Evaluation Link:

http://harleygolder.wix.com/hg-media-studies

Opening Title Sequence (FINISHED)

Evaluation of our continuity task!

Originally our continuity task was going to be based on an idea which Chloe and Megan had, to continue with their Cinderella film noir shoot. However this idea was a disaster due to

The fact that on the day me and Megan were absent! Leaving Chloe to struggle by herself. On mine and Megans arrival on the following day, we observed the recordings which were filmed by a few borrowed friends. The clips were not of the best quality and there were a number of mistakes. We came to a desicion that there would be less work in re-filming our continuity task! And so we did. Recording number 2 was a great success with all the techniques included (match on action, 180 degree rule and shot reverse shot) meaning that our task met all the criteria, editing was also much easier for us to carry out! Which was a bonus, the main storyline to our task was that Chloe was late to work and Megan was not very happy and told her off and as Chloe was having a bad day she left!

This was our first plan for the recording of our continuity task!

This was our second plan for the re-recording of our continuity task!

Below is our final copy of our continuity task!

chloe, harley, megan continuity task from Harley Golder on Vimeo.

Roles in my OTS updated

Since recently pairing up with Lauren we have come up with some really great ideas on how to present and how our OTS is going to look. So far we have designated roles to each other:

Lauren: 

Director
Main Camera Operator
Main Editing
Head Of Costumes
Story boarder
Sound
Designer Of Logo And Typography

Harley:
Camera (1st Person View)
Editing
Main Location Organiser
Main Props Organiser
Main Sound
Production Log

We assigned these roles due to the fact that they focus on each of our key areas of talent!


This was the original plan until me and laurens partnership broke down meaning we went our own ways!
Me (Harley):
Director
Main Camera Operator
Main Editing
Head Of Costumes
Story boarder
Sound
Designer Of Logo And Typography
Camera (1st Person View)
Main Location Organiser
Main Props Organiser
Main Sound
Production Log
Blog

Continuity roles (me):
Camera man
Main editor
Director

Audience Research Neo-Noir

I have conducted some research into who would be my target audience for my neo-noir film and I have discovered that due to the film being a new noir style, my target audience will be younger than the audience of film noir this is because the time periods are different. For instance the the audience for a neo noir film is around the ages of 18-35 and most neo noir films are set in the 70's-80's, the audience for film noir is around the ages of 35+ this is because the time period is older and this genre is set around the 40's-50's! Meaning that I will I'm my film around the neo noir audience age!

Distribution and Exhibition Research (Slideshare not by me)

Distribution and exhibition from kelger

My Draft of my opening title sequence (with feedback)

My Draft OTS
The overall feedback was very positive with comments such as; "very professional", "very well edited" and lots of other positive comments which were made when showing the year 13 media studies class. However where theres positives there are normally negatives. Negatives including; some didn't like the positioning of the titles as they were very scattered, also some did not realise the film name. Other than that, it was a very successful showing. Now I know what I have to do in order to achieve my goal of producing a great OTS! The only downside is that I was not able to retrieve any photos from my phone which is a big disappointment.

Final Production Log 18/02/15

Finally all the filming and editing is complete! I am very happy with the end result!

Production log 13/02/15

My actor has been really busy lately meaning that I am going to need to film the last few shots during the weekend ready to hand in to my teacher for Monday 16th for evaluation! However In the two lessons I have today I am updating my blog with posts etc. Also after editing a few clips which I'm recording very soon, I will be finished! This also is a huge boost for my confidence as I have created an OTS alone after having no previous media studies knowledge! I feel that I have nearly produced an OTS which is of a high standard! Personally I am really pleased!

Black and White OR Colour?

Throughout my OTS I chose to use a custom made black and white effect, this is because I wanted the whole of my OTS to have a dates feel! And I didn't feel that colour had this effect!

Transitions!

For all of my transitions (apart from one) I chose to use 'fade to colour' this is because it had an effective feel towards the OTS whereas other transitions like 'cross dissolve' etc did not have such an effective feel to the OTS. And for one of my transitions I decided to use 'flash' as it was a great way to start of the acting I felt!

