Recording Sound On Location and ADR

Within this post I will be taking you through 'Sound' in film, and not as in sound itself but how sound is captured when producing the film and how to avoid any mishaps that can occur when trying to capture sound.

When filming outside there are seriously to many things to count that make noise, you have natural noises that can't be prevented such as wind, water, and even nature such as birds tweeting. You also have man made noises such as cars driving past, airplanes and helicopters flying over, and even the sound of someone sneezing or coughing. Although there are ways in which that all this can be prevented but it can become quite costly when using sound proof rooms. Also theirs the chance of catching a day with absolute no wind at all cutting down on the cost of not needing to use a sound proof room, or even film the scene on day and the audio another at the studio.

 This type of equipment can be instantly recognizable watching Jeremy Kyle because whenever one of the fools from the stage runs off because they have either found out the truth that their boyfriend has been sleeping with another girl and now for this poor the camera operator has to run after them, you can see most of the times some poor man or woman trying to keep up, holding a fairly long pole which looks like a feather duster attached to it..........,

 Well actually that 'Feather Duster is in fact a 'Mic' and the occupant who carries it is known as the Boom Operator.......................

 A professional Boom Pole can span up to 18 feet,...............

 And all this is just held right outside of the frame of the camera, but unfortunately sometimes though due to the size and awkwardness of this equipment the boom operator may become quite tired after hours on end of holding this on a film set and may duck in the frame, which for some critics this is condemned and the whole gets scrutinized for it.

OK, so that wasn't really on accident and was done on a purpose to make people laugh but you could imagine in a professionally mannered film that at the start of this clip when it just dips into the frame that could possibly happen in a movie. 

So what does the 'Boom Equipment and it's Operator' do in film now, is that it can allow the actor/s or actress/es to move freely around the set without there voice quieting as they get further away from the camera or louder as they get closer because the cameras mic inst as powerful or cannot span as far unlike the Boom Pole.

AUDIO TECHNIQUES

 

ADR and this stands for Automated Dialogue Replacement........ 

This is the process of what is known as Pre-recording in a studio in absolute synchronicity with the picture being displayed on screen. 

A great example of Pre-Recording is in the film 'Sweeney Todd'. Below I will show you four videos, showing you one scene where Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter sing together as Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett and the other with Johnny Depp talking about him in the studio and the same for Helena:

This video below shows first of all Johnny's talent for singing but shows what pre-recording does as a whole and what it looks like:

The Role of the Sound Editor & The Film Score Composer

Sound Editor

These are responsible for providing the screen with the sound effects that go alongside with clip, this can either be done by creating the soundtrack themselves or using previous soundtracks and adapting it into their own work.

Film Composers

.

This role as a film composer is to produce and provide all the music to go along with the movie in action.

A fairly popular score composer is Hans Zimmer, he was genius behind the:

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

He's A Pirate 

Now I will be demonstrating what you may have already heard before in films but never really paid attention to it, but after reading this and learning about it, the next time you hear it. you'll never not hear it again.

THE WILHELM SCREAM!!!

This scream originated on a film called 'Distant Drums', and over the time it has been used in more than 500 movies.

 The Top 10 Wilhelm screams below:

Film Pitch, Feedback & Evaluation of Feedback

One part of our task was to create a pitch for our thriller.

Below is the pitch that we produced, and at the end questions we're asked .

Evaluation

From this we have gathered a greater understanding of how our film will be filmed and created. Changing things, and creating things along the way to create the best possible film prior to filming on set.

My next post will be the treatment.

Identified Target Audience

Within this post I will be showing you what age range of our Thriller will be for, and from preexisting films, what would be the best and most succesful

Below I am going to embed at least 2 examples of films that are similar to our thriller which is 15+.

Title - Secret Window

Age Range That is Most Popular - 15-24 (52%)

Genre - Horror, Drama, Thriller.

Secret Window although classified as a 12A, the majority of people who went to see was between the age of 15 to 24, and that is who we are trying to aim our film for. So therfore it gives us a good understanding of our target audience and helping us to create a good Target Audience Profile (TAP). It also helps us to understand what our audience likes.

Title - The Tourist

Age Range That is Most Popular - 15-24 (44%)

Genre - Drama, Thriller.

The Tourist again is another classified as a 12A but like Secret Window, the majority of people who saw this film was between the age of 15 to 24, and that is who we are trying to aim our film at. So this gives a great understanding of our target audience and helping us to create a good Target Audience Profile (TAP). It also helps us to understand what our audience likes.

This research is like our own thriller as in the films there are bits in them that are incorporated into our own film. They have the same suspense in their thriller that we have in ours. They create the same tension as we hope to create in our thriller, there are no scary parts like a horror has but there is suspense and tension. The age range of these thrillers is the same as ours so we hope to create the same effect as these ones do.

