my finished ident

Pitch

My first idea for my pitch is doing something like the scene from scream the opening stalking scene as i have previously done a lot of research on this such as titles and idents and the franchise vodcast. I am also going to take the idea from 'when a stranger calls'
    my idea is to do a stalking scene and to have a phone keep ringing and ringing. this is the first scene that i want to take ideas from. however it will be different from scream as it will be  a sleepover with final girl and scream queen.

Working Title 

possible film names for my film i am going to make are cry.

its X meets Y 

compare to existing movies such as scream and when a stranger calls 

Narrative Synopsis

it would develop a 90min film because after the stalking scene it would then go onto introducing the final girl and the rest of the story. the story will then progress and be the final girl and her boyfriend and revolve around them .

Narrative Exposition enigma propp todorov

i will hold back what the killrt looks like to create enigma. then as a false scare the killer will be shown like in scream when the mask pops up at window.

genre signifiers

fast paste editing , black to white , typical scream queen and final girl and final girls boyfriend .

locations

i will first start in a house like this scene and as she runs away it will cut to the moor scene and the road leading up to the moor as this will be scary and creative narrative enigma. this is just up my road so it will be good to film. i could also film this in my house as there are several stairs for her to run up and several doors like in scream for the scream queen to lock. This can then cut to the moor to create tension .

other mise en scene props

i will need the killer to be dressed in some costume like scream not the same one though. the final girl will be wearing something not very revealing and the the scream queen will be wearing something revealing. but as they are having a sleep over they could be wearing pyjamas.

cast and characters

i am going to have 3 girls final girl and scream queen and friend and 2 guys.

the killer

the killer will be like scream wearing a costume but not necessarily the same.

media language

i will use close ups and panning shots also point of views hots to show someone is watching. i will have the sound up beat when the main girl starts to run away from killer.

intertexuality and summary 

i will be reflecting the films i have studied such as screams and halloween which i have studied i will also be looking at when a stranger calls to get some more research.

target audience 

it will be aimed at age group teens and above like scream as it will be our age group the cast so wilol be most appealing to this audience.

why mine 

because i have done alot of research on the films scream and halloween so i know what i want to do . i want to do a copy of scream but changing afew things such as the the mask and having the people having a sleepover.

titles and idents vodcast

Slasher Vodcast franchise

This franchise is of the slasher genre and focuses on the different screams produced. The key directors for this franchise were wez craven . this means a lot of intertexuality as they all each reference to the next scream. The final girl Neve Campbell has also stared in each of these films this has also made it successful and created intertextuality throughout.
Budgets for each of these films were:
Scream - $15m
Scream 2 - $23m
Scream 3 - $40m
Scream 4 - $40m
The distributors for each of these films were the same this is good as they did it in the same way and style . dimension film is also a common distributor for slasher films and would make scream so sucssesful with it also been a franchise.

Ident Ideas

>My first idea is Supernova Studios which i thought of as having a star bursting then leading into supernova studios . I could not decide whether to have supernova studios , entertainment or productions i went for studios as it was more catching.

stary sky

this is an example of what it would look











this is the supernova the text would then appear out of star with some classy music and font.

supernova

the Font i would like to use would be a sarif font and it to look like handwriting in white to stand out against the black background. i would like it to be something like the paramount ident.

The Final Girl Concept

The final girl referd to the last femaile standing to confront the killer. She is seen as a sexually unavailbable or a virginal. she sometimes has a unisex name and is masculine The final girl is a thriller and horror film (particularly slasher) trope that specifically refers to the last woman or girl alive to confront the killer, ostensibly the one left to tell the story. The term was coined by Carol J. Clover in her book Men, Women, and Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film. Clover suggests that in these films, the viewer begins by sharing the perspective of the killer, but experiences a shift in identification to the final girl partway through the film. The final girl has been observed in dozens of films, including Halloween, Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Hellraiser, Alien and Scream.