Ident and company name

I chose the ink splats template because although at first the ink was black, I felt that by tweaking it slightly I could make it seem as if the ink was suddenly a blood resemblance! Which also means that it's resembling one of the many conventions noir films have!

I also decided to have "Stop 'n' Watch Studios" as my company name this is because out of nowhere the idea was brought to my mind, originally I thought that that name woukd be already used, however after thorough research there was no sign of a company called "Stop 'n' Watch Studios" meaning that I could use this in my OTS which meant that I have acted in any copyright or playgerism! 

Title choice

I decided to use the same don't throughout the OTS this is because I felt that this gave an effective feel to each shot! Plus it's also good as it's repetitive throughout! Another reason why I decided to use the typewriter title font is that I felt that this suited the genre of Neo-Noir and it also allowed each shot to flow nicely!

My storyboard

Here's a picture of my storyboard!

Sound update

I am now at the stage of creating my own music for my opening title sequence. I am doing this on Garage Band meaning that i am not using other peoples music which could be seen as copyright.

Production Log 06/02/15

This week I have been trying to make my OTS longer however by still making it effective. This week I plan to complete any unfinished filming which is needed to film. Also I plan to add finishing touches very soon.

Production log 30/01/15

This week I have started editing some of the filming which I've done and now I'm hoping to film some more in the coming days which will hopefully mean that all I need to do is add sound and edit it all.

Production Log 23/01/15

As I'm now working alone, I now need to change my plan etc... i'm hoping to record very soon with my brother as the actor by having someone acting who lives in the same house as me, allows me to get things done quicker rather than having to arrange dates!

Recent News

Unfortunately, mine and Lauren's partnership has fell apart due to recent complications, meaning that we have both gone our separate ways. However I will not let that stop my ambitions to produce a great opening title sequence for an audience. I have now got a number of actors, such as; my brother john and maybe my father. This should allow me to achieve my main goal which I mentioned earlier!

Vimeo Videos Ideas I've Tested!

Underneath of car
View Lauren's post on her blog which i feel has a good description what is shown.
Blood in the sink
 I feel that this gave a very effective effect however there are many errrors which will be avoided next time if we decide to use this idea in our OTS.

Production Log 09/01/15

This week we had gathered that we had not recorded over the christmas holidays this was because Lauren's cousin Luke went back to university which we were unaware of this is a shame because we had planned what we wanted to do! However we now have two actors in line who we need to get a definite yes from but we are still awaiting an answer however we are hoping to film all the OTS on Wednesday ready to start editing on thursday as we need to get this OTS finished by Easter!

Production Log 19/12/14

This week we managed to figure out what our plot was roughly going to be, however this can still be changed in the future if it needs to be. We also analysed techniques which we can use in the sound section (look at my sound post!). We have also thought of the title for our OTS production (18:04) we feel that this rolls off the tongue nicely. However this can also be changed in the future. We have also designated each other roles for the production of our OTS (look at my post 'Roles in our OTS'). Overall this week has been a success as were now starting to organise the filming of our OTS in the near future!

Sound

On Friday 12th we analysed an extract of 'Priest' focusing on sound for instance: diegetic, non diegetic, ambient, synchronous, asynchronous, contrapuntal, dialogue and the use of silence. As a class we discussed the types and techniques of sounds which were used during the clip. This activity has helped us think of ideas of what types sounds we will attempt to create in our OTS. Me and Lauren need to create the correct effects for our OTS as if it is wrong it will not be of the best quality, this is why we are going to strive to ensure that we create a high level of OTS.

Production log

This is this weeks production log about what we managed to do planning wise for our OTS.
This week Lauren done the production log, next week I will do this.

Here is the link to the post:
http://lsiersasmediaproductionsschs2015.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/prodcution-log.html

Dexter opening title sequence

Early on in the OTS (Opening Title Sequence) it is clear that there is a lot blood related scenes/shots, an action match takes place at the start with the mosquito being squashed releasing a pool of blood, then the title of the television show appears which looks to be written in a blood like font. which gives the impression that the programme is based around killing and death!

