Final Film

This is the final version of our film for assessment.

Evaluation

Evaluation podcast Lucien and Tom by user4290811

We decided to create an audio podcast for our evaluation because we are both better at explaining our ideas than writing them. We were told it wasn't allowed to be scripted so we made some points we wanted to cover and then we worked our way through the four questions. We recorded and edited it using  Garageband and uploaded using Soundcloud. I think we did a good job but it could be shorter to keep the target audience interested.

Short Films

Short films are created and made by most people who look to get there ideas out there. These films can be created by a lot of people, ranging from amateurs to well known directors. There could be many reasons behind making a short film, one is that it is something which you love and have a passion for and so it is worth clarifying why you have chosen to do this task.
Creating a short film could gain you the experience of pulling together a team to make a story on a film and in gaining the experience this might help you pursue a career and then demonstrate your skills within the short film. Other reasons for making a short film is because of funding and costs, it is very rare for short films to pay in any financial dividends however you may have been asked to work on a production with a budget to pay its crew. Reasons for making a short film should also relate to where the film is going to be shown weather it be your front room or in the cinema or at a festival.

We went to the European Film Festival in Paris this year to see other shorts and independent feature films. It was a chance to find out more about the industry and compare work to ours. We were also able to ask questions after the screenings because the directors were there. The student films were interesting and it was also useful to find out they had got their films shown just by calling the festival organisers and sending in a copy of their work. We didn't know you could do that.

We went to sessions 1,2 and 4 on the Saturday and then an editing workshop on Sunday morning. It was a mix of features, shorts and music videos in each session. The shorts were longer than our films and not all of them had a good story but most of them looked good so the camera and lighting were better quality.

The best student film I saw was probably Wacked! about a man who wants to get out of a mental asylum but he is three people in one. We don't realise this until near the end so the narrative is good. The festival was a good experience to see how people get started in the industry and to give us confidence that we could get our work shown if it we are brave enough to send it to a festival organiser or a site like BBC Film Network or Virgin Shorts.

Final Film Feedback

Feed back by user4290811

This is feedback of our film from two of our peers, representing our target audience. This in fact the second audio file consisting of feedback as the film was further developed as time went on from our last screening. Both positives and negative comments were highlighted during the course of this feedback however the positives out-weighed the negatives. It is very important to keep referring back to the audience for their views and comments because at the end of the day the film is being made to appeal this certain demographic. If it was being made for profit then the audience response would be vital. In my case it's good to know that people enjoy the film and they can make sense of the story we're trying to tell.

Trailer

This is the first draft of the trailer. There are certain things that need changing and other things that we feel can be improved. However, we both feel that the trailer is very affective and uses great sounds from the movie in order to give it a better effect.

Film poster advertised

For Further Advertising, we got our film poster onto local bus stops to make sure our film would get full viewing. Doing this gets our film out into the public for all to see so our target audience can see when our film is coming out.

Film poster

This here is the film poster for our film and it was all created and edited in photoshop, with the use of our own photography. The poster was not originally black and white therefor we had to use our skills in order to create our ideas as much as possible. You may have noticed the red ball standing out of the poster, this was done intentionally to emphasis our meaning behind hustling and to grab the audiences eyes straight away. Not just there to grab attention, but the ball is also there to show off our skills within photoshop. My own personal opinion of the poster is that it was a great success and compared to other existing film posters this really does fit the conventions of a typical film poster.

Film poster Draft

This is a sketch so that we have a basic idea of what we want our film poster to look like after. We found that having this draft before beginning to create the real poster is needed because then we could work around it and add or replace ideas when it comes designing and creating the final piece. Looking at it as a first draft I feel that it was successful, a clear indication of what theme we are going for and great starting point when moving forward to the finished piece. It is important that the poster can portray a message without the use of text because the first thing people look at is the image on a poster and i feel this is the key feature in order to attract my target audience.  

Trailer research

These two trailers were used to analyse the different types of techniques used for a trailer. The reason why these were chosen was because it is like our film as it is to do with hustling and stuff like that. This would help me know what type of music to use and also would improve my skills and creativity of creating a successful trailer. Watching these trailers really helped develop my understanding of the conventions of a trailer.

First draft of film

The clip above is the fist draft of our film which was created just to show to audience members for them to input some feedback which we can use to make our film better. From this further ideas were thrown out of what we can add to it; we aim to add more transactions and also we want to edit some of the scenes weather that consists of lengthening or shortening the scene. The main type of feed back which was given is that more music is to be added. In doing all of these corrections it would satisfy the audiences needs as to what they expect from our type of genre. Overall the first draft worked but we then came to a conclusion that this needed more work to be done.

Group meeting (ancillary task 2)

For our second Ancillary task, we decided to go on another route of advertising and produce and radio trailer. During our meeting we made a rough draft of a script for our radio trailer with another page of brainstorms for types of music and effects we would have in the trailer, we will aim to use these notes as a guideline for making our film trailer (radio)

Group meeting

After re shooting with our new actors, we found that we were able to get more filming done with a lot more quality footage, this is due to our decision to change our actors. Our new actors were more flexible and helped a lot more with behind the scene issues as well such as setting the scene an getting everything sorted.

