Evaluation Question 7

Preliminary Project

Location

The preliminary project was filmed in my own house. This was due to the time limit I had on producing the film. It displayed the hall, stairs, landing and bedroom. Little imagination was needed.

Characters and Plot

The main and only character was a young boy played by my cousin, Mitchell. He did not fit the tense genre though acted well. The actual plot however was very abstract and without any real reason. This was mainly due to the fact that I thought it up very quickly due to the time limit.

Lighting

Arguably the lighting was quite effective. As the character enters my room a light flickers upon him - actually i very impressed with the end result. However, the dark surroundings triggered night vision on my camera. This was a problem as it led to a large enlightened circle upon the shot. This did not look very proffessional.

Props

Like I say, not much thought was put into the actual story line and so props were not essential. The film did however show a biscuit aswell as a large arm chair.


Sound

Rather disappointingly I didn't have the chance to add music to the preliminary film. This reduced its tension and thus quality. The diagetic sound of the door opening and the main character speaking were the only sounds used in the whole piece.

Inter-titles

Again, there were no titles used in the whole film. There was no place to insert them and the drama started halfway through. This reduced the overall quality of the film as vital information was not able to be dispalyed to the viewer.

Main Project

Location

Many locations were used in the final piece. The scenes show a computer room, a staircase, hallway, common room and alleyway. This gave the film a feeling of diversity and enabled many forms of emotion to be experienced by the viewer. eg. tension, fear, excitement, anxiety, energy etc.

Characters and Plot

It was a hard task to produce a 2 minute film with a fully understandable plot. I did manage however. My film shows the basic storyline of a computer hacker that steals a CD belonging to the antagonist. He escapes with the CD and is chased into a cliff-hanger situation. This time I developed characters that both fit and challened form and convention. I used the stereotype of a 'skin head' as my antagonist and that of a computer geek for my protagonist. I did challenege the latter by altering his abilities to become more agile and urban.

Lighting

The film was filmed completely by day and so the majority of shots show natural lighting. This enabled the film to be more realistic. The staircase for example shows dim light being projected through milky, narrow windows. This gives the scene an archaic feeling. The alley ways flood with sunlight, and in some scene this appears to be disorientating for the characters. For example, there is a scene where they leap over the character blocking out the image of a large, distracting sun-disk.

Props

I took much care over props in my main task. Props on display include the CD and hacker's retro glasses. However included in this could be the full costumes of both characters. This would include the protagonist's hood and dirty jeans and the antagonist's leather jacket.

Sound

Music was very important in the main project. I used it to reflect the images of the screen and produced it in 'Garageband'. The diagetic sounds include the breaking of the glasses and the ejecting of the disk. Sound was obviously necessary in increasing proffessionalism.

Inter-titles

The titles at first appear interlinked with the 'computer hacking theme'. The name of the film company and film titles are shown inside a screen of binory code. Later the names of the actors appear on top of the film as they race around the computer room door in slow motion.




What have I learnt?


I'm glad I started with a preliminary project as it allowed me to see the individual changes that needed to be made in order to create a professional piece of film. I discovered the vast difference that it makes to compose music around a piece of film. Working with accurate cooperative actors made a change to using my own family, and this allowed me to stretch out into different emotions and subtleties of expression.


Another dramatic improvement in my final project came from the preproduction of storyboards. Filming with storyboards meant that it was much quicker to organise the shot angle and character's position as it had been earlier planned. Planning the editing before hand and jotting down on paper proved better than guessing whilst at location.

Evaluation Question 6

Learn how to draw cartoons, comics, and anime at Sketchfu!



As the sketchfu animation shows, I used many different technologies in the processing of my product. These included:


TRIPOD
CAMERA
TAPE
APPLE MAC
FINAL CUT EXPRESS
YOUTUBE
BLOGGER

Many of these technologies I had never used before, and so producing my film developed my knowledge of technologies.

Evaluation Question 5

Title draws us in quite quickly from the beginning.

Intriguing, makes us want to know what will happen.

Camera work could be improved.

Not appealing to her, as she does not regularly watch films of this sort.

The first thing that stands out is the quickness of the beginning.

Forces you to pay attention.

The genre is not easily established (perhaps drama-based)

Good filming.

Should be filmed somewhere other than the locality.

Filming and cinematography good, editing well paced.

Perhaps it should be filmed somewhere other than the college.

She would purchase this film, as she is intrigued into seeing what it is like.

It lacks realism and seriousness as actors show little talent.

Titles attract is attention.

Good filming, good introduction.

He would purchase this film because he finds it interesting.

Could include more shots in the introduction.

Professionalism draws attention.

Mixture of genres, predominantly action.

Shot well, good cinematography, looks professional.

The costume, lighting and mise en scene are effective.

Age range is mid-twenties.

He would purchase the film as it is his genre.

Camera work can be shaky at times, more care needs to be taken.

The first few seconds of the film attract her attention and set the scene.

A chase scene genre.

The slow-motion scene with the titles is strong.

Probably appeals to an audience in their mid-twenties who enjoy action films.

Personally not to her taste so she would not purchase this film.

