Finished!

This is a post to sum up everything. I finished the film, poster and review last week.
Here are the finished products:

The review was hard to make as I decided to use InDesign, which is a piece of software I'm not too familiar with. However, with practice I finally got the hang of it and this is the final outcome. I tried to keep to the conventions of Empire Magazine's film reviews. I adjusted the review itself and very little bits such as the synopsis, to make the audience understand that it is a mockumentary.
InDesign is actually very useful to make reviews as you can adjust the settings so that you're working within guide lines so the placement of everything on the page is accurate. The text tools, picture tools and box tools were all very simple and are the same to other software such as photoshop.
Overall, I'm actually quite pleased with my review. I hope that my teachers see it in a good light too!























I've talked a little about my poster in my previous post, but again I am quite proud of this piece of work, particularly as it developed my skills on Photoshop.
There are some bits I'd still add into the poster such as a line saying 'Coming to Channel 4 soon' to make it clear is a documentary format, but there's nothing I can do about that now.

And Finally, this is my short film 'Unrecognised Musicians'
It was fun to make. Fun to create from my imagination. and I'm glad it's made a lot of people chuckle!

Poster

So editing for my film is done! I had to make very hard decisions in order to make the time limit of 5 minutes. I ended up taking out the scene where the character is playing the rarest note in the world and his ear bleeds and I replaced it with a scene of the character with his band. 

 Anyway, now that I have finished editing and making the tough decisions there, I have moved on to make my poster for my film. 

A few weeks ago, I took photos of my actor and narrowed it down to two photos. 

Because he is quite a broad shouldered person, I decided to choose the photo of his slightly turned to the side, which is different to what I wanted the composition to be in the first place. But this way, he looks slightly smaller and you get to take in the triangle he is holding in his hand. It is also a Medium Shot so we can see his facial expression a lot more clearly. 

So when editing this photo, I made the background black, with a sort of white crown around the character's head and I made the outline of his body stand out a bit with a glow around his body. 

I did this by clicking on the different areas I wanted to focus on and using the bar to adjust the lighting around the character. 

Originally, it was only mean to be the character with the glow around his body and a black background, but the background just looked a bit too... black... so I decided that the light around his head would look effective and pull focus to his facial expression.







I'm also going to add the picture of the triangle into the title of the film, so using green screen I have got the image of the triangle and I shall add it to the title.

Editing

So I have recorded most of the voice overs for my film and have added them in and I have a small amount to record left, with my actor. He is coming over to record it all this evening, which will get most of the work done!

Today I have focusing on the title for the film 'Unrecognised Musicians'
I took a photo of the triangle against the green screen and edited the background out so I could put the image of the triangle into the title to replace the 'o' in 'Unrecognised'

What Next?
Tonight I shall record the rest of the voice overs with Josh.
Then I will photograph him for my poster and review.
And I will film the final scene (FINALLY!!!) and go through everything and decide which bits need cutting out in order to keep everything within the time limit.

FAIL

I tried to film my VERY last scene this weekend, but of course the world was against me and it all failed.
Originally I planned to film on Saturday, however my actor turned out to be working, so I rearranged for Sunday and because of the sudden change of dates, all my other actors who were meant to be in the film couldn't do it. So I have come back to Media today with no footage!!! I'm hoping that one day my filming plans will actually follow through!

In the meantime, I can do more editing to my short film by doing all the voice overs of the interviewer. I'll record this in a silent area, but to make sure there is no other background noise, I'm going to use a microphone to make it sound clear.
I'm also going to focus on the titles for my film on livetype. I'm going to look at other mockumentary/documentary titles and base my ideas around them. So far from looking at the titles for these types of films, the font is extremely simple and the transitions are simple too.
I'll also add my production card to the beginning of my film. I'm going to use the one I made in year 12, which is my favourite one; Vinyl Productions.

Feedback on Review Ideas

IDEA ONE 

Everyone preferred my first idea as they felt it was a much more typical/conventional layout for a film review. They felt that they could easily tell where the text stats from. One improvement to it is that more smaller images could be put next to the main image.             

