of filming should be upto a great standard because i've made that bond between character and audience by increasing my variety of skills. I look forward to what i can create in the future.

Evaluation activity 1

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? (i.e. of film openings)

 

 

Scene 1:

This is the opening scene of our film Old Habits Die Hard a social realsitic thriller. It's a story that follows a character through his bad drug addiction, which leads him into several tricky situations.

This first shot is a long shot of our setting and the character Toby, the shot itself helps layout the scene for the audience. The gloomy sky and derelect biulding suggest that the film isnt going to be one of a happy nature, but more of a dark one because these are the conventions of a social realistic thriller .The costume Toby is wearing is rather casual and incognito because he is a socailly akward character who doesnt like to stand out but blend in, hence his Kaki jacket; the jacket itself also blends in with the woodland background which helps hide Toby's anxiety. 

 

 

 

 

 

 Scene 2:

 

Here we see Toby walking into the shot of our setting, a derelect biulding. The graffiti adds great emphasis to the plot because it suggests the setting is in a rather sketchy area, somewhere out the way where a drug deal can go down without anybody knowing. This shot is more of a closer long shot, we wanted this shot because it collaberates the setting with the character, which helps build up the plot of the story. During this shot there is some thrilling music playing over the top, the music itself fits the genre conventions of a thriller film because it's suspense filled with a climactic build up.

 

  

 

 

 

 Scene 3:

This is a key scene to our film because it introduces both of a characters fully. This nice two shot helps introduce our characters for the film, Toby & Creegan, form this shot we can see Creegans personality straight away because of his posture and clothing, his casual clothes suggest he doesnt really care about what he looks like and his posture suggests that he has a bit of attitude. The build up of the music finishes at this piont of the film when the two characters meet, which fits the conventions of a thriller because when the main character begins dialogue the music cuts out before he/she speaks.

 

 

 

 

Scene 4:

This is my favourite shot in the film, where Creegan pins Toby up against the graffiti covered wall. This camera shot is a mix between a mid shot and a two shot because it shows the upper half of the two characters, but at the same time keeping them in the same shot, this helps convey their emotions to the audience. The best part about this scene is in the editing process where we added a motion smoothing effect to edit out the wobbley camera angle as it pans. The shot itself looks amazing in my opinion because it feels like your part of the film as the camera pans around the characters, its a convention used in some thrillers that i've seen e.g. Elysium. 

 

 

 

 Scene 5:

This is the penultimate scene before the big chase scene. It's a nice shot because it shows both the characters in the shot in their costumes, whilst showing the setting of which Toby follows to his escape. I would say this shot is a zoomed out two shot because it has both characters in frame with the whole setting in the background. The setting as the camera shot suggests is very ruggid and beatenup because of the graffiti, walled up windows and the flakey paint on the railing. It also shows the escape route for Toby to runaway because the railing channels his escape to one way. The setting also suites the genre convention of a socail realism because that genre likes to cement the location and setting used so the story can flow easily.

 

 

Scene 6:

Another one of my favourite shots in the film, this is when Toby slips on this bit of wood attempting to escape from Creegan. It's a nice close up shot of Toby's legs whilst he slips, the shot itself puts great emphasis on how desperate Toby is trying to get away from Creegan, because cannot keep his footing, he is so desperatete to escape. This shot also lays out the setting very well once more because the litter and overgrown weeds in the background suggest how run down the area is, this helps fit the conventions of a social realsim because that type of genre likes to add certain things to cretain shots to make the audience remember the setting of the film throughout. 

 

 

 

 Scene 7:

 

This is another close up shot of the characters legs as they run, but with a neat bit of editing added to it. As Toby rins past the title for our film fades in behind him but as Creegan runs past behind him the title fades away amongst his legs, a very cool effect that adds great emphasis to the story because it adds an element of suspision to the story, like Toby the title just appears but within a short amount of time it's gone again. As you can see the setting changes to a woodland scene, this helps add suspense to the plot because the woodland is a rather lonely setting, which means the characters are the only ones there; their problems only involve themselves and nobody else. Creegan in this shot has trousers that are too small for him, which may suggest that he has a poor background because his clothes are too small for him, a genre convention that is often associated with social realism films.

