media studies – 2009-2011

With Nail And I

As With Nail And I opens the opening credit is the shot of the studio ident, this is placed on a black background shown for a few seconds in a white font, a fairly basic design but clear.

The title sequence starts almost instantly with it firstly showing the names of the 3 main actors within the film, usually you would expect to find between 3-5 of the main actors names in a short film featuring in the opening credits. After this it moves onto the minor actors with the names fading in and out of the sequence, all in the same basic white font which is a theme which continues throughout the whole of the title sequence.

Other titles include: Production designer, Camera Operator, Editor.

Throughout the whole sequence there has been music playing and plays a prominent part in the title sequence.

Ending credits – This was a very typical ending sequence where all the jobs are listed in comparison to the  opening credits the speed of the sequence is rapid and only just gives you a chance to skim read them.

Wickerman

This opens in a slightly different way to With Nail and I, as the first shot shows both the producer and British Lion on the same screen rather them being on seperate screens, after this it follows the same pattern as With Nail and I as it now shows the major stars of the film, in this film it names 5 of the characters which again fits the typical amount. During this it has a music track playing in the background which then comes to an end and a new sound track begins to play half way through. Again towards the end like With Nail and I although this is a full length film it follows the same structure as the short film, it goes onto a black screen and then comes up with all the different jobs involved with making the film.

This is another slow opening title sequence, again it opens with the title of the film and writer appearing on the same shot, this may be typical of a short film due to not having enough time to place them on different shots. Again like the two previous films which were analysed it has the same amount of stars shown in the opening credits, this is proving to be typical of films and we will choose to follow this idea in our film as well. With regards to the soundtrack playing over the title sequence it becomes gradually louder and more prominent as the titles are starting to stray away from the stars of the film to try and help keep the audience captivated. During this title sequence the production company isnt mentioned which seemed strange in comparison to the other two films which were analysed. Although there were some differences with this film in comparison to the other two films the ending title sequence was still the same, fading to black then a rolling list with all the different job titles and names.

This is the link to my annotated version of the film

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfE5Hdhq9Ww

We filmed in two distinct sections. We filmed the flashback sequence first then edited all of that. Once that task was completed we moved on to the coffee shop scenes. We filmed these together and edited scene 1 from the coffee shop first. We then added that onto the same timeline as the flashback. After that we then edited scene 3 and put all 3 scenes together on one timeline to give us our nearly complete film. The audio effects were then added, we used a heartbeat noise to build the tension and show the audience that the main character was scared. Also a background crowd noise was added to give it more of a coffee shop feel. Finally we took advantage of adobe premieres effects such as freeze frames, dipping to black and dissolves. Below is a screengrab from the final part of the editing process. At that point we were just tying up all the loose ends.

The film company is called BWProductions. This was named after Ben Wilson and Matthew Pridmore who are the company owners. The main aims of this company is to make independent films on a tight budget and also to help up and coming film stars establish themselves. BWProductions specialise in British thillers and also action films. Their best known film to date is ‘Recall’.

BWProductions have a very close relationship with VLE films who distribute their film in the United Kingdom and recently they are beginning to enter the United States market which in turn should create a wider audience and also increase the profit made. VLE films are in charge of marketing the films and there job is to get the film firstly to the cinema, after this task is completed successfully there next job is to get the film onto a DVD. The majority of the turnover comes from the DVD success as when the film is released it is unheard of and not may people have seen it. However after it has been released in cinemas a lot of media hype tends to surround quality films, this makes people want to go out and buy the film to see if it lives up to the speculation.

The opening few shots in our film are filmed in a local coffee shop. This shot establishes the location of the film and gives the audience a taste of the sort of things that may occcur later on in the movie. The coffee shop location was owned by the studio.