History
According to Clover, the final girl is typically sexually unavailable or virginal, avoiding the vices of the victims (sex, narcotic usage, etc.). She sometimes has a unisex name (e.g., Teddy, Billie, Georgie, Sidney). Occasionally the Final Girl will have a shared history with the killer. The final girl is the "investigating consciousness" of the film, moving the narrative forward and as such, she exhibits intelligence, curiosity, and vigilance.
           One of the basic premises of Clover’s theory is that audience identification is unstable and fluid across gender lines, particularly in the case of the slasher film. During the final girl’s confrontation with the killer, Clover argues, she becomes masculinised through "phallic appropriation" by taking up a weapon, such as a knife or chainsaw, against the killer. Conversely, Clover points out that the villain of slasher films is often a male whose masculinity, and sexuality more generally, are in crisis. Examples would include Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. Clover points to this gender fluidity as demonstrating the impact of feminism in popular culture.
          The phenomenon of the male audience having to identify with a young female character in an ostensibly male-oriented genre, usually associated with sadistic voyeurism, raises interesting questions about the nature of slasher films and their relationship with feminism. Clover argues that for a film to be successful, although the Final Girl is masculinised, it is necessary for this surviving character to be female, because she must experience abject terror, and many viewers would reject a film that showed abject terror on the part of a male. The terror has a purpose, in that the female is 'purged' if she survives, of undesirable characteristics, such as relentless pursuit of pleasure in her own right. An interesting feature of the genre is the 'punishment' of beauty and sexual availability (Leading to the idea that "Sex = Death" in Horror Movies)

Laurie strode defines the final girl archetype as she links this tho intellegence this signifies she is intellegent and hard working later on in the film we meet her friends who are screamers and we can then see the binary opposition as she asks for her biology book. She wears unattractive clothing such as thick white tights and long skirt and turtle neck jumper this is typical for final girl as she also is brunette.she is also a responsible character un like her friends who are scream queens. She also can be interpreted as a virgin as her other friends are screamers and they are killed they have boyfriends and she doesnt.

common device also used is in the lesson is the girl is talking about fait as when she looks out the window he is there she talks about they can not change fait.

Binary opposition is then used to contrast the friends as they talk about boyfriends the final girl faces the scream queen as they both argue becuase it matters a great deal to the final girl that she left the book at school but her friends make fun of her.


Scream ( Wes Craven 1996) sidney prescott,
the character of sidney prescott is presented as the final girl first her night wear is long , old fashioned and childish we can allso denote when we see her first she is doing her homwor she has the classic dark brown hair.Bedroom also signifies she is a responsible moral character due to it been old fashioned it is also what you would not expect from a teen girl. Final girl is pertraded as a virgin as she talks to her boyfriend bully lumis then says ' i would not dream of breaking your underwear rule'.

comparing 2 past as films

I chose to compare deception which i previously have researched as my past as film research i am going to compare it with the cellar.

Idents

Deceptions ident at the start the opening is very simple and has only one ident but makes a statement and gives off the message. It shows a plain black background with white writing. The Cellar has a much more noticeable ident and an image behind it which helps to bring your attention to the centre of the screen where the company name is written. Both openings have quite dramatic non-diegetic music from the start of the idents which instantly creates tension and makes the film genre a lot more obvious without even seeing the first shot. 

Opening Shots

In Deception the title and credit goes back to the black screen with the white writing in the same place. In the Cellar they put white bold writing over the shots so it is still visible but isn't as noticable as the Cellar. The opening shot in The Cellar is a dutch angle of a door with some light coming through it. This is a good way of starting the opening as the dutch angle shows there is something not quite right and the lack of light is creating narrative enigma as the audience are unsure of the setting or anything the plot is about. The opening shot in deception is a tracking shot of a girl walking down a woodland path. The camera is behind a tree and the branches make it unclear to see who the character is walking along, this also creates narrative enigma. The camera being behind the tree might also be a point of view shot to make it seem like someone is watching her. 

Micro Drama and reflection

I think our micro drama went well however we did manage to loose alot of footage and we had a few small hiccups like the camera running out of battery and not been able to find all footage. I think we could make several improvements such as longer scenes wider shot variety and i think we needed more planning as we did not think of some aspects.

Deception

• The strongest feature was the opening the music and setting work well together it creates tension and makes it jumpy 
• The weakest feature was the camera the camera was very shaky and angle shots are abit confusing  you can also see the shadow of the person in the camera
• rate minimal they need to hold shot steady
• effective shots were the 2 shot which shows the relationship and medium shots the panning left to right and the point of view shot from behind the tree and the moving point of view shot running
• the editing transitions were good and flowed smoothly 
• the sound created an audio bridge which linked scenes together

Micro Drama Editing

This first thing we noticed when transferring our footage onto the camera was that one shot was missing. At first we thought this would be a major problem and we would have to arrange for a re shoot, but when we had edited the rest of the footage we saw that it actually created narrative enigma and probably improved the drama by doing so.

