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| Tuesday 3 March 2009 |
| Jack Nicol's Evlauation of Film Sequence |
AS Film Studies Film Making.
We had a clear plan from the start of what we intended to do. We wanted to merge an everyday situation with science fiction, so as to add a twist. Films like A.I, E.T, and Flight of the Navigator present the idea of being abandoned and lost in the world, which is one of the themes we aim to get across in our project. Although it took longer than we expected, we were well prepared with the equipment required and were very pragmatic when it came to shooting the film, getting all of the shots we needed at a variety of locations.
Initially we had planned an element to the film where the young boy was attempting to make contact with extra-terrestrials/his father inside a bedroom, covered in pictures and posters of space, aliens and other scientific objects but then we had the idea of shooting it out in rural Cambridgeshire. We decided that use the setting of the bleak fens would have a greater impact on our audience and would enable us to represent the emptiness and loneliness the boy experiences in his life. The vast open landscape is symbolic of the boy’s loss of security and paternal contact.
I feel that our project was able to run smoothly as I had picked a group of people with common interests and views on film. This made sitting down as a group and producing a storyboard much easier. Everyone was able to contribute their different ideas to the film, so as to make it as original as possible and have a variety of styles and shot ideas. We then decided on who would do what in the group, based on everybody’s individual strengths. We recognized that Loz Anderson was specifically good acting as he had done it well at GCSE level and also liked to edit sound over skate videos. – Actor and Sound Editor, Keeley Moore had edited more than either of us and had good experience with the editing programmes. – Editor, Myself (Jack Nicol) have worked, filming with the cameras and also am the only one who had a car. - cinematographer and driver.
Some shots that we intended to include weren’t successful, for example the angles of some shots did not look as good e.g. when both the bike and car are coming at the camera, we noticed that the feeling of speed is greatly improved if the camera is lower to the floor. To get some of the background on the close up on Loz’ face while he is riding the bike, rather than just his head taking up the whole screen, had the desired affect that we wanted it to on the audience. We considered mise-en-scene with detail, and tried to construct certain shots in a way that was in keeping with the theme of the scene, for example including the car and the bike in the shot, creating a sense of speed.
We wanted the audience to be moved by the driving sequence, and to feel sympathy towards the young boy being victimized by a menacing ‘Chav’ in his car. Teenagers would be familiar with the feeling of desolation and at the loss of security, and also the image of a ‘boy racer’ in his car is something our target audience could relate to. Throughout the film we tried to keep the audience gripped and involved. We did this by using storylines that our audience could relate to, and also by mixing genres and creating a twist that will make the audience want to keep watching.
All of the feedback that we received was positive which was very gratifying. People said that we made good use of the camera angles and that the acting was realistic and poignant. We used fast cuts from different perspectives and a variety of effects to keep a high tempo throughout.
We surprised ourselves with our technical abilities and the professional look of the rough cut that we have produced. I feel that we worked well as a team and we all had the same vision of what we wanted as an outcome. We interacted well and fed off each others creativity. I personally feel much more comfortable doing the practical part of this course because I enjoy being creative and find it more difficult to express myself through words.
Our expectations were realistic and I feel that we have achieved many of the things we had set out to achieve. I do not feel that we were hindered in the creative choices that we made, instead our technical skill enabled us to be more creative in what we produced, both in terms of filming and the way in which we edited it.
Jack NicolLabels: Jack Nicol |
posted by AS Film Studies Students @ 15:52  |
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| laurence anderson evaluation |
Our film was a low budget British drama set in rural Cambridgeshire, a Space obsessed teenager believes his dad has been abducted by Aliens, as the story unfolds we discover how the boys farther had left him at a young age, and the boy had made himself believe that his Dad was actually abducted by Aliens because he repressed the truth and watched all his fathers Alien films and documentaries over and over until he truly believed that his Dad was abducted by Aliens. His Mother is an alcoholic and neglects him. He never had a 'proper childhood' so his imagination has run wild! The film concludes with the boy finding his father, after he finds and watches a collection of videos his father recorded himself, planning to and attempting to find Aliens, which he used to locate his dad. After they meet, they continue their search for Aliens together.
