Monday 22 October 2012
Final Cut Pro: first impressions
My first impressions of final cut pro were that it was a vast improvement from express. the reasons mainly being i didn't have to render every video when putting it on final cut. it was more simple and easy to put the videos on, the software was easy to use also as a bonus. Then the year 13's showed us how to use final cut pro when making videos. the vast amount of editing you could do on the program i thought was staggering, it seamed easy to apply and the different tools easy to pick up when learning about them. All in all the software was so much easier and more efficent to use than final cut express, editing will be much easier and more efficient.
Final Cut Express first impressions.
My first impression of final cut express was that it was quite a lot of effort for not amazing software. It is very user friendly, does alot of things that would help greatly when making a video however all the effort you go through rendering the video makes all that seem not as worth while. Never-the-less i did like the software and thought it was really easy to use and helpful. However i could not help but feel that there was better software out there, something that could make the process so much quicker and more sophisticated. it seemed to have a very limited number of editing tools, lacking detail and key things needed for editing.
Friday 19 October 2012
Brief
Brief
Preliminary exercise: Continuity task involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule.
Main task: the titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes.
All video and audio material must be original, produced by the candidate(s), with the exception of music or audio effects from a copyright-free source.
The coursework is worth 50% of the AS (same at A2) and the marking (detailed later) is divided into 3 sections:
RESEARCH AND PLANNING: 20%
PRODUCTION: 60%
EVALUATION: 20%
Your work is marked partially on my observations of your approach and level of organisation, but fundamentally its a DVD and your blog that are marked.
Preliminary exercise: Continuity task involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule.
Main task: the titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes.
All video and audio material must be original, produced by the candidate(s), with the exception of music or audio effects from a copyright-free source.
The coursework is worth 50% of the AS (same at A2) and the marking (detailed later) is divided into 3 sections:
RESEARCH AND PLANNING: 20%
PRODUCTION: 60%
EVALUATION: 20%
Your work is marked partially on my observations of your approach and level of organisation, but fundamentally its a DVD and your blog that are marked.
Monday 15 October 2012
Micro-Drama: Planning
LADS ON TOUR.
Lads on tour is the title for our micro drama. The reason for the name is it's a group of Lads on holiday. going to what they expect is a holiday home. Only to find out that everything isnt what it seems and the lads have a nightmare holiday. As the 'real' owner does not want them in his house!
We've decided on having 7 characters in the film. 6 of the 'Lads' were the ones on holiday going to the house to stay. The 1 other character (Me) Was the killer.
At first we planned on only have 5 lads and 1 killer leaving someone to film. However we needed everyone to play a character so to overcome the filming problem the killer would film the scenes where all the 6 lads will be filmed then in the scene with the killer and the victims. the lads that aren't involved in the scene will film. this way everyone in the group plays their part in the creation of this micro drama.
We've planned to go with the stereotypical plot of a slasher film where the person that survives at the end is the innocent,nerdy cautious character, and the killer kills off his victims with knifes. the 'final girl' concept whereas this is the final boy.
In the opening sequence we plan to use narrative enigma with the characters by revealing them 1 by 1 , and with the killer using narrative enigma all the way through the micro drama till the last scene where he's revealed.
Throughout the micro drama we'll have binary opposition between the characters from some being loud and rebelious compared to the quiet sensible character that survives at the end. Also the binary opposition with the killer being taller than the other characters.
We'll also include some signifiers for example the clothing that the killer will be dressed in to give the symbolic meaning of his weirdness or in this case he's a farmer who owns the place, and the dark cellar to symbolise the darkness that'll happen there.
Lads on tour is the title for our micro drama. The reason for the name is it's a group of Lads on holiday. going to what they expect is a holiday home. Only to find out that everything isnt what it seems and the lads have a nightmare holiday. As the 'real' owner does not want them in his house!
We've decided on having 7 characters in the film. 6 of the 'Lads' were the ones on holiday going to the house to stay. The 1 other character (Me) Was the killer.
