Production group meeting 3:

Today as a production group we discussed a few more ideas that could benefit our opening sequence and make it better. One of these ideas was focusing on the action genre and adding more action to the opening sequence which enables the viewer / audience engaged and not bored which otherwise would result in them going on their phone and being easily distracted.

This idea was as this female detective walks into the murder scene and goes towards the male detectives and has a short conversation with them about their lack of effort etc, she hears light footsteps above her. She then would tell the men to "Shut up" - using hand gestures and facial expressions - and they would be all confused but slowly clock onto what she has heard and as they realise they reach to their guns to pull them out, but she says no - using hand gestures / facial expressions - She would then walk towards to window and seems to be scanning the area and looking around as if she's looking for something. This female detective then addresses the men (using hand gestures) to go outside and put their gloves on - as she follows behind them she puts her gloves on - They get outside and this female detective leads the group to the bushes, where a bike is lying there, as an attempt to hide it.  She then looks up at the men and shakes her head at them and places her finger on her lips to show that the 'murderer' is in the house and that they need to be quiet. 

This adjusts and adds to the idea of instead of her just arriving at the house and finding a murdered person - instead it goes down different paths and different emotions to make it more interesting and intriguing to watch.

LIMITATIONS:

- Covid 

- Number of people on set

Group Pitch Presentation

This is mine, Bashy and Neave's group pitch for our idea.

Workshop 2: 180 Degree Rule

 180 Degree Rule

What is the 180 degree rule?

The 180 degree rule is a technique film makers use to know where everyone is and know where the action is happening in the scenes. This is also known as crossing the line.

The easiest way to keep track of the 180 degree rule is to figure out which way your act is facing and keep them facing that way throughout the scene. 

Why is it important?

It is only way the audience get to know what's happening in the scene. It is shown through the pictures you (the filmmaker) shoot and what you show them, therefore it is your responsibility to let people know and be aware where everyone is standing in relation to each other.

3 pictures which demonstrate the 180 degree rule:

A) Wide shot - to see who's on the left and who's on the right.

B) Over the shoulder 

C) Close up

Matt's Examples:

My Examples:

Wide shot 

Over the shoulder shot 

Close up shot

Saul and Elaine Bass:

 Saul and Elaine Bass

"I want to make beautiful things, even if nobody cares, as opposed to ugly things. Thats my intent" - Saul Bass 

Saul Bass was an American graphic designer, Oscar winning filmmaker, who was best known for his high designs in motion-picture title sequences, film posters and logos. Throughout his career he got asked by some of Hollywood's top filmmakers (Alfred Hitchcock, Otto Preminger, Billy Wilder, Stanley Kubrick and Martin Scorsese) if he wanted to work with them. Bass became widely known in the film industry after creating title sequences for these top Hollywood filmmakers, as of how popular these title sequences became and the feedback received from them. To this day he has influenced a mass amount of filmmakers around the world. 

Elaine Bass was Saul Bass' partner. They worked alongside each other for 40 years. As a couple, they developed multiple projects for multiple directors together. Elaine Bass showed an early interest in art, creating stories and drawing them and over time this lead her at the age of eighteen to begin work in the New York fashion industry where she produced fashion renderings and sketches for multiple fashion houses. This eventually lead her to more exciting things as she wanted to keep on challenging herself and then she started working for Saul Bass as his assistant and after working together for a year they got married and still continued to produce film title designs, short films and title sequences.

Together Saul and Elaine Bass have created some of the strongest graphic designs in filmmaking to this day. 

West Side Story (1961) - Title sequence 

West Side Story (1961) is an American musical romantic drama film directed by Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise. This film is about two teenage gangs who are both struggling for control on the Upper West Side in New York City in the 1950s. 

This title sequence is portrayed at the end of the movie. The way Saul and Elaine Bass created these credits and their creativity behind the sketches and designs were very clever and suited the atmosphere of the film. 

Having both the different gangs portrayed through the credits including each gang member part of the gang was very well thought and the titles which were designed very much suited each gang by the way "Jets" was written and "Sharks".