Using this information we are going to create a Target Audience Profile (TAP) for the perfect target audience for our film.

TAP

Show, Don't Tell Me!

Last week we were given a task to create a short film but on one condition, strictly no dialogue or sound. So the main aim of the task was to edit in our own audio to make it seem realistic and that we had recorded sound. The main task about this was to make sure that we told the story through camerawork and technique and not deliberately relying so much on dialogue to move the naration forward.

Here is the story line that we had to follow:

Two characters (character 1 and character 2) are sitting at a table, and are playing an intense game and one of the character 1 is losing. Suddenly, the character 2 gets up and runs to the toilet because they are not feeling well and while they are in the toilet, the character 1 takes the opportunity to cheat so that they are able to win. When the character 2 comes back, they sit down and both continue the game where character 1 immediately wins.



As a group we are happy with what we have created and were happy to accept constructive criticism to help us improve our work. After our work was published we were given some feedback which was useful for us so that when we next given a task we will be prepared and will be about to put out a video that is near perfection.

Below is the feedback we received.

The next post will be about introducing the production and team logo of our main task.

Production Team Name, and Logo

Within my post I will be showing you the challenge that we was given, we had to come up with a team name and logo for our production company. It had to be something easy to recognize and one that would grab the audiences attention.

We hope for something as eye catching and world wide recognized as these:



Now the team logos and name from our little group:

From those three logos we chose:

My next post will be my Film Pitch, Feedback and Evaluation of Feedback.

Deconstruction of 2 Thrillers

For our AS Media product we are going to be creating the opening of a thriller. So in this post I will be deconstructing 2 thrillers in order to into depth a bit more so I can see the different types of techniques and camerawork used in order to make a successful thriller.

The first one I am going to show you is a deconstruction of the thriller the sixth sense. This one we deconstructed as a class.

Here is the extract of the sixth sense:

Sixth Sense Deconstruction

The Thriller I am going to deconstruct and talk about is called 'Ninth Gate'. A rare book dealer, while seeking out the last two copies of a demon text, gets drawn into a conspiracy with supernatural overtones.

Thriller Deconstruction- The Ninth Gate

AS Media Evaluation Questions

In this post I will be talking you through the questions that the exam board have given us, it's always a good idea to see what the specification is from the exam board is just so we know we are doing the right things.

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
This question is asking us if we are going to stick to a typical thriller story line like a murder case or an escape from the police or a gang etc. or whether we are going to create our own innovative thriller plot. For example, if we look at Shrek they challenge the generic conventions of a typical fantasy (Propp's Theory) you expect at the start of the film for it to be a typical fantasy with the music and the opening titles at the start with the castles and the prince etc. but then when the film starts it is the complete opposite to a proper fantasy film.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?
For this question we need to take into account the different types of social groups we are going to showcase in our film and the people we are aiming our film at (Target Audience). When representing social groups (Sexuality, Gender, Ethnicity, Religion, Beliefs etc.) we need to make sure we are representing them in an appropriate way without offending any of them and making sure we don't isolate the different social groups we use in our film.

Who would be the audience for your media product?
I won't know what my audience for my film will be yet as I haven't decided the story for my film just yet. When I have decided the story for my film then I will be able to discuss and decide the type of audience I would like to watch my film. I will need to consider the violence and language i have in my film and then use the BBFC guidelines in order for me to decide my audience.

How did you attract/address your audience?
We have to make our film a successful thriller and we also have to make it different to any other thriller out there (Steve Neale's Theory), as long as it doesn't follow the same story line as every other thriller out there then we will manage to attract our audience.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
So far we haven't started filming our product so I can't really make a comment on how technologies has helped with the construction of the product. When we have filmed our product we can decide which lighting creates suspense and the camera angles and camera shots etc.

Look back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression for it to the full product?
When filming our preliminary task we hadn't really learnt the more advanced camera movements and camera shots or lighting so we didn't really have a lot to work with we just had the basics. Now we have learnt the more advanced camera movements and techniques we would now be able to improve our preliminary task.

Within my next post I will be showing you and taking you through a deconstruction of 2 Thriller films.

AS Film Brief (Genre Specific)

Within our project in our AS Media course we have to create a short film opening. This film opening has to be a specific genre. There is also a specific brief that we have to follow. The brief includes "The titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes". In this case the genre we are focusing on is a 'Thriller'.
In the lesson we weighed up the Pros and the Cons of actually working this specific genre.

