Tuesday, 24 April 2012
Friday, 20 April 2012
Final 2 minute opening - My Mother & I
http://youtu.be/fD3SokQ5v6E
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<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/fD3SokQ5v6E" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Evaluation Question Four : Who Would Be The Audience For Your Media Product?
The target audience for our Film opening would be members of the middle class younger population. I believe our film relates to them because its exciting and they would enjoy watching it. It has a dark feeling to it which would attract this particular group to the piece. They would be drawan in to the storyline because it is relatable and therefore they would like the film more than anyone else.
Friday, 17 February 2012
Choice of Location
I had the choice of two different locations at which I could shoot my film. The first was at my house, a modern 3 story estate terrist house. The second at my grandparents, a rural detached old fashoined house. I chose to go with my grandparents house as it seemed like a more appropriate location in terms of the style and setting I wanted to portray in my film. It had the features necessary to give the audience a sense of fear and make them realise the history and how haunted the house is. I did not feel that at my home I could have achieved this as well as I did.
Film Name Ideas
It took me a very long time to think of possible film names as it has to be appealing to your audience. It is also important to use a title that is related to the genre of your film, and what happens in your film. Me and my co-worker Hugh thought of several possible names, these include;
Mothers Boy
My Mother and I
Family Re-union
Take Care
Homewrecker
The Asylum
We decided to use the film title 'My Mother and I' as it was very original and had not been used before. It related to our film in terms of the characters invovled. Although it didnt really relate to the genre of our film, but we thought this could work to our advanatge as it makes the audience oblivious as to what will take place in the story of the film.
Mothers Boy
My Mother and I
Family Re-union
Take Care
Homewrecker
The Asylum
We decided to use the film title 'My Mother and I' as it was very original and had not been used before. It related to our film in terms of the characters invovled. Although it didnt really relate to the genre of our film, but we thought this could work to our advanatge as it makes the audience oblivious as to what will take place in the story of the film.
My Film Synopsis
Beginning:
The film starts with a flashback set in the mid 1980's. It is of a boy and his mother playing a harmless game of monopoly where the mother says to her child "are you going to look after me when im older?" but the child does not respond. The time period then changes back to the present day where we visit the exact location that was in the flashback. The board game is still on the table and the boy (now a man) is sitting in an armchair watching the news. The mother is nowhere to be seen. The man checks his watch and immediately leaves the room. He walks up the stairs and into the far bedroom on the right hand side. He shuts the door and turns the light on. His mother is lying in the bed, motionless. He picks up a hairbrush and begins to comb her hair gently. (music begins to play).
Middle:
Flashback into the boys childhood years, the boy being bullied at school with no friends to turn to and no teacher that is trustworthy. He returns home looking a mess with tears streaming down his face. The only person he could rely on was his mother, she always cheered him up. He never knew his father so he had always been a mummies boy. After numerous days of torture, the mother decided to sit him down and tell him that needs to defend himself in life.
The following morning while going through the usual routine of being bullied, the boy picked himself up and swung at the bully, sending him to the floor. He ran home in excitement to find his mother laying face down in the kitchen dead. He dramatically shakes her body while crying then carrys her up to her bed shouting "I will take care of you".
Skips through the years showing short clips of various activities the man is doing while looking after the body. showing him becoming wierder and wierder in each year.
End:
On one particular day the mans father returns home for the first time in 40 years. He tries to explain to his son why he didnt support him throughout his life. However, the son is having none of it and blames the father for the unhappiness of his mother and ultimately, her death. He attacks his father with a sharp drill end and stabs him multiple times in his chest. The man then puts the body on the bed next to his mother before leaving the room. He then returns shortly after with a handgun. He sits on the bed inbetween his mother and father and utters the words "now we're finally all together". He puts the gun to his head and pulls the trigger without hesitation. There is a cold silenece before the theme music begins to signal the ending of the film.
