Tuesday 20 April 2010

Any use of music in any films and or film trailers complies with 'Fair Dealing' under the 1988 Copyright Designs and Patents Act (UK), Sections 6(i) and 6(ii); Fair dealing is a term used to describe some limited activities that are allowed without infringing copyright. Briefly these are as follows:

Section 6

i. Research and private study

Copying parts of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work or of a typographical arrangement of a published edition for the purpose of research or private study is allowed under the following conditions:
· The copy is made for the purposes of research or private study.
· The copy is made for non-commercial purposes.
· The source of the material is acknowledged.
· The person making the copy does not make copies of the material available for a number of people.

ii Instruction or examination

Copying parts of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work or a sound recording, film or broadcast for the purpose of instruction or examination is allowed under the following conditions:

· The copying is done by the student or the person giving instruction.
· The copying is not done via a reprographic process.
· The source of the material is acknowledged.
· The instruction is for a non-commercial purpose.

Production Stills, Final Edit:



Production still, within the wooded area, scene cutting to field. Camera preparation for running shot to the right.



Production Still, Group preparation/ waiting for initial opening shot.



Production Still, 3rd shot, Zombies running from wooded area to field, conditions were wet and muddy causing slipping and sliding.



Production Still, Shot 4, Humans and Zombies have entered the field, the gap is closing however there is still a partial separation distance.



Production Still, Kayliegh Jarvis is preparing for 'Gore' scene, there was only one chance to film so therefore acting had to be well rehearsed and in time.



Production Still, Zombies have gained on Kayliegh Jarvis who has fallen, they group around, ripping out her intestines. Holli Bash is operating the camera at an angle, to represent a fallen motion.


Production Still, The scene went as planned, however caused a huge mess, our main concern was that there was no substance in anyones mouths, as it was raw meat that had been used, we had to take precautions.


Production Still, Holli Bash preparing the camera for a 'Shot Reverse Shot', the weather was not holding up and therefore a scarf was used to protect the camera from water damage.

Monday 22 March 2010

Main Exercise Links To Google Docs...

Summery Of Production Paper

Script

Codes And Conventions

Age Certificate - 15

Prop List

Main Exercise: “Opening Sequence from a new fiction film”

Initial Ideas

Group Roles

Location Ideas

Draft Script, Page 1

Draft Script, Page 2

Call Sheet, Page 1

Call Sheet, Page 2

S.W.O.T

Risk Assessment 1, Page 1

Risk Assessment 1, Page 2

Risk Assessment 2, Page 1

Risk Assessment 2, Page 2

Story Board 1

Story Board 2

Story Board 3

Story Board 4

Story Board 5

Main Exercise Evaluation

Filming was planned for the 17th of March 2010, with departure of weymouth around 1:00pm and arrival to be around 1:30pm. From leaving college everything seemed as planned, camera had been collected, spare battery packs were made additional as we were not within range of a power supply, also looking back at past experience from the preliminary exercise, our camera had limited run time and therefor had to be connected to a stable power supply for the whole of the filming. For the preliminary exercise this was acceptable as we were able to access the facilities plug sockets due to the fact filming was made indoors.
As we were walking to the bus stop, i stopped the group to check that all equipment was accompanied for, whilst checking it was made apparent that the tape needed to record to was not present. A quick decision was made to run back and grab our previous tape to record on to the end of, this however was not so simple, the original tape could not be found or was not within range of access, and with limited time left until recording over at Grovefield portland, all that could be done was to acquire a new tape and run to catch the bus.
Communications were well organised, Holli Bash had met the cast and was taking them to Grovefield, Deanna Stevens was in Weymouth town collecting extra props etc for the production. Myself and Phillip Howarth were with the equipment and ready to meet Deanna. With time set quite tightly it was essential that we made it to Grovefield in good time, as make-up and clothing had to be sorted out.
Having regrouped with Deanna Stevens we caught the bus and headed over to Portland, from this point on we had to rely on team work as both Phillip and myself had not been to Portland/Grovefield before filming, Deanna told us which stop to get off at so we could pursue our walk to Grovefield and re-group with Holli bash and cast.
On arrival to Grovefield our initial reaction when observing the weather conditions was not as expected, the entire field was coated in thick heavy fog which really aided us in the filming of the main exercise. The fog allowed us to create this Erie sensation to enhance the emotion of the characters and really contrast the Mise-En-Scene of the area.The fog acted like a screen against people walking their dogs and children playing in the park, to enhance the desertification of life and apply our intentions of the opening titles.
Prior to the filming we had to make recce's for the layout of the area/field, for both myself and Phillip Howarth we could not really help in the production of this as we had never seen the area, but we did contribute on the 16th of march (Day before production) By using google maps to finish layouts and positioning of various landmarks within the field. We did this because Holli Bash and Deanna Stevens were in Weymouth Town getting props and various make-up requirements for making the Zombies look and feel realistic.
My intention was to create a 'Gore' Scene, having studied the BBFC Classifications website for age restricted films, our intentions were to aim our production at an audience of 15, however this means we are required to not emphasise prolonged pain on a character (Torture). So therefore the 'Gore' Scene had to be short but to the point in order to compensate the ideologies of a zombie attack.
Additionally the mixture used to create the realism of 'Insides' being ripped out had to resemble the real thing, therefore we used minced meat, red food colouring X2, syrup and water.




































