Practice Choice

Final Post

THIS IS MY FINAL POST!

Feedback

Although a couple of viewers mentioned on the feedback sheets that they enjoyed the German or French elements of the film, - it actually being set in Swedish - a vast majority of the audience seemed to find the opening very professional in the shots and colouring used. The subtitles and choice to use a different language was also a prominant point that many of the viewers picked up on; the use of Swedish sentences being one of the hardest tasks throughout the filming process. Through all the embarrassment caused because of my "very effective" face and make-up, it was clear to see our opening was very well recieved.

Final Film & Evaluation

Certificate Justification

The group came to the conclusion that our film would be rated a 15; although there are implications of sexual abuse, there are seemingly no explicit images that would be projected within the film, therefore not pushing the age rating through to an 18.

Fantastic News

Today the best thing happened during the editing of our opening - the clip where I stared stupidly in to the camera lense has been removed! After my constant badgering - backed up by the opinion of Miss Poulten - the group have finally let it be deleted! I believe the film comes across a lot more authentic now it's clip has been banished from the face of the Earth. Not forgetting it's one less shot for me to cringe at..

Cravendale

This is my favourite advert at the moment - editing at its best.

Draft Progress

During our free period this morning, we decided to try and finalise some of the aspects of our first draft of which we weren't too sure on/didn't fit; along with adding a new flashback into the scene, we were finally able to complete our 'Hole in the Middle' logo.





The group, as a whole, had contiously been incredibly frustrated with the screenshots that were inserted between scenes, as - no matter how short the duration was decreased to - the image would always zoom outwards, today that problem was fixed! The flashbacks seem a lot more effective and authentic now they actually just flicker without the added zoom. We've also concluded that a still screenshot of the swedish bible quote and translation may work in our favour; the group have been struggling to make the 'amen' appear not so abruptly and without forcing the rest of the text away slightly. By using two screenshot images instead of the text box on iMovie, we should be able to create our desired effect - touch wood..

Today's Progress

During today's editing time, as a group, we decided on the final changes that need to be made within our opening; the flashbacks were fiddled with, the pulling of focus lengthened and shortened, added/removed clips and the swapping over of some of the scenes. The one problem we're still finding hard to overcome is the animation we've planned on creating - it's not coming along as easily as anticipated, but I'm sure we'll manage to pull it off!

Justifications

In our opening, there are quite a few small elements of which are not clearly transparent in reasoning; it's important to justify the use of some of these ideas, as they need to be understood in order to fully grasp the concept of the imagined film.

CAT
Initially, the short clip of the cat staring through the lense came about by chance, however, as we played around with the effects and so on, it became obvious a flashback of the cat would add to the dark side of our storyline. Along with the fact that this particular snapshot of the cat came out incredibly creepy-looking, there are also other aspects of its use which add to the depth of the story; cats are known to be sly, precise, quick creatures who can sometimes seem to hold a darker side reflected by their unique eyes - we thought this element of a cat could tie in perfectly with the storyline of our film and maybe even the male character.



 

BROKEN CLOCK ARCHIVE
Our production name has been confirmed to be named Broken Clock Archive; the quote 'even a broken clock is right twice a day' from Engleby by Sebastion Faulks has always stuck in my head and ties in brilliantly with the storyline and characters within our film. The theme of time precision alongside corruption is perfect in reflection to our serious production name/logo and adds more depth to the darkness within our two-minute opening.

Dun da da dunnn!

Our first draft has finally been uploaded!
It's great to see that it's all coming together; not feeling so stressful about our countdown now! Although, there are a few things that still need to be worked on/finalised within the opening, I'm incredibly happy with the stage we're currently at!

However, I am planning to walk out of the premiere night in the hall when our opening is about to be shown - it's bad enough seeing myself looking like that (scarily boss-eyed ETC) on the screen of our Macs, let alone projected to the scale it will be that night..



Note to Mac 1 - I seriously hate the bit where I stare into the camera!

The Rite

Tonight, we all gathered in Cineworld to watch The Rite!
I love sitting on the front rows when in the cinema; being so close to the screen definitely helped enthuse the atmosphere in this case. I did enjoy the film - it had me peering through the gaps between my fingers at most points, along with the harmony of short screams projected automatically from me and Mollie..

Although the film did force me to hold my breath when watching particular scenes, some of the editing - specifically the red-eyed nightmare mule - managed to completely lift any fears triggered by the film! Stole the following picture, as it does just show how unfitting the mule was..



Weirdly enough, there were quite a few elements within The Rite which mirrored some of our own perfectly, such as: the opening bible quote, use of subtitles, the slight cat theme, flashbacks and the religious aspect of the film. I think some sort of creative copyright could be an option?

Trip to see The Rite

It's been confirmed that the Media class will be visiting Cineworld this Thursday to watch The Rite. It's a paranormal film, which means I'll love to hate it! Although, I wish I didn't know it was 'inspired by a true story', - that makes every ghostly storyline 10 times worse for me..