At first we planned on only have 5 lads and 1 killer leaving someone to film. However we needed everyone to play a character so to overcome the filming problem the killer would film the scenes where all the 6 lads will be filmed then in the scene with the killer and the victims. the lads that aren't involved in the scene will film. this way everyone in the group plays their part in the creation of this micro drama.
We've planned to go with the stereotypical plot of a slasher film where the person that survives at the end is the innocent,nerdy cautious character, and the killer kills off his victims with knifes. the 'final girl' concept whereas this is the final boy.
In the opening sequence we plan to use narrative enigma with the characters by revealing them 1 by 1 , and with the killer using narrative enigma all the way through the micro drama till the last scene where he's revealed.
Throughout the micro drama we'll have binary opposition between the characters from some being loud and rebelious compared to the quiet sensible character that survives at the end. Also the binary opposition with the killer being taller than the other characters.
We'll also include some signifiers for example the clothing that the killer will be dressed in to give the symbolic meaning of his weirdness or in this case he's a farmer who owns the place, and the dark cellar to symbolise the darkness that'll happen there.
Kes film opening
KES
Director: Kenneth Loach
Release Date: June 19, 1970w
Budget: £157,000
Length of opening: 5:23
Plot:
Bullied at school and ignored and abused at home by his indifferent mother and older brother, Billy Casper (David Bradley), a 15-year-old working-class Yorkshire boy, tames and trains his pet kestrel falcon whom he names Kes. Helped and encouraged by his English teacher Mr. Farthing (Colin Welland) and his fellow students, Billy finally finds a positive purpose to his unhappy existence, until tragedy strikes.
Company idents:
The first company Ident to come up was the Metro Goldwyn Mayer. An ident that doesn't have much editing suggest a low budget or old film.
The next Ident is United Artist pictures which also suggest the film is dated due to the low tech animation. it isn't a well known company either suggesting a low budget film which Kes is.
Shots
In this film, because it's old it has very long takes with few shots in the film opening there are only 8 shots which are long continuous takes.
Shot 1: A two shot that introduces the film suggesting the main character is the little boy with another character which appears to be his brother. The audio is an alarm so diegetic, with the two boys talking.
Shot 2:A shot of the second character getting changed at early hours in the morning showing the hard hours these workers have to go through working in the pit it's a medium shot to show what clothes he's wearing
3rd shot is the younger boy getting changed at a later time this connotes he's in school due to getting up early and not going to the pits with his brother. it's a medium shot as well showing what this boy is getting changed into compared to his brother, a smarter attire. it also shows the title of the book and the author this film comes from which it doesn't really do in modern films in the opening.
4th shot is a medium close up to start off with then goes into a panning shot to show the boy walking on his journey to the newsagents. The shot is chosen to show the emotion yet still provide the mis-en-scene which appears to be a council estate in Barnsley.
5th shot is again a panning shot which is a very long take like the rest of the shots its a medium shot for a lot of it then goes out as a long shot. it show a lot of the mis-en-scene and shows the boy is in a rush.
The 6th shot is an extreme long shot of the boy running up the hill to get to the newsagents on time. it shows the mis-en-scene as a stereotypical redbrick estate you can tell it is and old film by the cars that are parked and the quality of the picture.
7th shot is of the boy running again this time from a medium shot to a long shot the long continuous takes of this old film are showing this journey the boy has to make presumably every morning.
8th shot is of the boy running again this is an extreme long shot again to show the mis-en-scene showing its a low class are the kids have nothing to play with and the houses are scruffy
A medium shot to show the boy coming in the shot and talking to the shop owner. again a very long take as they talk to each other about his job.
Summary:
Kes film opening is a long opening with few takes the takes are long typical of an old film. thing like Match on action wern't used as much in those days.