IDEA TWO

Idea two was not a favourable choice. People felt that it was not very visually appealing and weren't sure as to where the text started from. Because there was quite a lot of negative feedback about this design, I will not use it but will base my review around the design of idea one. 

Review Layout Ideas

Things have been a little slow for me recently as I've been struggling to get a firm location to film my final film in and i've also been struggling to get actors there.
Finally I have found a location and am filming the final scene on Saturday!
Meanwhile, I've been working on the design and layout of my film review.
I've created two different ideas, based on the film magazine review's from Empire and Sight and Sound.

Idea 1:  

Like the other reviews in the film magazines, I decided to have a box dedicated to quick information about the film, showing the certificate, who is in the film, who made the film and how long it is. This is placed right under the still image from the film and is also next to the title so that the reader can't miss it.










The title is right above the review and the full review is written underneath. It is written with the three columns as you can see from the dashed lines.








The still image from the film is going to dominate the top of the page. It creates enigma codes as the readers will wonder who the people are and why is one of them holding a triangle?

I based this idea from the reviews in Empire magazine. At the bottom right hand corner of the page, straight after the full on review, there is a box summing it up, giving the reader a quick review, with a star rating.








Idea 2: 

An image from the film is in the top right hand corner to attract attention, with the title of the film above it.
This makes it direct and straight to the point to the film.
The actual full review sort of fills the space between the image at the top left of the page and the bit at the bottom right.












The synopsis and the information about the film concerning who is in it, the certificate and the directors is at the bottom right hand side of the page, after the full review. This sums everything up for the reader. I based this from the reviews in Sight and Sound.

Audience Feedback on First Edit

This is my audience feedback. Everything said was very positive. They felt that they understood the story line and that they found it funny. They understood the documentary format and thought it flowed very well. Fran, also mentions the dialogue being very engaging, which was a relief to me as I was worried that the dialogue was too much and not very relatable.
Having spoken to other people within my target audience, not just the people in the film, I found there was interest in what the music will be like in the film and interest in what the interviewer says in the voice over. This is something I'm still thinking about. I have come up with ideas for instance, in the scene where the character is beaten up by violin players, I may have screeching violin noises in the background to add an aggressive effect to this scene.

Peer Feedback

Today we did peer feedback on our first edits of our short film. There were the following aspects to focus on when analyzing the first edit; Cinematography, Mise-en-scene, Editing and Sound.

Cinematography: The two people who did my peer feedback really liked the variety of shots, especially the 360 degree pan around the character when he is attacked.


































Improvements for the cinematography was that maybe I could add some more continuity techniques when filming, such as; match on action. When I film some more footage I hope to vary my shot types even more and add more continuity techniques.
All in all, I got high marks for the cinematography!

Mise-en-scene: The triangle's room had very positive feedback because of the use of props and the setting created with the shrine for the triangle.

They believed that the mise-en-scene kept the narrative very strong and clear. Again, I was given quite high marks for the mise-en-scene.

Editing: Feedback showed that the meaning of the short film was very clear to the audience and that the editing is used effectively to tell the story. Only improvements to be make is maybe a varied use of transitions. This is something I definitely need to consider when I edit more of my film, especially to show a change in time.

Sound: Both of them really liked the dialogue for the story line and felt the voice overs were very clear.  Because it's only my first edit, not everything is finished yet, so I haven't recorded the voice over, which both of my peers noticed.

Other Comments: "Great job Ursula, really funny, loved it!"
                                "I think the actor choice was really good"

Editing So Far...

I'm quite far into my editing at the moment. It started off a little slow as I didn't have much footage to edit due to various time difficulties with the actor. The first edit was very simple as most of it was cuts and it was mostly about going through all of the footage to make sure things such as the continuity was okay and if the footage itself is good, incase I had to go back and re film something. However, everything looks good and I chose which footage I considered to be the best shots to edit. 