The Importance of Being Idle

I know this is more A2-related than anything else, but this music video's been played a few times over the past week and I've always loved it! It's undoubtedly one of my favourite music videos of all time - maybe number one? I think it's wonderfully simplistic and find the way in which they've connected the song to something that wouldn't cross your mind when listening to it brilliant; definitely inspiring for thoughts regarding next year's Media coursework.
If only we had the power to rule over a village for a while and had enough money to employ Rhys Ifans..

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

Although it's generally quite uncommon for films to include subtitles, I've never before seen them been used in the way of which they have for the film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Normally, subtitles are used within films to translate a different language; in this film, the text is used to translate a different type of language, whereby the subtitles translate the 'cockney rhyming slang' into standard English. I loved this element of the film, as it only added to its originality and is now one of my most favourite scenes!

I have scoured Youtube over and over, but I haven't yet found the clip I'm searching for - will keep looking..

Filming Day 5 Video Archive

Completely forgot I was wearing a hat.

Filming Day 5

Today, we finally travelled up to Southgate to film our Priory scene! Unbelievably enough, we managed to shoot all the appropriate shots we'd planned on achieving (I think..); we'll upload them to the Macs sometime this week and check there's nothing that needs re-filming. All in all, our little uninvited visit to The Priory took all of 20 minutes - most likely a shortened length of time due to our sheer embarrassment when running across the grounds with cameras, tripods and the Flip.. Not forgetting we were told to stop filming as it was a 'private residence'.
Oops.

Interview Scene Outtakes

Believe it or not, there were actually around 20 more outtakes other than these..

Filming Day

It's been decided amongst the group that we'll be filming during the half term on
Tuesday! The Priory scene's vital to our opening and we're in desperate need of it - however, I'm a bit worried that I'll be carted off the premises! If we fail to meet Miss Foster's agreement we owe her hard labour.. So there's no way Tuesday can fail.

In Bruges

In Bruges has rapidly become one of my favourite films of all time; I love the depth the movie goes into, but also the simplicity of a majority of the filming. One of the main reasons I admire the film so hugely is because it's created by Film4 - the studio consistently produces original, quite alternative, intelligent films that are hard to forget. I've also noticed that along with the multidimensional storylines and beautiful, innovative shots, In Bruges seems to capture black comedy perfectly; scripting it with such an edge, it's impossible not to fall in love with each scene..



Although some (close minded) people have suggested the film is 'boring' due to the amount of of empty shots - where there's neither much action or diegetic/non diegetic sound - I believe it only adds to the alternative, articulate styling of In Bruges. For most of the more peaceful periods of the film, there's always some sort of warm shot that represents the quiet of the town; ultimately contrasted against the breaking of silence caused by the main characters. Throughout the film, the use of camera focus alongside the glowing lighting in the background of a large amount of the shots sets the atmosphere instantly, and is almost used as a theme for certain scenes.

Unfortunately, one of my favourite scenes's embed code has been 'disabled by request' so you'll have to click here to view it. What's even more unfortunate is that you're not allowed to watch the ending of the clip where you witness him colliding into the ground, - an outstanding piece of footage - however, the intelligence of the film is definitely evident within that scene.

More Logo Possibilities..

Comical logo..



More creepy/fitting logo idea?

THIRD Logo Possibility..

Second Logo Possibility..

Possible Logo?

Mollie's creative idea.. 'Hole in the middle'?

Film Company Logo Research

Found an interesting article on The Stories Behind Hollywood Studio Logos; we've not yet really thought too much about the design, name or meaning for our future logo, but I thought this article might help us find a mutual meaning behind ours which we can all agree on..

The Stories Behind Hollywood Studio Logos

Religious Script

Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:

Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

TRANSLATES TO:

Därför lät Gud dem åt orenhet genom lustar sina egna hjärtan, för att förnedrar sina kroppar med varandra:

Som bytte ut Guds sanning mot lögn, de dyrkade och tjänade det skapade i stället för skaparen, som är välsignad i evighet. Amen.

Have just asked Mr Saunders if he'll be our Male voice.. he agreed (..practically)! Going to drop the Swedish script into his pigeon hole so he can take a look and see whether his accent range will stretch that far!

Bible Quotations

Inspired by Miss Foster's turbulant thoughts, it's now been decided that some sort of religious theme is to be included within our 2 minute opening; maybe a quotation that fits our storyline to be read out in the supposed voice of our offending male character? Following are just a few passages that could suit the type of blaming tone the 'abuser' may assure himself by..

1:24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:

1:25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

1:26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature

Inglourious Bastards/'Basterds'

This morning, - not using a DVD OR Sky Anytime, but Xbox Live I might add! - I watched Inglorious Bastards for the first time. Its always been one of those films in the back of my mind that I've wanted to see for quite a while; after watching it I was actually quite surprised - it wasn't at all what I'd anticipated, but I loved it!



