Thursday, 12 March 2015

Looking back at our preliminary task, what have you learnt from the progression from it to the final product?

What have we learned?
From the process of our preliminary task we have learnt to fully read the brief set, so that no mistakes are made and all criteria is filled. We have learnt that it is beneficial to plan thoroughly before filming so that even if we have extra footage we do not need to re-film several times like we had to in our preliminary task.
We are now more efficient in the works of final cut pro and can edit our footage in several different ways to make it appealing for our audience, this included cutting parts of the footage, editing the volume and adding filters and transitions to make the overall final piece smooth and professional.
From our preliminary task we learned how to use different camera angles effectively to display our wide range and knowledge. We learned how to use shot reverse shot and match on action, something which was incorporated into our main task to create an efficient final piece.
We used a tripod in both our preliminary and main tasks as it ensured that our footage was clear and not shaky. For our main task we changed the apparatus that we used to film this time using our own camera, the Nikon D300, rather than a video recorder as the overall quality of the footage was clearer and no blurriness or pixilation occurred. We believed that this enhanced our final film as it made the overall finish professional.
We originally wrote a script for both tasks, as getting the actors to learn the dialogue meant that the intentions of the narrative were clear and that there was no unnecessary rambling ensuring a clear narrative direction. We stuck to the original script but cut out certain elements as we decided that they were unneeded as it gave to much of the narrative plot away.
Our film was filmed in real time, with flashbacks inserted throughout to assist the narrative. We created a narrative link by using a shot of the kettle whistling/boiling which was put on the stove in the opening shot which displayed to the viewer that this occurred in a short period of time therefore making the audience feel included in everything which is happening onscreen as nothing has been cut out and they are able to see the actors full reactions to what is happening. The boiling of the kettle concludes the opening scene as well as linking it back to the kettle, this being the reoccurring theme and object.
If we were to change any aspect of our final piece we would re-film the voiceovers so that what is being said is clear and said with more emotion so that what is being said is more convincing to the audience. However when feedback was given no one commented on the voiceovers as they believed them to be good, this critique being our own personal preference.

What kind of media institution might distribute our product?

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Friday, 23 January 2015

Toy Story - Opening Credits - Timeline

we decided that to further investigate the editing that would be needed for our film, specifically the credits that we would need to use, that we should find a film opening and create a timeline of the credits and when they appear, so that we would have an idea of what to do when it came to writing our own credits - we decided to use Toy Story as it was a prime example of opening credits and it is a film that most people know due to it being a Disney classic.

0:00 – 0:13 – Walt Disney Pictures – name of production company
0:25 – 0:29 – Walt Disney Pictures Presents
0:34 – 0:38 – Toy Story – Name of the film
0:46 – 0:50 – A Pixar Production – Company
0:54 – 0:58 – Executive Producers, Edwin Catmull, Steve Jobs – Name of executive producers.
2:01 – 2:05 – Supervisor technical director, William Reeves – Technical director.
2:12 – 2:17 – music by Randy Newman - music

2:19 – 2:24 – songs written and performed by Randy Newman – music and songs

We believe that this is going to help us improve the credits upon our opening scene. 

Monday, 12 January 2015

Action Plan - Week beginning 12th January

What we completed last week:
- Draft 5
- Draft 6
- Edit Decision List
- Audience Video Teacher Feedback
What we need to complete this week:
- Final Draft
- Completed Film
- Mise en scene uploaded to blog
- Risk Assessment follow up
- Audience Feedback

Final Draft

This is the final draft of our film opening, we are now going to receive last minute feedback and make  any adjustments that we deem necessary. The next video will be our final and completed opening of a drama film.

Friday, 9 January 2015

Draft 6


This is our sixth draft, this is drastically different from our other drafts as we have changed several things mainly the lenghting and the removal of unneeded clips and voiceovers.

Edit Decision List 2

This is our second edit decision list, for the second set of filming in which we did. This video shows the examples and why we ultimately decided not to use them.

Audience Video Teacher Feedback (So far...)

After creating five drafts of our film we decided to receive feedback from our teacher so they could tell us how they thought we could improve. After watching it they believed that we gave to much of the narrative away within the opening scene and that some of the clips were two long as the finished clip should as a maximum be only just over 2 minutes. We are going to edit these changes to make our video more effective.

Draft 5

This is our fifth draft, we are now going to receive feedback from our teacher to see if we can make any changes.