Some lengths of certain shots are a little erratic as I need to record a voice over, over the image and I don't know how long I'll need the shot to be when I come round to recording it. Because of this my first edit is 7 minutes long, which is over the time limit, but when I do the voice recording, everything will be cut down to hopefully fit into the 5 minute time period.

When I finally came around to shooting more footage, I had a very good idea of what I wanted the final edited scene to be like as the scene I was shooting was when the character is attacked. It is sort of like a flash back to his past, showing what happened when he was attacked. Over this footage will be a voice over of the character reflecting on what happened that day.
I slowed down the length of the footage in order to make it in slow motion as I felt this would be more effective and make the mockumentary style film look more serious, which would be quite humorous to the audience.

This is my first edit of what I've done so far. Where there are black gaps on the screen, that is where more footage is meant to be, but first I have to actually film it! It's been delayed a bit as I'm waiting to hear about a certain location possibility to film in.
There is no voice over yet, so there is footage with no audio over it.

Potential Problems

Today I am meant to filming more for my short film.
Today's shots are shots 10-17, where the main character, Glennard Maxwell gets attacked by violin players.
I plan to film this down a sort of deserted road, right by the school as there will not be many people around and not as many cars around either. I was going to film somewhere else but for convenience sake I've decided to choose a location which is closer to school, but is equally as good as the location I was going to have before.
However, a problem has arisen as the actor's foot has been injured recently so that it will make filming today problematic as the actor may not be able to run in this scene. When I meet with him I'll assess how badly the foot is injured and we'll decide whether or not we will go on with filming today.

Later...

The actor's foot seemed okay for running therefore I got alot of footage for a particular scene today, where the character is being attacked. I've edited this in slow motion because I think it would look more effective and be seen to be taken 'seriously' for the mockumentary.

Film Poster Feedback

On the whole, the feedback for my film poster was very positive. Everyone liked the fact that it was straight forward and to the point. They liked the serious expression of the character as they know the film is a mockumentary and so it makes it more humorous.
The only thing that they said I need to improve on is that to make it more clear that this poster is a poster for a mockumentary film and not like an image for a new CD out. Therefore to make it more clear I need to add a tag line for the film.
I want a tag line that is serious yet is sarcastic so that it reflects the humorous side of the film.

Filming Progress

So far, I have done most of the filming for my short film. I've had to change some things though, for instance I decided to change the Character's name, for various reasons. So his new name is Glennard Maxwell. It is a perhaps more believable name, and after asking a few people about it, they agreed that it is the sort of name you'd expect a triangle player to have.

From the feedback from my animatic, I know that there are perhaps too many shots of just the main character sat in the chair talking to the interviewer, which is why I think I might add some new shots into his interview; sort of like flashbacks, in order to keep the carrier wave of the audience's interest going.

Finding the right location and actors to film has been very difficult for the past few days, as people who have agreed to act for me have ducked out at the last minute for various reasons. To overcome this, I'm going to have to really focus and organise a tight schedule in order for me to fit in my filming by the deadline. So I shall be contacting various people and being strict about times of filming as of course I need the best possible light, however because it's winter it gets dark earlier in the day, therefore filming must start earlier!

On the first day of filming I had great fun setting up the Triangle's shrine!

Making the props such as the box that the triangle is kept in was great fun and making it's surroundings look mystical and exciting, was great fun too. I did this using the candles, the cloth on the table, the incense stick and the rocks.
You can tell from this that the character takes his triangle extremely seriously... or maybe too seriously!




Having the actor dress up as Glennard Maxwell was great fun too.

He is wearing large glasses, a tweed jacket a shirt and grey trousers (which you can't see in this image)
This is the sort of look my target audience thought was appropriate for my character.

Reviews Analysis

SIGHT AND SOUND MAGAZINE: 

  The full layout of the film review.
This again is a very simple layout, from the picture in the top right hand corner, with the writing of the review around it.