Initially we brainstormed ideas of what possible film ideas that we had, then decided on the most appropriate one for the time window and materials we had accessible to us. When we were ready to start planning our film sequence we each took roles, I knew that I perhaps wasn’t cut out for editing or camera work, and creating the sound track proved to be an ideal option. I also stared as the main character in the actual sequence, we didn’t have a director so all three of us shared this role as well as doing our main role. When it came to choosing a genre, we decided on a low budget British drama, this clearly influenced our decisions on the plot and editing. Our plot was influenced by this, by giving us the prospect to film realistic British life, we hoped that this element would give the sequence a more naturalistic look to it. When it came deciding what pr ops costumes and location to use. We knew that we wanted nothing special; the fact that our budget was no existent had no effect. This influenced the editing because a low budget would not have any complex special effects, so I should not use any complex special effects either; otherwise it would not follow the conventions of a typical low budget British drama. Our entire group got along fine when it came do developing the character. Most discussion about the narrative and the character went on either the night before we began filming or during. the only problem we faced was in editing when we discovered that we where over the time limit however our editor ,I believe, did a very good job at adapting and changing our sequence when editing it, We had to discus which shots to keep in and which to Remove whilst in general keeping our narrative the same.
We decided to film our extract in rural Cambridge, we wanted to create a sense of isolation, and we wanted to create this through a empty almost desolate location, so we chose an area called Swaffem Prior, It was very rural and perfect for what we needed.
When it came to creating the sound track I wanted to create definite emotion in the music,
I wanted the sequence to run smoothly with the music so the audience feels like they are not just watching a screen but they are emotionally attached. There were three primary elements to the soundtrack I created, I wanted to create a sense of wonder with the opening sound, and then when the heavy drum and bass comes in to create the feeling of perhaps unease or discomfort then the final part was a defiantly trying to stir emotion. The feedback I received for the sound was generally very positive, they commented on the good shift between emotion and the way the music created atmosphere. An example of this which they highlighted was the sound when the car pulls up with the fast change in mood and how tension was created as it gets louder then cuts into full volume. Although the majority of the sound worked well some elements perhaps do not fit , for instance I am not entirely happy with  the opening music I do not think the two instruments I chose
Work well together and I think I could have done it better. I am very pleased with our attempt to create a transition between non-diagetic and diagetic sound.
My technical skills and frequent practice of garage band and other multisampling music software defiantly helped me. When it came to creating our soundtrack, also I think the fact that I thoroughly enjoyed doing it contributed to its outcome.Labels: laurence anderson |
| posted by AS Film Studies Students @ 14:57 |
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| Keeley Moore's evaluation of film sequence |
Evaluation of Film Sequence
First of we discussed some ideas that we had and then chose the most suitable one for the time and tools we had available to us, briefly this was: About a teenage boy trying to make contact with the aliens that he believed took his dad, when in reality his dad just left on bonfire night and the boy watched so many of his fathers old alien films and documentaries that he made himself believe that his father s truly been taken by aliens.
Then when we started creating our film sequence we had to firstly choose our roles, mine was Film editor, we didn’t have a director so all three of us shared this role as well as doing our main role. We had to choose a genre, we decided upon a low budget British drama, this influenced our decisions on the plot and editing. It influenced our plot by giving us the opportunity to film more or less realistic British life, this lead us on to deciding what props costumes and location to use. This influenced my editing because in a low budget drama there is not going to be may if any complex special effects, so I should not use any complex special effects either, otherwise it would not follow the conventions of a typical low budget British drama.
I helped develop the narrative using my editing skill, by sorting out all the footage we filmed putting it in the correct order so it all flows from shot to shot well and each shot works well with the last. I did this by, after finding the correct points to start and finish each shot cutting rearranging them, so it flows from the shot and makes sense to continue to the next shot type and angle.
We had to adapt and change our sequence when editing it because we where over the time limit by a lot, so I had to discus which shots to leave in and which to take away while overall keeping our narrative the same. Also when we where out filming our sequence we slightly changed our narrative to include the boy putting his radio into the tree to attempted to gain some signal from a high vantage point.