For editing we split the group into two so that everyone had input and there would also be two totally different versions of the micro drama to compare and see where we could have made improvements. On the group I was in's version we decided to make the footage look more like night time. By doing this it did have a slight purple tone to it but we still thought it looked more effective and slightly more scarier. The other group thought it looked too purple though and kept the natural daylight.

We also struggled to put writing on at the beginning of the drama at the part that was meant to look like a live news report. Due to the time we had to edit we didn't look up on youtube or the internet how to do this. We should of done because it would have made a big difference and improved our drama. But, the more we have been working with final cut pro the easier it is starting to be and I am really getting the hang of how it works.

Micro Drama The Shoot

In the shoot we went to the river at about 3 pm we did not realise how busy it would be so it took longer than we thought to film as it was busy . we put the tape up we got and filmed the first scene talking about what shot type we should use to set the scene and to make sure we got no un wanted extras in back ground. We followed the story board to make sure we got in right order . We did this until we got it right doing different scenes we then did several other scenes and made them which wasnt necessarily in the right order we just wanted to try get different shots such as panning in and point of view shot. However doing this we faced problems such as the camera running out of battery
    But it was okay as we good use an iPhone 4s which was just as good and filmed in HD.it was also very windy which did not help so we expect there to some interference .
   over all i think we could have had some scenes and had done some retakes but we got the different shots and used techniques such as a false scare like in slasher films. I also think next time we need to take into consideration the weather and setting again although our idea was good afew aspects let us down.

Micro Drama Planning

The class split up into 2 groups Boys and Girls in my Group was 'Poppy , Hannah , Kate and Millie we had to come up with a micro drama focusing on slasher genre as this what our next project will be on.

First we decided to brain storm ideas together of what this could be about we discussed setting , plot ,characters. We then went back into the class to pitch our ideas to the class and chose one from our group. we chose Kates as it was most popular and good and we could develop it. After we chose the idea we got a story board sheet where scene by scene and shot by shot we went through and chose possible scenarios.We then decided on when to shoot and where we decide late day and ilkley park as this could be good to build narrative enigma . We planned several scenarios that could be the outcome as we could not decide which way round to do it . It was easy plan and very agreeable as we worked well together and each presented there own ideas.
     when doing the story board we had to choose the most suitable places of the park to shoot we chose by the river and under the bridge as this could be scary. we then planned date and time to make this film it was hard as it was light when we filmed this but hopefully when editing is done it will look like it is dark. We also planned our props we needed and any other equipment e.g. tape for the news report scene which we planned in advance to get. We also needed to work out which character was who which we did easily we all decided to take it in turns to film as well which was good.

Key narrative theories

Propps 8 recurring character types

propps as well as proposing that narratives can be broken down into 31 basic functions  .valdimir propp in his study of fairy tales which continues to influence literary and media studies today he argued that there are essentially just seven basic character types or archetypes
1. the villian - struggles against hero
2. the donor -prepares hero or gives hero a magical object
3. the magical helper - helps hero in the quest
4.the princess or the prize - the hero deserves her throughout the story but is un able to marry her because of an unfair evil usually because of the villiantje heros story is often ended when he marries the princess there by beating the villain
5. the princess and her father-gives the task to the hero identifies a false hero marries a hero often sought for during narrative .propp noted that functionally the princess and her father can not be clearly distinguished
6.the dispacher -character who makes the lack of known and sends hero off
7.the hero victim - reacts to the donor and weds the princess
8.false hero -takes credit for the heros actions or tries to marry princess

these roles could sometimes be distributed among various characters .

Todorovs 5 part narrative formula

todorov is associated with the theory that every narrative can be broken down into 3 basic stages situation ,conflict,resolution or equilibrium ,disequilibrium and new equilibrium.cruitially your prontagonist is not the same as the out set but has been changed in some way from events . todorov actually posited fivve stages we usuallu refer to as being the 3 part model.