Pros

• There isn't anything major that we need to focus on achieving. For example, if we do a Comedy then we would have to make sure that whatever we do will make everyone laugh, but that would be near impossible because not everyone has the same humor, if we was to do a Horror to have to most infidelity make sure it scared people. Whereas within a Thriller there it doesn't have any major issues that we need to achieve.
• Thrillers are quite popular with all ages and genders. If we was to do a Romance or a Rom Com then we would have a wide range of audiences to cater for and would probably end up appealing to just women anyway for the Romantic film because of its content of those cheesy love scenes.
• Thrillers do not take too much special effects in order to work correctly, just a few creepy sound effects, and the right camera angles, theirs a few more stuff to add but it's nothing like a sci-fi film or a fantasy film then we would need a green screen etc.

Cons:

• 2 minutes isn't really a long time to attract the audience to watch your film. So within those 2 minutes you need to make sure that you have get everything in there like suspense and get the audience to be on the edge of their seat, to make them continue watching your film.
• The opening titles only last 2 minutes so you have to make sure that everything you want to achieve can fit into those 2 minutes or else some of it could get cut off or wasted which could make the story confusing or misleading.

Overall the thriller is a good genre to go for when creating a film because it creates suspense for the audience which is what we want to achieve. It is also quite easy to achieve when comparing it with other genres. With Thrillers it can allow groups to create different types of the same thing for example a murder, there can be many different ways in which to do a murder story and many different ways for people to present it which makes them all different yet equally suspense. 

Within my next post I will be looking into the AS Media evaluation questions.

22 Narrative Theory

Within this post I will be going through the '22 Narrative Theory'.
To start of with I will embed a picture of the 22 Narrative theory. The theory gives a guarantee that every story line will be based on one of these 22 main stories, this is why so many films are so similar to each other.

Steve Neale's Theory of Repetiton and Difference

Steve Neal's Theory of Repetition and Difference:

Below is an Emaze which I have created to show you Steve Neal's Theory of Repetition and Difference. 


Within this post I will be be talking about Steve Neale and his theory of Repetition and Difference

Propp's Character Theory

Below is a Prezi which I have created showing you 'Propp's Character Theory. Enjoy:
    

My next post is another theory but this one is called Steve Neale's Theory of Repetition and Difference.

Todorov's Narrative Theory

Here is Todorov's Narrative Theory below in a Emaze i have pout together with a movie example in each slide for you to understand:


The next post will demonstrate another theory but this time by called Propp's, with his Character Theory, and together it's called Propp's Character Theory.

Film Classification

Film classification is ultimately what we are aloud and not aloud to watch depending upon our age and the age on which the film is classified as (U, PG, 12, 12A, 15, 18). BBFC or otherwise known as The British Board of Film Classification is a non-government organization, which was founded in 1912 by the film industry and those are the ones who are responsible for the age ratings on films.

The BBFC have 2 main principals that they must follow:
1) To protect children and vulnerable adults from potentially harmful or otherwise unsuitable content.
2) To empower consumers, usually parents and those who are responsible for children to make informed viewing decisions.
Not only is there the BBFC but there is also a second called CBBFC this is designed to ultimately give children information on the age ratings in the UK.
Another thing is that film makers have to ensure and take a lot of things on board before they even start the film is that what they may want to put or would like in there film is appropriate at all , for instance without going into to much detail and offending anyone, that religion can be very hard to understand and for the people in that culture that's normal for them but for outsiders things that are done or portrayed in a certain way can offend them, so film makers have to be careful that they don't' over step the line and take the mick out of things that people believe in.

Certificate U:

BBFC will allow some but not frequent mild swearing such as 'Damn' or 'Hell'

The characters within the film can be seen kissing and/or cuddling but nothing OTT, if you know what I mean.

Below is a film that is classified as a 'U'.

The violence side of things will be mild, although it can include fight scenes where characters are placed in danger but will quickly resolve in the outcome being that they survive or win.

References are made to illegal drugs demonstrating that they are bad or even educational messages within the film which can be understood by the younger audience watching at home.

Certificate PG:

PG films do not contain a theme inappropriate for children. Although they explore challenging issues that themselves may have encountered such as bullying, death or racism.

It may contain some bad language such as 'S***' or 'Son of a b****' in a PG film but how they deliver it is important.

References to Sex is highly unlikey unless they are not detailed at all. In addition, if a child is unlikely to understand what was said then it may pass and be allowed in the film. The use comedy however will soften the blow of the sex reference.  

Violence will also be usually mild. There would be no detail of violence, so while there may be blood to indicate injury there wont be bones sticking of the skin or dislocated arms.

Here is a film with it's classification rated as a a 'PG'

Certificate 12 and 12A:

Having a 12A certificate indicates there must be adult supervision usually within cinemas, however on DVDs the 12 certificate is still used rather than the 12A. 

Bad language such as 'F***' may be passed at 12 or 12A but it all depends in what manner it was used in. There are some allowance for moderate language too such as 'B****' or 'T***', but again it's how its portrayed determines whether or not it's moved form a certificate 12 to to a certificate 15.

 

Here is a film below with it's classification of a certificate of '12'.