Overall our second shoot was so much better, so we got all the filming we had set out to done with no problems, and each scene didn't take so long to film, with the 2 new actors being a good decision by us two.

Creation of film in progress

Above is a print screen of final cut express showing our progress throughout the project. This consists of sound clips, different scenes and different effects added within the film. The software used is the main part of our editing stage and is consistently used throughout our entire project.

Actor profile

Tomas Noad:

Age: 17

Height: 5 ft 10

Lewis Fincham:

Age: 17

Height: 5 ft 5

Richard Cartwright:

Age: 17

Height: 6 ft 1

Group meeting

After viewing our sample scene and also starting the filming for our final draft, Tom and I got together to discuss the situation of our actors. we came to the conclusion that our current actors (Bill Cooke and Connor Barclay) needed to be changed as they didn't work to our needs and expectations, so decided to get 2 new actors in (Richard Cartwright and Lewis Fincham) that would meet our needs so we could re-shoot our film.

Research and Planning grade: 11/20

To achieve level 4:

• Ensure your posts are in the right order
• Nothing should be missing at this stage - poster research and sketches? pitch? Sample scene...?
• Try to reflect more, describe less

Group meeting (ancillary task 1)

For our Ancillary task, we desided to make a film poster and a radio trailer for our film, after we had sat down and talked about our poster, we decided to make notes and a first initial draft of our poster, using these ideas and the draft as a guideline for when we come to making our poster

Presentation

This was Tom and I pitching our film to the rest of the class. We talked about various things such as our storyboard and the ideas behind our film. We then showed a sample scene to the audience in return we were given feedback on the film as well as questions to be answered about the film. Feedback consisted of making sure we done a sound check to see weather the mic was working. Along side this we also was told to involve the actors more often and show more reaction shots and to focus less on the playing of the snooker game. All of the issues raised will be taken on board so that our final outcome will be successful. Its not all doom and gloom though as we had positive reactions to the clip. These were that they liked the plot of our film, the different shots used within and also suggested even without dialogue the film did speak for itself and the audience did understand where we were coming from.

List of props

• Camera (Sony HD)
• Tripod
• Lights
• Costume (Suit Trousers with white shirt plus tie)
• Pool and Snooker balls
• Pool and Snooker Cues

Sample scene

This is the sample scene of our film and it was shown to the rest of the class so that we could get some feedback on it. These were shown in the pitch. Although making our sample scene was great fun, there were some things which went wrong along the way. For example: we didn't have any on screen sound or dialogue due to our mic not working as it wasn't tested before using it. This problem was covered  by using sound from garage band playing over our scene which gave the film an up tempo feel to it. However, this must be addressed and fix when creating the final film.

Actors contract

Garage Band Experiments

Our Garage Band music for sample scene by user4290811

When creating our short sample scene there was an opportunity to practise using garage band as show above. This is a music software which allows you to create and edit new types of sounds/music which are uniquely created. We found that this was very good practise for when it came to the creation of our final piece. Getting used to this software was key as we will have to re visit it to create music, sounds or sound effects for the film. This software will also help us to create our film trailer to a high quality.

Story board

Story board for our short film

View more presentations from Tommy Noad

When me and my partner agreed on what we were going to be filming we then put together a story board. This included things such as what shots we are doing them, why we are doing them and what is happening withing the shot. After we created this story board we then pitched the story board around the class to see what feed back we were able to gather in order to improve the features of our film. Feed back included things such as: to make sure the story line is very clear, to include what type of shots we are using in the story board and also to make sure the scene is well lit clearly highlighting the key aspects of the certain scene. These problems were discussed by myself and my partner and then we took all of those into consideration when continuing further with the project. We will capitalise on the feedback given and use them to enhance our film and create the best possible project in our certain genre.

Props used

The above is what got so that we were able to shoot. These were available when we went to the place that we wanted to shoot at. This meant that we could save money in order to purchase other essential props. I feel that being able to use these props for no cost was very helpful because then it enabled us to use costs for stuff such as costume. This also allowed us to have money for emergence purposes in case something was to go wrong during the course of production.  

Group Meeting before the photo shoot

Me and Tom met up a couple of days before our first photo shoot, here we decided on a time and place for all of our actors to meet with a prop list list for both us and them.

Me and Tom:

• Camera
• lights
• Tripod
• Spare Costumes
• Pool and Snooker Balls
• Cue

Actors:

• Suit Trousers (Black)
• Tie (preferably black and skinny)

To do list

1. Complete our digital story board ready for filming
2. get actors together and text them all the details
3. collect camera and equipment ready to film
4. Call the destination asking permission to film (pool hall)
5. Meet and film scenes required
6. Edit scenes
7. Receive feedback then edit or re-film of necessary

Inspirations

We created two mood boards during our preparation, we looked at all the things that we thought would inspire us and help us produce some ideas for our final film, first of all looking at images from other films and also images from the time era that we are aiming at. We used these as inspiration to help us make sure we can get our costume and scenery as accurate as possible.