1.a state of equilibrium at the outset
2.a disruption of equilibrium by some action
3.a recognition that there has been disruption
4.an attempt ro repair the disruption
5.reinstatment of equilibrium

Levi-sruass: Binary opposites and Dramatic conflict

when we consider the use of stereo types it is often how binary opposition is at play:how describe a stereotypical poor or working class person for example is broadly the opposite of how wed describe a middle or upper class person for example is broadly the opposite of how we'd describe a middle class person. 

    scenes within dramas often reflect a use of this idea with clashing pairs  (male ,female, rural, urban , rich,poor,hetrosexual,homosexual,good,bad,dominant,submissive etc)of opposites ,in other words binary opposites ,sparking conflict or tension.

    there is a philosophical argument underpinning this idea:when the world around us (so not just fictional texts) id organised  and categorised through pairs of binary opposites there is generally a powerful or good side:men are powerful ,women submissive, the poor unintelligent,the wealthy intellectual (a stereotype seen very clear in Tess of the D'urbevielles.)

 to summarise the very existence of binary opposites contains a value judgement in itself with one side of the equation being negatively cast as the other or simply wrong lacking in some way.

Film Openings Summary of Comventions

The conventions our group chose to do was Text,Directors titles,Other titles , Editing, Music and audio,Shots and mis en scene. The films we were comparing were 4 Weddings and a funeral , About a Boy, Heathers , Hidden Agenda, Atonement , Star Wars, Be kind rewind and Up the Junction .

   Text

In 4 Weddings and a funeral ,Hidden Agenda,atonement and heathers all use traditional serif font shows the film has serious aspects to it or could be a drama. They all start with black and white background. The font stands out against this so it more eye catching and grabs audience attention. But for modern set films they tend to use san serif font the titles are presented on sides of the screen to show importance and less importance such as in About a boy , Be kind rewind and star wars we do not see this in up the junction.

Directors Titles

In the heathers there is no director titles and in up the junction and starwars . however in 4 weddings and a funeral and about a boy by the directors name and then the film.But in be kind rewind and hidden addenda and atonement is says directed by then the directors names.

Other Titles

In about a boy and 4 weddings and a funeral Hugh grant is in both and introduced as the main character for both films the other titles are then presented in groups to show less importance.This is he same in heathers ad up the junction hidden agenda,be kind rewind, Atonement and star wars these are all presented in groups after main characters are introduce.

Editing

In be Kind rewind it fades in so does about a boy ,star wars , heathers, Atonement .In 4 weddings and a funeral and Hidden agenda and Up the junction all have no transitions and just start with the film straight in.

Music and Audio

In be kind rewind and hidden agenda both start with non digetic music the same with 4 weddings and a funeral , Heathers,Uo the junction, Star wars .The sound is digetic in About a boy and atonement all these films an audio bridge is used.

Shots

In about a boy and up the junction both used high angles shits to show weakness.In all of them close up shots are used to show and emphasis emotion .In about a boy ,4 weddings and a funeral,be kind rewind,heathers and star wars 2 shots are used to show relationship and to built the relationship between characters.There is use of shot reverse shot in Star wars and 4 weddings and a funeral when conversations are presented.But in star wars there are lots of low angled shots which sets the mis en scene and makes viewer feel more involved this shows power.Establishing shot is uses to show mis en scene in all films.

Mis en scene

In 4 weddings and a funeral; and about a boy there is a social class divide and this is a key message from the film which is betrayed well. In the other films the mis en scene is set through camera shots and the opening music.