Below is a film with it's classification of a '12A'

Certificate 15:

No theme is prohibited, although it must still be appropriate for the specified age group.

Things that most likely will occur in certificate 15 films are: strong language, strong violence, the portraying of sexual activity and sex references also including nudity, brief scenes of sexual violence, discrimination and or discriminating language and drug taking.

Below is a film that is classified as a '15'

Certificate 18:

Basically you can watch what you want, your an adult now fend for yourself and deal with consequences of your own actions. Although some themes may still be inappropriate for or offensive to anyone over 18. 

What can be seen in an 18 film is: Very strong language, strong sexual activity and scenes of sexual violence and in some cases real sex scenes, there is also strong blood and gore and strong horror.

Below is a film that is classified as an '18'

As an AS media student I must consider who my target audience is when we produce our own films because ultimately I will need to decide which certificate i will need to have on my film. We then need to make sure that the audience we show the film to fits their age rating otherwise they will be exposed to what could be dangerous or harmful material.

My next post will be all to do with Todorov's Narrative Theory.

Film Title Convention Research

A huge selection of films have what could be the same style of opening to them so to prove this point or even prove this point wrong I will give you three opening movie scenes to see whether or not they are shown in the same way.

Stop Or My Mom Will Shoot -

• Universal (Distributor)
• Northern Lights Production team (Producers)
• Main Actors/Actresses
• Film Title
• Actors/Actresses
• Casting by Jackie Burch
• Music by Alan Silverstri
• Costume Designer, Marie France
• Film Editors- Mark Conte, A.C.E and Lois Freeman-Fox, A.C.E
• Production Designed by Charles Rosen
• Director Of Photography, Frank Tidy, B.S.C
• Executive Producers, Joe Wizan, and Todd Black
• Written by, Blake Snyder, and William Osborne, and William Davies
• Produced by Ivan Reitman, and Joe Medjuck, and Michael C. Gross
• Directed by Roger Spottiswoode

Your going to have to excuse it being in a different language, but my goal here is to show you the opening credits to the film.

 Cobra-

• Warner Brothers (Distributor)
• A Cannon Group, Inc. Golan-Globus Production (Producers)
• A George P. Cosmatos Film
• Main Actor
• Film Title
• Main Actress
• Actors/Actresses
• Casting by Joy Todd, C.S.A
• Music Composed and Performed by Sylvester Levay
• Costume Designer, Tom Bronson
• Associate Producer, Tony Muna
• Film Editors, Don Zimmerman, A.C.E, and James Symons
• Production Designer by Bill Kenney
• Director of Photography, Ric Waite, A.S.C
• Executive Producers, James D. Brubaker
• Produced by Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus
• Based upon the novel "Fair Game" by Paula Gosling
• Screenplay by Sylvester Stallone

Rocky II -

Now if you haven't already seen this film, Rocky II caries on from the fight from Rocky I and doesn't get to the opening credits until around 5 minutes into the movie.

• A Robert Chartoff-Irwin Winkler Production (Producers)
• Film Title
• Main Actors and Actresses
• and Burgess Meredith as Mickey
• Actors and Actresses
• Music by Bill Conti
• Supervising Film Editor, Danford B. Greene
• Editor Stanford C. Allen
• Art Direction, Richard Berger
• Director of Photography Bill Butler, A.S.C
• Produced By Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff
• Written and Directed by Sylvester Stallone

Within my next post I will be talking about the Film Classification.

Film Opening Research

In my previous post I embedded a picture of all the class's data that was put together for there film opening structure research. I am now going to explain what the majority of people had researched, and what I mean by this is that in what order the most common film opening title occurred. Although after looking at the class's data the director does not appear at the bottom of musicals. It was also proven that nearest the top of the list was the distributors of the film. Now for the Actors and Actresses they are seen usually to be in the middle of the titles alongside the the composers and editors.

Below there is a video that I have created on Emaze and it explains what an opening title is and it ultimately shows you the order in which opening titles would appear.




The next post will all be about Title Sequences.

Film Studio Ident Research

A studio ident is the way studios present themselves using the effects of visuals and sound in order to show the audience that yes they had something to do with the film. Idents ultimately show the audience at home or the cinema what type of film genre it is going to be.

Marvel

A worldwide known logo that as soon as you see you just know that it's a super hero film, but it's much more than just that, if you watch it carefully you notice that it starts of with looks like comics in the background and that there being flipped like pages just as they were when they were originally comic books. This shows the popularity of Marvel and the rise of a new era, almost like the rise of a new hero. Someone or something to look up to, and with it's bold white writing on a red background shows the audience it's dominance and that  what is about to come there way, you best get ready for it because it's going to be a bumpy ride. The sound of 'Marvel' is very super hero like, and what I mean by this is that the type of music is like a fanfare (This is a short piece of music played on brass instruments, typically to introduce something or someone important). Superheros are seen as this bold image and in essence someone who is very important and just like the music they are both bold, and very important.