The film starts with a flashback set in the mid 1980's. It is of a boy and his mother playing a harmless game of monopoly where the mother says to her child "are you going to look after me when im older?" but the child does not respond. The time period then changes back to the present day where we visit the exact location that was in the flashback. The board game is still on the table and the boy (now a man) is sitting in an armchair watching the news. The mother is nowhere to be seen. The man checks his watch and immediately leaves the room. He walks up the stairs and into the far bedroom on the right hand side. He shuts the door and turns the light on. His mother is lying in the bed, motionless. He picks up a hairbrush and begins to comb her hair gently. (music begins to play).
Middle:
Flashback into the boys childhood years, the boy being bullied at school with no friends to turn to and no teacher that is trustworthy. He returns home looking a mess with tears streaming down his face. The only person he could rely on was his mother, she always cheered him up. He never knew his father so he had always been a mummies boy. After numerous days of torture, the mother decided to sit him down and tell him that needs to defend himself in life.
The following morning while going through the usual routine of being bullied, the boy picked himself up and swung at the bully, sending him to the floor. He ran home in excitement to find his mother laying face down in the kitchen dead. He dramatically shakes her body while crying then carrys her up to her bed shouting "I will take care of you".
Skips through the years showing short clips of various activities the man is doing while looking after the body. showing him becoming wierder and wierder in each year.
End:
On one particular day the mans father returns home for the first time in 40 years. He tries to explain to his son why he didnt support him throughout his life. However, the son is having none of it and blames the father for the unhappiness of his mother and ultimately, her death. He attacks his father with a sharp drill end and stabs him multiple times in his chest. The man then puts the body on the bed next to his mother before leaving the room. He then returns shortly after with a handgun. He sits on the bed inbetween his mother and father and utters the words "now we're finally all together". He puts the gun to his head and pulls the trigger without hesitation. There is a cold silenece before the theme music begins to signal the ending of the film.
Friday, 27 January 2012
My Film Ident Ideas
This was my original idea when discussing film idents. It was a clever idea however I found that it wouldn't be feasable with my production for a number of reasons. Firstly, there was a problem in designing the face of the house as it didnt look very professional and was hard to create. Secondly, the animation was very limited and difficult to be creative with. I thought the idea was too basic to use as my ident. Lastly, I found that there was a film made a number of years ago called 'Monster House'. My design looked very similar to the house in the film and was therefore not very original and could have been mistook as a copy of it. This is why I decided not to go ahead with the idea of Monster House Productions.
My second and final idea was Posion Pictures. The idea itself was very simple and easy to manipulate. However, it was original and allowed me to be very creative when doing the animation. I am very happy with this ident as it looks professional and is also quite spooky, which fits in well with the genre of my film. I am glad I chose this ident over the Monster House one.
My second and final idea was Posion Pictures. The idea itself was very simple and easy to manipulate. However, it was original and allowed me to be very creative when doing the animation. I am very happy with this ident as it looks professional and is also quite spooky, which fits in well with the genre of my film. I am glad I chose this ident over the Monster House one.
My Film Storyboard
I created a storyboard to show each section on my film (scenes) and how we intended to capture each shot. The storyboard was divided into four different sections with sub-sections to show how the shot would change during the scene.
The first section was the flashback onto the mother and son 20 years in the past. There is little dialgoue and they are playing a board game. I wanted to try and capture the close relationship between the pair by using a variety of shots, including a close up.
The second section is in the present day. It is set in the same room as the board game was played in the past to add effect. In the storyboard there is a clear label of this and also of the board game still being left out on the table, but with the pieces scattered over the floor. The boy (now a man) watching TV in an armchair. He checks his watch and exits the living room. The shot remains the same throughout this section.
The third section is of the man making his way from the hall way to the bedroom upstairs. A total of six different shots would have to be made in order to get the desired effect. The man walks swiftly and meaningfully through the house to reach his destination. The shots have been labelled and divided in this section of the storyboard so you can clearly see what I was trying to achieve.
The fourth section is the entrance into the bedroom and the brushing of the mothers hair. It has been shown that she is to be motionless and that the man needs to be enthusiastic and enjoying brushing his mothers hair. There is music to back the ending of this section.
The first section was the flashback onto the mother and son 20 years in the past. There is little dialgoue and they are playing a board game. I wanted to try and capture the close relationship between the pair by using a variety of shots, including a close up.