But because the mince was not cooked we had to be careful of food poisoning and the potential of people getting ill as a result of the mixture entering, eyes/mouth etc. There was one incident of someone getting the raw mince in their mouth however as we had made a risk assessment prior to filming there was plenty of water to ensure the mouth was made clean and raw meat free. Also there were further drawbacks, because we were using food colouring, clothes and skin were stained as a result of contact, for this reason we made it apparent that ever
yone was aware to bring old clothing.

For the duration of the filming/production we were lead to believe that the camera was filming, at the beginning the introductory shot was taken by which we wanted to rewind a view the scene/caption after recording. We had trouble with this as the screen went black and would not allow us to view what we had recorded. Un
sure what the problem was the decision was made to continue recording as we believed that the shots could only be viewed through the upload to Windows Movie Maker, however hesitation made us believe that previously during the preliminary exercise that we could rewind to view past product.
The executive decision was made to carry on as scheduled, seeing as when the 'Record' button was pressed the numbers which represent this began to roll. Additionally we had a cast size of around 15 and therefore we could not reject and tell them that there was no chance of film production, many had come from further apart external from Portland and Weymouth.
However despite the incidence involving no information having been recorded to tape, we have gained insight to how we could make things better. Additionally because we have already organised the shots, positions, movement, close-ups, Long shots etc. Filming will be fast and more efficient for the 24th of march, however filming will be later due to the fact that Holli Bash, one of the groups members will only be able to get her brother after he finishes school, filming will start at 3:00pm and scheduled to finish at 6:00pm.

Despite having previous confidence as a result of filming failure, admiration to the succession of the second take was more likely as we already knew the 'ins' and 'outs' of shots and terrain prospectus. To start
the beginning was well organised, apart from a few members who previously filmed and could not attend for a second time, rep
lacements were made and filming continued as scheduled.
The most imminent problem regarding the film shoot on March 24th was inevitably the weather, conditions were poor resulting in equipment and cast getting wet, this jump started the multiplier effect, when people started getting wet, they got cold. Underfoot began to loosen and hazards increased, especially as one of our volunteers required glasses to see properly.
Another big issue was last time we had good fortune of heavy fog to shield people, walkers, dogs etc. This of course added to the drama and a reflection of pathetic-fallacy (Weather reflects the mood of characters portrayed within the world of the frame).





































For the second filming we only had rain which integrated with the visibility, proving that the clarity of the field had improved, allowing for small children and footballers, who were miraculously not getting eaten by savage zombies to be seen within the shot. The weather also had its toll on the cast and the drive to perform as well as last time despite a few new faces, and determination to success. However this time the tape did record, we made sure of it. And in terms of team work we all worked well at meeting deadlines and ensuring that everyones role was fulfilled properly and to the best of our ability. We wanted to achieve a zombie film with the directions from our script and storyboard, which before editing have successfully achieved, looking at the individual shots.