Director: Kenneth Loach
Release Date: June 19, 1970w
Budget: £157,000
Length of opening: 5:23
Plot:
Bullied at school and ignored and abused at home by his indifferent mother and older brother, Billy Casper (David Bradley), a 15-year-old working-class Yorkshire boy, tames and trains his pet kestrel falcon whom he names Kes. Helped and encouraged by his English teacher Mr. Farthing (Colin Welland) and his fellow students, Billy finally finds a positive purpose to his unhappy existence, until tragedy strikes.
 |
| Metro Goldwyn Mayer Ident |
Company idents:
The first company Ident to come up was the Metro Goldwyn Mayer. An ident that doesn't have much editing suggest a low budget or old film.
 |
| United Artists Ident |
The next Ident is United Artist pictures which also suggest the film is dated due to the low tech animation. it isn't a well known company either suggesting a low budget film which Kes is.
Shots
In this film, because it's old it has very long takes with few shots in the film opening there are only 8 shots which are long continuous takes.
 |
| Two shot as first shot |
Shot 1: A two shot that introduces the film suggesting the main character is the little boy with another character which appears to be his brother. The audio is an alarm so diegetic, with the two boys talking.
 |
| shot 2 getting changed |
Shot 2:A shot of the second character getting changed at early hours in the morning showing the hard hours these workers have to go through working in the pit it's a medium shot to show what clothes he's wearing
 |
| 3rd shot Big titles |
3rd shot is the younger boy getting changed at a later time this connotes he's in school due to getting up early and not going to the pits with his brother. it's a medium shot as well showing what this boy is getting changed into compared to his brother, a smarter attire. it also shows the title of the book and the author this film comes from which it doesn't really do in modern films in the opening.
 |
| 4th shot Medium close-up |
4th shot is a medium close up to start off with then goes into a panning shot to show the boy walking on his journey to the newsagents. The shot is chosen to show the emotion yet still provide the mis-en-scene which appears to be a council estate in Barnsley.
 |
| 5th shot |
5th shot is again a panning shot which is a very long take like the rest of the shots its a medium shot for a lot of it then goes out as a long shot. it show a lot of the mis-en-scene and shows the boy is in a rush.
 |
| 6th shot |
 |
| 7th shot |
7th shot is of the boy running again this time from a medium shot to a long shot the long continuous takes of this old film are showing this journey the boy has to make presumably every morning.
 |
| 8th shot |
8th shot is of the boy running again this is an extreme long shot again to show the mis-en-scene showing its a low class are the kids have nothing to play with and the houses are scruffy
Summary:
Kes film opening is a long opening with few takes the takes are long typical of an old film. thing like Match on action wern't used as much in those days.
Taken Swede
Introduction
We got into a group in class, deciding which film that each of us pitched to use for our swede. We ended up going with taken swede due to the comedy twist we could put on alot of the scenes, the pitch was done by me so here is some of the following information i provided for this pitch:
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| Kidnapping Scene |
Another scene i will definitely do is when the daughter gets kidnapped. this is an essential part of the film and one i would like to show in my swede. The acting would be very dramatic with a hint of comedy, filming under a bed like in the film.
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| Phone call scene |
The essential and most memorable part of the film is the phone call between The dad (Liam Nelson) and his daughters kidnapper. This will be the focal point of my swede it's one of the most famous scenes of any film and influenced me in choosing this film to swede.
I chose Taken due to the iconic scenes that many people know due to the popularity of the film, the main scene been the phone call between Liam Neeson and his daughters kidnapper. This is the most famous part of the film. We made the phone call quite comic with a high angle shot focusing on the face of the main character, who then turns to the camera when saying i will kill you. This adds a hint of comedy, nothing like the film but you know what scene it is due to the famous dialogue.
One thing we didn't do which we should of was plan the movie, we did it on the spot with no planning, this created alot of problems with our swede. The phone calls between the daughter and father didn't make sense we should have written a script. This the become difficult to edit on Final Cut Pro due to the conversation not making sense. The software is very easy to use and pick up but if the conversation doesn't make sense then making it sound as good as possible is very hard.