Lionsgate

A company I always recognize with, is the film 'The Expendables' I know they have done hundreds of more films past and present to 'The Expendables' but I think I was that age when I first 'The Expendables' I actually appreciated films and what they actually meant and the time and effort to actually make a movie. So after learning now more about Film Studio Indents, I decided to write up about Lionsgate.

Lionsgate have gone for a rather deep message that they want to give to their audience when watching there films. At the very start, they have what looks to be clockwork, and if you don't already know about clock's and watches, is that they take months or almost years to perfect the perfect piece and in some sense that works exactly the same way for the films. A film cannot be made and produced at the click of finger but months on end of dedication from all the crew to get the final product. So as the camera moves away, it slips through the key hole and the gate opens, you see the word 'Lionsgate', that then gives the audience the satisfaction to say everything has been put together in order for the final piece for all to enjoy with an upbeat soundtrack in the background as the gates open to show it's victory. Or as another controversy that may arise to some viewers is that at the very start it could ultimately be inside a door handle and as the key is being turned the door is being opened, but where is this door being opened to I wonder? Is the door being opened to our minds? That maybe the case, the door is a metaphor that is opening our minds to our imagination. Our imagination is what makes things become real. So unlocking that will open up a world things, for us to think.   

Universal

Straight away from the word alone- 'Universal', you start humming or whistling the iconic theme that goes alongside it, but it's delivering much more than a catchy tune and specialized effects. It's giving the world life and energy and the will to do good just from the films that we watch, and that perhaps we could learn something or even be inspired to do something great in our day to day life and good will come from it, and ultimately give something back to the world and help replenish the harsh circumstances that some people live with every single day.

The next post will be all about the Film Opening Structure Research.

Film Title Design Research

A title sequence is the method on which films or even television present their titles, production, and cast members. It typically includes the text of the opening credits, and helps establish the setting and tone of the program.

Here is the opening title sequence for Monsters Inc



I think the opening to this film is effective because it basically shows what the film is about without giving to much away. The style of how its made is animated for obvious reasons being that the film is animated, and if it was a live action sequence it would just totally mess it all up.
The target audience is mainly for little children giving that it is a Walt Disney, Pixar animation film but I do know many others from different age groups who like this film. The opening is very easy to watch if you a little one because of it's bright colors and soft opening music and people are instantly drawn in to what is going to be a nice family adventure film for all to watch and love.
The opening sequence itself then. From the very start we have gathered that the film has something to do with doors maybe? Or at the very start looks to be a wardrobe? After seeing the door open once to reveal a wardrobe, the door opens again for the second time to reveal not the wardrobe but a monster, with green scales, sharp white pointing teeth and a deep set mouth. OK, so now then we have kind of gathered that maybe the film has something to do with, opening doors or wardrobes to reveal monsters, or even that the monsters come out of the doors, which would make sense considering that it's very stereotypical of monsters, ghosts, and ghouls to be coming through doors and into rooms. Shortly after we are greeted with quite a few doors now, and they almost get shuffled up like a pack of plying cards. This may suggest, well to be honest after watching the film and actually understanding the film and what it is about that the monsters working at Monsters Inc. they get doors given to them randomly in order to get the best scare. So going back to the opening scene, the doors are shuffled like a pack of cards to stimulate as if the monsters are playing a card game and get given random cards (Random doors) and that they must do hat they can to win (Get the best scare). After this more and more doors come with different colors and monsters appearing out of various ones. So already before a minute has gone we have definite reasons that this film we are about to watch is to do with monsters and there stereotypical traits of entering doors to scare little ones.

 Here is the opening title sequence for Rocky V



I think the opening title sequence of this film is very effective, well because it gives the audience the fight from the previous film to recap what has happened but in the mean time it's giving all the production team and  with the added bonus of slow motion and scenes that when Rocky is in trouble seems to turn grey giving the effect that he's hurt real bad, and really shows to the audience the dramatic trauma that Rocky has gone through in order to get his win over Ivan Drago but still manages to get the audience on the edge of there seat.
The very start of the opening scene gives us the legendary soundtrack delivered by Bill Conti with a remixed version of 'Gonna Fly Now' and 'War' and the one liner delivered by Ivan Drago "I must break you" really sets the standard for the film and you just know that it's going to be another great Rocky. The very start of the film is that you can hear an announcer, announcing something at first we can hear him say "Ladies and Gentlemen", and after that he is speaking in a different language. Then the sound of drums shortly follows, so by now we can already tell that is either going to be a boxing match, or even a wrestling match. The sound of trumpets kicks in now and if you haven't already guessed what film your watching, then I'd suggest you leave now because it becomes very clear what your about to watch. Now we can hear the announcers speaking in our own language, and from the right of the screen appears to be an 'R' which we can see straight through and into the film. In the 'R' we have Rocky's face with an extreme close up and from their, the word follows to have 'Rocky', in the mean time we are greeted with Ivan Drago with another extreme close up, with either of them not looking away and seem to be fixed on one and other, this perhaps suggest just how serious and heated things are about to get, and that they are at standstill with one and other. The word passes and now we have a full screen of them walking to the middle of the ring together. They meet dead center, and after hearing that one liner, the bell rings and fight begins.  