We then looked at film posters as inspiration, looking at films that we felt complimented our genre, and would give us ideas about what our film poster could incorporate. Giving us such ideas of the black and white effects, suggesting the time era that we are aiming for.

Development of Film ideas

This page is where my first ideas of the film where being thought of. As I thought of the ideas I would write them down on paper so when it came to reviewing my ideas I had many ideas to chose from. This was a successful technique to use because I was able to get my ideas down on paper in a time line type of design. This would also enable others to look at my ideas and follow them in order with a clear view of what I am aiming for.

Initial ideas

This page is the first stage of my thought proses where I was getting the basic ideas down on paper. This included looking at genres, camera, theme, setting and characters. During the thinking proses I would also do some research on existing films which fit the style of my film which is film noir set back in the 1900's.

First group meeting

This was our first team meeting, so during this first meeting, me and Tom sat down and talked about rough idea about what we would consider doing, and then started brainstorming some of our notes, with sub headings such as Genre, so we could come up with lots of story lines and initial ideas about what our project will be on.

6 Shot analysis

Reading a Short Film



This piece is where I chose an existing short film which was in the same genre of my film. I was analysing different shots within the film so that i was able to see all the different features used in the film. A variety of long shots, close ups and low/high angle shots were used to portray different meanings such as power etc. Analysing this different films enable me to see what are very successful shots and which work way to portray various meanings within on angle of shooting. Once this technique is mastered then shooting a film will be easier as you know what to expect from experience of being part of some form of audience for other films.

Proposal

This page is where I began to propose my film as I started to have a rough idea as to what I was aiming to produce. I worked on the proposal with my work partner. This was so we were able to get both of our ideas into the film but still have our own separate opinions which can benefit the film a lot.

Treatment

Treatment for film a2

View more documents from Tommy Noad

The treatment was split in half between me and Tom so that we could share work load between us. The whole idea of a proposal is to give the audience a chance to see what we intend on doing for our project. This would be explaining the setting of the film, the characters, the costume costs and our plan of shooting. This is very important and it will allow the audience to see the concept of the film and what the meaning is behind them. When creating this I intended on making it easy to read for both the audience and us so that when coming back to it we are following a setting and certain layout.

Target audience profiling

Our typical viewer:

Demographic:

Gender - Male
Age - 14 to 24

Social class - Middle class, they would be educated at least up until A- levels or otherwise further. In their free time they would be interested going out and socialising with others much like them selves.

Psychographics:

Music taste: jazz as well as hip hop.

Hobbies: Watching films, listening to music and going on social networking sites.

Our target audience are interested in modern type films however are still open to past production. Other films that they would watch consist things like The Hustler:

Our audience being such a wide range means that we appeal to a lot of people. However, we predict that the bulk of our audience will come from the ages 17-20. Being attracted to hustle type films, our audience will be looking for certain conventional things within the film so this is where research becomes key.

About a Girl Notes

These notes below are of the documentary 'About a Girl'. This is about a young girls who talks about her ambition and dreams in life and how she wants to be a singer. The director in this documentary uses scenery around the actors to help the audience see how they are meant to feel or react. Watching this film enabled me to have different views on how I was going to shot my own film. I also was able to analyse a freeze frame of the film and see what techniques where used to best portray the film successfully.

Smashed Short film

This is a short film we were asked to analyse so that we could look at how the film was shot and how the producer framed everything. We wrote an essay about the sort film to be able to understand the different technical things used with in the film. The essay allowed us to look in the film in more depth and see how the director portrays his message to his target audience. As well as this we also looked at the technical codes and hidden meanings behind them.

Smashed Essay.

Doing my first essay I had to talk about the different techniques the director used in order to portray his message across to the audience. In doing this essay I was able to identify technical codes and see what meanings are encoded. throughout the whole essay I was analysing all the different meanings the director wanted to portray through the setting, characters, use of camera, props, use of lighting and use of sound. Along with technical codes there are signifyers which help the audience understand what the director is wanting to show; for example the director uses a shot of the egg to begin with and the plot of the film is based around pregnancy due to alcohol. The essay bellow is showing all the topics I have analysed and shows how I have concluded each point I have stated.

The notes above are about the film smashed. These notes are what I wrote before writing the essay as it will help me get the structure of the essay before actually writing it up. After I had all the notes I needed I then began to analyse the film within my essay. 

The beginning of A2 Media

This is the FIRST lesson of media for year 13 and if it is anything like AS then I know it will be very successful. In AS I explored many new ideas and developed my thinking in order to create my project. This year I look forward to working with new people and creating a new project. In the end of the year my target is to pass media with a high grade but also to take new ideas and creativeness later on in my future.

This year for media is to create a short film from beginning to end with in the space of 5 minutes. During the course of this project I will need to show all of my ideas developing, from planning to production. Explaining my work as I go along is key as this will help show what was my thinking process behind it and hopefully make it much easier to interpret.  

Welcome Lucien!

Congratulations on your place on the A2 Media course. I look forward to working with you this year and supporting you in achieving your goals.
Mrs Ward