Thursday 4 March 2010

The First Reflective Main Exercise Entry.

The main exercise has begun and initially it is a very different setting to the previous Preliminary exercise. This projects is a lot more involved demanding more work than previously anticipated.
The preliminary exercise was a lot easier for us to produce as the requirement criteria was not as high, following the brief which said; "Character entering a room crossing it, sitting down and exchanging several lines of dialogue." The production did not have to be integrated with high amounts of detail, as long as we followed the continuity aspect. For the first project - preliminary exercise, the group work very well together, roles were assigned quickly and preparation for the preliminary task was essential for success. Having just started the main exercise at the beginning of the week the initial shock of the percentage work/preparation required is quite high, however it was not completely overwhelming as i knew that the main exercise was going to be much larger than the preliminary, bigger project, therefore more work require to achieve it.
Intentionally we are producing the opening sequence of a film, which has proven to be quite challenging. Especially as many of us believed that the ideas we were generating were very much reflective of a trailer, which is not what the brief states. “Main task: the titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes.” Initially for the preliminary exercise our group decided on the production theme relatively quickly, what we have found that with the main exercise our ideas have had to be developed and altered to level everyone in the groups intentions. The decision was made to produce a 'Zombie Movie' which as the brief states was original, new and fictional. As a group we felt that following codes and conventions of previous zombie films we wanted to attract the target audience, but of our own age, so using actor and actresses we are friends with who are willing to participate. Additionally i have had contact with a friend who is currently studying Music BTEC and he has said he would help develop and produce original non-copy protected music for our production.
Paper work is taking a lot longer than anticipated, initially i felt the production papers would be brisk like the preliminary exercise however there is a lot more that has to be taken in to account. The production has to last for at least 2 minutes and the general requirement of shots in correlation to vocals and script writing, it will take longer than i first thought. Especially as there has to be between 3-4 minutes of recorded footage for cropping down and editing.
Prior to the main exercise the preliminary task was filmed and produced in college which meant that it was accessible and everyone was within the grounds to create the production. However in the preliminary task there was a communication error which meant a member of the team was left out, however the problem has been amended for the main exercise and we hope that the production will run smoothly.
I have my concerns that the production may go wrong and end up with the production of a comedy, which will not be beneficial to my grades, that is why there will be an alternative plan 'B' to fall back on. 9Decision have yet to be made however initial ideas are being analysed)
With consideration to the S.W.O.T there will inevitably be problems that we will have to overcome. Firstly our location is set in Grove Field - Portland, myself and Phillip Howarth are new to Portland, therefore travel and navigation will be entrusted to Deanna Stevens and Holli Bash for their knowledge of the area. Secondly we are filming outside, hills, wooded area the whole place is prone to health and safety issues which void and restrict our actions. Other minor possibilities are such as us using fake blood to produce gore scenes (however with it being a 15 we are not allowed to stress the emphasis of pain or suffering)
on lookers may believe us to be actually harming each other and therefore the local police must be informed incase of phone calls. Working out doors is a natural hazard and therefore extra care must be taken in to account during the production. However the most unpredictable hazard is weather, estimates for the day can roughly show how the weather will pan out however it could potentially be bad, causing sufficient aggravation. The call sheet is scheduled for filming to be done on the 17th of March 2010 and that is when we intend to film it.
I feel that during the production of the preliminary task i took a very dominant role in telling the group how things should be done, for this one i intent to follow suit however be far more suggestive and hear people out. I think that i felt compelled to produce a brilliant production but i know that this can only be achieved if i work with my team and not on my own.

Relevant Trailers (Inspiration):

Zombieland:



Land Of The Dead:



28 Days Later:



Dawn Of The Dead:



Shaun Of The Dead:

Friday 19 February 2010

Evaluation of the preliminary exercise.

The key to success in the preliminary exercise was about working together. By sharing information as a group we were able to develop our understanding of real world practice and create our own. However not everyones knowledge has the extent to which another within the group may understand, so therefore with the input of the whole group, everyone knew what they were doing and how the end result would look like.