Comparing 2 past films

The text in 4 weddings and a funeral is formal and is a serif font this links to era, although it is suppose to be a comedy it shows a sense of drama.We can tell it could be a rom com as it stars Hugh Grant an he is stereo typed as being this character in all rom coms he stars in -middle class , white british man.In about a boy the text is modern and comic sans font used there are no capital letters used shows it could be laid back however it is in bold it suggests that the story could have a powerful meaning in some parts it in not bold this suggests there are ups and downs to story and perhaps a hierarchy.
     In 4 weddings and a funeral sound is traditionally used to show the era the music is jazz this also sets the main characters .the sound is digetic and used as an audio bridge to link scenes together as it goes to peoples different lives. In about a boy the sound is non digetic as he plays his voicemails it is used to link the shots as he walks around his house.
   In about a boy Hugh Grant is introduced in bold as he a very well known actor and when you see his name in film you automatically link it to be a certain genre of film.the following credits follow with the main characters presented in groups this shows it is not as important and then after all this introduces the new actor.In 4 wedding and a funeral the opening titles are displayed signally as it introduces the character it has the name and a scene of them.Other cast is then presented in groups this is a slow process and goes on for about 10 mins.
   In 4 weddings and a funeral there is a upper class and social class divide .there is also a gender divide.It also sets the mis en scene as it shows the different life styles of Britain in this period of time.In about a boy it is also about upper class and lower class divide and how the different ways of life contrast such a lot.It is traditionally set in London you can tell this by the weather the roads telephone boxes etc.
     In 4 weddings and a funeral there are little transitions used in the opening as it almost one big shot or take. wedding invitations are used to link scenes as it introduces the characters.There is use of music aswell to link the scenes.In about a boy  the editing changes in transitions as we are shown his house and introduced to the setting transitions are used to zoomed in and out.
     In about a boy hight angled shots are used to show weakness also a lot of close ups to show emotion and point of view shots to help the viewer feel more involved with the character it shows that there is a serious side to the film but also a comedy aspects as we are introduced to Hugh grant but has realistic themes.In 4 weddings and a funeral there is use of 2 shot a lot to a how relationship but as we watch more we find there is no real relationship to reenforce and later find it is because Hugh grant is presented as the man who messes the women around.The shots are also very long to set the scene there is a use of close ups to express emotion .
     In about a boy the directors titles are presenters together in the opening credits 'a Paul Weitz and Chris Weitz film' makes them look for powerful and well known as when people see these names it promotes the film if they have seen previous films etc.In 4 weddings and a funeral it says 'a Mike Newall Film' once at the beginning it does not stand out though as the following credits are presents in the same way.
 

   

Semiotics SRap

we where asked to produce a semiotics rap on what we were learning in class. We where learning about the key terms we need to learn we put it into a rap to help us remember it here is my rap...


A signifier is a detail we pick out ,
denote/connote whats it about,
binary opposition a divice used to create conflict throughout,
polysemy has many meanings that sprout,
narrative enigma not mysterious without,
intertextual texts tied to previous to spout,
signified we think is symbolic but will find out..

Semiotics key terms

Denotation

is taking it apart piece by piece to come o an understanding of how it was made and designed.

Connotation

when we interpret a signifier

Signifier

what we think it means a detail we think as symbolic significance

Binary Opposition

key device for creating conflict in a drama

Polysemy

multiple or possible meanings such as a red rose this could be interpreted as guilt or love

Anchorage

when meaning of a signifier should be made clear

Communication Test

always consider what you do not see the choices the producers have rejected

Stuart Halls 3 Levels of Reading

Preferred Reading

how it is hoped audience will respond to text 

Negotiated Reading

largely understand preferred reading but through lack of knowledge or done entirely follow preferred reading

Oppositional Reading

because of lack of knowledge or block out what you do not follow within the texts

Narrative Enigma

mysterious elements within a text form enigma needed in any drama

Intertextuality

meaning of one is tied to another e.g. earlier text.

Film Opening Conventions vodcast

Trip to York Warp films and working title

we went to york on a school trip to the film festival. We went to 2 master classes 1st one we saw the producer for warp films and we saw the cinematographer for working title.
first we saw warps films producer .

warp.net/films

we took notes this is what i learnt from the master class

they have had 18 feature films , 5TV series and won 6 barters. They also have one world record for most zombies in one place at a time they used this for the anniversary of the 'big chill'. some of the films they have made by warp films are 

Productions

Film	Year	Director	Notes
My Wrongs #8245–8249 & 117	2002	Chris Morris	Short film
Dead Man's Shoes	2004	Shane Meadows
Rubber Johnny	2005	Chris Cunningham	Short film
Scummy Man	2006	Paul Fraser	Short film/Music video
This Is England	2006	Shane Meadows
Grow Your Own	2007	Richard Laxton
Dog Altogether	2007	Paddy Considine	Short film
Fur TV	2008	Chris Waitt
A Complete History of My Sexual Failures	2008	Chris Waitt
Arctic Monkeys At the Apollo	2008	Richard Ayoade
Donkey Punch	2008	Oliver Blackburn
The Mighty Boosh Live: Future Sailors Tour	2009	Paul King
Curtains	2009	Julian Barratt	Short film
Hush	2009	Mark Tonderai
Le Donk & Scor-zay-zee	2009	Shane Meadows
Bunny and the Bull	2009	Paul King
All Tomorrow's Parties	2009	All Tomorrow's People & Jonathan Caouette
Four Lions	2010	Chris Morris
This Is England 86	2010	Shane Meadows & Tom Harper	TV
Submarine	2010	Richard Ayoade
Tyrannosaur	2011	Paddy Considine
Kill List	2011	Ben Wheatley
This is England '88	2011	Shane Meadows	TV
The Organ Grinders Monkey	2011	Jake & Dinos Chapman	Short film
Snowtown	2011	Justin Kurzel	Warp Films Australia
The Minor Character	2012	Richard Curson Smith	TV
The Snipist	2012	Matthew Holness	TV
Care	2012	Amanda Boyle	TV
Swimmer	2012	Lynne Ramsay	Short film
The Midnight Beast	2012	Ben Gregor	TV series
Berberian Sound Studio	2012	Peter Strickland