The titles in the film appear later on in the scene and also another title comes on at the start of the second scene. The titles are basically there for the audience to see who is starring in the film. For the actors especially this helps them become recognised, as the actors are relatively unknown before the film, if an actor is particularly good, there might be a lot of people praising the actor, this could lead to bigger and beter films in the future also with higher budgets. The main character in the film is presented almost immediately.

There were several different forms of technology and alternate programmes used to complete the media assignment. The filming took us a fair bit of time. During the filming we used the following pieces of equipment -

Video Camera  -The most important piece of techology used was the camera, we got better after the preliminary exercise at camera control and how quickly to pan etc

Headphones – These were used to check sound levels, in the preliminary exercise sound levels werent great, so we made a real effort to get the sound right.

Video Tape – What went into the camera so we could store footage

Tripod – This was used to rest the camera on, we could adjust the height of the tripod to get the shot we wanted, we got quicker at setting the tripod up as time went on.

Microphone – This was what recorded the sounds in the film, we then used the headphones to check everything was in order

We also used other resources which helped us edit and finalise the piece -

Adobe photoshop – We used this primarily to create our company ident

Adobe premiere pro 7 – This was the editing software we were advised to use. We used premiere pro for the entire editing process and also to add in special effects. At the top there is a picture of adobe premiere pro interface. You can clearly see for a beginner it looks quite tricky to use but once you get used to it, its not too bad. The column in the top left shows all clips or images that are ready to be placed on the timeline. The timeline is the bottom part with the blocks. Once captured, the film is placed on the timeline as one large block but then can be cut using the cut tool. The largest section obviously shows the film as it is layed out on the timeline. Finally the box in the bottom left corner is where all the effects are found, e.g fade, dissolve.

Google – Where we found some of our pictures, one example is of the typical 15-24 year old for evaluation activity 4

Youtube – We used this to upload our preliminary exercise to get critical feedback and also our final film was uploaded onto youtube so we could access our film from anywhere.

Audacity – This was to make the sound track longer and also to make some of the sound effects more distinguised.

CD’s – We used these for importing sounds into our film, for us inparticularly we used crowd noises for the coffee shop to make is more realistic and also a heartbeat sound to build tension.

Media blogs (wordpress) – These allowed us to keep up to date and frequently check over them, we did everything on this website. We had to essentially write a step to step guide for making a successful film.

Just writing this activity surprised me a lot, i didnt realise how much technology we really needed to complete this film.

Frame 1 – The first frame is the company ident and the opening shot to the whole film, the logo is quite basic but it fits the bill, the colours used are typical of other companies similar to ours. It stands out well and is recognisable.

Frame 2 – This screengrab here is after the main character has just been established and taken his seat in the coffee shop. It is a gentle paced first shot which allows the audience to become apparent as to who the main character is and what he is about. At first viewing he looks like a very typical person, who likes to relax with a cup of coffee and reading the newspaper, he looks like the sort of person who lives a very normal lifestyle. The clothes are the biggest give away for this, very average and affordable. We felt the location was average, looking back we were under propped and could have done with a few more coffee shop ornaments to make it look more realistic. On this shot there is a bit too much headroom, and the shot should have been filmed closer as the character isnt fully clear on screen. At this point in the film audio editing is introduced with background coffee noises also added.

Frame 3 – This is a very important shot in the film, we see many things in just this one shot. We find out the characters name for the first time via the title we included. We thought the title was best suited when we had a close up of the characters face. We see the characters shocked face which sets us up perfectly for the sequence which follows. The shot infact is acctually a freeze frame, twice we used these in the film, we studied other films similar to ours and they incorporated freeze frames in with titles, ultimately we followed suit. This shot became a motif for our film.

Frame 4 – This screengrab is from the flashback, we decided to use white and black instead of colour to indicate to the audience that it was a flashback and not a random event. This is also the first shot we see of the 2 villains faces. These villains are trying to be perceived as bad right from the very beginning, the audience can tell this from the hoods up, and the scary facial expressions. This particular shot is also a freeze frame, it is a lot easier to incorporate titles onto freeze frames and as ive already said before lots of films do tend to do it. This particular shot is about setting the scene in the new location.

