Summary of AS media coursework blog

It is unbelievable how much I have learnt over this whole media project. I have felt the most challenged I have ever felt during a coursework piece, also I am extremely glad I managed my time well enough to complete the project in time.
It has been a stressful and emotion course, but now that it is complete I can breathe a sigh of relief.

Now that the coursework side of the course is over, I can concentrate much more on the exam side.

If I am able to pass the course, I will DEFINITELY be coming back next year to complete my A2 in Media studies.
Thankyou, and goodbye :-)

Final version of The Delivery Boy

This is the penultimate version of our film introduction. It took us an approximate 50 hours of editing to perfect and achieve the standard of quality we wanted.
It's been an emotional ride but now that it is finally done, we're glad we soldiered on to the end and delivered our production on time.

Today we spent time in Daniel's studio reviewing and analysing our film introduction to make sure there were no errors, and to make sure we were 100% happy with it. I will embed the video in a separate post.

Evaluation

This is the evaluation we created with the 7 questions set on the year 12 practical blog.

Today we filmed our Evaluation for the whole of our media project.
Admittedly it was quite tough at first as we all got a bit camera shy, and we froze quite regularly. However, after a good 10+ takes of practicing our lines and orders, we managed to film an appropriate and professional evaluation.

Yesterday (Sunday), Me, Daniel, Georgia, and Alice all went to Daniel's studio for 12 o'clock to edit and review our roughly finished film opening.

One thing we hadn't included in the film was a production name and logo, however yesterday we spent a good hour creating one.

We decided to call our production name 'Phantom productions'. The reason being because the power source Daniel was electrocuted by was Fantom powered, and as a group we thought it was a nice little pun and something which we thought that was fitting for the film.

One thing we needed to change about our film intro was the length, we were told it 'dragged on' and that it was too long.

In the 4-5 hours we spent in the studio we managed to cut down a reasonable amount, and now we have become happy with the length, as it flows smoother, and gets to the point.

Another thing we needed to change was a few transitions and to create a music soundtrack, and yesterday we were able to do both. In Daniel's studio we used the piano and a music software program to create a jazzy riff, which we were able to make fit well with the film.

We will be going to the studio as a group one day this week to make our final changes to the film, and make sure everything is converted and ready to hand in.

Yesterday was the day of the showcase and we had to present our final draft of our film intro.
Despite the rough transitions and narration, which we already knew about, we got exceedingly positive feedback and hopefully we are aiming to achieve full marks which we are extremely happy about.
We also got told a lot of things that our class mates and teachers suggested we edit in order to have a chance at going for the full marks.

Me, Daniel, Georgia, and Alice have planned to goto Daniel's studio at about 11 on sunday, so we can spend a good 5 or 6 hours editing the film intro and so everything is perfect.

I'll make another blog update on shortly, most likely sometime next week.

I am extremely happy with the group I was assigned with, and I can comfortably say the others are happy too. The reason being is because of how well and effectively we all worked together as a team. We managed to all share ideas and give consistent constructive criticism wherever needed, which is a great help to the whole team.

This is our first working version of our film opening, The Delivery Boy.

Things I liked:

• The calm and mysterious tone of the narration.
• The black and white scene at the end, which correlates with the narration "people see in black and white".
• The 180 degrees turn when Daniel's character is putting on his tie in the mirror.

Things I feel we need to improve or change:

• Some of narration doesn't make sense, and I feel is pointless.
• There is a short period of time during the car journey where nothing happens, and I feel should be cut.
• There are some rough transitions that need to be edited.
• We need to add a film company logo somewhere during the film.

I will make another post next week with the feedback we got as a group from our class.

Rough copy completed

Our group has now completed a rough working copy of our film production, and our teacher has arranged a showcase for us next week on thursday (31/03/11), during lesson, so every can present their rough or completed media films. This will be really helpful for us personally, and everyone else in our class, because as a class we can then discuss, give, and receive feedback back to each other about each others productions, so then we all have honest opinions on what people liked, and what needs to be changed.

Admittedly, there is a lot of things that need work in our film (tweaks, cuts, effects, etc..), however it will be good to see what people don't like and what they do like.

I will make a new separate post including our film opening, along with some factors i feel we need to improve.

Today in theoretical media class we learnt about the concepts of reality, and how our sense of reality is extended when we intake information from a film, documentary, or news show. This in a way gave us a group a few tips on our production as we want our character show normality so he can relate to the audience. I feel the narrative does this very effectively, and i'm glad we decided to use narration in our production.

