The Disciples Logo

When planning our production it was evident that our characters would need a band name and logo, for both story and graphical purposes I created a logo to be used. The graphics of the logo can be manipulated to my liking by using a pre-made template. The final product can be seen below along with some alternate designs.

First 30 Second Filler

Over the last few days i had been watching various opening scenes for movies that relate to our genre and plot, one of the most notable being One Direction's 'This Is Us'. After the opening credits, a montage of clips of the boys growing up can be seen with photos of the boys at various different ages being displayed. When laying in bed at night, i remembered an old photo album full of pictures of me at different ages. I feel that conforming to this opening genre style will prove to be effective and will there take advantage of the find and potentially implement these pictures into my opening scene.

Titles Research

To research titles, Nathan had to gather information on films from our given genre and analysis them. 

To begin with Nathan had to research past films like 'Micheal Jackson's: This Is It'.

One Direction's: This Is Us' .

and finally 'This Is Spinal Tap'.

 All of them being movie documentaries about famous bands, and even one of them being a mockumentary, the specific genre we are aiming for. Nathan studied all three of these opening sequences and what I found in common with them is that the titles are simplistic and it shows a back story which is something we are aiming for.

Audience Research

Audience Research for The Disciples Back on the Block from Chaypolllinger

Individual Film Pitch

The following is a pitch to my group about what are film should be about, it includes specifications that I would like to see when creating it.


I would name my movie Freedom to Fail and i believe the genre would work best as a TEEN DRAMA. This would work well as we would have the correct resources actor wise to produce it. The movie would be ABOUT a struggling youth battling the grimy realities of a city. He is introduced in various scenes of him walking through the city, looking lost emotionally. It shall be SET IN London, but is not limited to the London settings, meaning we can film in locations similar to this area. The THEMES of the movie is to display the dramas and struggles that modern day inner-city youths are forced to encounter, for example drugs alcohol and violence. The films MESSAGE,  is that everyone goes through struggle, often not winning. I feel the TARGET AUDIENCE would pay to see it as it would effectively emulate and amplify their problems and they would be able to relate to it. I would put an age rating of 15 on this sort of film as it would contain too much explicit content to be rated any lower, thus meaning the target audience would be middle of the line teens to people in their middle twenties. The OPENING SEQUENCE will relate to the rest of the film by addressing the setting and some of the films key characters. It'll also capture the genre well by using a specific arrangement of Mise en Scene. This will include locations that often signify youths bad behaviour and costumes specific to the age range E.G. hoody's and caps. I feel good camera work and constant changing of angles will create a great opening. Although the character will only be partaking in minor events, if filmed correctly, the film should be engaging to the audience. The STYLE and MOOD are similar, both should be grimy and dark, this paints the image to the target audience that no one around this area is well off, and it is an overall struggle. The titles will be integrated in many ways, many shall be embedded in the picture and various graphical techniques shall be used to create a visually artistic opening sequence. I feel that DIALOGUE will be kept to a minimal in order to achieve my idea, this is due to silences connotations of loneliness and fear. CONTINUITY PRINCIPLES will be followed to create a fluid, medium length scene opening, I will eliminate fast scene changing as it would make the pace seem fast when actually it wouldn't be. SOUND will be primarily used in the form of music, I feel the music choice will be vital for my opening. I feel that this movie would be good as it WOULD NOT CONFORM to how movies often end: with a light at the end of the tunnel. The main character would not overcome his problem.

Student Film Evaluation

Today we watched various movies from previous years to draw inspiration for our own. We also learnt some tips on how to make an effective opening.

We gave judgements student videos from the past years, theses included:

• Gemini - 40/60
• Roses are Red - 45/60
• My Mother and I - 28/60
• A Schools Nightmare - 30/60
• The Edge - 55/60

We were told to say if they provided an entertaining experience and if not, why they didn't.

I found roses are red to be creative but lacking in story which told me that one of the key pieces of criteria is that the opening must show character.

Gemini was good as a thriller but lacked the correct actors due to age meaning the target audience was confused, another piece of criteria that i decided to take into account.

The edge, a thrilling opening, which kept everyone glued to the edge of their seat, received high ratings across the board with great effects and acting. I would hope to make my opening as good as this.

Film Language

Film Language is an important part of knowing what you are going for when filming and is made of 4 different sectors: CAMERA, SOUND, MISE EN SCENE and EDITING.

CAMERA:

• Frame 

- Extreme Close up, Close up, Mid-Shot, Medium Long-Shot, Long-Shot, Extreme Long-Shot

• Angle

- Birdseye, Low, Level, High, Worms-eye

• Movement

- Pan Left or Right
- Tilt Up or Down
- Tracking
- Static Shot
- Crane Shot
- Zoom in and Out

SOUND:

• Music
• Dialogue/ Speech
• Voiceover
• On-Screen (can see where/who sounds coming from)
• Off-Screen (cannot see where/who sound is coming from)
• Diegetic (Everything thats included when filming)
• Non-Diegetic (Everything thats added when the editing process occurs)
• Parallel (When music is implemented to match scene)
• Contrapuntal (When contrasting music is used against the film e.g. nursery rhymes in a horror)

MISE EN SCENE:

• Costume
• Lighting

- Low Key

-High Key

• Actors
• Make-Up
• Props
• Setting

EDITING:

• Pace (How swiftly paced the change of camera angles are)
• Special Effects
• Order of Narrative (Whether it takes place in the normal time format or if its in flashbacks)
• Graphic Matches 
• Transitions (how the movie cuts and the movement from one scene to another)

Narrative

Vladimir Propp

In todays lesson we were taught about some famous names in the historic film industry. Not your modern day icons, the lesson centred around Vladimir Propp, Todorov, Levi-Strauss and Roland Barthes.