next year the films they have coming up are 

• stone rose documentry
• southcliffe which will be on channel 4
• small tv things
• 71 the film which is a thriller

we also learnt about why it is important to watch films at cinema and viewings and how it effects the company. we learnt that today a lot of people take videos off line and tv as a 'home cinema' this affects all film but especially the low budget indy films such as warp films.over all we also learnt after all of this how much the company consume after the downloads and the power of the supermarkets being the biggest main driver of dvds. 

warp music created this part of company warp films. The principal is then set by warp music.

the company is also different to other bigger companies such as working title or piscar as they have long term relationships and connections with the artists actors such as shane meadows.

we also learnt it is not just about the film it is about who is the director, advertising and how everything plays an important part in the process. the producer also said that there was alot more interest in the 'shane meadows films'. he also talked about how it is important to be aware of your audience such as in deadmans shoes the poster was not appealing to young children as it looked like a horror.as this film was so low budget they used a crew of 15 so they had to feature things such as cars and props several times in different scenes.

there biggest success what 4 lions and this is england.

He also told us an example of how the trade works and how they get the money they need to make a film he talked about the film kill list as being what the distributors would not put in to early so they had to buy it for alot more as it was such a success.

he gave us  rough guide on how long it takes to make there indy films.

30 days prep

30 days shoot

150 days post

210 days

10 hours a day

2100  week

18 times 2100 is 37500 hours of film making !

we also learnt about the economics of film making 

• 1 million at box office
• exhibitors take 50%
• distributors take their p and a (200k) to promote 
• distributor splits whats left 5050
• the film company then has to pay back all equity finance
• the producers get 50% of total profit still only making half of profit after all these steps.

the producer all said that even the bad films they have done are something to be proud of although there not the best it doesnt matter as they have learnt what went wrong and why the popular ones worked. he also said to not let any film go to waste and use it to improve your own techniques or to pick out what you like to use in your next. This is good as we cam use this in our work.

Working title-Danny Cohen

he started off working with warp productions he was the cinematographer for films such as 'this is England' .In this is England he uses techniques such as the main character being in small focus within big shots to show what little power he is also placed on camera as being small compared to scenes showing the setting this is to show how big the world is and how small he is.The 1980s period film so much has changed since then. He talked about how it was hard to rebuilt the scenes on such a little budget.

          In the film this is England non professional actors changes the cinematography completely as it strips everything down as the budget was low and all they really had for this set was the actor a camera and a track.

          Dive was there latest tv show done 3 years ago it was there first hd film. The film was about a relationship of 2 people in the film there is a use of space used compared to a school where is is a safe place and inclosed .Danny Cohen talked about use of space a lot and how affective it is to put actors in a place they can relate to more (scene).

        A more famous film he shot was the Kings Speech .He talked about how difficult it was to shoot as the lighting was very difficult to keep the same . He said that 'natural lights is a cinematographers best friend'. Ot was hard to get the lighting right as they had to shot at different times of the day and as it was shot in England in the middle of winter this was very difficult. So they had to use techniques such as blocking out the windows and making sure they were not in the shots.It was also hard as it was filmed over a 2 month periods in several locations. In this film the question was asked 'why is colin firth in focus and background blurred used he said ' it gives the actor context in 1 shot rather than the whole thing being in focus , we did technical aspects to test the best option for taking.

Final Cut ProX 1st impressions

i thought this was much easier to work than final cut express it was easy to follow and to find things the layout was also set out well and clear for making and editing film.i also found it easy as you could watch several things at once when editing.it was also simple cutting and uploading onto this software.i also found it easy to find tools and change transitions it was also good and easy to add sound and audio seperatly.