The second section is in the present day. It is set in the same room as the board game was played in the past to add effect. In the storyboard there is a clear label of this and also of the board game still being left out on the table, but with the pieces scattered over the floor. The boy (now a man) watching TV in an armchair. He checks his watch and exits the living room. The shot remains the same throughout this section.
The third section is of the man making his way from the hall way to the bedroom upstairs. A total of six different shots would have to be made in order to get the desired effect. The man walks swiftly and meaningfully through the house to reach his destination. The shots have been labelled and divided in this section of the storyboard so you can clearly see what I was trying to achieve.
The fourth section is the entrance into the bedroom and the brushing of the mothers hair. It has been shown that she is to be motionless and that the man needs to be enthusiastic and enjoying brushing his mothers hair. There is music to back the ending of this section.
My Target Audience
As my film is a horror I had to think very carefully about what audience I wanted to target. I decided to target males between the ages of 18-40 as I think they would be the most likely to enjoy the film. Males of this ages group tend to like gore and horror in general as it is their perspective of what makes a good film. I also thought that teens would want to view the film. However, when reviewing the idea of targeting teens I realised that I would not be able to use the necessary violence of which my film is based on and therefore could not target this audience. I thought that if I was to target teens as well then I would have a larger audience, but this would reduce the quality of the film and in my opinion it wouldn't be as good as it should be.
Analysis of a Title Sequence
In class we looked at how the titling was set out in a couple of different films. Two of these films were 'The Shining' and 'Taxi Driver'. There was a massive contrast between the two in relation to their layout, their motion, and their colour scheme.
Taxi Driver had a rather long opening title sequence. The titling was unusual as it told you what actors were playing which characters. The colour scheme was very much related to fire. There was a variation between different shades of red, yellow and orange. Finally, the motion of the titling was relatively standard. The names of the characters and actors faded in and out on screen with roughly 5 second intervals so the audience would have time to read them.
The Shining had a very different title scene. The text rolled down the screen as if it was the end credits. The motion was basic and very plain. However, the colour scheme used was rather peculiar. The text was a luminous green. As the back-drop of the title sequence is just mountains and farm land, I personally believe this colour was chosen so that it made the audience think something was out of the ordinary. Why else would such a strange colour be chosen?
In conclusion, opening titles can be produced and portrayed in a variety of ways and still be very interesting. In the two films I have reviewed I think that both of the title sequences are basic, but effective.
This is a poster that advertised the film 'Taxi Driver'. As you can see the poster gives the impression that its quite an aggressive film. This was also portrayed when I was analysing the title sequence. This was due to the music and the colours and the layout of sequence.
This is a poster taken from the film 'The Shining'. Again you can see that this film is most probably violent andis intent on scaring its audience before the film has began. This is reflected in the title sequence but in a much different and more subtle way than 'Taxi Driver'. This is because the films come under different genres. 'Taxi Driver' is a thriller and 'The Shining' is a horror. So therefore the way they portray the violence in their film is varied.
Taxi Driver had a rather long opening title sequence. The titling was unusual as it told you what actors were playing which characters. The colour scheme was very much related to fire. There was a variation between different shades of red, yellow and orange. Finally, the motion of the titling was relatively standard. The names of the characters and actors faded in and out on screen with roughly 5 second intervals so the audience would have time to read them.
The Shining had a very different title scene. The text rolled down the screen as if it was the end credits. The motion was basic and very plain. However, the colour scheme used was rather peculiar. The text was a luminous green. As the back-drop of the title sequence is just mountains and farm land, I personally believe this colour was chosen so that it made the audience think something was out of the ordinary. Why else would such a strange colour be chosen?
In conclusion, opening titles can be produced and portrayed in a variety of ways and still be very interesting. In the two films I have reviewed I think that both of the title sequences are basic, but effective.
This is a poster taken from the film 'The Shining'. Again you can see that this film is most probably violent andis intent on scaring its audience before the film has began. This is reflected in the title sequence but in a much different and more subtle way than 'Taxi Driver'. This is because the films come under different genres. 'Taxi Driver' is a thriller and 'The Shining' is a horror. So therefore the way they portray the violence in their film is varied.