This follows the basic understanding that most readers, see this like a normal book, reading from the top left hand corner to the right and all the way down.

The credits to the film, showing who is involved in the making of it as well as who is in it is in the bottom right corner as extra information to tempt the reader to see the film.
There is no simple sum up of the review in this magazine like there was in Empire Magazine and it has no star reviews either.

In the top left hand corner of the page is the title of the film and the general information about it, including who the director is, the actors in it, the age certificate and when it was released.
This is the background information before reading the full review.

The main image is in the right hand corner, with the writing of the review around it.
It again is like a visual sneak peek into the film, showing the actor in it in his costume and the setting.

The synopsis is again like background information. It is a sum up of what happens in the film, which will help you understand the review a bit more. It will also help you see if you are attracted to the storyline of the film.

Reviews Analysis

EMPIRE MAGAZINE:

The layout of the review.
The picture right at the top, as we generally tend to read things from the top left corner the down.
The picture captures the audience's attention, as does the bold titles underneath it, telling us what film it is.

Then after the picture and the title is the full review. There is two boxes (one top left and one bottom right) which are like quick sum ups and the full review in between.

This is a simple layout which is very clear for the reader. It's also informative about the film and has simple sum ups for those lazy readers...!

A still image from the film, to get fans excited.
Shows the actors in it, also the costumes, props and some of the setting. This is all like a 'sneak peek'

A box with general information about the film. A very quick sum up, before the full review.
This can be effective as background information may be needed before reading the full review.

A quick sum up at the end with a star rating. It's sort of like a conclusion to the full review of the film.

Poster Idea

Here, is the conventional 'Small print' at the bottom of the poster, listing who's in the film, who directed, produced and edited it.
There is also the website for more information on the film and the logos of production companies at the bottom.






The font for the poster is very simple. In the actual poster the colour of the font will be white, as the background will be black, but I did this using a fine liner in order for the poster to stand out for the moment.

I decided to keep the font simple as all the other documentary/mockumentary poster's i've looked at all have very simplistic font and have either a black or a white font colour. I've decided to conform to this convention with my short film poster.

As you can see from my poster design, I wanted the main character to be the focus of the poster, the main image in the centre which attracts the audience's attention. This is a medium shot and I got inspiration for this from the poster I analysed, 'I'm still here'. The main image in 'I'm still here' is of the main character and the focus is entirely on him.
In my poster, you see the subject holding a triangle, which creates some enigma codes such as 'what is the relevance of the triangle?'
The man also poses the question 'who is he?'

General

Locations:
My house will be used as the main character's house. I will change the furniture around and place some props around, to make the house look more like the character's. For instance there could be a portrait of a triangle in the background, photos of Fret around the place, a few plants and so on, to make it feel homely.
Another location is an alleyway, where Fret will be attacked by some violin players. It will look like a rough place in town and will convey how traumatic it all was for the main character and alleyways are usually conventional in places where people are beaten up.
The last location I'll use is the school, in a music room, where there are already music posters and instruments everywhere to show it is a music room, which is where the band will rehearse.

Props:
All the instruments will be props, obviously so a triangle, xylophone, egg shaker, recorder, wooden block and spoons will be used.
There will also be the petition Fret shows the interviewer.
And obviously, the character's triangle will be the main prop. Like how Harry Potter's wand is the most important prop.
Fake blood will be needed for the scene where Fret's ear bleeds.

Costumes:
Fret Puke = tweed jacket, a check shirt, cord trousers and glasses - gives him a geeky look, to make him stand out a bit. What my target audience think a triangle player would look like.
Other characters = everyday clothes; jumpers, shirts, jeans etc.

Equipment Needed:

• Camera
• Tripod

Actors:

Josh

- photo will be poster soon.

(others to be confirmed)

Potential Difficulties: 

How to over come

• If the weather is too bad to film, however this could be useful when filming the main character being beaten up, as it has a pathetic fallacy theme to it. 
• If the actors are not available due to unforeseen circumstances, I'll need to have some people on standby. 