Conclusion
If i were to do a swede again i would choose a different film, or a different genre because the phone call scenes are very hard to recreate. I would definitely plan, using a script. Most importantly use more shot variety and different angles to show different emotions, mis-en-scene etc. However for a first effort we didn't do badly, It was a funny, well thought and what i think a good effort for a first go. Next swede we do (if we do one) we will just think of how to improve from our mistakes, listed above and just put more time and effort into making it.
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| Iconic Phone call scene |
Conclusion
If i were to do a swede again i would choose a different film, or a different genre because the phone call scenes are very hard to recreate. I would definitely plan, using a script. Most importantly use more shot variety and different angles to show different emotions, mis-en-scene etc. However for a first effort we didn't do badly, It was a funny, well thought and what i think a good effort for a first go. Next swede we do (if we do one) we will just think of how to improve from our mistakes, listed above and just put more time and effort into making it.
Sunday 7 October 2012
Harry Brown: Film opening
Harry Brown is a 2009 British crime thriller film, directed by Daniel Barber. It's a great film with action throughout.
Harry Brown Trailer
Here is the trailer aswell for an insight on the film.
The opening starts with a shot of a youth filmed by a hand held camera for a 'real life' effect. The clothing is hoods and hats is stereotypical of bad youths or the slang for it 'chavs'. They are taking and glorifying drugs which yet again is stereotypical of bad youths in the modern world. It represents the community in which Harry Brown is living in, a place glorified by drugs and violence. They are using alot of slang, huddling round this boy. it looks very intimidating, he cant do much he is trapped. Been peer pressured into doing something he maybe doesn't want.
The mis-en-scene is also very stereotypical, they are in an underground passage way, a place where you imagine bad youths to be. To get into their gang he has to take drugs, then is awarded with a gun and a place in the gang. it's celebrated the director is trying to show the viewer what type of people we are dealing with in the film, people who make people take drugs to be in their 'gang'. it gives an insight early on for whats to come.
The second part of the opening gives an even more extreme insight into what kind of a community this is. They are both on bikes with no helmets riding round recklessly. It is shown by using a hand held camera again, it shows that they are not scared of anyone or anything. Riding round in pure daylight in a park, this shows who's in control, not the police. They don't care what the community thinks either.
The sound is of them screaming, sounding like they are getting a buzz off been reckless. The director then shows him shooting at a women with a child, hes wanting to show that these people have no conscience. shooting a mum that has a baby is the lowest of the low. When they shoot the woman it is edited showing blood from the head, which is almost certain death. It then goes on to show them been killed by a bus, a waste of two young lives. Never-the-less what you feel is what they deserve. The opening is the way it is, to show what the youths are like, showing what they would do. They are evil, people you wouldn't want to cross.
Harry Brown Trailer
About the film: Harry Brown is a 2009 British crime thriller film directed by Daniel Barber and starring Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer, Jack O'Connell, and Liam Cunningham. The story follows Harry Brown, a widowed Royal Marines veteran, who had served in Northern Ireland, living on an Elephant and Castle housing estate that is rapidly descending into youth crime; Harry fights fire with fire after a friend is murdered.
The film also features actor and artist Plan B who, with Chase & Status, is also responsible for the film's theme music track "End Credits. Harry Brown had its World Premiere as a "Special Presentation" at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival and was released theatrically in the United Kingdom by Lionsgate UK on 11 November 2009; the film was released in the United States by Samuel Goldwyn Films and Destination Films on 30 April 2010. The film was mainly filmed on and around the mostly abandoned Heygate Estate in Walworth, London; which was due to be demolished in late 2010
Here is the trailer aswell for an insight on the film.
