conventions of titling

we have chosen the film four logo as our production company and uk film council because they are both supporting low budget films. these have both been added to the beginning of our film to show the support

the evaluation!

last lesson we started work on the evaluation, this lesson i have been adding more to the evaluation. after speaking to jude i have had some more ideas from other voice overs. the main issue we are facing is that we only have 2 mins to talk over. this will not be enough to say all that we need, therefore we are going to say the general gist of the film ( for example: genre and what is happening) before we start and then run through the shots as its going. at the end again we can talk after it has finished to make sure all we need to say is said.

Finished!

We haven't added a blog in a while as we have been busy finishing our filming and adding the final touches. Firstly we re-shot the various shots required including the cupboard shot as the initial shot turned out to become blurry which wasn't an effect we wished to have included in our footage. Further on from this we then added some beginning opening titles on 'live type' giving information on the production company, the director and the title of the film in which we incorporated a 'Shudder' effect where the titles would shudder to the sound of a heart beat which we also incorporated through soundtrack. We then created a soundtrack on 'Soundtrack' which we edited multiple times in order to fit the genre of the film as well as maintaining continuity throughout our piece. We also felt this would be an ideal and effective way to portray the mood of the film. An example of this is when the knock on the door is heard by 'Jack', we felt emphasis should be made on this point in order to highlight its importance.  

Finally with the use of final cut we added various effects including a fade and slow motion in order to create tension while Sam's character 'Jack' approaches the door. 

Our original storyboard included a chase sequence at the end however we as a group decided this could not be included in our footage as it would be too long and difficult to create as well as various health and safety barriers such as jumping over walls as well as Sam becoming injured.

Final Cut Upload

Today we uploaded our first lot of film, most is good quality and works well but we have made a list for a shot that could be better if re-shot.

the re-shot  is-

that we need a new cupboard opening and bowl take shot, the few were ether too dark or out of focus due the quick light change, we will make this better by incorporating more light.

we have made our first edits and cuts. 

we are also in the process of creating a production plan for the remainder of our filming

we still need to shoot-:

• the door knock
• the waking up sequence with the incorporated heart beat 
• the chase sequence 

We will start filming his on Tuesday this includes Sam, Karne, Matt and Max

Today we presented our brief and are currently in the process of uploading the footage we have managed to take onto Final cut where we can experiment with music and various sound effects as well as start editing in order to create continuity. 

We have an idea of what soundtrack we would like playing while our character is getting ready . 

Nine inch nails- Everyday is exactly the same however as the soundtrack is vital to the morning montage sequence this might be changed.

So far in our filming we have managed to capture the morning sequence where our main character is waking up, getting dressed and full filling his morning routine. The only remanding filming to be done is the chase scene which takes place inside the house and gradually around the estate where I live.  The assistance of my friend 'Mat' has been confirmed to play the character of Vinni 

Target Audience

whilst researching potential target audiences for a thriller we came across this useful website. www.valmorgan.co.nz which had this brief  on thrillers: 

thrillers are generally particularly popular with the under 25's and have a slight female skew. with moviegoers in an attentive and focused mindset, they provide a highly effective, distraction free advertising environment.

Data on target audiences is presented through the use of graphs and pie charts. 

Location Location!

We took some photographs of the location where our main character lives. This has helped us to start going into more detail into our story board and environment the character lives in. 

On our brief we have also started going into more detail on the characters such as they're various props and costumes to position the audience in the action and reflect the representation of the different social groups in terms of the working class, age group, gender and ethnic minority.  

Synopsis

in the past 'Jack Latham' played many wrong cards, robbery, hustling and cheating others. after many years of getting away with his crimes, time finally caught up with him and is forced to run, starting up a new life anywhere he could. years later jack finds he can only run and hide for so long when his ghosts come back to haunt him. on a bid to escape jack finds he can only end this lifestyle by some how redeeming him self... if you can't beat them join them. 

Our pitch

Today we worked on our pitch presentation in which we researched into other films such as 'This is England' in order to gain an idea for our overall budget for the film.
We then looked into the target audience of the film and its genre; The main target would be ‘go-getter’ students and young professionals with active life styles and city jobs We then discussed the method of which we would distribute the film which we decided we would launch the film at an independent film festival in order to observe the popularity of the film.

Once we did this we then brainstormed forms of advertising for the film suh as through a large social network such as facebook in order to attract and appeal to our target audience.

Kidulthood Opening Analysis

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=jGRujIKsokk

I am analysing the opening of Kidulthood as our ideas have things in common.

The use of graphics for the titles is used from the start and the first thing seen is logo of "revolver entertainment" slowly appearing in the middle of the screen against black background, and the use of zoom is used slowly as well. Other various logos of production houses follow through the use of graphics and different fonts. For the third logo a non diegetic bullet sound is used. As the graphics and titles continue, after around 30 seconds background music is heard and along with that the sound of kids are heard, as if they are in a playground.

The first visual shot we see is an extreme close up of a football being kicked in slow motion, followed by a mix up of more slow motion shots of school kids and then faster, quicker paced shots of the school kids. After this another extreme close up is shown of a characters eyes in goggles and hie is using a pillar drill which is shot through a close up.  

opening scene

from our first ideas, this is the kind of opening scene we are going for. the title graphics in this film are in a type writing font, slightly angled, centered and shaken. they cut from the main film, but still here the diegetic sound coming from the characters.

the opening shot is a graphics title of the film studio company 'summit entertainment'. the second title is timed after little punch line from the character, ' the steve tisch company', the production company. thirdly 'ska films'. it includes a single 'presents' title, which then introduces another producer, 'a matthew vaughn production'. lastly the director is shown before the action kicks in.

slow motion effects are used with a narration, to then slowly type write effect the films name, letter by letter, with pauses as if done live.

after the first title, it is followed by point of view shot, as if the audience is a person pushing through the crowds. making the audience feel as if in the film.

there is no sound used in the first minuet of the opening, only until the action kicks in does the sound start, this emphasizes the police chase. this then fades to help the audience hear the narration, telling the audience more information about the characters.

all the characters in the film are wearing large trench coats, most also wearing scarfs, showing is in the cold morning. they are obviously not on a high street, but round the back of a industrial estate. the large, black coats make the characters appear to be professional.

i think that the genre for this film is crime drama. working class people that have been to london, will understand and relate to this film and understand that haggling and selling out of suitcases can be common. places like portobello road fit into this setting.

the overall effect and feel of the opening scene is that you are part of the characters display, you want one of his bargains. when the police stat to chase the characters, you don't feel that what the characters are doing is bad, but the opposite, you don't want them to get caught. from common british opinions of police you find it funny how easily they get away from them, just from watching them clumsily crawl over the car barrier.

wednesday 7th jan 2009 - film ideas

morning scene introducing main character.

ideas
- opening by fade, early morning silent (birdsong) showing setting. garage, streets
- burst to shocking alarm, character waking up,
- usual morning routine i.e. trousers on, breakfast,

character is going to be single, alone and maybe room full of stolen goods?

Production meeting - one

We brainstormed some ideas on what we could film using inspiration from various film sequences we have seen in class including a teen drama scene i.e. Skins or a horror sequence for example Halloween.
Also from 'Wanted' and 'Fight club' a voice over narrative explaining the life of two flat mates.

Sam is good at computer packages and editing and we have some ideas for location including Reigate town, Max's house and the college.