 

 

 

Scene 8:

 

This is the Vlogging part of our scene where Toby talks to his webcam about the things he has done. Here you get to experience the character that is Toby and how his addiction has lead him to do things that he doesnt't want to. The setting of this is Toby's room, the kaki theme is relayed into this scene because it helps convey Toby's anxiety, and that he likes to blend into the background, and because the curtains are shut suggests that he likes to be alone and away from the outside world. We used this Vlog shot because it suited the conventions of a socail realism because it lets the audience get to know the character on a more personal level, thus helping them understand the film better. 

 

 



Scene 9:

 

This is the final sequence of our film where Creegan grabs Toby and says how "the balance has changed forver". Thios is a rather nice POV shot from Toby's piont of view, it gives the audience the feeling that they're actually there and apart of the film. This shot ist hat makes the movie old habits die hard what it is because of Toby's bad addiction he has ended up in quite the tricky situation of which he may not get out of, which is forshadowed by the name of the film and all the settings and camera/editing at the opening of the film before this key scene.

 



Evaluation Activity 5

How did you attract/ address your audience?

 

 

Old Habits Die Hard is a social realistic thriller that sees a character walk into a drug deal that goes badly wrong. We have rated our film as certificate 15 because it's a gritty film that has several situations that shouldn't be viewed by people younger than this because they may find it distressing. The plot of the film closely relates to Trainspotting but has the thriller element form the Bourne franchise.

 

The conventions of a social realism is where the characters are in relatable situations to the audience, even though some people don't come across drug deals, others may that's why our film is based around a drug deal, this is the unique selling point of trainspotting. But the chase scene that follows later on in our film follow the convention aspects of a thriller film because it adds a great deal of suspense to the film and it plots the character in a tricky situation that keeps the audience hooked, just like in the Bourne films, this franchise shares another convention close to our film, the fact that they both have fast paced editing a quick camera angles. When the big chase scene kicks off in our film the fast paced camera angles and the quick editing help give a thrilling sensation to the audience as they watch, without them you wouldn't feel immersed in the chase.

 

The music comes into it's own in our film because it tells the storyline before the character actually gets driven into the situation, the heavy drum beats and choir sounds add a sense of suspense and mystery to the piece which without would make the film tricky to follow.

 

Finally the unique selling point to our film is the bringing together of two completely different genres to create a hybrid one, a social realistic thriller. The combination of these two genres is compliment each other so well that they create such a good film because you have the unique and relatable storyline of a social realism, whilst having the music, editing, camera work and suspense of a thriller which come together to create a perfect film that's very unique in its own right.

 



Evaluation Activity 2

How Does Your Media Product Represent Particular Social Groups?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is Toby Scott (Left)our protagonist he is the character that our film is based around, where a potential drug deal goes very wrong. In my opinion Toby best resembles a character from a very famous thriller franchise known as the Bourne films; Jason Bourne (right) a very talented CIA assassin that takes centre stage for the Bourne films.

Believe it or not these characters share several similarities and some differences. To begin Toby doesn't exactly have very many friends because of his social awkwardness, whereas Jason shares this trait because he's forced to trust nobody, meaning he doesn't have friends or talk to very many people that he doesn't know. Another similarity is that they are both in a situation that they don't want to be in, Toby has a bad drug addiction which lands him in a very tricky situation; as does Jason.

A difference between the two characters is that they are of different ages, meaning they approach the thrilling events that ensue in different manners, like Toby takes the brunt of the action and appears to be the underdog in the situation, whereas Jason is seen to handle his thrilling situations in a calm and professional manner, asserting his dominance on the way.

Both characters dress in similar ways in my opinion because they are trying to be discrete and trying to remain that way, hence why they both wear jeans, it's casual and practically everybody wears them. They both need to blend into their scenarios, Jason has casual clothes to easily blend into a crowd whilst Toby has a camo jacket to blend into his woodland background. 

Evaluation activity 6

Me using Garage Band to co-create the Music 

 

 



 This is a picture of me using the Application Garage Band on the apple Mac's. To create this music me and my Music tech friend Toby used these Mac's and a keyboard to make the suspense filled music for our film opening. I've learnt quite a lot making this piece, not just how to use garage band but how to create music itself, because I'm a complete music novice but after this I think I have a better understanding of it now, like how fading in and out music greatens suspense.