The titles portrayed throughout the credits are all in a thick bold font type and in capital letters, in a dark grey / black colour type. This links with the themes and moods of the film as the film itself has a dark and intense atmosphere consisting of the toxicity of racism, themes of love striving to rise above hatred and the fear of immigrants.

Throughout the credits sequence the soundtrack which is used is very contrapuntal and contrasts the images shown and the way the titles are being presented. The soundtrack portrays the genre of the film as a romantic drama genre, which is not shown through the titles. 

Overall this was a very well produced and creative credit / title sequence and highly aesthetically pleasing and satisfying to watch and look at. 

Production group meeting 2:

Today as a production group we met again and discussed our potential idea with Mike and Matt. 

From having a discussion about the new idea we received feedback and collectively came to the decision that this idea would be a 'scene 1' from a movie and not a title / opening sequence. As it just cuts straight into the action, there needs to be something else, something before she arrives to the house which would be able to grab the viewers attention and make her stand out and introduce her. 

After we did some brainstorming we came up with an idea that could work well. This idea was having an image / quick shot of this women FBI agent winning an award of some sort. This award either saying 'Top police officer' or 'Officer of the year' or something along those lines, this image being portrayed with flashing lights and camera clips to emphasise on the importance of the award and her importance and how good she is. This shows that she is a strong character and the main character. The clip will then continue with her being in a car with either her husband driving or co-worker driving. The driver will then say "You've done an amazing job at clearing up the crime in this city" and then she will proceed to say "There's still so much to do, we live in a crime filled city", she could look out the window as she says this line and its raining heavily -  this would create an ominous atmosphere - and by adding synchronous sound this would also add to the eerie atmosphere.

But we are unsure about using this idea as it may be very difficult to film and very time consuming and the different locations may be hard to work with. 

Production group meeting 1:

After meeting with Mike and Matt we received more feedback on our idea. We came to the conclusion that the opening sequence / title sequence for 'Lost and Found' was not strong enough and it was more of a first scene rather than opening / title sequence. It needed some sort of background information and a base, as it ran straight into the idea rather than gradually getting there. We needed to elevate the idea and make it more enjoyable to watch and film. 

Me, Bashy and Neave then called each other to discuss what we were going to do and potentially come up with a few new ideas. 

We then collectively came up with a new idea and base for our title sequence that we thought would work really well and provide a really good base of information and it allows the movie to carry on and go somewhere with what information is provided - and would be fun to film. We decided on the genre thriller/action.

The idea was, rather than a girl arriving home from travelling for the past months and getting home and her family has been murdered, instead an FBI agent (a girl, dressed in suit with briefcase) arrives to the house where a group of men FBI agents are standing outside the house, talking in a group. She walks up to them and they say to her "this is bad, very bad", "Im so sorry", she would then push the men to the side and walk into the house, and there is a family that has been murdered (panics/loss of breathe/shocked/speechless). The phone then rings and she goes to pick it up and her jaw drops and she freezes then screams into the phone "WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS".

This leaves the audience on edge and wanting to know what happens next and where this title sequence takes the film. 

Workshop 1: Composition

 The different rules and tips for the:

- Rule of thirds

- Changing the camera height

- Depth of field (foreground and background)

- Lighting

These will improve my film making and photography. 

Rule of Thirds

The rule of thirds is a type of composition in which the image is sectioned evenly into thirds, both horizontally and vertically and the subject / focus in the image is placed at the the intersection of the lines crossing over one another.  By moving the subject in line with where the lines cross / sit, you are able to balance the image more and make it look better. This is because where the lines crossover, is where you want to put points off interest / focus points, to draw more attention to them. 

Changing the camera height

If you want to change the camera angle to show something that is in front of you it is better to go down at the same height as the subject that you want to show, this creates a more interesting, more unusual and a more visually interesting shot.

Depth of field

The background of an image is a fundamental importance in the composition of an image which emphasises the subject. You must be aware of the background and be aware that it can influence your shot or stand out the most, as a boring background results in a boring shot and an interesting background results in an interesting shot. You must also make sure whatever happens in the foreground is interesting and able to grab the viewers attention.

