Thursday Work

Well today we started off with 30 minutes of useful information on how to do evaluations on particular questions which proved to be very useful. In response to this the rough cut deadline has been moved to Monday 2nd March giving us some extra time to work! =D


We did a lot of editing work today. Jon has been relentlessly been using gamma, brightness and contrast to make the editing look more authentic. We managed to get a clip from part of our film and successfully put our editing to it. You'll see the editing work on the rough cut on monday.

Jordan came in at 9am, yesterday she was not in. Though, this was not intentional as she has had drama trips. Lottie has come in today and given us some good advice and help on the editing.

Rob has been doing the music and has done 72 seconds so far (1:12). Might need to make it longer which should be hard. =/

We have been looking up different types of fonts from www.dafont.com they have great fonts there and we might be using 'Comic Book' as the font.

Friday 20th February

On Friday we filmed the alleyway scene at Christ Piece. We filmed all of the alleyway scene and the introduction of Antonio Accardo. 

This took us many takes to get the initial running scene and the punching scene right so that it looked realistic as well as not injuring anyone.

Wednesday 18th February

On Wednesday we stated to film some of our opening sequence. We decided to film the last section of the opening sequence which is the indoor scenes before we filmed the alleyway scenes. The only section that we had to change was the scene when we introduced Antonio Accardo. This was because the actor who we were going to film couldn't make it to the filming on wednesday so we adapted this to be able to film it at on Friday 20th February.

Locations

For our Locations we chose to film the most in Christ Peace. This was because we found an Alleyway which doesn't have a time period associated with it but also it allowed us to not give it away that we weren't in the 1930's because there were no cars or modern shops in the area that we filmed. 

Here are some images that we took when we went to have a look various locations across cambridge on Thursday 12th February.

This is the script so far:


The Filmores

OPENING SEQUENCE
Starting out in a dark, narrow and dreary alleyway. The setting is of 1930s style architecture showing little light, a few windows and a few bins. A cold wind shivers through the air as the temperatures drop in what is supposed to be some of the worst economic and financial times the United States has ever had to face.


{ENTER Don}
Don is found running fast past the camera showing half of his face to the audience whilst facing towards the end of the alleyway being chased. He is holding in his left hand a briefcase.
[Don breaths heavily]

{ENTER Mafiaman}
Running after Don because Don has stolen his brief case off him. Wearing a clean cut suit showing off that he means business in these desperate times.






~ Rob

Storyboard Clips

I've spent the last 20 minutes taking shots and uploading the Storyboard Clips. These are important because they depict what we would like to include in our opening sequence.

Here they're in order: (Left Click each image to see them enlarged)
















~ Rob

Risk Assessment

Yesterday we created a Risk Assessment Form to make sure that we have identified some of the potential hazards that we could encounter during production.

Prop-list and costume list

Our props will consist of:
1. Briefcase preferably brown.


2. Pack of playing cards


3. Wallet preferably brown


4. Money (dollars)





Costume list- Our actors will be required to wear 1930's style apparel such as

1. Bowler hat


2. Suits


3. Trench coats


4. 1930's jewelery e.g. pearls and beads.

Contributor Release Form

As part of the filming preparation we have been given forms that we need to get all the actors to fill in to allow us to release footage on them.

Location ideas

We have been looking at various locations that will may use to film. All of the photos are from Google Maps in satellite mode. All of our locations are in cambridge because it is easy to organise transport.

Christs Piece

Mill Road

Apartment Buildings near the Train Station

Blog Feedback

In response to the feedback that we had received after our blog had been shown to other members of the class was that of positive response. We had been told that we had included many in depth analyses; we had managed to convey that of a good amount of research which had had been undertaken into each genre in order to consider which one to choose. Positive feedback was also given for our mood board, as it was said to have had a good use of pictures, which was again able to convey to a viewer the mood of our project, which was to be a jazzy, 1930’s and 'swinging’ mood. Our Ident was also praised, as it seemed appealing to the viewer and interesting due to the animation created by our group.
However, we also received negative feedback. This feedback was given in order for our group to realize areas in which we needed to improve on our blog. We were told that we had too much text and needed more visual aids e.g. pictures and videos as they felt that too much text made the blog more of a task to read and that visual sources would make it more interesting. We were also told that the picture of our mood board needed to be slightly smaller so to see all the pictures. Feedback also helped us recognize that we were missing vital information e.g. a shot list, location list and were missing the information of more specific on props.
We felt as though it was essential to receive feedback as it thoroughly helped us understand what areas were wrong with our blog and planning and what needed be done in order to rectify this. This enabled us to create a stronger blog and help us do a great amount of planning for our practical, which means an overall more achievable blog and hopefully a successful practical due to detailed planning and research.
In comparison to our previous thriller blogs, our opening sequence blogs seem to be easier to comprehend, a lot more organised, aesthetically pleasing and plentiful with information. We feel as though already, our blogs seem to be far greater than our thriller blogs due to having more experience and knowing that we needed to keep updates of our blogs regular.