Also the Apple Mac was a dream to use with garage band, you simply create sounds on the keyboard which can then be manipulated into different instruments, and the fact you can drag and drop the music to where you want it made the whole process so much easier and quicker.

Evaluation Activity 4

 

Meet Josh Barlow

 

Age: 16

 

Gender: Male

 

Occupation: Shelf stacker (Tesco)

 

Hobbies: watching Films, playing GTA V, Driving around, playing Tennis

 

Likes: Food, Girls, music

 

Dislikes: Working, Vegetables, cleaning

 

Favourite film: The Bourne films

 

Favourite TV show: Doctor Who 

 

 



 

 

 Why we have targeted this person as our perfect audience?

 

Josh here is a perfect match to the type of audience we hope our film would appeal to, because his love for films like the Bourne series directly ties into our genre of film "Thriller", meaning Josh can directly relate to the scenario and characters of "Old Habits Die Hard". As Josh is 16 he can very easily immerse himself into the characters position because they are of roughly the same age, and possibly Josh has come across a scenario like this which furthermore engrosses his interest into our film.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Evaluation Activity 3

The Film

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OS4F7-6iYt0

The Music

This is the piece of music that me and my friend Toby produced (mainly him). This is the suspension build up that opens our film. Hope you enjoy :)

Storyboard (Final)

Here is my version of our storyboard all finished

Codes & Conventions that influenced our Script/ideas

The codes and conventions we have identified in our genre (Thriller/Social Realism)  is that the pace of the film in all aspects editing, camera shots etc. is very quick e.g. quick editing transitions and quick camera pans. Due to these conventions it has influenced our script and general ideas in several ways, for example our script was modified around the pace, we made the tranisitions quicker and the camera shots fast paced, and when it came to the chase all of these conventions could be unleashed to create the perfect chase scene, hopefully one that would resemble what hollywood has to offer :P

The socail realism aspect of our film had several conventions also, for instance the good story was a convention which we implemented into our storyboard, thats where the drug deal went bad came from because its a good story which we can modify to suite a thriller also.

Editing: Day 4

Today Luke finally delivered our last piece of film, the part where the main character talks about his actions on his blog, so in our last lesson we worked on trimming it down and chopping it up into snippets and adding it into our film, we're not sure on where to put all the pieces yet but I'm sure we'll decide soon. Now with our new bits of video our film just clocks over 3 minutes which is required. so all round editing going very well so far.

Music production

I started some of our music production the other day with my music tech friend, we started off with a rough beat that followed the conventions of the Bourne movie soundtrack that I mentioned earlier in my blog. We produced a short section that will fit into the suspense build up element of our film. I wish in carrying on with the music soon when I have enough time, we need to finish the build up section then produce a bit for the big finale, in our case the big chase scene. I'm looking forward to finishing it off and adding it to our film to create the full effects of a Hollywood blockbuster (kind of)

Editing: Day 2 & 3

Todays editing got off to a much better start, we've managed to compile most of our clips together to make a rough 2 minute long clip, but more still needs to be added. All of our clips have been arranged into the right order to give us a feel of what we have actually produced and i'm not going to lie, its looks awesome in my opinion. In one part of the clip we suffered from a bit of camera wobble, so we counteracted it with some editing effects which cured the problem perfectly.

First day of Editing our Movie

Day1: Today we started to edit our film, well... i say edit, more like trying to get all of our technology to 'play ball with us'. After several problems we eventually got our video converted into a format the Macs enjoyed but then the memory card USB started to have a mind of its own but eventually we imported our videos ready to edit next lesson. All round it was a pretty disasterous day but we look forward to the next.

Camera Angles associated with Thriller films

Camera conventions of a Thriller:

The camera movement in a Thriller is often are often made up of tracking and pan shots because, it highlights who the audience should be interested in. A common camera shot used in thriller films is a close up because they add a sense of suspense and mystery to the plot of the story, leaving the viewer on the edge of their seat wanting to know what happens next. Camera angles in thrillers have several common factors such as High & Low levels of framing, for example when a character is framed from a low angle they are shown as superior to others, whereas a character being filmed from a high angle tends to be weaker.

