A2

This year for our A2 syllabus as a group of three we have chosen to plan research and complete the making of a short film. To start off with i am going to look at some short films and analyse them to try and find out the tricks of the trade so to speak and how short films can become a success and what techniques maybe different to a feature length film.

Looking back at your preliminary task (the continuity editing task), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?

There are several techniques and skills that I have learnt and developed whilst making this feature; whether it occurs in the Edit, acting performance, and most importantly, the planning.My Preliminary, I felt, was satisfactory. There were errors with continuity, the 180 degree rule, locations and Charlies ability to keep a straight face in some parts maybe due to his inexperience in acting on film  . We filmed it over 2 days. Due to some  lack of preparation we had to film in 2 different rooms which meant on entry the door colour had changed. This we attempted to hide in the edit with the use of slow motion and large font titles also we zoomed right in on the door handle to take the viewers attention away from the colour change and instead to the hand moving towards the handle. In several of our shots, equipment such as tripods can be seen in the background and even sometimes the foreground. In my original Preliminary edit I added background noise of the corridors in order to improve the verisimilitude through making the footsteps louder and adding a noise of a door closing. We also ensured Charlie wore the same clothes two days running in an attempt to maintain continuity; luckily his mistake in changing his shoes was not visible in the edit. We did, however, ensure suitable lighting when filming which meant good visibility. We had created a rough story board to which we stuck to closely, however no shooting script meant that we were relying on our edit to pull everything together. Looking back on this we should have had a better picture of what we wanted the final piece to look like and this could have helped us to cover and collect a wider array of shots to helping theediting process. If it was possible, I would certainly have planned in far more detail, the shots we were planning to use, and created and idea of how this would look in the edit.

I believe that as a group we underestimated the importance of  planning, and the impact of our camera angles. For example the use of a low angle shot clearly contrasts between the fact of who has authority and power at the time. A tracking shot shows speed and tempo, all these techniques can produce the image of your character. This technique would have been effective in our piece as power is a regular theme within it. I think that the wide variety of camera angles we used was very unnecessary, and time consuming. It was essential that in the edit, however we had a wide selection of shots to choose though as I said before the more you have the better the edit can be.I felt that my edit was far more of an exploration of the techniques and devices available, it helped me learn about adobe premiere pro and learn tricks and skills that I eventually used  than a meaningful sequence. There were several moments within the feature that I was happy with however. Although I struggled with the footsteps, which constantly sounded asynchronous to the image of Charlie walking; I was able to put the sound of the door opening perfectly synchronous to the image, when I finally found the correct sound on ‘freesound.org’.

When we began our real film, our enthusiasm gave us a confident idea as to how it was all going to plan out. Of course, we were wrong. We did plan a suitable time to film, making sure we were all free for the entire evening, leaving room for possible errors or re-filming. Our opening scene was set at night and so lighting was essential. We scheduled to film during a full moon, which meant for the best light possible. We also had several bright torches just in case. Our storyboards were detailed, as were our shooting script which we did stick to, though not completely so in our edit as we found a more suitable combination of shots. We had compiled a list of equipment and props to ensure that none of it was lost or missing. The camera had also been fully charged with spare batteries, in case of inevitable needs. During filming, we knew that sound and lighting were crucial micro elements. The little dialogue we had was recorded after filming, and then made synchronous to the image in the edit. We used torches, streetlights, and even car headlights to ensure a good visibility. Although the opening scene is still rather dark, I feel it adds to the mysteriousness of the situation. We filmed the indoor scenes at jack’s house. Changing the bed sheets and moving furniture to create the convincing mise en scene necessary for the film. We had planned our costumes, thinking about the image and impression we wished for our characters to give.

I felt that because of our far greater organisational skills, the filming went far smoother, and was far less stressful and time consuming.

We paid very close attention the continuity within our film. We constantly checked that our costumes were the same when reshooting from new angles, and also watched back over our footage to check again. Our main continuity problems occurred when filming n the high street. It was rather busy, and each shot would show a different car in the road. We also ensured that the positioning of our props was the same and even the way we held them. For example, when I take the gun out of the draw it was important to ensure it was held in the same hand, in the same way.

When we began our edit, we compiled a general collection of shots giving a very general view of how our film was going to plan out. From there we progressed to add effects, sound and better quality of lighting etc. Learning from last time, we felt it was important to create our range of shots first, creating a meaningful collection that we were proud of and understood; then fitting the non diagetic sound around it as the music was not the main focus. When choosing the music, we selected an original piece that we felt was fitting to our idea, and not the other way around. Unlike last time, I wanted the effects to be for a reason. We used dissolve to create a jump cut, it was taking the viewer on a journey but the shots flowed instead of being extremely sudden. Another effect we reused to a better effect was the changing of the speed. In the last film, i used slow motion when one man is walking down a corridor. I felt this dragged on, as it continued for around 1 minute. In the latest film we used slow motion when Jack is shot in the back of the head. This made the moment far more effective, as it contrasted to the obviously quick speed of a bullet.