Analysis of Point Break

http://v.youku.com/v_show/idXMzgwOTcwOTY=.html

For our second analysis for our pitch last Monday, we chose to look at Point Break. The reason we picked Point Break is that the title sequence relates extremely well to the overall narrative of the film.

The title sequence of Point Break is very similar to Oceans 11 in the way that it uses the micro-elements to refernce teh narrative. The sequence starts off with a coastal scene showing a mid shot to close up of the waves crashing on the beach. The camera stays stays still during this scene which allws the audience to read the titles without getting distracted. The title of the film appears embossed over the scene just showing the outline of the text like it has been stamped over the sequence. The mise-en-scene shows one of the main settings that is referenced to in the main narrative as well as setting an atmosphere of a nice, calm evening on a beach with a golden sun colour filling the scene. Everything would make the audience feel relaxed and calm except for an uneasy drone thoughout the whole title sequyence.

The next scene we see a close up of a surfer heading out to see. This is important because it is a key part of the narrative. All of teis scene we see vrious shots of the surfer, surfing on huge swells. All of these shots are slowed down which combined with the drone make an extremly uneasy atmosphere for the audience to watch. The colour of this scene makes the water seem very cold as it is a deep blue , almost grey colour. But throughout the scene we don't get to see the surfers face. This references to teh fact that the surfers are going to have criminal roles in the film.

The scene then cuts to a mid shot of Special Agent John Utah (Keanu Reeves) who is sitting on a car in the poring rain waiting for something. We then hear a whistle as a FBI agent calls Utah to come over. At this point the audience are unsure what he has to do but they understand that he probably won't be a villain because they see his face which allows them to identify with him. The editing then speeds up as Utah begins his training and cuts between various angles of Utah and many clips of the surfer. The mise-en-scene is very similar on both stories because we see a blue tint to them connoting cold tempretures. The training that Utah is doing and the surfers references key elements of the narrative with regards to the FBI, surfers and a gun fight. The camerawork shows mainly mid shots which show the action as well as the facial expressions of Utah.

This allows the audience to get a reflected atmosphere of what the film is going to be like as well as showing various aspects that are key to the narrative.

Analysis of Oceans 11

http://missedashow.net/media/32/Oceans_11/

For one of our analysis for our pitch last Monday, we chose to look at Oceans 11. The reason we picked Oceans 11 is that the title sequence relates extremely well to the overall narrative of the film. This we found by looking at another crime film is a convention of the genre.

The title sequence of Oceans 11 is very short and uses subtle effects, but it is extremely effective. It shows Daniel Ocean(George Clooney) moving towards a chair that is facing the camera. Through this first part of the sequence we see a midshot of ocean. We also hear a voice from 3 other people out of view from the camera. We find out that this is a hearing to see whether or not to release him from prison. This particular scene has many references to the narrative. This is due to the many micro-element features that have been used. The mise-en-scene plays a big part in referencing the narrative. The setting is a prison and because of the genre being a crime caper it shows that this is where the characters could end up, should they get caught. This references the atmosphere of the narrative because throughout the narrative there is always the rick of getting caught. This also comes through the use of costume, lighting, props and colour. The costume worn by Ocean is stereotypical prison wear consisting of beige overalls. The lighting is low key and the colour of the sequence has a blue tint to it. This shows that it is in a prison which is very secure due to very small windows making the low key lighting and grey concrete reflecting back a blue tint due to the lack of light. The props in this scene only consist of a chair. This shows that prison life is very uncomfortable because they don't look after the needs of the prisoners.

The sound of this scene is also important because all you hear is diegetic sound of the panel and Ocean speaking as well as a continuous drone of the ventilation system. With regards to the characters speaking you get echoes every time that they speak showing that they are in a very large and open space. There is no editing effects in this beginning sequence except for a fade at the beginning. And the camera stays still showing a focus on the character.

At the end of this scene Ocean is asked 'What will you do if released?'. The scene then jump cuts closer to ocean who looks smug showing that he already has another plan. A non-diegetic sound track begins to play. This lets the audience know that he has managed to get out of prison.

The next two scenes follow Ocean getting ready to leave the prison. All of teh camera placements are as if the audience are looking over ocean like a security guard or official. This is because the camera looks through bars, chicken wire fencing as well as panning long shots as he approaches a desk. The scene then cuts to a close up of a ring which relates to a narrative because we find out that his wife left him.

The next scene follows ocean out of prison. This is the first time the role of editing comes into play because this is the first time that we get to see the titles. These fly in from different directions.

And the final scene shows the main title of 'Oceans 11' in the bottom right corner. This scene shows a river or bay on the outskirts of a large American city during the evening.