Assessment Criteria

G321 - Simplified Marking Criteria as 1 Sheet

Film Opening Deception

the strongest feature of this opening is the music and setting work well together they build tension and make it jumpy.the weakest feature is the camera is very shaky and angle shots are abit confusing there is also a shadow of camera person.in the criteria we would rate it as excellent in use of sound with images and editing.they would rate minimal in holding camera steady.The most effective shots where
1. 2 shot shows relationship.
2.panning shot left to right which is also a point of view shot
3.moving point of view shot when he is running
the most effective editing was the transitions from scenes and the sound used as an audio bridge.

About a Boy

About a Boy ( Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz , 2002 )

Opening 3mins.10sec

Box Office

Budget:

 $27,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

 £3,747,966 (UK) (28 April 2002) (446 Screens)

Produced by: Universal pictures,studio canal

Distributors: universal pictures ,studio canal,united international pictures.

Gross:

$84,600,000 (Worldwide) (17 November 2002) (except USA)
Ratings : Rotten tomatoes 93%
                  Imdb: 7.2
                  My rating: 8

Wiki , Official Site

Twelve year old Marcus Brewer lives with his chronically depressed single mother, Fiona Brewer. Both Fiona and Marcus beat to their own respective drummers. Marcus will do whatever he can to make his depressed mother happy, even if it causes himself grief. As such, he realizes that he is perceived as different than most kids, as even the self-professed weird kids don't want to hang out with him as he is the target of bullying. Part of the taunts against him are the fact that he sings and speaks to himself without even realizing that he is doing it. Meanwhile, thirty-eight year old Will Freeman is a slacker who has lived comfortably off the royalties of a song written by his deceased father, and as such has never had to work a day in his life. He is a solitary man who places himself as the first and only priority in life. He comes across the idea that dating single moms meets his selfish carnal needs...

The directors are presented together in the opening credits 'A Paul Weitz and Chris Weitz film' They have used this to make there names more well known so its almost like there film regardless of everyone else who took part in the film making and who are perhaps more important than them. At the end of the credits they also have another credit 'directed by Paul Weitz and Chris Weitz'

Hugh Grant is then introduced In bold First as he is more than likely going to be the most well known out of actors to follow in credits.The following credits then follow with main characters in different positions on the screen.The title then follows 'about a boy' the 2 words about and boy are in bold which high lights these words and makes the a not relevant  The other credits then follow with editors etc in groups. At the end of all this it says 'and introducing Nicholas Hault as Marces' this shows he is a new actor.

This is the first shot it is a high angle shot which follows him round the room it is a birds eye view.however this makes the character look smaller but does not make him look weaker it makes Here the sound is Diegetic as we hear the TV as the background.The camera is also on a tilt and is a match on action shot.

this is a mid shot but it is unusual as it is showing him walking. Rather than from head to waist like normal mid shots.He has now started to narrate as he talks about his life.This is also Moving subject it is framed with space to walk into.

This is a medium long shot as it shows the legs but we still have not seen his face yet which gives a sense of mystery. The sound is still diegetic as he plays his voice mails on his answerphone machine.The editing changes in transitions as we are shown his house and the setting.

this is a longshot which creates mood and location.

We have still not been shown his face after 2 mins but we see his body and his mannerisms.The first 2 mins is also just about him. We then have a high angle shot which is an establishing shot introducing the next character.it is a high angle shot which makes the character look vulnerable as soon as the audience meets him.This character then narrates his life.

This is a extreme close up and a point of view shot. It emphasis's emotion.the sound is non diegetic as the character is the voice over / narrator

this shot is a at a high angle and is from a birds eye view. It shows the character is vulnerable and is a repeat of a previous shot.The sound has changes to non diegetic as a sound track is added to the background.

the titles are also still going throughout opening intro.This shot is a closeup it emphasis emotion.The sound is the theme tune to film which is now playing in background it is non digetic and is used as an audio bridge to link scenes together between the 2 characters.

This is a close up .This scene is continuity editing which shows time moving forward as it switches between the 2 characters.It also features some cross cutting between the 2 characters to compare the 2 different ways of life.