A quick little added piece of information you may want to know about the film which I found quite interesting. Unfortunately the film itself was the lowest grossing film out of the serious worth $119 million. Another fact about Rocky V that is interesting is that Rocky was supposed to die at the end of the film, after taking (SPOILER ALERT) a huge pounding from Tommy Gunn in the ring, Rocky was sent to the hospital with head injuries and with his head in Adrien's lap died on the way to the hospital, but this was soon scrapped because in the words of the studio ‘Oh by the way Rocky’s not going to die. Batman doesn’t die, Superman, James Bond, these people don’t die’.”

I am now going to embed a video giving you a brief history of the art of the titles.



After learning about Title Sequences, my next post will be about The Film Studio Ident Research.

Film Title Conventions Research.

Film Opening Structure Research.

As a group we have researched different opening titles from various films and came out with an outcome. The most significant occurrence is that the director always comes last in the order. We are looking at film openings because we have got to do our own opening title for our own film for our AS Media course.

I have fount out that within my own research that the distributor always comes first, and as a group have fount out that the director is always listed last in the opening credits. This is our groups findings:

Class Research V1

In addition to this there is more research here and here

Within my next post I will be talking about what films you can and can't watch, and this is known as Film Classification. 

Lightning and Camera Workshops

In this post I will be talking about the Tracking shots and the Dolly shots and I will also be going to be talking about 3 point lighting.

Camera Work: Dolly (Tracking Shot and Arc Shot) When using cameras and filming multiple and in some cases complicated scenes there is a lot to go into it, not only has the actor or actress got to do there role successfully but the camera movements have to be right otherwise mistakes will be made and it will just look terrible to watch.

So to stop this from ever happening certain pieces of equipment are used, and one of those is what you call a "Tracking Shot" and what this does is that you attach the camera onto a tripod and then with the camera and tripod fitted together place them onto the Dolly and lastly on the Track .
This then gives the camera operator easy movement and a stable hold of the camera whilst its 'Tracking the object or person.

A Dolly shot is a piece of equipment which you place the camera and tripod onto the dolly which is ultimately a platform with wheels so the camera can move around freely and follow objects or people.

Now with an Arc shot it has the same concept of the dolly shot but the camera is moved around the chosen object or person in an 'Arc' shape, hence the name Arc Shot.

As a small group we produced a Tracking shot and an Arc Shot, and these procedures and type of camera movements are used in feature length box office films.

Basic Lighting: 3 Point Lighting and The Use of Reflectors-
When filming your scene you may want to incorporate extra lighting to your scene, this way you can make the character stand out, or even adding extra light due to the natural light being to dull or not enough, so to overcome this we used the technique called '3 Point Lighting', this incorporates strong lights to add effect on the object. Below are the 3 key essential lighting techniques;

The Key Light- The main light. This is usually the strongest light and has the most influence on the look of the subject and even the scene. It is placed at an angle on one side of the subject. This is so one side of the subject is well lit but creates a shadow on the other side of the subject.

The Fill Light- This is the secondary light. It is placed on the other side of the subject opposite the key light. It is used to fill in the shadows on the one side of the subjects face that the key light created. This will create a softer look to the subject and to the scene.

The Back Light- This is placed behind the subject and is lit up from behind. Rather than providing direct light. The purpose is to provide definition and highlights to the subjects outlines. This stops the subject from fading into the background.

Below are the videos that as a group we worked on to create the Shots and Lightning techniques.

My groups tracking shot:


My Groups Arc Shot:


My Groups: 3 Point Lighting and The Use of Reflectors:


Obviously now we're only beginners at this, so we may not have it perfect but of course we tried our best. So here's professional Tracking shot's and Arc Shot's:

The Professional Tracking Shot:


The Professional Arc Shot:
                       For my next post I will show you my Film Opening Research.

Film Distribution In The UK

UK Film Distribution.
Film Distributors set the release date of a film and the method by which the film is to be made available for viewing. For example, directly to the public (DVD, video on demand, download, television programs through broadcasting). Below i am going to attach a video telling you all about UK Film Distributions if you didn't understand my worded description above.