Lighting

Lighting has a huge impact on your image and can make your shot look much better when focusing on the lighting and making sure you are using the correct lighting for the correct shot.

Different ways to film different set ups under different lights using just a phone and different parts of your house: 

- TV light as a light-box.

- Using a staircase which can create a long perspective.

- Using a computer or laptop to create a nice soft front light.

Independent Research (murder scene)

For preparation for our shoot, I did research into how to set up a murder scene on set, and what props will be needed.

In this video which I looked at, I discovered a few things;

1. A murder scene is very difficult to clean up.

2. To build a murder scene you need to make sure all your surroundings are covered up with either newspaper, cardboard, plastic sheets etc.

3. A mass amount of fake blood is needed.

4. Add symbols/weapons to the murder scene (gun, knife, bullets) and make sure these weapons are covered in blood.

5. To make the murder scene come across as more realistic you will have to mess up your surroundings and make it come across that something big has happened. 

As a mass amount of fake blood will be needed, I looked on amazon for large amounts of fake blood and found a 0.47L bottle which would be very helpful.

I also did research into how to make fake blood, incase of emergency and incase there is not enough of the bought fake blood. 

From doing this research, I learnt how to make fake blood. 

Step 1: 1 teaspoon of flour in a bowl

Step 2: Half a teaspoon of red food colouring, in the same bowl.

Step 3: 1 full tablespoon of corn syrup, in the bowl.

Step 4: 1 single drop of blue food colouring to help darken the colour.

Step 5: Whisk. 

My Production Group

 My Production Group 

Today we got put in our production groups and I got put with Bashy and Neave. We decided to set up a Whatsapp group so we are able to communicate with each other and arrange times we can meet outside of school, and discuss different ideas and plans for our production.

                                                                           

 

Feedback on my idea/ideas

 Feedback on Lost & Found

Out of my 3 ideas that I came up with, I chose the idea titled 'Lost & Found' which was a thriller, (about a young girl coming home from travelling and she gets to her house and it's not her family living there and her family 'never lived there' but she knows it's her house), to present to my production group and teacher. After I had explained this idea and what it would be about and how we would go about filming it, I received feedback. Negative and positive feedback. 

The feedback I received from Neave was that it was a good idea, a good use of location (the location was on campus using one of the boarding houses) and an interesting concept and that it would be a good opening scene as it results in the audience having unanswered questions and the viewer wants to know what happens next. The feedback which I received from Bashy was that he found this idea interesting and it wasn't boring to listen to and grabbed his attention. From my teacher I received positive and negative feedback, the positive feedback that I collected was that it was very good and had just enough detail and enough information was provided (not too much and not too little) and the access to the props and characters was easy and could be easily done. The negative feedback I received was, as their is one main character who carries this opening scene and holds it together this would mean the actress would have to be very strong and a confident actress and this can be quite challenging to find. There was also a feeling portrayed by my teacher that the dramatic moment was not strong enough and would need to stand out more and something would be needed in this opening scene that would carry the rest of the movie. 

From receiving this feedback, I adapted my idea and with the help from my production group and teacher and we came up with a different plot twist that would be bolder and would create a stronger dramatic moment. The idea was, rather than the girl realising it was not her house, she arrives home and is trying to get it but no one seems to be home, but as she is knocking she hears the phone ring and tries to follow it and goes around the side of her house to the kitchen and as she looks in the kitchen she sees her whole family has been murdered. Same beginning but different plot. This would enables the 'movie' to go somewhere and to evolve.

 Feedback on Unaware

When presenting my second idea which was titled 'Unaware' and was a horror genre, I received feedback from my production group. The feedback I received from Bashy was, he thought it was very cool, and was his favourite idea out of all the ideas presented. The feedback I received from Neave was, that the cast would be easy to set up and find, it was a very good use of location (field behind school) and she really liked the idea and how it would be really fun to film. I then received feedback from my teacher (Mike) and he suggested that the weather could challenge the filming as it would be set outside and a group of friends sitting on a field, but he loved the visuals and the potential of it looking very good. After receiving this feedback we then as a group suggested alternatives and different ways we could make it better. These were, if the girl was running away from these figures she was seeing which are not actually there and the clip could cut back and forth of the figure being there to the figure not being there. This would be able to make the story line more clear. 