When the character is shaving we see that he cuts himself and his blood drips down his cleanly shaved face, and then drops into the sink, this could be a clue into which he may have had a previous incident in a sink, maybe even murder!                                                                                                                 

Also when he has another drop of blood rushing down his face he absorbs it with a tissue which is is then slowly soaked in blood, which is then followed by a covered piece of meat which is then cut which makes the viewer think for a split second that someones cutting him. 

An orange is cut during the clip this could be to symbolize a limb being cut from a human/animal, shortly after we see the inside of the orange which is normally orange but this orange is blood filled this may be to resemble a brain or something along the same lines!

When the character who we presume is 'Dexter' puts on his white shirt we originally think that he is being suffocated however hes just putting on his, however further into the programme a character may be suffocated in a similar way. 

This OTS gives me a number of ideas for example with the title in stencil this gives a great animated effect which I think would be great to include in our OTS, the idea of blood throughout the OTS really creates a tense and dangerous feeling which I would like to include in our OTS. The idea of a drop of blood filtering through a sink full of water creates a great effect which really looks great. This is an idea which I have raised with our group for us to do in our OTS, however I would like to record this underwater this can be possible due to the fact that i have a GoPro Hero 3+ which is water proof, this could be useful during our filming of our OTS. Another idea which we have is to have a newspaper article with something to do with murder and then it will zoom in on a  picture which will suddenly open his/her eyes! I personally think that this will slightly spook the viewers creating an eerie atmosphere!

Noir Iconography

My Top 4 Films

1. Inbetweeners

This is my favourite film for a number of reasons, for example, I think that this is much better than the second inbetweeners, this is due to the fact that it would of been hard to beat the first inbetweeners due to the fact that its way more hilarious. This was originally aired on E4 from 2008-2010. The episodes involved situations of school bullying, broken family life, indifferent school staff, male bonding, and largely failed sexual encounters.

2. Inbetweeners 2

Like I said previously, I don't feel that this was funnier than the first film this is the main reason why its number 2. However this still covered the same areas as the above. Released in 2014.

3. The Impossible

This had me in tears, and not many films can do that in fact I think its the first that I've cried at, and as its based on a true story that's even harder to believe but it is true. Definitely hit me hard but I loved it! released in 2012, genre: drama. Its about a family caught in the 2004 Indian ocean tsunami. Actress Naomi Watts who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama, and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role. This is a typical disaster film, due to the fact that an ordinary family are on holiday and somehow manage to survive such a disaster.

4. Rise of the Planet of the Apes

This was by far the better out of the two as it had a better storyline than number the 'Dawn of the planet of the apes'. This was released in 2011, genre: Sci-Fi, its unusual for me to watch Sci-Fi as i'm not really into this genre but this film proved me wrong! And it ended with a great cliff-hanger however its a shame that the following film (Dawn of the planet of the apes) didn't really appeal to me as much as the first planet of the apes! This is a Sci-Fi film due to the fact that this is a prediction into what will happen in the future however not in our life time, hopefully. Filled with lots of conflict between the apes and the humans which packed a great storyline.

Noir as a genre

We as a class put our ideas of what we think is included within the genre. After putting our thoughts forward It was clear that there is a lot more to noir than we originally thought from femme-fatale to gangsters etc, this will help us in the future when we do more activities on noir. The diagram below shows our work we contributed towards!