I feel that my ideas were rather ambitious, within my storyline, and some of my camera angles could not be achieved without the professional equipment we don't have access to. Although I believe I have progressed very far with my filmmaking skills, I understand there is still a long way to go and there are also still many things I would choose to do differently in the future.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Here is a document about the technology we used:

Q6

How did you attract/address your audience?

Above is our annotated video. View in full screen.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Our typical member of the audience.

• Man in his twenties or late teens.


• Maybe watch on his own or with mates or take the other half to see the film.


• Likes other films of this genre such as Kill Bill or Taken.


• Probable to own a blackberry if given the choice.


• Reads the Sun or the Daily mail.


• Listens to music like R&B but also likes Indie bands such as Mumford and Sons and Rock bands like Lost Prophets.


• Quite an outgoing person, always on the go.


• Doubtful to drive a convertible.


• Favourite TV shows are ones like Ashes to Ashes for the older ones or Luther and Inbetweeners maybe for the teenagers.


• Likely to wear quite fashionable clothes and take pride in how they look.[gallery]

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

We chose the name deadline as it not only refers to the prompt work that us as a group do but it is also original and we feel, is a suitable production name for our film. It fits with the efficient and structured life of an assassin. However, I felt that the title sting we created was rather cheesy due to the glowing colours and strange font styles. If I were to change it, I would have the text at a straighter angle; with a simple white on black. This would have stood out even better, and therefore had a better impact on the viewer. All big film companies have a name that is recognisable around the world and also a moving image and sound to fit with it. Take for example Universal, paramount pictures or 20^th century fox all recognised round the world. A production company is the company who take the film idea and fund, plan and complete the making of the film right the way through to its eventual distribution. A distributor could be someone like Universal who will sell the film and the rights to show the film to cinemas all round the world. The money for a film of our level could come from the makers own pocket if it was very amateur or for other films of our genre funding could come from film companies and big Hollywood companies like universal who would be looking to make a profit and may only invest in products that are going to make one, so the safe genres that are tried and tested and have a good audience. A film distributor is an independent company, which acts as the final agent between a film production company, and a film exhibitor, to end of securing placement of the producer's film on the exhibitor’s screen. Possible distributors for our film may be television channels such as channel itv and itv2, this is because both channels distribute a lot of assassin types of films and because our film comes under this genre the distribution of our film into these programs would maximize viewings and popularity of our film which would increase the overall profit of our film. We would also distribute our film via media such as DVD’s which we would sell in DVD and video stores such as HMV for home viewing for our audience. This is where marketing would be a great help as it would spread the awareness of our film and make people want to see it.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Charlie played a hired assassin attempting to break free from his job and his past. He is a fully trained high action killer, but with a sensitive and thoughtful side which he attempts to hide with a tough exterior. As a group we believed that this character is similar to that of ‘Jason Bourne’ from ‘The bourne trilogy’, directed by Paul Greengrass. In many scenes he portrays excellent fighting abilities, high fitness and a wide interlect. Our stories are however very different. He attempts to stay alive, and learn more about his own identity. Charlie's character however wishes to escape and stop the killing, by changing his identity. We think that Jason Bourne is more of a high action killer, whereas our character is a sly and secretive type. Our attire is very different. Our character wears mainly black, possibly in order to blend in, but it also connotes a far more mysterious lifestlye. Jason Bourne wears far more normal clothing, whatever the situation. We also feel my character is rather like Mr. Orange from tarrantino’s Reservoir dogs. He is an undercover cop, attempting to infiltrate a gang in order to bring them down. His story is similar to Charlies character, attempting to bring . Charlie played a hired assassin attempting to break free from his job and his past. He is a fully trained high action killer, but with a sensitive and thoughtful side which he attempts to hide with a tough exterior. As a group we believed that this character is similar to that of ‘Jason Bourne’ from ‘The bourne trilogy’, directed by Paul Greengrass. In many scenes he portrays excellent fighting abilities, high fitness and a wide interlect. Our stories are however very different. He attempts to stay alive, and learn more about his own identity. Charlie's character however wishes to escape and stop the killing, by changing his identity. We think that Jason Bourne is more of a high action killer, whereas our character is a sly and secretive type. Our attire is very different. Our character wears mainly black, possibly in order to blend in, but it also connotes a far more mysterious lifestlye. Jason Bourne wears far more normal clothing, whatever the situation. We also feel my character is rather like Mr. Orange from tarrantino’s Reservoir dogs. He is an undercover cop, attempting to infiltrate a gang in order to bring them down. His story is similar to Charlies character, attempting to bring down the organisation from within. His character is aware that he must act as the criminals do, for the long term benefits; also similar to our character who must kill others in order to escape. down the organisation from within. His character is aware that he must act as the criminals do, for the long term benefits; also similar to our character who must kill others in order to escape.