Roland Barthes

We were made familiar with their studies, primarily Bathes' statements about movie. These include Symbolic references: for example a holy cross being used to connotate a belief in God or other religious  subjects. We studied action; what the character does in the film in order for the audience to become familiar with them. Finally we studied Enigma. This is the study of how the media manipulates the mind in order to make the viewer ask questions.

Todorov

Levi-Strauss

Other studys included:

•  Propp's idea on basic characters which always feature in media. These are the 'Hero', the 'Hero Helper', the 'Villain' and finally the 'Princess or Damsel'.
• Todorovs study of how stories always start at equilibrium. As they continue they develop problems which must be overcome to return to equilibrium.
• Levi-Strauss' "Binary Opposition" - The study of oppositions featuring heavily in movies, for example 'Good v Evil' or 'Black v White'

Logo Creation

We were tasked with creating a logo, a task which i am familiar with due to previous experience in my ICT GCSE. Using a very unorthodox method, Microsoft Powerpoint, i swiftly created a simplistic logo using features such as shapes, remove background and importing third party texts to create the final product.

[Photo showcasing Media companies logo simplicity]

Drawing inspiration from established companies, i knew that to compete i would not a simplistic logo with sharp features and a clean to the point name for my 'company'. Upon studying and taking inspiration from both larger and smaller production companies I came up with the name 'Illumination'. I chose this due to it being a mystery filled word that is easily remembered.

[Photo demonstrating Triangles linked with 'Illuminati']

Upon deciding on the name, i decided to brainstorm using the word and its connotations to come up with potential designs for the logo. When typing the word in to the internet, i found that the word is heavily linked with conspiracy cult the Illuminati. I continued to study this group and found that its most common symbol is a triangle.

I started to create the logo by designing an equilateral triangle and making the sides glow or 'Illuminate'. I feel this was a clever way to make the logo relevant to the title. I continued to link it to the title by researching stereotypical text types that are linked to this group of people. I discovered that text with graph like structure is often paired with equilateral triangles, potentially following its evenness.

Collating all these types of media i came up with the final product:

I like my logo because it is simplistic but has enough content to be attractive and appealing. Despite this  i feel if i were to have more time i would search for greater quality images, although the program i used didn't aid the quality.

With time to spare i decided to make a moving movie introduction. I created this by adding various transitions. When this had been completed I imported it to Premier and added sound in order to engage the audience. This movie can be seen below. Although jumpy and poor quality, it was a quick mock up and if we were to be tasked with making a high definition version, this would be manageable.

Juno Opening: Our First Filming Task

Today we were pitched a task which involved mirroring a trailer to a famous low budget film: Juno.

A tale told over four seasons, beginning in autumn when Juno a 16 year old high school junior, discovers she is pregnant after an event in a chair with her best friend, Bleeker.

We started filming with various local locations in mind. Using a storyboard to co-ordinate our shots after thoroughly studying the opening scene. (Storyboard can be seen below)

The storyboard details timings, scenery and props and allow us to accurately design various shots to a reasonable ability without having to constantly refer back and forth to the original opening.

As we begun filming, we quickly became aware of the difficulties one is faced with when conducting a scene. Obstacles like pedestrian traffic, background noise and the difficulty of remaining serious on camera.

Once all the scenes had been completed and retrieved, we were tasked with returning to Adobe Premier, the program we used to make our music videos and James Bond Sequence. Despite previously getting used to the advanced features which are included in the program, the task in hand occupied a far greater deal of thinking.

I started by lining the clips up with timings which linked to the original opening. This required alot of patience as much editing was needed to collate the clips. Once this was completed i added music along with transitions to emulate the moving actions of the opening. This without doubt was the most difficult part to co-ordinate due to the temperamental nature of the program, often freezing or not doing what i intended it to do. As i got to the final stages of the project, the opening scene seemingly started coming together. I finally added a small copy of the original opening and text to the copy to provide a professional finish. The final product can be seen below.

[Music: All I Want Is You - Barry Louis Polisar]

Premier Practice

In the last 2 lessons, I have been getting to grips with the incredible piece of software that is Adobe Premier. A piece of software that is used to collate many functioning pieces of media, the user starts from scratch importing audio and video to create a final product.

Our first task was to create a short music video, or trailer for that video. With no experience on the software, I found the designated clips and imported them to the program. Upon watching the given clips and analysing them, I decided to portray the New York City clips with the modern day movement that is Hop-Hop. Being so intrigued with the program I made 2 small trailers centring around TDE's Kendrick Lamar's Music. These trailers can be seen below.