The two films I am going to be talking about is Terminator Genisys and Sinister, but before I do that the website i have taken it from is called 'Pearl and Dean', you may recognize that name sorely because whenever you watch a film at the cinemas there name always seems to pop up this is because, they are a British Cinema adverting company and was founded all the way back in 1953 by bothers Ernie and Charles Pearl, and Bob Dean. Pearl & Dean is now owned by Image Ltd, and controls numerous UK cinema sites including leading multiplex operators such as Empire, Showcase, and AMC and represents approximately half of the UK's independent cinemas.

In the picture above there is a film guide on Terminator Genisys telling you when the film was released. The genre of the film is an Action, Sci-Fi Adventure. The price, the estimated box office etc. The one that we are more focusing on is the film distributor which in this case is Paramount. 

In this picture above again there is a film guide on Sinister 2 telling you the same as the one above (Terminator Genisys). The genre of this film is horror. It tells you when it was released, the price, the estimated box office etc. Again though we're only focusing on the distributor, and this film was distributed by E1 Entertainment.

So what they say is very useful on the 'Pearl and Dean' website, they give exact and specific details about each film. They have trailers of new and old films you can watch as well.They also have competitions, quizzes, and a blog for anyone to use and enjoy.

Step 1: Production. Production is what refers to the task that must be completed during filming or shooting. This includes things such as setting up scenes and shooting etc.

Step 2: Distribution. Film distribution is the process of making the movie available for the viewing audience .

Step 3: Exhibition. This is publicly screening the finished product after all of the production and distribution has taken it's cause then the actual exhibition of the film can begin.

Following up from film distribution, I have picked two films from my collection and done some research on them the films being Cobra, and Tango and Cash which both happen to have Sylvester Stallone in because I don't know if you already knew but I have a huge obsession with the man, but anyway as I was saying about his films they are both distributed by Warner Brothers or as it says on the side of the videocassette Warner Home Video.

My Preliminary Task and Evaluation

This week our task was to plan and film our very own short film, this was called the Preliminary Task. It had to include a Match-On-Action an actor entering the room through a door, sitting down opposite another actor and exchanging a few lines of dialogue.

Together as a group we then had to take the clips we had filmed and put them together to create our Preliminary Task, we are pleased with our results and feedback we had from other peers, and had the met the criteria we was given.

This is my group's Preliminary Task. Enjoy it.

Evaluation On Our Preliminary Task-
 Maybe you spotted some of the basic rules while watching my preliminary task. I am now going to look back at my preliminary task and evaluate the work that we have done. If there are any continuity errors etc.


The first mistake is pretty much right at the start at 00:05 seconds, there are irregular clicking sounds and thumps that are not apart of the film, and it sounds almost as if someone kicked the tripod on which the camera was standing. To fix this the camera operator should of been more careful on where he placed his feet and within our editing schedule we could of discarded the unwanted sounds by either covering them up or in fact getting rid of them.

The second mistake is at 00:21 seconds, when we can see all the equipment for the camera, and the boxes and bags which it's stored in. This could of been simply avoided by moving them out of shot.

 The third mistake is at 00:29. We broke the 180 degree rule. This is when actor number 1 sits down in front of actor number 2 and speaks to him and he's placed on the right, this is when the camera cuts to actor number 2 and actor number 1 is on the right, ultimately breaking the 180 degree rule. To of avoided this we should of shot the actors where they were originally placed and kept them on there own sides.

After the completion of the task we were set with, as a group we are ecstatic with what we have produced. We were evaluated by our Peer's. The class was was each individually given a sheet to mark various group's work ours was up first to be judged and the positive and negative criticism we had was a real success, and at the end result our group was really happy and pleased.

For my next post I will be talking to you about the Film Distribution In The UK.

Basic Filming Rules

In this post I will be talking to you and showing you several filming rules. I will also input some videos along the way to give you more understanding. These rules include; Rule of Thirds, 180 Degree Rule, Continuity and 30 Degree Rule.

Rule Of Thirds - Now this it what makes pictures, films and any other type of media to look more aesthetically pleasing to the audience and make a what once a dull and boring video to look more professional and easier to watch. The video below gives a demonstration as to why this is.



180 Degree Rule -  Another video again now but this times it demonstrates what the 180 degree rule is and why its rather important its used in film.


Continuity - Here's a video demonstrating continuity errors and that even professionals can have things go wrong for them when filming on set, for instance having a camera man in the frame and is clearly visible to the viewers that he shouldn't be there.



30 Degree Rule -  This is where you have a shot of a character and then you shoot him from a different angle without intervening the shot. The camera angle should always change by at least 30 Degrees. If the rule is obeyed then there are no disruptions to the shot. Here is an example of the 30 Degree rule below.


Within my next post will be talking about and showing you our 'Preliminary Task' and what it is, and what we had to do. 

Basic Editing

Within this post I will be showing you the different types of editing skills which appear in all aspects of film making. Examples of these are; Straight Cuts, Split Edits, and Match-On-Action. I will be adding multi-media examples for people who want to see for themselves what these things are and get more of an understanding on how they work.