Character profiles

The final piece we are creating is set in modern time so finding the needed or making the needed costumes will not be hard but we do want to get costumes that suit the characteristics of the people we are trying to portray.

Creegan:       
- Creegan, the young and healthy dealer who prospers on selling others addictive drugs, for this character we wanted to create the appearance of his healthiness as he sells but does not take these harmful and life changing drugs, to do this we have decided to give him a cleaner yet casual look.

To do this he will ware newer and fresher clothes which shows he is untouched from the harm he is causing and also it helps us show the audience he is not like the addicts that come to him he is just using their problems to prosper.

Toby

- Toby, the protagonist of our film and a desperate yet hopeful drug addict who is trying to change his ways but keeps getting dragged back in by the people around him, the hardship and struggles he has gone through are what we want to truly represent in his costume so to do that we have decided on giving him older clothes but trying to make it clear he is trying to change his ways by the style in which he wears them, for example he has his shirt tucked in at the front but out at the back, this also helps us show that he is "Broken" and although from the "front" he seems fine and healthy, it’s clear from "Behind" that he is in fact really unwell and can’t take care of himself.

 

We believe that with these costumes we will be able to capture the audience and help them appreciate the characters in more depth and understanding.

Inspiring films ( The Bourne Films)

The Bourne Films:

For me an inspiring film would probably be the bourne films beause they are what were aiming for. even though they are of a hollywood standard they offer a great story of a rugid man trying to break for from the law, which it what we would like to replicate but on a smaller scale. One thing the bourne films are known for is their epic chase scenes, the codes and conventions of those scenes are exactly what were looking for e.g. steady-cam handheld, quick editing, fast paced music etc.
The Bourne films also offer a great range of soundtracks that would suite our production really well. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Snuy-Pm5oA <----- Soundtrack
Lastly the Bourne films set the perfect benchmark for a thriller film, we would take great inspiration from them so we could help improve our version of a social realism/ Thriller.

 

Audience Research

To gather research on our target audience and what they expect from the genre of our film we created a survey on surveymonkey and posted it online so that we could gather the results from a large audience of non-bais people.

The link to our survey is https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/QS329BG this will take you straight to the survey so please take some time to fill it out for us, thank you.

from our survey we hope to collect a strong level of data to help us not only create the film to to target it at the right audience with their expectations in mind.

Filming Schedule

My role in the production

My role within our group is the sound guy, basically I'm the music and sound content creator. After we have filmed I'll be in the studio creating a track that will suite the conventions of a chase scene e.g. quick paced music, loud sounds. I will also be a part of the editing process, so I can make sure that the soundtrack follows the quick paced editing

Production of storyboards

Here's a picture of me creating my storyboards

Script for our film opening

Old Habits Die Hard script

(Tracking establishing shot of the main character, Toby Scott, commentary over the top as audio track)

(Cut to master shot of sharp fencing, symbolic.)

(Homeless people crouching in litter and rubbish, long shot with a slight pan)

(Long shot that develops into a two shot, showing two main characters)

(Conversation between the two men begins)

[Dialogue]

Creegan: You’re back for more then? (Gruffly)  I haven’t seen you in bloody ages.

Toby: Not exactly Creegan

Creegan: You complaining Toby, or… something else?

Toby: No, not really far from it. I love the hits man, but only when they last. I’ve had to make a choice mate….

Creegan: (Suspiciously) What choice? This better not be heading where I think it is, or you know what will happen. (Reaches into pocket threateningly)

Toby: No... I mean the hits mate. They get fewer and fewer every time. (Maddening slightly) I need this, I crave it. But, I’ve come to a bit of ‘rough luck’ shall we say.

Creegan: What ‘rough luck’ is this? A bribe to hand me in to the pigs?! You got another thing coming mate!

(Two shot, slight pan, argument begins.)

Toby: If you think I’d hand you into that lot I could’ve done it. The offer was open for me...

Creegan: ... And you went and fucking took it. And they say I’m a lowlife!!

(Creegan pushes Toby against the wall.)

Toby: ...but I refused the offer despite the money. The wealth of friendship is worth far more than any amount of money …even in our world.

Creegan: Don’t you lecture me on your petty bullshit. Your words are filth; and so are you!! You’re scum; Scott!  Scum that’s about to be wiped off the face of the Earth!