[Money Trees - Kendrick Lamar feat. Jay Rock]

 

[AUDIO EXTRACTED FROM: Sing About Me, I'm Dying Of Thirst - Kendrick Lamar]

Once I had completed these two music teasers, I progressed to creating a trailer for a James Bond Sequence. Although the clips are outdated and from a previous movie, I went for a better quality of editing rather than a more accurate trailer as the task was more about getting to grips with the program. Slowly but surely I built up the trailer using features like, razor, transitions and decibel editor in order to achieve a finished product. The final trailer can be seen below.

 [Skyfall - Adele]

Semiotics

It is evident from simply looking at this image that the star (DiCaprio) is by far the most important person in the film. 'The Wolf of Wall Street' follows the rags to riches story of Jordan Belfort, a Wall Street trickster who uses the power of confidence to swipe money in the most illegal of ways. We can analyse this promotional poster using 'Semiotics'. Semiotics is study of the way in which images show denotations and connotations.

Denotations

•  the literal or primary meaning of a given thing, in contrast to the feelings or ideas that the thing suggests
  
  

The denotations of this poster are that a large out of control party is occurring and the man at the centre is not involved.

Connotations

an idea or feeling which a thing invokes for a person in addition to its literal or primary meaning.

The connotations of this movie:

The connotations of this movie give a more extreme view to the person viewing it. We understand from the way the character dressed that he is of high importance. Also,  the way in which the camera has captured his stance that he is a proud man and possibly the owner of the chaos occurring. This is also supported by the colours he is dressed in. Golds and black connotate importance and wealth. We can also see from the dwarf behind that the chaos is not limited to formally dressed that he is dressed in. Gold and blacks connotate importance and wealth. We can also see from the dwarf behind that the chaos is not limited to the formally dressed business men but is in fact an open party. Not limited to dwarfs, the audience can see a dressed gown woman meaning the business men mix business and pleasure in the work place. Even the text and the way it is displayed connotes importance. For example the use of the capitalized 'WOLF' screams power to the viewer.

All in all, the poster portrays exactly what it is intended to.

Love Beats All: A Planned Rom-Com

Upon presenting our pitched film, we returned with reasonable ratings. With high rankings on originality, viewers described it as a random but in an organised fashion with a great yet unique cast. Our downfall came when we pitched our marketing techniques. I feel our range of techniques were too brief meaning we received low scores. Another success was our pun intended title. It was described as catchy yet short enough to remember. I feel to make the pitch more credible many more ideas on both the marketing and narratives could have been included. I feel if we were to pitch our rom-com in real life, the idea would be feasible and could potentially materialise if implemented into the right circumstances, for example released in February around the Valentine season.

Mise en Scene

 Todays lesson consisted of the study of Mise en Scene. This french terminology rougly translates to 'Whats in the Scene'. As the translation suggests we spent the hour discussing the ways in which various decisions can impact the scene in question. We were told how their are 5 basic categories which can be manipulated in order to give effect to the viewer.These included:

• Settings and props
• Costumes, hair and makeup
• Facial expression and body language
• Lighting and colour
• Positioning of character

When all of these features are collated a scene is effectively created, although when not collaborated correctly, the results can be disasterous. If these factors arnt to match, it is evident that the viewer will lose interest and subsequently zone out.We discovered this after passing around a piece of paper in groups and each scribing one of the elements of Mise En Scene. We recieved a scene which consequently didnt make sense. Following on we analysed a scene from Skyfall, James Bonds most recent outing. We discussed the effectiveness of Iconology, the act of using famous landmarks or objects which are primarily related to a given area.

We finally discussed how the effect of iconology can aid a films engagement with the audience. For example a Londoner would be engaged by this shot as it shows famous landmarks such as Big Ben in order to portray the location of the scene.

Genre Picture Task

Our task of the day was to draw inspiration from multiple genres in order to create our own genre themed still images. We found our inspiration from a variety of films and genres. For example the movie The Guest, an upcoming thriller which portrays a stranger with a story, entering a family's household. After planning, we journeyed outside and created our own take on these genres which can be seen below.

(Portrayal of the Thriller genre: inspired by 'The Guest') 

(Portrayal of the Horror genre: inspired by 'Oculus') 

(Portrayal of the Romantic Comedy genre: inspired by 'The Vow')

Analysis of Opening

 

I decided to analyse my personal favourite movies opening scene; I Am Legend. The movie focuses on Dr. Robert Neville's (Will Smith) struggle with life when tasked with being the last man in New York City. His journey see's him have intense gunfights with mutated humans and sneaky plastic manikins.

 

 

 

 

The opening scene finds both main characters, Neville and his Canine companion, Sam, hunting for food. The pair are persuing Deer using a very unorthodox method; speeding in a bright red Mustang whilst a huge petruding M16 is aimed out the window, whilst Neville attempts to shoot deer. This scene is clever as it suggests that an urban city, famous for business, has turned into an open zoo due to the amount of Deer roaming freely. This swiftly points out to the audience the severity of the situation in question.