Today in lesson Mrs Thrasher called us over as a group and showed us a few of her favorite scenes in a couple of gangster films (Snatch and others) and elaborated on what made them so effective. We took notes on what she was saying and compared them to our media film and added a few tiny edits to give a little bit more of a dramatic effect.
We did this by re-recording a few of the narrations and made them more abrupt so it adds more of an edgy effect towards Daniel's character.

This is the Ident we made for our film intro.
It was made using one of mine and Daniel's horror still images which we created earlier in the media course. The sound was created using garage band, we used low frequency cellos and violins to create a deep bass sound, and then a jumpy phaser sound we found to add a nice little outro effect, which related well to the image slowly fading to black.
The text 'Phantom productions' was made on final cut express, and fades in and then out during the Ident sequence.

Edit #4

Today we finished our product to a basic structured level.
All that needs to be done now is to meet up as a group again and review it and add any finishing touches that we feel will be effective.

A couple days ago we requested to our media teacher, Mrs Thrasher, to kindly bring into school a few British and American style gangster films which included narration. Also, a couple of other style of genres that also included effective narration, so we could analyse them and see what point of the scene made it most effective. This research helped us a lot when structuring our production.
A couple of the films we analysed were:

• Snatch
• Lock stock and two smoking barrels
• Goodfellas
• Rocknrolla
• Fight Club

Edit #3

Today was the 3rd day we have spent editing together, and it was by far the effective session so far!
The amount we got done was phenomenal and we are becoming so much happier with our production.
We are a few sessions away from completion and we are all itching to see the final copy.

Edit #2

Today we spent another approximate 5 hours of editing in Daniel's studio and we managed to get a lot of work done.

We were able to contrast between everyones idea and decide what decisions to make as a team.

At this moment in time we've done about a third the editing and we are very happy with what we have.

Recently we had lesson we had a visitor come into our class to talk about viral videos.
He started off the lesson by having a class discussion with us on what our interpretations of 'viral videos' were, and why we think they're becoming more and more popular.
He then showed the class a collaboration video on Youtube of all the recently famed viral stars on the internet, and asked us for our views on them.

I personally really enjoyed this lesson as it was very interesting, and i was able to concentrate the whole way through by the way he made it interactive and got us to discuss the topic with him.

Edit #1

We were able to use the studio today at Daniel's house as it had now been safety checked, and was now safe for us to use.

After connecting up the studio speakers to the iMac we were able to get work.

We managed to get about 25% percent of our editing done in a total of about 5 hours, with a few 10 minute breaks.

We plan to edit again soon in no longer than 2 weeks.

Children of men essay

How effectively does the opening sequence from 'Children of Men' use the forms and conventions of film openings? What is your personal response as a member of the audience?

The movie ‘Children of men’ is a science fiction film set in London 2027, about the population of the world not being able to reproduce anymore. It was directed by Alfonso Cuarón and was released in 2006. This essay will be focusing on the opening sequence of the film and how effectively it uses forms and conventions of a film opening.

At 0:33 we hear the narration of a news story, which tells the audience important information about what is happening in the current time zone of the film. From 0:33 to 0:55 we see nothing to do with the actual plot of the film, only credits, but what we hear is what attracts the audience’s attention. The use of non-diegetic sound within those 22 seconds creates a tension effect and builds up suspense while showing a black screen. This effect is used so the audience can concentrate on the useful information being broadcasted vocally, instead of physically, so they can understand the current situation.

At 0:55 when we finally are able to see what is going on, the first thing we see is people looking up at the news story on the television. From what we see in that first frame, shows an awful lot of what emotion is being portrayed. The dark, gloomy colours from the people and coffee shop help create a miserable and dull atmosphere for the audience. Also, we can see from the ghost like and neutral facial expressions that the civilians in the coffee shop are deeply interested and mentally grasped by the news story. The director also portrays a sense of sadness and uncertainty from the faint weep at 1:29 to 1:31.

The use of mis-en-scene in this opening sequence is very crucial. In the coffee shop the lighting is kept very low key to keep the atmosphere very dark and mysterious. Even when the camera first shows outside the shop, the lighting is very dark and gloomy to help keep that atmosphere dusky whether the shot be outside or inside.