Production Schedule/Risk Assessment

My Animatic

This is my finished animatic. I recorded the voices of the characters, perfected the timings of each shot, so that it is in 5 minutes, instead of nearly 7 minutes! The music is from garage band, they suit the mood of the scene and they are only examples of what the music will be like, I will make the music later when it comes to the editing process. 

Progress

So far I have finished my storyboard and have done a rough draft of my script.

When storyboarding I couldn't help but think back to when I did it for my year 11 music video coursework, which was a 3 minute long video and for a 3 minute long video I did at least 130 shots. This time, despite the fact the film is 5 minutes long, I found that I only managed about 85 shots in my storyboard for the whole thing. For a while I was worried that it wouldn't be enough shots, but because my short film is a mockumentary, alot of the shots is an interview with the main character, so those shots will be particularly long. This meant that the shots were less that I thought they would be, just because a few go on for at least 20-30 seconds.

I need to type up my script onto scriptbuddy.com in order to have the layout clearer and neater. But I did a rough draft of the script so that I could make storyboarding easier.

In the end, I think I will need to cut some shots out in order to make the time limit, but it is always better to have the whole thing run a bit longer, so that you can review it and make the necessary changes in order to make the film as good as it can be, but still within the time limit.

Poster Analysis #4

Title: I'm Still Here
Director: Casey Affleck
What Happened? In 2008 while rehearsing for a charity event, actor Joaquin Phoenix, with Casey Affleck's camera watching, tells people he's quitting to pursue a career in rap music. Over the next year, we watch the actor write, rehearse, and perform to an audience. He importunes Sean Combs in hopes he'll produce the record. We see the actor in his home: he parties, smokes, bawls out his two-man entourage, talks philosophy with Affleck, and comments on celebrity

This is a mockumentary film, but the story behind this film is that no one knew that this was all just a silly storyline, people actually believed Joaquin Phoenix wanted to become a rapper. Therefore, this is why the poster looks very serious. 
The character is placed in the centre of the poster, with a scruffy suit and messy hair. He has a light around his head, then the background is more grey. The light shows him becoming a star. The sunglasses convey that there is paparazzi taking photos as typically you'll see a celebrity wearing sunglasses to protect their eyes from the flash of the camera. 
The title is in the middle too, but sort of fades in and out of the image, showing that he may be taking a back seat for a while, but he is still here and will return bigger and better (or as a rap star)
The text is very simple, in white/grey tones and is in italics and this is a very simple text style. 
The first name of the director and actor is in a small sized font, but their last names are in a bigger sized font. Then right at the bottom, there is the website and the production companies. 
There is a subtle bit of humour in this poster through the general look of the character as you wouldn't expect a typical rap star to wear a shit and tie with a big beard and messy hair.

Poster Analysis #3

Title: Michael Jackson's This is It
Director: Kenny Ortega
What Happened?
Follows the weeks before Michael Jackson's death and it is about his tour 'This is it'.
The documentary talk to dancers who auditioned for the tour and has pre recorded footage of the rehearsals for the tour.

The white background of the poster, helps make the colourful and vibrant main image stand out of the whole poster.
The main image is placed in the centre of the poster and is in the shape of Michael Jackson doing one of his most famous poses or dance moves. Inside this shape of him, is a compilation for various stills from the tour he was rehearsing for. Around the main image, is a sort of glowing light around him, conveying him as an angel perhaps as this was released after his death. Or it could convey how this tour was going to light up the stage.
At the top of the page, the font is very simple and is in bold CAPITALS. The title "This is it" stands out more than the rest of the words as it is the main title of the film.
Below it has the release date in bold so that the audience won't miss it.
At the bottom there is the production companies' logos, but the listings at the bottom naming people like the director and producer and so on is missing, in order to make the film slightly more mysterious and intriguing.

I chose this poster as it is for a documentary style film, but it is more like my idea in that it is along the theme of music and my idea is a mockumentary about a musician.