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| Youth forced to take drugs |
The mis-en-scene is also very stereotypical, they are in an underground passage way, a place where you imagine bad youths to be. To get into their gang he has to take drugs, then is awarded with a gun and a place in the gang. it's celebrated the director is trying to show the viewer what type of people we are dealing with in the film, people who make people take drugs to be in their 'gang'. it gives an insight early on for whats to come.
 |
| Vulnerable woman with pram |
The sound is of them screaming, sounding like they are getting a buzz off been reckless. The director then shows him shooting at a women with a child, hes wanting to show that these people have no conscience. shooting a mum that has a baby is the lowest of the low. When they shoot the woman it is edited showing blood from the head, which is almost certain death. It then goes on to show them been killed by a bus, a waste of two young lives. Never-the-less what you feel is what they deserve. The opening is the way it is, to show what the youths are like, showing what they would do. They are evil, people you wouldn't want to cross.
Monday 1 October 2012
Sweding Explained
What Sweding is: The summarized recreation of popular pop-culture films using limited budgets
and a camcorder. The process is called Sweding.
and a camcorder. The process is called Sweding.
Sweding was made famous by the film Be Kind Rewind. Be Kind Rewind is a 2008 comedy film with dramatic elements from New Line Cinema, written and directed by Michel Gondry and starring Jack Black, Mos Def, Melonie Diaz, Danny Glover and Mia Farrow. The film first appeared on January 20, 2008 at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. It was later shown at the Berlin International Film Festival. The film opened on February 22, 2008 in the United Kingdom and in North America.
The title is inspired by a phrase that was commonly displayed on VHS rental tapes during the medium's heyday.here is a video on how to swede:
Swede Pitch
The film I plan to swede is the film Taken (Pierre Morel, 2008) Gross: $226,830,568 Budget: $25,000,000.
About the film:Seventeen year-old Kim is the pride and joy of her father Bryan Mills. Bryan is a retired agent who left the Central Intelligence Agency to be near Kim in California. Kim lives with her mother Lenore and her wealthy stepfather Stuart. Kim manages to convince her reluctant father to allow her to travel to Paris with her friend Amanda. When the girls arrive in Paris they share a cab with a stranger named Peter, and Amanda lets it slip that they are alone in Paris. Using this information an Albanian gang of human traffickers kidnaps the girls. Kim barely has time to call her father and give him information. Her father gets to speak briefly to one of the kidnappers and he promises to kill the kidnappers if they do not let his daughter go free. The kidnapper wishes him "good luck," so Bryan Mills travels to Paris to search for his daughter and her friend.
In my swede i would have many different scenes, to start these scenes off i would act out the daughter asking his father to go to Paris. i would do this around a table whilst drinking something making it look just like a cafe, just like in the movie. i would either get a girl to act out the scene with me or get a boy with a wig for a comedy classic swede effect.
Another scene i will definitely do is when the daughter gets kidnapped. this is an essential part of the film and one i would like to show in my swede. The acting would be very dramatic with a hint of comedy, filming under a bed like in the film.
The essential and most memorable part of the film is the phone call between The dad (Liam Nelson) and his daughters kidnapper. This will be the focal point of my swede it's one of the most famous scenes of any film and influenced me in choosing this film to swede.
The punishment scene will be comedy inspired. Instead of using serious torture, like electrocuting i will do something like tickling someones feet or making them eat chilies, to make it a funny swede that will hopefully make people laugh. I will have many little fighting scenes inbetween that will be so unrealistic it will hopefully be very funny.
I will end obviously with the scene where he finds his daughter! doing things like making the camera to emphasise its on a boat! i hope you like my swede idea, thankyou for viewing.
About the film:Seventeen year-old Kim is the pride and joy of her father Bryan Mills. Bryan is a retired agent who left the Central Intelligence Agency to be near Kim in California. Kim lives with her mother Lenore and her wealthy stepfather Stuart. Kim manages to convince her reluctant father to allow her to travel to Paris with her friend Amanda. When the girls arrive in Paris they share a cab with a stranger named Peter, and Amanda lets it slip that they are alone in Paris. Using this information an Albanian gang of human traffickers kidnaps the girls. Kim barely has time to call her father and give him information. Her father gets to speak briefly to one of the kidnappers and he promises to kill the kidnappers if they do not let his daughter go free. The kidnapper wishes him "good luck," so Bryan Mills travels to Paris to search for his daughter and her friend.