This is a long shot as the scene finishes.it is also a mid angle.The titles finish with directors as they started with directors.This scene finishes with the editing transition where we watch the car drive away but then it switches from the car driving away to the closing of the scene where the scene jumps to the next and the credits have stopped

We can tell this is set in England by the actors accents and how the scenes compare the characters 2 different ways of life.We can also tell it is England from the setting such as the weather and the type of housing and the fashion.WE can tell the film  is a modern film from the cars and props used.We can also tell it is a modern from the way of life and by the opening TV playing in the background playing who wants to be a millionaire which we know is recent.

     We can tell the film is going to be sad by the dull colours and how they are already comparing the 2 different ways of life.we can also tell its going to be a serious film with a meaning as it stars Hugh grant as the main character who is typically known for being in films like this but also making it a bit comical.

Completed Swede and reflection

we planned our swede by using a story board we chose shaun of the dead after each person pitched there idea to the class . we all pitched our idea and we chose to do poppys idea shaun of the dead we first decided which scenes are most appropriate as we had little time to so it in we decided on the most well known and funny ones however it was hard as to understand the jokes made in it you have had to of watched previous films such as hot fuzz this is stuart halls theory. we planned 4 scenes but it took longer than we thought to film to make all the props and create characters.




Reflection
i found our swede funny and fun to make. However i do think we could of made it longer the opening credits are longer than the scences we chose.I do think the scenes we chose to swede where good scenes to as they reflected the film well and are the most well known. If we did this again i think we need to think more about the camera angles as we used a variety of shots but not angles our whole video is a mid angle which does not particully reflect the film well.

Pitch

Titanic ( 1997 , James Cameron )

Budget:

 $200,000,000 (estimated)
Production companies:
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation , Paramount Pictures , Lightstorm Entertainment 
Release date - 23 January 1998 (UK)
It was featured all over the world.

I think titanic would be a good film to swede as it is so well known and very popular all over the world. It is also a true story and part of British history.It is a very serious film and cost alot to make and is a classic Hollywood film so it would also be good to swede for these reasons. it stars 2 very well known actors / actress who are well known all over the world Leonardo DiCaprio playing jack, Kate Winslet playing rose.The film is about a 101-year-old woman named Rose DeWitt Bukater who tells the story 84 years later to her granddaughter Lizzy Calvert, Brock Lovett, Lewis Bodine, Bobby Buell and Anatoly Mikailavich on the Keldysh about her life set in April 10th 1912, on the famous called Titanic when young Rose boards the departing ship with the upper-class passengers and her mother, Ruth DeWitt Bukater, and her fiancé, Caledon Hockley. Meanwhile, a drifter and artist named Jack Dawson and his best friend Fabrizio De Rossi win third-class tickets to the ship in a game. And she explains the whole story from departure until the death of Titanic on its first and last voyage April 15th, 1912 at 2:20 in the morning.
To swede these films i would choose the following scenes:
First i would choose the opening song and theme tune:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQoFHnkgDgo&feature=related
I then would choose the scenes where they uncover the safe and  'women in the picture'and where rose tells her family that is her. For this section i would need props such as a box , a man and 2 women.
i then would so the scene where the boat sets off for this i would need cardboard as a fake boat.
i then would choose the scene where rose is about to jump off the edge 'you jump , i jump' where jack saves her for this i would need 2 people and a rail to symbolise the edge of the boat.
i then would choose where jack and rose go to the party on the lower class part of the ship.

Next i would choose the scene ' flying ' where jack and rose stand on edge of boat for this i would need to people and a rail to act as ship.

I then would choose the scene where jack draws rose for this i would need  paper , pen and 2 people and a sofa.
I then would do the scene where they hit the ice berg for this i would you the cardboard ship and i would need a fake ice berg.
i then would do the scene where people are trying to leave and are getting locked in.for this i would need a door with or window with people banging on it trying to get out. I would need several people for this.Next i would do the scene where the band carry on playing when the ship starts to go down for this i will need instruments or fake instruments and several people to play this part. 

Next i would do the scene where the ship splits in half for this i could use the same cardboard boat again.
and then continue and do the ending where rose and jack are in the sea ' ill never let you go '.
for this i will need to people to do the dialogue.
For the ending i will use the theme tune as rose throws her necklace in the see for this i will need a necklace and water .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saalGKY7ifU
for this swede i will need characters for rose and jack and extras for when the titanic sinks.We can also recreate this anywhere as it all can be filmed inside. As it is so well known the audience will know whats going on.