When the scene has its first cut, its cuts to the news story on the television and we hear about how the youngest person in the world, who was 18, has died today (1:17-1:30). Already the audience is faced with their first enigma, and we are left asking ourselves questions such as “why was the youngest person alive 18?”. Also, not only was the youngest person alive only 18, but he was beaten to death on the streets of London. This helps the audience question the current situation of London in the time and age of 2027.
The director’s use of an enigma is very creative and clever; it creates tension and suspense within the audience, leaving them hungry for answers and grasps their attention so they carry on watching the film.

We see the main character in the first shot of the film as he shuffles through the coffee shop crowd. After the shot has cut from the television news story, a tracking shot follows the main character out of the coffee shop. As an audience we see for the first time the outside world, and we are appointed the time and location from the small banner at 1:50. A good link to increase the familiarity is the couple of red London buses driving past, this helps creates a relationship between the audience and the film if they are from, or have visited London.
As the camera pans from 1:50 to 1:55 we are able to see a full 180 degrees of the streets of London. The use of cloudy and gloomy colours, for example the rain effect and the dirty red buses, helps the director create a dark and miserable atmosphere in the scene. This effect helps create a dark mood for the audience.

As the camera slowly tracks from the coffee shop to the green metal stand (1:31 to 2:05), nothing interesting happens, yet the audience is focused on the main character. This helps create a tension effect and keeps the audience on the edge of their seat. We see the main character pouring some sort of alcoholic beverage into his drink while at the metal stand (2:03 to 2:10), which then puts immediate statements into the audience’s head, and the audience questions his lifestyle and what his life intakes. However, as soon as the audience start to ponder on the alcohol situation, the explosion blows their trail of thought and stuns them, creating a jumping effect from the audience. This effect is good because at this point, the audience’s eyes are glued to the screen and they are ready to focus on the main plot of the film.

In conclusion, the film ‘Children of men’ uses fantastic tension devices to help keep the audience on the edge of their seat all the way up to the explosion. Also, the use of shadowy and misty light sources helps create a gloomy atmosphere which is critical to set the mood of the film. In my personal opinion, the opening to this film really impressed me and definitely made me jump when the explosion went off, and the way it made me jump is because of the way it made me pay full attention with the use of the slow pan and tracking shots.

Edit fail #1

We all went to Daniel's house today to work in his editing studio.
The studio consists of an iMac with Final Cut Pro, and 2 Studio monitor speakers with surround sound technology.
However we encountered a problem, Daniel accidently electrocuted himself on his Father's fantom powered studio mixer, so we had to reschedule the date to when we knew the studio was safe.

This is a brainstorm of textual analysis I did in lesson while watching the opening sequence of 'Children of men'. I did this as a sort of plan so when it came to writing the essay i had a list of good points i could use to help structure my essay.

Preliminary sequence

This is our finished preliminary sequence that was filmed and edited in school.
The creation of this short clip was extremely helpful for us as it helped us as a group to get used to the use of a camera. We were also assigned a list of camera angles and shots to include into the preliminary sequence. For example we needed a 180 degree rotation during filming, which is from 0:22 to 0:29. We also needed an over the shoulder shot, which takes place at 0:12.

The use of creating this sequence also got us used to Final cut express. At first we had no idea how to use it, but after experimenting with this clip we were able to get to grips with it, and create something that flows.

Filming 1

Today Me, Daniel, Georgia, and Alice started filming today at Daniel's house.
I personally feel it went really well, we managed to get all the shots we needed, plus a few others we can experiment with to see if they will look good or not.
The places we filmed at were; Daniel's house, the route towards the Debden industrial state, and the industrial state itself.
We made sure we got every shot at least 5 or 6 times so we could get all the filming done in one day, and spend more time on editing. Luckily enough, we managed to do just that!

I filmed most of the shots and was the main director of the production, while Daniel was the main character. Alice and Georgia also played important roles in the film, as well as taking care of the makeup and hair of the crew, and even helping film a few shots and directing some parts which i was unable to.

All in all, a very productive day.

Film intro analysis #5

This is opening the to the film 'Juno' and it shows the main character casually walking through what the audience assumes is the streets of her neighborhood. At the beginning of the scene we see her in reality walking, but then at 0:10 we can see her walk past a tree which takes her into an animated world, where we assume that she has no troubles. We get the impression that she has casually walked through life without a care, and that she hasn't had any problems, but then at the end of the scene (2:19) we see her walk back to reality from animation. From this change of background, it tells us about the character. We can see that she has casually walked through life without a care, and has drifted through any problems she may have encountered without being affected. However from the change of animation to reality at the end we get a hint that she may growing up and may encounter life changing problems ahead in the film.
The music in this extract is extremely happy and joyful, and works well with the animation in the background. This helps set the scene. Also, the bright and light colours help set the scene and give off a happy emotion to the audience.