There were some astounding shots used within the film, one I particularly admired. The whole set up of the film in its entirety was quite unusual compared to most others; the thought of crucial, wonderfully gory moments, in slow motion, going silent with only the sound of moving, non diegetic sound to excentuate the moment was incredibly inspiring. This is the scene containing the shot I specifically mentioned above..



The shot used when Shosanna is killed has to be my favourite piece of footage out of the entire film. I love the way the killing is built up, the falling of it afterwards, but most importantly how beautifully filmed it was - as if the death was freeing in contrast to the fact it is the ending of a life.. For some reason I keep picturing butterflies fleeting from her body through the smoke surrounding her as she is shot, but maybe that's just me? Nevertheless, beautiful piece of film making, I think!

Although, this was definitely not the only unusually interesting shot filmed; every scene was swarming with different camera angles, shots and movements which were tremendously thought provoking, and the lighting was consistently perfectly fitting for the atmosphere. Quentin Tarantino used pretty much every sort of camera angle/shot created, from crane to crab dolly..







Not forgetting the fact subtitles were used throughout! Team subtitles!

Bedroom Scene

Along with the Priory scene, we've yet to re-film the bedroom scene; the last session was a bit of a failure as - along with the fact there were Spongebob toys scattered around the young, 'Swedish' child - the lighting caused the footage to look incredibly grainy, it wasn't planned out very precisely.. and let's not forget about Mollie's attempt at looking manly..

We've decided to shoot the scene again in my bedroom; the setting's a lot more suited to the character, time and theme of our opening as it's quite plain and 90% white. Was also thinking we could try and get a nice shot of the sunset/sunrise through the window to maybe slot in where the sky footage currently is in our draft film..

GRR

Due to my idiotic, inflatable glands - once again - it's been impossible for us to film outside The Priory today. I've got a doctors appointment this afternoon, so, with a bit of luck, he'll be able to supply me with some sort of miraculous drug.. Or at least give me the strongest lozenges ever created. As soon as I can't feel my throat anymore, or simply just become capable of holding a sentence without crying, we'll have our filming session.
Although, I do know Mollie's been making use of the free time as she keeps banging on about some marvellous film on Sky Anytime, will have to also watch it soon..
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Voiceover Practice

Congrats to Mollie for creating the comedic masterpiece that is this Voiceover Practice!

We'll definitely be using voiceover's during the interview scene and most likely in the bedroom scene; although I'm guessing our script won't be as intentionally funny as this..

BFI

I'd like to know why Joely edited this as if no-one found my joke remotely funny?!
Definitely need to inform Mr Saunders of the joke. He'll find it funny.

"The Bullying Days"

I thought I'd reject the feeling of shame in showing the Media group this, as the hilarity of it outweighs the cons - this old, Year 7 video created at the CLC in 2005 just shows how dedicated I have always been towards Media..

Yes. That is me.



Thanks to Kamilah for - along with being a weird, little saddo & saving other people's CLC vids on to her memory card in Year 7 - broadcasting this to the entire world in the first place!

Rest In Pieces Baby Annika..

Photographic Archive of Filming Day 4

For today's filming session, I brought along my camera to add to the archiving of the shoot. Thanks to Miss Foster for taking a photo of us as a group - although, those 'serious' poses we were made to do managed to make Yasemin look "fat" and me as though I'd just jumped out of a coffin. Mollie obviously just looked classic Mollie..

Interview Scene Archive

Today I plodded in to school at half 3 - my glands expanding like the population of China - to finally re-film our interview scene.. Along with about an hours worth of consistant laughing, swearing and, in my case, coughing, we've managed to shoot all the footage we needed for that particular scene.

MEDAL FOR MOLLIE! She's created this little archive solely on her own tonight, and it's hilarious! She even kept our little trademark visible - black & white clips!



R.I.P Baby Annika..
Maybe we should keep the death of this mysterious doll to ourselves, only talked of inbetween the walls of the Media Room?

Apologies!

I'm aware I didn't reply to a Facebook message yesterday regarding our anticipated day out filming by the Priory - It's hardly an excuse, but the email wasn't delivered directly to my Blackberry like other notifications are, so I didn't realise there was a Facebook message until I recieved an email from Miss Foster today about it. Next time I'm thinking a different form of communication should be used to discuss filming days? Beginning to feel like I'm carrying all the pressure lately..

Anyway! It's been decided that we'll be re-filming our interview scene tomorrow - so I'll remember to bring in my white vest and the Flip. Might also be a good idea to try and get back on top of things and record the storyboard clips?

Snow Day Footage

Smoking Scenes

We recently reviewed the footage previously filmed; although some clips may be of use, we'll need to work on the lighting and exposure next time we shoot in order to ensure we get the best quality possible from our HD Flip!

Why do I walk like this?!

On our THIRD day filming (in the snow) we took the chance to try out a few different shots, Yasemin filmed me walking - if that's what you can call it - down the middle of the road.

This is what became of the footage..