Saturday, 21 January 2012
Film Idea Discussion
We all sat around together in a circle in order to discuss our ideas about what we were gonna do for our films.
This activity gave me some good perspective on what was and wasn't do able. For example, the idea of using P.O.V shots seemed like it may be quite difficult to achieve. This made me re-think how I was gonna shoot my piece. Also, the discussion made me think about whether to use a husband rather than a son as a relation to the woman as it would be quite difficult for me to get a young male actor in his early 20's.
Overall the discussion helped me to reflect on my original idea and allowed me to make some vital changes which will hopefuly alow it to reach its potential.
This activity gave me some good perspective on what was and wasn't do able. For example, the idea of using P.O.V shots seemed like it may be quite difficult to achieve. This made me re-think how I was gonna shoot my piece. Also, the discussion made me think about whether to use a husband rather than a son as a relation to the woman as it would be quite difficult for me to get a young male actor in his early 20's.
Overall the discussion helped me to reflect on my original idea and allowed me to make some vital changes which will hopefuly alow it to reach its potential.
My Film Idea
I think that in order to create a good film opening it needs to be both dynamic and interesting. Thats why I have chosen to go with the idea of making a horror/thriller opening to my film.
I decided to go with the idea of using a P.O.V camera angle (point of view). I wanted the film to be shot as if you were the woman in the film. The film begins with a flashback of a mother and child playing a harmless board game, whilst laughing and joking. At the end of the flashback the mother simply says to the child "you're going to take care of me when you're older aren't you?" and the child simply looks at her meaningfully. The setting then changes to the present day. The location is the same house that was in the flashback. The male who was once a boy is now a man, but he appears to be talking directly to the camera as if it was his mother. He looks at his watch and moves swiftly from the living room out to another room where you can hear rustling. The scene is then cut and you find yourself in the bedroom staring at the ceiling. You see the man appear over you (you are the woman). He starts brushing your hair gently whilst humming. Pictures fades out but the humming continues.
I decided to go with the idea of using a P.O.V camera angle (point of view). I wanted the film to be shot as if you were the woman in the film. The film begins with a flashback of a mother and child playing a harmless board game, whilst laughing and joking. At the end of the flashback the mother simply says to the child "you're going to take care of me when you're older aren't you?" and the child simply looks at her meaningfully. The setting then changes to the present day. The location is the same house that was in the flashback. The male who was once a boy is now a man, but he appears to be talking directly to the camera as if it was his mother. He looks at his watch and moves swiftly from the living room out to another room where you can hear rustling. The scene is then cut and you find yourself in the bedroom staring at the ceiling. You see the man appear over you (you are the woman). He starts brushing your hair gently whilst humming. Pictures fades out but the humming continues.
After Effects Workshop
The after effects workshop has been majorly beneficial to me as I have learnt to successfully create an animated piece of work. The workshop lessons taught me about many different aspects of the editing software and I feel much more comfortable using it now.
The skills I gained in the workshop allowed me to create the teletubbies opening sequence of the sun rising (Video to be added). I was then able to use these skills again in order to create a short animation for the film company I had made and planned to use in my own film opening (video to be added).
Furthermore, these skills will help me to create a good opening credits sequence for my film opening. I will be able to adapt a colour scheme that fits with my piece, and edit my work specifically so I get the required effect I was looking for.
In conclusion, I think my work would have been a lot worse withtout the workshop. It helped me with every aspect of the programme and I am now much more confident than I previously was.
The skills I gained in the workshop allowed me to create the teletubbies opening sequence of the sun rising (Video to be added). I was then able to use these skills again in order to create a short animation for the film company I had made and planned to use in my own film opening (video to be added).
Furthermore, these skills will help me to create a good opening credits sequence for my film opening. I will be able to adapt a colour scheme that fits with my piece, and edit my work specifically so I get the required effect I was looking for.
In conclusion, I think my work would have been a lot worse withtout the workshop. It helped me with every aspect of the programme and I am now much more confident than I previously was.
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