Frame 5 – This next shot is revealing the importance of the whole sequence as you see the two newly introduced characters approaching the sole character you can anticipate that something of importance is going to happen at this point. This shot is an over the shoulder shot, it is also a long shot.

Frame 6 – This shot shows the stand off between the characters, the audience anticipates this as they see the chase from a different view to the characters. It builds up the tension before the big showdown where all the main action will take place

Frame 7 -This is possibly the most crucial frame, it is the whole point of the flashback incident, the build has ended and the audience see what they expected. This shot particularly highlights the scared face of the main character which proves to be key.

Frame 8 – Here is another important shot as he receives a mysterious phone call with no one on the other end. This leads the audience into thinking that the character may have some sort of physoclogical issues, this could then lead onto other storylines later on in the film.

Frame 9 – This is the final frame which includes the title of the film ‘recall’. There is a transition in this frame  where all the letters which make up recall come in from different directions. It finished the film well and i am pleased with how it went.

The preliminary exercise was a short piece of work which we did in groups of about 4. It was designed to practice our continuity, editing and also to practice using the equipment both safely and effectively. The preliminary exercise was suppose to be 20 seconds long, our preperation was poor, and we ended up making most of it up on the spot. The camera angles and shots were rushed, we didnt consider the surroundings and what would go best. We didnt check the white balance before filming which we were strongly advised to do. In comparison the final piece was a lot more precise, every detail was dealt with and we felt a lot more confident about going to film as we knew exactly what shots we were filming and what shots followed them.

The continuity was reasonably poor in the preliminary exercise. Lots of shots were jumpy and didnt follow on particularly well. There is a prime example of this, it is where the character in the check shirt (Jack Zelenka) was walking down a corridor then within a split second he is inside a different room, this looks dreadful when watching it back, very unproffessional. In my final project however the continuity is far smoother and looks more like an actual film. I would say the main reason for this great improvement is the practice we had with the preliminary exercise, so our mistakes actually helped us in the long run.

The editing in the preliminary exercise was weak. We hadnt had much experience of using adobe premiere pro, so it was a learning curve for us, so the editing shall we say was very mediocre. For the final piece we were a lot more competent as we got used to the software and knew what buttons did what job. We managed to learn how to add soundtracks to the timeline, also overlap sounds. We also added freeze frames and included several special effects. These all contributed to making the film a success.

I must say that the preliminary exercise was a huge wake up call for me and the rest of the group, we didnt work well as a group, and didnt spend enough time making sure all the details were spot on. The final piece was a lot more successful. Our organisation improved as did our attitude towards the film as we realised how much effort we needed to put in. Maximum effort was put in to reach the deadline, and to make the film to the best of our ability. We co-operated well and also we got three good actors in our film, they were helpful and acted out the film exactly as we asked them too.

I have below 2 screengrabs from the film to prove what i was saying above. The first picture is a shot of the case. We were trying to get the case to open up just enough so the character could see inside but the audience couldnt. This is known as a mcguffin, however unfortunately you can see inside the case and there is nothing there, which completely ruins the shot. The second picture is a shot reverse shot (SRS), we were told we had to use one in the film, we did so. We used the 180 degree rule before filming the shot, this was probably one of our best shots during the 20 second period.

 Before we began our coursework we watched several films and tv programmers to educate us on the topic of media, we began to get a feel for them and had to take notes about different aspects of them in great detail. One tv programme we watched was life on mars. This leads me nicely onto the actual activity itself, the main character in our film was a man named Simon Howard. The integral part of our plot was centralised around a flashback which occured whilst he was relaxing in a coffee shop. The main or one of the main characters in life on mars was a man name DCI Sam Tyler. Below i have wrote a brief paragraph about what life on mars is essentially all about.