Research was an important part of our production, using Youtube we were able to find a really reflecting video from Causality (Research Link) which has a direct link to our brief, “Continuity task involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue" This is also a really close match in terms of mise-sn-scene, Casualty's larger focus is on the clothing of their actors and how they are represented in the real world. We tried to create this too, by using such things as Lab coats and a recording studio (Props) which had to the audiences understanding - one way glass. This would help us to create and represent the legitimacy which we needed to make the production believable.

From studying the causality extract (Research) We can gather a great understanding of how camera work, editing, sound and Mise-en-scene are used to create the production of the clip. Additionally i have viewed the the film, One flew over the cuckoos nest:

which is about a state mental institution, now i was not worried so much about the storyline, but dedicated my time to understanding how camerawork and mise-en-scene work together to create this brilliant production.
As it is clear within the extract i have linked, they have included a lot of white clothing, within our group on the first day, brainstormed that we would like for there to be lab coats etc, also in the extract a large part that is used is the flooring, is is shiny and very ideological of a mental institution. In terms of editing, it can be viewed around 0.54 seconds in to the clip, but there is a pan used to follow the acton of one person through to the action of of the persons it is affecting. Within our preliminary exercise we have tried to recreate this as well, there is a pan running from the doctor on the left to the gentleman on the right, following dialogue. This was created to develop an understanding of spacial awareness and to show where the dialogue was was being directed - a way of enhancing the continuity aspect. However due to positioning of the desk and room size we struggled to fit the camera in a position whereby it could produce the pan not to close and not too far away from the actors, as to reduce the continuity aspect.
I have to say that the causality clip and the extract from "one flew over the cuckoo's nest" have been really inspirational towards development of our understanding towards mise-en-scene editing and camera work, it has really aided us in the production of the preliminary exercise.

The room we chose was deliberately used because of its layout (Recce location 2). there is a semi-circular table in the centre near the glass divide. The table aided us with the right guidelines for bringing in prospectus the 180° rule, with this we were unable to cross it and ruin the continuity aspect. Similarly the window acted as a mirror and so the room on the other side had the same layout. We wanted to make it so that the eye-lines were around the same, so as we could develop the power levels and hierarchy position. The gentleman was positioned right of the centre, key lighting made it so that he was shaded more so than the doctor to reflect a personality trait but also reflect the mood.
Legitimacy is key and that is why we wanted to make a believable production that works at understandable levels. We searched the college for places of interest which would pose as a possible scene that could be used to contrast a state mental institution. The music and Drama (Recce location 1)department was was seen as an ideal location to build the continuity and set the initial scene. In term of mise-en-sceneit was just what we needed, plastic floor, which was smooth and reflective, long corridors for wide angle shots and close power supplies to charge the camera as batteries had run out. However it was not until editing that we saw an initial problem, Phillip Howarth was in charge of flickering the lights to create an erie effect, half his body is in one of the shots for a few brief seconds which has ruined the legitimacy effect which we hoped to achieve.

Editing did not go as well as i had hoped. We went over to see a man who would burn the tape to a digital version which could be save to our external hard drive (number 2). However However my self and Philip Howarth did not read the brief correctly before leaving, we were expected to produce a digital copy of each individual shot which could be named and allocated its position from the storyboard (1) (2) (3). However we did not. We produced an overall copy of the whole of what we recored, which we then shortened or lenghted to fit the still on the storyboard. i am aware that this is not what we were supposed to do, however we are aware of the mistake and are set to amend it for the real production.

The allocation of sound to the production was not difficult, as a group we went up to the library to find copy right free material which we could use with in the preliminary exercise. We hired out a CD player and sat in the corner to listen to the individual tracks which we felt would suit the Drama. Having chosen the tracks we felt would be acceptable for the production we imported them to windows movie maker whereby they could be placed over parts of the production to create the atmosphere we were after. There was a minor glitch which we needed to overcome and that was, whilst we were filming the final shot, the camera tripod creaked creating a louder noise than anticipated on the final piece, luckily we were able to mute the creak and apply the sounds gain from the library.
The preliminary exercise has been a deliberate learning curve to develop our skills in media production, researching what it is we wish to produce and understanding real world practices on Camera work, Editing, sound and mise-en-scene. All that i have learned will be applied to the real production.