I wanted to edit the sequence to run smoothly so the audience feels like they are not just watching a screen but they are there and really saw this sequence happen, and feel involved with the boy instead of him just being the object of amusement/pity for the duration of our sequence
The feedback I received for the editing was overall positive, they commented on the majority of cuts being good and fitted together well. Especially on the match on action cuts for example, the shot of the boy walking into some trees then cutting to a different angle from behind the trees and watching him continue to walk into the trees from the same spot. This tells me that my placements of each shot and section of shots where overall good decisions. However they also said about the length of a few shots being too long, for example the shot after the boy has fallen of his bike and gets up to walk down the road. I made this shot pass faster by using a series of fades in and out this is called a time lapse, however I could not of cut this shot out or shorted it even more due to the fact that then the narrative would not be able to easily continue, without having a separate shot of the boy walking down the road. This tells me the decision I made to keep the whole shot instead of perhaps shortening that scene was not an accurate one.
My technical skills helped me edit our sequence because I knew the basic functions and tools of the programme we had to use, which was final cut. They also helped me when I had finished sorting and organising all of the footage, because we where over the max length limit by a lot. So I had to use my technical skills to shorten the sequence while enough while making sure that the narrative stays the same and continues to make sense. However they also hindered me because I did not know how to use many of the more advanced functions of final cut, also if I had more practice with it I would have been able to go a lot faster this would have enabled me to spend more time fine tuning and tweaking the sequence.
    Labels: Keeley Moore |
| posted by AS Film Studies Students @ 07:04 |
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| Thursday 26 February 2009 |
| Feeb Back From the Class |
Editing:
Good Points
- Great cuts and lots of them, Good clean editing
Highlighted : A cut where you see our main character walking into the trees then cutting to another angle and from the same position he continues walking into the trees
Bad points
-Some shots where to long
Camera:
Good Points
- Steady work
Highlighted: Camera work in the car worked well and wasn’t to shaky
Bad Points
-Zooms were bad they stopped and started a lot, should have more shot variety
Sound:
Good points
- Well created and fitted well, sad music worked well create a change of atmosphere
Highlighted: sound was at good emphasising mood and creating tension during the car speeding
Bad points
-A bit shifty and bitty
Overall comments:
The sequence was well put together
-Camera work and editing went well, sound track worked well at most points
-Storyline is a little unclear
-Location was goodLabels: Jack Nicol, Keeley Moore, laurence anderson |
| posted by AS Film Studies Students @ 13:23 |
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| Tuesday 24 February 2009 |
| Feedback |
editing - great cuts - lots of them
loved the way you see him walking into the trees - then walking in further, great cut.
camera - loved the car camera work - not too shaky. worked well
sound - music fitted well. eerie music - aliens . well created, soundtrack was great.
good location and sound.Labels: Jack Nicol, Keeley Moore, laurence anderson |
| posted by AS Film Studies Students @ 16:03 |
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| Thursday 22 January 2009 |
| Sound Ideas |
| In our sequence we have decided to attempt to have non-diagetic sound at the start and then have it change into diagetic sound as a car pulls up from off camera, catching the attention of the actor, and changing the mood of the shot and sequence. Labels: Jack Nicol, Keeley Moore, laurence anderson |
| posted by AS Film Studies Students @ 14:20 |
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| Tuesday 20 January 2009 |
| Mise en Scene |
In our film scene we are going to need:
Our main character (the teenage boy) to be under dressed and looking 'shabby'
The person in the car will come across as a 'chav' and a bully.
We will need a bike, a radio, a car, some tinfoil and a bag.
The scene is going to be on a single track road surrounded by fields, representing the loneliness and emptiness the teenage boy feels in his life after his father abandoned him.Labels: Jack Nicol, Keeley Moore, laurence anderson |
| posted by AS Film Studies Students @ 15:38 |
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| Friday 9 January 2009 |
| Main Plot Outline |
| This is a sci-fi film set in rural Cambridgeshire, a Space obsessed teenager believes his dad has been abducted by Aliens, as the story unfolds we discover how the boys farther had left him at a young age, and the boy had made himself believe that his Dad was actually abducted by Aliens because he repressed the truth and watched all his fathers Alien films and documentarys over and over until he truly believed that his Dad was abducted by Aliens. His Mother is an alcoholic and neglects him. He never had a 'proper childhood' so his imagination has run wild! The film concludes with the boy finding his father, after he finds and watches a collection of videos his father recorded himself, planning to and attempting to find Aliens, which he used to locate his dad. After they meet, they continue their search for Aliens together. Labels: Jack Nicol, Keeley Moore, laurence anderson |
| posted by AS Film Studies Students @ 09:40 |
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