For some extra knowledge I researched further into the film noir genre

Top 10 film noir

"Guns, dames and hats: you can't have a Film Noir without them, can you? Take a look at the Guardian and Observer critics list of the best 10 noirs and you'll realise things aren't that simple" 

The above is just a little snippet of some of the information which I have rad which I feel links nicely with Film Noir!

http://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2013/nov/29/top-10-film-noir

Extreme camera angles         Canted angle         low angle (camera view is looking up)         high angle camera view is looking down) Unconventional portrait angles         Partial profile         Full profile        Obscured faces         Low/high angles      Close ups of expressions        Extreme close-ups (face filling frame) Severe lighting        Sometimes called chiaroscuro        Often artificial sources of light        Deep shadows        Harsh highlights Dramatic         Extreme deep focus         contrasts of scale looking through or along things         creative camera point of view (POV)         doorways         windows         stairwells         smoke         streets Simple narrative         the message is melodramatic and clear         focal point is clear and easily found         backgrounds may be busy but do not distract ( techniques include out of focus/dark/simple) Men Bad boy – villain / hats / partially obscured / think Al Capone ‘gangster. He has a mean moody expression. Hero – clean cut / handsome / strong / active / smiles / clear face / smart / Anti-hero – was often the victim – the man who chose the wrong path and is redeemed – he is often less educated/working class/vest tops/ manual labour / heart of gold/always courage Women Femme fatale – she challenges stereotyped of women in the 1940s - smokes / sexy and sexually active /powerful / independent / confident / educated / Redemptive woman – the girl next door’/the girl through whom the anti-hero is saved / vulnerable / traditional and family values / innocent Locations         Urban         Bars / clubs         Streets         Cars         Rooms in houses         Factories/bridges Props Red lips Cigarette Gun Smokey environment High heels Suits fedora

All About Me

This is a video all about me!

Jurassic Park SWEDED (for bekindrewind)

The Dark Knight Sweded

The Matrix - SWEDED (for be kind rewind)

The three examples of films are sweded because they are extremely low budget and the films will all contain the main scenes and quotes which are recognisable as you will see when viewing each video. The idea of 'sweded films' came from 'Be Kind Rewind' (2008)

Summer project: The creation of a Swede film

Summer project: The creation of a Swede film

Our summer task consisted of our group (Adam, Aidan, Lilly and me) creating our own version of an existing film and turn it into a ‘sweded film’ which came around from the production of Be Kind Rewind (2008).

Planning:

As soon as we had organised our group, the biggest decision was upon us ‘what film should we base our swede off of?’ unfortunately I was not able to attend such a vital brain storming session. These were some of the films suggested:

• Shaun Of The dead

• Terminator

• Pulp Fiction

• Saw

• Final Destination

The final decision was to choose Saw (2004) after vigorous planning, the group finally agreed together after taking lots of factors into consideration such as; cost, popularity and key well known scenes , etc., fortunately I agreed with their decision due to the fact that I was really familiar with such a great film, who isn’t?

Structure and story boarding:

We started by watching the film and picking out the key scenes which we felt were needed in the final swede, but these scenes had to be key so that our viewers can easily recognise what film we are doing! 

After completing the list we then created a story board/basic summary of the final scenes we are going to include, bearing in mind the time we have to present this and how possible the scene is to recreate.

Filming Day 1

Unfortunately I wasn't available during the days the group decided to begin filming but I was told what took place while I was away, which overall sounded like a great success and indeed it was! The group memorised the script and started filming with a camera and a tripod which allowed them to create more creative and steady shots. Adam played the role of doctor Lawrence and Aidan as Adam S.

Filming Day 2

Involved we as a group needing to find a successful fake blood recipe which wasn't easiest as it needed to be cost effective we found one which didn't cost much to make but we found that it was way too lumpy meaning that it didn't look realistic, resulting in a little bit of trial and error. The substance consists of honey, red food colouring and soy sauce to ensure it wasn't too thick. 

The last thing we wanted to do was mess the floor up with stains of our mixture everywhere so we laid down some clear perspex sheets which helped protect the bathroom floor. However there were downsides to the sheets which were that when filming the sheets often reflected light at the camera affecting some of the footage. Overall filming was a success as I was back meaning that I could contribute to everything!

Below is a link to a video which we recorded on the day which involves a quick visual update on our progress

http://vimeo.com/105892162 there may be a few issues with the viewing due to the fact that some of the video is not loading on some computers.