Could be improved by using more locations.

I was pleased that my viewers were attracted by the opening scene. I did intend for the opening titles to hook the viewer and it seems to have worked. I am also glad that most reckoned that a suitable audience would be in their early 20s, as again this what I aimed for. I agree with the feedback that the camera is often shaky, yet often there was little way around this without purchasing expensive equipment. I disagree however with the opinion that I have not used enough locations. As I express in Question 1 I used five separate and I felt this was enough. However it maybe true that filming ought to have taken place outside of the college.

Altogether I am pleased with my feedback and expected the results I obtained. I am glad I attracted the attention of my audience.

Evaluation Question 4

 Who are my Audiance?

My audiance incorporate many groups (or tribes) of people. After research the closest group of people I could find were 'the casuals'. They cover a large range of trends and occupations. I felt it would be unfair to pin point a precise audiance, as it would be much safer aiming at a broader audiance.

What brands are they associated with?

According to the UK tribes website, Fred Perry, Umbro and Topman are included in the tribe's favourite brands. Yet like I say, the category is so broad it enacapsulates many other trends and people-types.

What do they watch?

Apparantly, 'The Simpsons','The Sopranos' and 'The office' are this group's  favourite TV shows. I think it reflects their mainstream consumption.

Evaluation Question 3

I have done much research into Film Distributors. First I identitfied all english Film Distributors, as I felt my film was traditionally english in style. Second I looked into the films they themselves had distributed. I discovered many that focused on documentaries and others that only distributed those of the horror genre. Finally I found Momentum Pictures. They have distributed a wide range of films recently, including 'The Fighter' and 'The King's Speech'. Although my film would never reach the standards of such distributers, if done proffessionally I felt this genre and style would suit Momentum Pictures.

Evaluation Question 2

Evaluation Question 1

The Final Cut

Using Final Cut Express

Once the camera is connected to the computer I can start to capture my film in 'Final Cut'. To do this I go to 'file' and then 'capture'.

At this point a screen showing the film will appear in the Final Cut window. I can capture between any two points in the film, by using the spacebar and escape key. Once a selection of clips have been captured they will individually appear in the palate to the side of the screen (as seen below).

I can place any of these film clips in the timeline.

Once on the timeline I can add effects, tansitions and titles. The most well-used tool to me would be the blade (see below). With this tool a clip can be split precisely in two.

A screen displays the film on the timeline.

The individual clips are rearranged on the timeline, and this is called the sequence.



Using the magnifying glass I can zoom into the sequencend make minor readjustments.



Problems in Shooting

The original dates set for filming have had to be altered. This is due to a death in the family of the actor, Ryan Travis. He is attending a funeral and cannot make monday the 14th March. We will be postponing filming for Monday the 21st when both can meet me at 10:50. This unfortunately put filming at a bit of a standstill for the time being and gives me much shorter editing time.

Production Schedule

My Production Schedule runs as follows.

1. Organising dates for filming with actors Ryan and Lee. Dates decided were Monday 7th March and Monday 14th March
2. Ryan and Lee's permission required - release forms to be filled in.
3. Once dates set, tripod and camera must be booked in the atrium. Will need to aquire teacher permission. Tripods only can be booked for 3 days at a time. Will have to book on Monday mornings.
4. Sequence in common room, hallway and staircase to be filmed on Monday 7th and sequence in computer room and alleyway filmed on 14th.
5. Will edit sequence for 1.5 hours on Tuesday 8th and Tuesday 15th.
6. Add logo and title sequence.

Call Sheets and Model Release Forms

Designing and Creating a Logo

Initial Ideas 

I came up with the comapany name pretty quickly. "TaylorMade" was obviously a pun on my own name, but it offered me much potential in designing a logo. It wasn't long before I hit on the idea of scissors, and so I produced several different sketches and eventually picked my favourite (marked with a tick).

Observing the structure of a pair of scissors

I searched scissors on Google to find an accurate stencil for my image. Finding one I used it to sketch from and produced a black pair of scissors on MS Paint.

Drawing a pair of scissors

Placing an image of a pair of scissors on the canvas I used the paint tools to recreate my own pair.

The scissors cutting the film

Again I used the tools and produced a strip of film, being sliced by the scissors, copying from my initial logo. I used a smaller paint brush to add the details to the film strip.

I added a T and M, standing for "Taylor" and "Made".

And finally

I inverted the colours and added "TAYLOR MADE PRODUCTIONS" in the font 'Impact'.

Research into Sound Effects and Fonts

FindSounds.com


http://www.findsounds.com/

I used FindSounds.com to search for accurate sound effects in the sequence. Here I could legally download from a vast variety of different noises, and locate an effective sound to accompany the images on screen. After deciding which scenes were in need of a diagetic or sometimes non-diagetic sound, I composed a simple list of 3 sounds effects.

Sound effect 1:

Computer beep

Non-diagetic

Needed in the opening title sequence to represent the sound of a hacked-in-to-computer.

Is heard while the words, "THE HACKER" is on screen.

Sound effect 2:

Disk ejecting

Diagetic

Heard as CD containing valuable information is ejected.