Life on mars is a british science fiction tv programme. It tells a fictional story of the man i am going to compare (DCI Sam Tyler) who was involved in a car crash. He mysteriously awakes from the crash in 1973. The central plot focuses on DCI Sam Tylers ambiguity as to what has actually happened to him. This leaves the audience wondering whether he has gone mad, is in a coma or has actually travelled back in time. Although life on mars is not actually a film, i felt it was a necessary comparison to make as the role of the character in the film/tv programme were remarkably similar.

Similarities – They are both main characters in the film and all the action is centralised around them. In terms of appearance Simon Howard and DCI Sam Tyler look quite alike, both quite tall, similar hair styles and also there eyes are the same colour. Another similarity is that both characters have physcological issues although they arent completely apparent to the audience. DCI Sam Tyler gets teleported back into the past after a car crash, he doesnt fully understand why he is there. Our character has flashbacks into the past from a  period of his life when he was attacked, these are both examples of physchological problems. Both characters are quite lonely figures and appear to be fighting there battles on their own.

Differences – Sam Tyler has a job as a policeman whereas our main character isnt perceived to have a job.  The dress sense is quite different, one is made to look retro and the other is more casual day to day stuff. The costumes tend to relate a lot on the film budget. The bigger the budget the better costumes can be purchased, which in turn makes it look a lot more proffessional and believable.

Here is another comparison, the 2 characters from our film are compared to Vince and Jules from Pulp fiction. Pulp fiction is another film we watched in class. It is an american crime/thriller.

Similarities – Both pairs were with each other almost all the time, especially in our film. I dont think i can recall any point when neither of them are with each other. Another similarity is they are both criminals and trying to hurt someone for a purpose. They both look at each other for guidance, eg in our film, Jacob looks over at Tom and then hits Simon, they reassure each other.

Differences – In pulp fiction one character is black and the other character is white whereas in our film both characters are white, i think it works better with one of each like in pulp fiction. A major difference which i found was in our film no weapons were used, just physical violence. Finally the main difference i feel is the clothes worn, the characters in Pulp fiction are wearing posh suits, to show power. Alternatively in our film the clothes worn we didnt really have much of a say on, once again this relates to budget. Bigger budget, better film i feel, this is true in most cases.

Who would be the audience for your media product ?

The genre of our film is a thriller, It is a hybrid, whic basically means it fits into sub genres, in my opinion the sub genres of this film would be a crime thriller, action thriller and physchological thriller. Crime because of the attack featured in the film, action because of the chase leading up to the attack and physchological due to the phone call at the end which was mysterious and played tricks with the actors mind.

The gender targeted for this film is slightly more male orientated, this is predominantly because of the violence which is involved, also the cast is all male. Men can certainly relate to it more, and probably know or have friends with similar personalities to the actors in the film. Although i would add i do know quite a few women who do tend to watch these films on a regular basis, so to conclude the gender isnt specific but it is tilted slightly towards the male end of the spectrum.

 Our film would suit various age groups. The certificate would definitely be a ‘15′, the film contains some mild violence, however it has no bloody violence, sex or swearing. There isnt enough in the film to push it up to an ‘18′ rated. Due to my age the majority of films i tend to watch are 15 rated. To conclude the age range i have decided upon for my film is 15-24 but obviously there are always likely to be exceptions.

The audience for our film could be described as the typical 15-24 year old. The sort of shops they would shop in would be stylish possibly designer brands yet affordable as youngsters arent made of money. In spare time the majority of people watch tv, the sort of tv programmers the target audience are likely to be watching are CSI, life on mars, waterloo road, heroes. The tension and mystery is the appeal for these sorts of programmes. Also people of that age can relate to what they are seeing and makes for a more enjoyable viewing. The sort of music would be r & b, pop, hip hop, top 40 hits, the usual sort of music trends people of that age have.

Below is a picture of what the typical person(s) would look like that would witness our film.