Opening sequence...Sci-Fi

All An Illusion / Located  

This movie is about a group of 3 boys who figured out the purpose of life and what it actually is and discovered that they are living in a simulation. When they discovered that the world is a simulation and they were just playing their roles in this so what 'game', they got caught. They got caught by a high ruling operation company called 'P.T.M.E' stands for 'Prevent The Mind Escaping', the boys were able to crack the codes and understand what this company were doing and what they wanted and this lead to them being caught and being tracked and traced down. The companies reason as to why they wanted these boys was that the company wanted to keep this information hidden and unknown and the way to do this was to lock these boys up and separate them from the real world to prevent the information these boys knew into the open world.

This opening sequence will begin with 3 boys locked in a room (high tech and 'clean' room with a small table and 3 chairs - use establishing shot with everything in frame). One of the boys' will be writing in his diary, another boy will be crying and panicking and the third boy will be examining the room trying to find a way out - this provides character information as the boys' are exceeding to different stereotypes.

The boys' will then have a short conversation using an extreme long shot to continue to get everything in frame about what is going on and what they are going to do next - a tracking shot used on the boy who is panicking and pacing around the room mumbling to himself - long shot duration is used to convey intensity and intimacy within the narrative.

The camera will then zoom in on the boy who is writing in his journal - as the extreme zoom in continues deeper into his journey it will take us back in time to 'earlier that day' - this then begins with a group of friends including the 3 boys in a park doing what 'teenagers do' - playing football, listening to music, laughing, talking, smoking?, drinking? The clip then comes to an end with an extreme long shot to show where they are and and then the title appears which is 'All An Illusion', or 'Located'.

The title will appear in this font and shown on the bottom left of the frame with the groups of friends sitting in the park still in the frame, with low ambient sound of them still talking and listening to music.

Props:

- Diary 

- Small table

- 3 chairs

- Glasses 

- 3 boys 

- A group of mixed girls and boys

Opening sequence..Thriller

 Lost and Found

About a girl who has just arrived home from travelling for the past 12 months, she arrives at her family home with all her suitcases and backpacks, she gets to her house and it's not her family living there and her family 'never lived there', the family who currently live there have no idea who she is and why she's there. But she knows it's her house. She further investigates this whole situation and is determined to find her family and locate where they are or who has taken them.

The opening clip will begin with this girl around the age of 21, walking up to her house (use the lodge) trying to phone her mum who is not answering the phone - using hand held camera movements as she is walking to her house -  and the girl then shouts into the phone "mum", "mum where are you, I am back" - very enthusiastic, she then attempts to try get signal using various different hand gestures. 

As she is walking up to her 'house' she notices it's not her car which is in the driveway and is very unsure and confused as to where it may be or why there is a different car there, but she just brushes it off and walks towards the front door, with her house key. She attempts to open the door using her key but it does not work or fit the key padlock - use close up of the key not fitting and her attempting to make it work - she then steps back and looks up at her house and calls 'mum' 'mummm..' 'hello' 'anyone home' - no response - using a long shot to show the entire body of the subject. 

She then proceeds to walk around the side of the house to try the back door and then calls up to her brothers bedroom, "Jake" "Jake!" - no response. She goes back around to the front of the house and bangs on the door aggressively - use point of view angle of her banging on the door. The door then swing open with an angry looking woman holding the door, "who are you", "what do you want", a shot reverse shot is the used for the short conversation which occurs between this woman and the young girl - "I live here" - The angry lady then proceeds to call her husband over and he approaches the door angrily, shouting "who are you, get lost", "we will call the police". The girl then is left puzzled and confused and replies "but..but I live here, my mum, my dad, Jake".

The opening scene then finishes with synchronous sound and the title appearing as the camera slowly exits the scene leaving the girl and angry couple standing around the door.

Props:

- Backpacks

- A girl

- Phone

- Car

- Housekeys