Update

We have finished our rough storyboard and we are new beginning to work on our script and recruiting acotrs for the film.

YouTube account

We have created a YouTube account for our production team, which will feature our main production, as well as our preliminary exercise and various other things we may add, such as updates and unedited shots. It is called TerrordronePro.

Update

With Ben's absence, I am going to begin creating the storyboard on paper by myself, and I will have to see if he likes it.

Location shots of the area we intend to film

Song Confirmation Evidence

The email reads "Then feel free to use it"

Evidence of email regarding song Update

We have recieved a response from Madina Lake's Manager stating if it is only going to be used for the school project, so I am responding with an assurance email.
 The conference reads:

Manager: Is this going to be used only for a school project?

Me: Yes, we do not intend to make any sort of profit from this at all, it will only be used for school related work. The band will aslo be credited in the opening titles.

NOTE: During the posting of this blog entry, I recieved an email confirming the rights to be able to use this song for our film opening. It states: Then feel free to use it

Evidence of email regarding song

We have contacted the band's manager for the song we intend to use for our project. We are now awaiting a response from him to say that it is acceptable. If we do not receive a response, we will assume it is acceptable for the song to be used. I have taken a printscreen to be used as evidence.

The email reads:

Hello, I understand from Madina Lake's Facebook page that you are their manager. I was inquiring to see if we could use segments of their song "Hey Superstar" in a fictional film opening for our A Level Media project for our school (Ken Stimpson Community School.)

Many thanks,
Dominic Waldron

Update

We have decided on a title for our whole film, and have tweaked the opening scene to fit the rest of the film. The film will be called "The 7th Keeper." We are now planning to start casting members as the main characters in the film, and also extras.

Film Location

We have been to take images of the area we intend to film our opening scene, and also some of the surrounding areas we feel could be of use to us while filming. They include the outside of the forest and inside, as well as another forest that could be better than the previous idea. They will be uploaded as soon as I have access to them.

Company Name and Logo

We have decided on a name for our film company - TerrorDrone Productions. We have also made a logo for our company as well, and we may tamper with it in the future.

This is the area we intend to film the opening for our film. This is taken on top of a nearby underpass from Google Maps Streetview. It gives a clear indication of the whole location we shall be filming. We intend to visit the area and take some more pictures first-hand of within the forest and the surrounding area.

Presentation of Ideas

On Tuesday 1st November, we presented our ideas to our media class in the form of a powerpoint. We showed our 3 initial ideas and got feedback from the class and our teacher.

Scott Pilgrim vs The World - Opening Timeline

I have constructed a timeline of the opening titles for the movie "Scott Pilgrim vs The World" (2010). it points out when a title appears and how long it is there for, any background noises throughout the sequence and what the titles actually say.

Above is 9 stills from the titles from the film "Scott Pilgirm Vs The World." Below this is the actual title sequence from the movie.

British Board of Film Classification

The British Board of Film Classification an organisation that is funded by the film industry and responsible for the national classification of films within the United Kingdom. They spend their time analysing films and deeming what age rating they should be given; either U (universal) meaning the film is aimed at anyone, PG (parental guidance) meaning that viewer discretion is advised, 12A meaning that people under 12 need to have an over 18 with them to watch it and 12 means only over12 years of age are entitled to watch this film; this is the same case with films rated 15 and 18.

The first film opening I shall be analysing is a Japanese film called "Wangan Midnight: Maximum Tune", about a college student named Akio Asakura who discovers a cursed Nissan Datsun 240Z, nicknamed "The Devil Z" in a scrapyard, crashed by it's previous owner with the same name as the lead character. The car appears to have a mind of its own and rebels against its driver; the previous owner was killed by the car while street-racing against Blackbird on the Tokyo Expressway Bayshore Route, aka Wangan.

The film opens with an overhead shot of Wangan to set the scene, then the sound of an engine can be heard as the film title appears on screen to give an idea of what the film is about. It then cuts to a shot of the previous owner crashing The Devil Z while in a race with Blackbird. It then cuts back to the overhead shot, possibly for added drama. Then it cuts back again to the crash with Blackbird stopping his Porsche and rushing to the aid of his friend. It then fades into a shot of the Devil Z driving as Blackbird begins to commentate: "It was like the car is mad. It runs like it was twisting it's body." This is done to show the audience what the car is like and how it is possesed. After this, it cuts to a girl laying some flowers down on the route, where the Devil Z crashed to prove that the owner did not survive the crash. She is with Blackbird, who is waiting in his car. He then recieves a phone call about an operation on someone, to alert the audience of his occupation (a doctor/surgeon.) Blackbird's commentary begins again; 'A coworker once asked me, "You're a surgeon. Why risk your life over an obsession with racing." I do not really remember my reply to him.' as the couple retreat to Blackbirds Porsche. The scene changes completely to a flashback with a man on a stretcher being rushed into a room with Blackbird pleading to assist with his resussitation, this is the previous owner after being rescued from the Devil Z. Blackbird describes the car some more and then it cuts to Akio and his friends in the Nissan 300ZX.

Code and Convention

A Code is the familiar and predictable forms and techniques used by the media to communicate certain ideas or to convey a desired impression. Technical codes include camera angles, sound, and lighting. Symbolic codes include the language, dress, and actions of characters. The written and audio codes, including the music and soundtrack come under both of these 2 categories. 

Conventions are patterns of codes that are put together to show its intentions. For example, in a western style film, the technical codes and the symbolic codes would both portray the western theme by covering the camera angles, lighting and dress code and such.

 

Continuity

Continuity is how smooth the transitions and film is when it is edited. Examples of bad continuity are shown in the video clip, pointing out continuity errors in "Star Wars."

180 Degree Rule

When doing the Shot/Reverse Shot technique, you must always be sure to keep to the 180 Degree Rule, which is when the camera must remain on one side to make it look like the 2 people confering are actually talking to each other. This is shown in the diagram.

Shot/Reverse Shot

Shot/Reverse shot is another film technique generally used to portray a conversation between 2 people. The camera flicks from one person to another as they speak, as shown in this example clip.

Match on Action

Match on Action is when the camera has zoomed in or out of the current action, or even an action that is deemed important for the audience to see.

This short video clip has many examples of Match on Action and even a continuity error involving a random dog.

Pretiminary Exercise

Aim: To produce a continuary exercise which involves a character opening a door, crossing the room and sitting down on a chair opposite another character,with whom they exchange a couple of lines of dialogue. The task should demonstrate:
+Match on Action
+Shot/reverse shot
+180 degree rule

My First Post

My name is Dominic Waldron, and I am about to embark on my AS Level Media Studies. I am working with Ben Prisk.
This first year, I am working on a Continuary Exercise, and also my main media project.