Film intro analysis #4

The opening of 'Kill Bill Vol. 1' portrays various different emotions towards the audience. Firstly we are introduced to the two main characters, the protagonist and the antagonist. This is very effective as it depicts a good contrast between good and evil. It also commences a great enigma, as we do not see the face of what we think is evil, the character called 'Bill'.
We can also see that the whole opening sequence is in black and white, which represents the past, or a flashback. Personally I think the fact that the audience can recognise that the sequence is in the past purely because of the black and white effect, is very effective and a great touch from the editor and director.
We can also see a lot of emotion portrayed by the actors facial expression. it contrasts with the sophistication demonstrated using black and white, contrasting between the actual subject and the presentation.

Film intro analysis #3

The opening sequence to 'Se7en' is very creative and one of the first of its kind. It rolls credits over what we see is the main character, in a very illusive font which jumps slightly, and at points even flashes from normal to reverse. The colours and lighting in this extract are very dark and dim, this sets the mood for the film. The sound effects are very screechy and eery, and are almost piercing to the ears. The sound and picture, when put together, give off a very creepy and disturbing effect and give the audience an insight of what the film will contain. From the opening credits we can clearly see that the film is at least rated 15, due to the explicit imagery of bodies and blood.
The pace of the extract is very slow, and gives a very cringey effect when we watch, especially when we see what seems to be the main character using a razor to slice off dead skin from his fingertips. The use of that shot shows the audience an awful lot. His fingers are very damaged and show dead skin, which tells the audience that his life intakes very repetitive and grueling tasks, day in, day out.
I personally thought the intro was very effective, and it gave me a shivering effect at one point because of the slow pace and eery sounds. I personally would watch the rest of the movie due to the fact i like horror films, and because of the intro, it shows that it will contain horror scenes.

Film intro analysis #2

The film 'Super size me' is a film about a man who eats nothing but McDonalds for 30 days straight and records himself doing it so people can see the effects.
The opening is very effective, especially to Americans. The reason being because the main character is introduced by him narrating over clips of obese people and he talks about the statistics of McDonalds and obese people in America.
He consistently talks about how people in America have tried to sue the huge corporation because they feel that the food they serve is extremely unhealthy and it is the corporations fault that damage has been done to the individual, and you can tell by his tone of voice that he disagrees with this.
The clips are all real life situations (e.g. outside fast food outlets and on beeches etc), and the use of these clips help the audience relate to what they are seeing because it is happened in the world they live in around them, especially for Americans as the footage has been filmed in America.
The statistics that are being narrated are very shocking, and are statistics that the average person wouldn't have heard before. This technique of shocking the audience is very effective as it keeps their attention through the opening of the film.
It is a very fast paced opening but that helps with the effect it gives off, the sudden rush of scary real life statistics is a brilliant way of keeping the audience concentrated, and personally, its made me think twice about eating McDonalds.
Personally I was impressed by the opening of this film, and it does make me want to watch the rest of the  film, mainly because of the last 30 seconds of the opening. He announces what task he will be completing during the film, and then the credits start to role.

Film intro analysis #1

The opening of the film 'The cleaner' starts off with the calm and steady narration of Samuel L. Jackson portraying the story of a woman as we see the woman on the screen. She walks along a street and into her Mother's apartment to find her unexpected corpse on the floor of her kitchen. We can see from here on that the genre of the film isn't rated an under 15, and is recommended for more mature viewers. The narration starts while the introduction credits are still rolling and it gives the audience an insight to an example of what he does in his work. The story is quite gruesome and attracts the audience's attention.
The use of contrapuntal music from 1:27 onwards is a great way to keep the audiences concentration. A song with the lyrics 'tell me something good' starts playing when the narrator was talking about death and blood. It also is a very creative idea to use in the opening of a film, as it gives off the effect that the film they are about to see can be quite disturbing at times because of the style that was just used in the opening of the film.
The lighting in the first scene of the opening is quite dark, low keyed, and only backlit to help set the mood of what the narrator is saying, however, when the happy music starts playing we can see that the lighting and colour becomes a lot more vibrant and lighter.
After seeing the opening of this film it completely grasped me and I intendedly went home after school and watched this film because of how interesting the opening was, however, i was quite let down by the film after watching it because it got quite boring and wasn't as good as the intro made it out to be.

Christmas and new year is now over so I am now back to blogging!