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| Cafe Scene |
In my swede i would have many different scenes, to start these scenes off i would act out the daughter asking his father to go to Paris. i would do this around a table whilst drinking something making it look just like a cafe, just like in the movie. i would either get a girl to act out the scene with me or get a boy with a wig for a comedy classic swede effect.
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| Kidnapping Scene |
|
| Phone call scene |
 |
| Torture scene |
The punishment scene will be comedy inspired. Instead of using serious torture, like electrocuting i will do something like tickling someones feet or making them eat chilies, to make it a funny swede that will hopefully make people laugh. I will have many little fighting scenes inbetween that will be so unrealistic it will hopefully be very funny.
I will end obviously with the scene where he finds his daughter! doing things like making the camera to emphasise its on a boat! i hope you like my swede idea, thankyou for viewing.
Media language in a short clip of lock stock and two smoking barrels
Lock stock and two smoking barrels (Guy Ritchie, 1998)
The director uses non-diegetic sound to show the personality of the character, saying 'look at me, i'm a bad mother' this shows his ego, gives the impression he thinks he's tough, which he probably is. It's a long shot showing his walk, a confident walk with abit of 'swagger'. it gives the impression he's here to do some business, he isn't here to mess about. He does this to givea hint to whats coming next, someones not made him happy. There is also narration at the beggining suggesting that he hasnt payed the money he has meant to. The narration says 'theres nothing more Big Chris cares about apart is people owing money' suggesting he's an angry man.
The mise en scene is very simplistic it's bright simple and shows that john has money, he just doesn't want to pay Harry back. he shows this with the sunbed, he obviously has money because hes spending it on a silly thing like a tan. Another very funny part of this scene is when little chris goes into johns locker. It's funny because of the bad language the young boy uses, language he shouldn't be using. However this shows then shows the personality of his father he obviously cares a lot about his son, doesn't want him to go down the same road. on the contrary this shows that john has a lot of cash because of the big wallet he carries about. He's a tricky character that doesn't want to pay up.
Here is a scene from the film, it shows Big Chris (Vinnie Jones) and his son Little Chris (Peter McNicholl) trying to retrieve money for his boss Harry. In this scene there are several shots shown, with different angles. The angles Ritchie uses are high and and low angles, showing the complete venerability of the character 'john'. he uses a shot reverse shot going from a low angled shot looking at big Chris to a high angled shot looking at john. This shows the power that the character has. he's looking up at him laying down he cant move and makes the character look very big and powerful. it is also using mainly mid shots to show the characters physicality, the actions he uses with his arms. he comes across a very physical man, which the director is trying to show. also there is a close up of john when he is been squished by the sunbed. he does this to show the pain the characters going through, the emotions on his face. After little Chris swears it goes to a two shot to show that big Chris is angry, and the scared emotions on little Chris' face. yet again this shows the dominance of the man, a character you wouldn't want to cross.
The director uses non-diegetic sound to show the personality of the character, saying 'look at me, i'm a bad mother' this shows his ego, gives the impression he thinks he's tough, which he probably is. It's a long shot showing his walk, a confident walk with abit of 'swagger'. it gives the impression he's here to do some business, he isn't here to mess about. He does this to givea hint to whats coming next, someones not made him happy. There is also narration at the beggining suggesting that he hasnt payed the money he has meant to. The narration says 'theres nothing more Big Chris cares about apart is people owing money' suggesting he's an angry man.
The mise en scene is very simplistic it's bright simple and shows that john has money, he just doesn't want to pay Harry back. he shows this with the sunbed, he obviously has money because hes spending it on a silly thing like a tan. Another very funny part of this scene is when little chris goes into johns locker. It's funny because of the bad language the young boy uses, language he shouldn't be using. However this shows then shows the personality of his father he obviously cares a lot about his son, doesn't want him to go down the same road. on the contrary this shows that john has a lot of cash because of the big wallet he carries about. He's a tricky character that doesn't want to pay up.
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