Split Edit-
This Video below, will demonstrate to you and show you what 'Split Edit' editing is and is the most effective way to move the audience from one scene to the next.

Straight Cut-
This next video below will demonstrate how a straight cut works, and is in fact an instant cut between two shots and this can be used to move within a scene or between scenes. There will be one scene and then it will cut to a completely different scene without warning.

Match-On-Action-
This is where the editor cuts from one shot to another view that matches the shot's action. For example, someone walking through a door. The shot needs to match from all different angles whether it is from the front or from the back. The subjects feet and hands need to be in the correct place and in the same place. By not doing this it could lead to a continuity error which i will talk about later on in my blog.  
For my next post I will be looking into Basic Filming Rules for you to understand.

Basic Camerawork: Camera Movements

Camera Movements

Within this blog I will be talking about the different types of camera movements. Camera movements are used to add excitement and suspense whilst taking the audience on a journey

Camera Movements are vital in film and you have to get them just right and near perfection in order to get a clean cut, so here's a video showing you what camera movements are used in film.
    

Pan: The horizontal movement of the camera. The camera is mounted on a tripod and the camera is rotated from left to right to create a pan.



Tilt: The vertical movement of the camera. The camera is mounted on a tripod and the camera is rotated upward and downwards.



Dutch Tilt: The camera is set at an angle so that the shot is composed with vertical line at an angle. Horizons will not be parallel to the bottom of the frame. This creates suspense to be shpt and is used a lot in thrillers and horrors.

Tracking Shot: The camera is mounted on a dolly and follows a subject/object keeping the subject/object in frame. 

Dolly Shot: The camera is mounted on a moving platform, often pushed on rails.

Crane Shot: The shot is taken by a camera mounted on a crane or a jib. This is used for high up shots, for example, from a cliff edge.



Pedestal Shot: The Camera moves vertically with respect to the subject. The camera remains flat at all times and doesn't tilt. The camera follows the subject without tilting the camera.

Hand-held Shot: The camera is not mounted on a tripod or any other base, but is held in the hands of the operator. It is sometimes referred to as "Shaky cam". 

Steadicam: This is a stabilizer. It stabilizes the camera so it doesn't shake. This allows smooth shots to be filmed.



Dolly Zoom: This is an effect that appears to undermine normal visual perception and distorts the viewers thoughts and feelings on the shot.



My next post I will be talking about basic editing.

Basic Camerawork: Camera Shot Types

Basic Camerawork: Shot Types
Here are a few camera shot types for you to learn and understand.



Here is an image of the basic shot distances, and as you can see as they go along they get closer and closer to the subject, hence their name and shot distances.

Now I am going to add a video as well as the picture to help fully understand the basic shot distances more:

Those were the shot distances, now here are the different basic shot types:

An Establishing Shot: This is to be considered the first shot of a new scene. This is designed to show the audience where the action is taking place. It is usually a very wide shot or an extreme wide shot.

A Montage Shot: A montage is a technique in which a series of short shots are edited into a sequence to condense space, time and information.



A Shot/Reverse Shot: A technique where one character is shown looking at another character and then the other character is shown looking back at the original character.


Two Shot: A shot of two people together. The subjects don not have to be standing next to each other. They could be standing in front or behind each other as long as they are both in the shot.

Graphic Match Shot: A cut in a film between two diferent objects in two different spaces that match graphically (Look Similar).

Aerial Shot: A shot from a plane, helicopter or drone. It doesn't always have to have camera movement but sometimes it may need to. 

Point Of View Shot (POV): A shot which shows the scene from the specific point of view of one of the characters. For this video look from 0;50 seconds to 1:29 for the point of view shot.



High Angle Shot: A technique where the camera looks down on the subject from a high angle. This makes look they are vulnerable by something or someone and makes them look in fear.

Low Angle Shot: A technique where the camera looks up at the subject from a low angle. This makes the subject look superior.

Eye Level Shot: An eye level shot is where the camera is level with the subjects line of view. Therefore, making them look on equal terms with everyone else unlike the high and low level shots.

For my next post I will be talking about the different types of basic camera movement. 

Predicted Workflow

When creating a film there has to be a clear production plan. If something was ever missed or skipped, then this can lead to vital information being left out.

Within our Media lesson we was asked to produce a workflow of what we thought the procedure of producing a film went in, which turned out like this (See above) Although this may not be in the right order, we tried and believed that this was the right idea.

My next post will be all about Basic Camerawork: Camera Shot Types

Welcome

Hi folks, I'm Ben and as you can see I'm studying AS media on the OCR Exam board. Throughout this blog I will demonstrate and show to you just what will happen in this course and I will present in this Blog for you to read.