Sound effect 3:

Glasses breaking

Diagetic

Represents the anger of the Antagonist and his ambition to chase the Hacker.

Is heard as glasses theoretically hit the ground, and is combined with the change of shot to the escaping Hacker.



Potentially I could have recorded the sounds myself, yet I felt FindSounds.com, with the benefit of being quick and easy, offered a wider variety of much crisper sound files. In many ways it also seems a benefit to exaggerate sounds in a film, increasing the overall impact of the piece.

Font Research

http://www.dafont.com/

My intention is to achieve a simple, easily-read font that reflects the nature of the film; fast paced, exciting, rugged and in link with the computer theme. I used DaFont.com to experiment with a variety of fonts.

'Traveling Typewriter' (top) was one I felt connected largely to the concept of typing and thus computer hacking. It's narrow letters are like those produced by a typewriter, and so it's not hard to imagine the font typing letter by letter on the screen, as seen in the 'Lock, Stock and two smoking Barrels' sequence I annotated.

'Ghetto Marquee' (second down) is similar in its untidy grittiness to the first font. The individual letters are boxed off (seperate as if also typed), in capitals, and are dirty and urban in style. I felt this font attained a degree of aggression and excitement found in the sequence but lacked the needed connotations of computers.

'Neuropol' (third down), unlike the others is tidily alligned with smooth edges. I discovered it when searching the 'science-fiction' section of the website. Although it lacks the urban ruggedness of the other fonts it appeals to the computer-hacker side more. I feel it definitely lacks the impact of the last font, and perhaps its letters are too thin to stand out on the moving-image backdrop.

'Impact' (bottom in box) is the font I am leaning towards the most in using in my final sequence. There are several reasons for this:

1. The font maintains aggression, ruggedness and a contemporary style, which are in line with the moving image itself.
2. The font maintains the computer connotations. The letters are smooth enough and alligned properly enough to relate to the electronic and technological aspects of a computer system.
3. Impact, namely, has Impact. Its capital letters are bold enough and large enough to stand out on the screen.
4. The font is easily accessable in video editing software (final cut) and MS Paint for my logo. Fonts that could be argued to be superior in this situation are not present in the software.

Props

Geeky Glasses

Permission required from my father

As discussed in the costume design section, the geeky glasses are intended to emphasise the unpopularity and vulnerability the character at first seems to posses. The glasses will be removed after the first scene and the characters actual ability to escape the antagonist will be revealed. The glasses used to belong to my father. With his permission we used this prop, and will be careful not to damage them. The blurred vision could be a safety hazard.

Disposable CD    

Namely, 'Three Stars at Christmas'

The CD is a vital part of the plot. We will be using an damaged and unwanted CD ('Three Stars at Christmas'), as there is a risk of damage.

Storyboards

Upon establishing a plot I felt it vital to produce the entire sequence in a storyboard format. First I split my basic story into five seperate scenes. Knowing the final sequence is to last approximately 2 minutes (120 seconds) I simply divided a sequence of 100 seconds by 5, equalling 20 seconds per scene, and offered myself the extra 20 seconds for flexibility and in case any of my shots spilling over their set time limits. I estimated the total length (in seconds)for each shot and wrote and circled it in the top right hand corner of each frame in my storyboard.

Computer Room





Stairwell

Hallway

Common Room





Alleyway

Current Plot

There has been several alterations since my last plot description previously posted. Originally, the protagonist in my film was to strole into a public toilet, enter one of many cubicles, and escape through a window. The viewer would then experience the tension of the antagonist searching each cubicle individually. Yet I was strongly advised not to film in such a location - you can imagine the disruption caused or the needless problems of objection. It became clear that to film in the toilets was not necessary for the drama and suspension, and indeed a similar seen could be relocated without the film losing any quality. Secondly the Hacker no longer escapes. As an opening sequence the film deserved a cliff hanger, a point of despair for the protagonist. And so after corrections such as this my current plot was established.

• Opening Titles edited in such a way that replicate that of a infiltrated computer system.
• Hacker clicks mouse to eject CD with confidential information.
• Door opens and antagonist appears at the entrance to the room. He shouts, "What do you think you're doing?"
• CD ejects.
• Hacker races round corner of door, missing his glasses. Antagonist strides out after him and flings the Hacker's glasses to the ground.
• Hacker runs downstairs.
• Antagonist chases Hacker downstairs.
• Hacker is chased by Antagonist through a long hall way.
• Hacker escapes and enters the 'common room' (like a dining room). He walks up to a window and pulls accross the blinds.
• Antagonist enters 'common room' and, increasing tension, stairs at the blinds. As he pulls the blinds accross he notices the window is open and infers that the hacker has escaped.
• Hacker runs down alleyway, chased again by the antagonist.
• Hacker becomes cornered. The CD in his hand is shot in the foreground, with the angry antagonist facing him.

Recce and Risk Assessment

The Alleyway



The Common Room





The Hall

The Stairwell

Photoshoot

 I dressed my actor playing the computer hacker, and experimented shooting him in an urban area, in a variety of different positions and situations. Click the images for a larger picture.