Toby: And I thought you couldn’t sink any lower, I guess I was wrong.

(Zooms in to over the shoulder shot)

(Toby breaks free, enters chase)

(Toby runs out of tunnel, Creegan follows later after being punched)

(Match on action shot of Creegan getting phone out and dialling a number into his phone)

(Shot reverse shot of Creegan talking onto his phone)

(Close up of Toby’s legs as he runs down the street. Long/mid shot of Toby running down the street, commentary audio under the action) 

Toby: When you’ve been in the ‘game’ as long as I have you begin to realise when shit is going down. If you fail to notice it quick enough you could be fighting for your life. That’s what the drugs do; turn a simple bit of fun into roulette between life and death; a numbers game, luck of the draw as some might say.

Show wide shot of different trees. Cutting and splicing in-between them to show a sense of mystery and foreshadowing. Cut to: shot of forest floor, focussing on mud and dirt on the track. Use low angle shot to show. Audio: rustling of leaves.

Cut to: tracking shot of running feet. First, show the leading pair of feet and then those of the pursuer.

Cut to wide shot showing curve in forest track, shoot the shot from here, now showing the two characters running towards the camera and track them round the bend, kicking up dirt to show urgency and speed of the characters.  Have camera follow the characters in handheld steadicam shot to show a sense of chaos and urgency.

Pursuer grabs his target by the scruff of the neck, throwing him to floor.

Pursuer should be shown as the antagonist of the opening, dark apparel and scars to show this. Pursuer is a violent criminal.

Pursuer/Dealer/ Antagonist; Creegan Donohue.

Protagonist; Toby Scott

Creegan turning over Scott on the ground, POV Shot.

Creegan: You’re finished Scott, you’ve changed the balance forever. Now I’m gonna kill you, for all the fucking misery you’ve caused me

Cut to: webcam shot of main character, focussing his webcam and re-adjusting the lens.

Toby: Is this thing on?... (Sits back in chair, relaxing, but on edge)  Right, ok (Clears throat) Yeah what you just saw, I mean before I (indicates himself with a wave of the hand) came in, was the day, the day, (pauses, zoning out slightly) my life changed and not…. (Pause, considering his word choice) not in a good way. We’re all born different, yeah ok I get that- we all make different choices in our lives, good or bad, proud or regretted; I know I’ve certainly made some choices in my life that I’ve lived to regret even to this day. We just gotta face every new day as it comes, even if that day is the darkest day we may ever face. That day, my world changed forever, I… I… killed a man not out of hatred or greed. Just defiance. Defying and standing up to his oppression. He was making a living off other people’s addiction. He had to be stopped. I don’t defend what I did; I just hope it’s easier for people to understand.

(Fade to black; end credits roll)      

Film opening Storyboard (Intial ideas)

Here's the link to the storyboard created by Zach, I will post my version shortly.

http://zachnicholls.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/film-opening-story-board.html

Link to Zach's Blog for Age rating of our film.

http://zachnicholls.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/bbfc-film-rating.html

Ideal Soundtrack for our Chase scene

This is a music extract from the film "Bourne Supremacy" during an intense foot chase. I wish to create something like this in the studio with my music tech friends.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Snuy-Pm5oA

Some conventions of a Chase Scene (on foot)

-       A slow build up in the non diegetic music, rising and rising with the scene until a climax is hit for a bigger impact.

-       Editing gets faster as the chase or stalk gets more intense, having quick editing during the climax of the scene to create the feeling of a fast and intense chase.

-       Quick edits intertwined displaying close ups of both the pursuer and the victim’s emotions, such as their hands, feet, face and body language to show the pursuers scary qualities and angry emotion and the victims vulnerability and scared emotion.

-       Typically most scenes like this are filmed at night, using the lighting to express the mood of the situation. If filmed in the day, the scenes usually kept as dark as possible, using an overcast day for example, to express the same emotion.

-       Long establishing shots displaying the width or length of the streets or corridors in which the chase is taking place.

-       Tracking shots taken either in front of the victim as they run away from the pursuer or an over the shoulder shot showing where they are running to.

-       Slow motion used sometimes to increase the tension as the pursuer either gets closer or the victim makes a lucky getaway.