More Music
One of the constructive criticisms which my group received was to make the film opening for The eZ Life more film-like and less like a music video. In reaction to this opinion, I added an extra music track in an attempt to make the viewing experience more like a film. I added the song, 'Pretty Flacko (Ryan Hemsworth Remix)' by A$AP Rocky. I feel that adding the song helped to make the viewing experience much more engaging and enjoyable. By coincidence, the music sounds gives the impression of time passing, so, I decided to implement it for the time lapse scene where Zach transforms into a zombie.
Plan of Changes
After sifting through all of our feedback forms me, James and Archie chose three from separate piles which we thought were the most helpful and accurate. After doing this we discussed as a group what changes we need to make and the priority of the changes. The changes which we we'll make can be seen below in order of priority.
The ending on our first draft was very poor by our own admission and was the main criticism from the feedback. Therefore, it was only right that this was our first priority to improve this week. James suggested having a time lapse at the end. We have planned that Archie will paint my face to make me look like a zombie and James will take pictures gradually throughout the process which when collated together will be a time lapse. This will make it much more obvious to the audience that Zach is turning into a Zombie and will look much more professional than our current ending.
1. Improve the ending of the opening.
The ending on our first draft was very poor by our own admission and was the main criticism from the feedback. Therefore, it was only right that this was our first priority to improve this week. James suggested having a time lapse at the end. We have planned that Archie will paint my face to make me look like a zombie and James will take pictures gradually throughout the process which when collated together will be a time lapse. This will make it much more obvious to the audience that Zach is turning into a Zombie and will look much more professional than our current ending.
This is a tutorial James watched after we agreed on a time lapse at the end. Obviously it could not be directly applied to our one as the setting will be different. But this was hugely helpful to watch as the fundamental concepts of a time lapse were explained in a way that was easy for James to understand. Much of the advice given in this video will be taken into account when we create our time lapse.
2. Make the story/plot more obvious.
This was a reoccurring criticism from our feedback. Many people said they weren't sure what was happening or that the story line lacked depth. To improve this I suggested that we implement a news report into our opening sequence which will explain the effect that the drug has on the users. The news interview will be filmed in the interview room located in our school as it looks similar to the setting of professional news sets. We also identified that we need someone older, wearing a smart suit, to be the news reporter. We asked our head of sixth form, Mr Barker, to do this and he has kindly agreed to do it on Friday morning.
Filming For Final Cut
We decided that we needed to change several things from the first cut to make our next cut better. We started filming.On the right is us creating the time-lapse that we decided to use to show me turning into a zombie. I sat in front of the green scren so that we can put videos of parties in the background when editing.
The whole process took a couple of hours to complete. Archie applied the face paint to me whilst James took pictures gradually throughout the process to show the progression of turning Zach into a zombie-like state.
Now we have the time-lapse to edit we only have the news report left to film. This will be done later this week and the edited into the opening in time for Friday's deadline.
Why We Chose Our Music
Our group has been queried over the past few weeks about our music selection. Hopefully this blog post will address some of the criticism and doubts which our group encountered though the long process of creating The eZ Life.
The lyrics used actually help to create imagery and help to add more meaning to the viewing experience. Remember, The eZ Life is a film to advocate helping drug users with their problems.
Below are the lyrics which are featured in our opening, and with them, an explanation as to how it relates to our convention and film:
[INTRO]
"Niggas need a spot where WE can kick it"
- Since thugs don't have a sense of belonging in many places, they require a 'Thugz Mansion' where they can chill and kick it. A place where they can relax and escape from the society where they're oppressed. This reflects the drug culture which our film is aiming to present to it's target audience.
"A spot where WE belong, that's just for us"
- The lyric is basically saying that since society tends to get all bent out of shape when it looks at drug consumption, Tupac wants place where he actually feels like he belongs. Not a place where he's looked down upon by society, but instead a place where he's accepted. This reflects how the drug consumption is exclusive.
"Niggas ain't gotta get all dressed up and be Hollywood"
- Tupac's describing his heaven as a place where people can be relaxed and not worry about being fake. This represents how the drug is real, and not just "Hollywood".
"Y'knahmean? Where do niggas go when we die?"
- This line reflects the concept of 'life after death'. This fits perfectly with the effects that eZ have upon consumption.
"Ain't no heaven for a thug nigga"
- This statement helps foreshadows how the drug doesn't create heaven, infact it has detrimental effects upon the user.
"That's why we go to a thug mansion"
- This line simply is a metaphor for entering the party and also taking eZ.
"That's the only place where thugs get in free and you gotta be a G ... at thug mansion"
- Basically, the party is the utopia, but also eZ creates a dystopia.
[VERSE]
"A place to spend my quiet nights, time to unwind"
- The drug, eZ, is envisioned to be stress free and the opposite to time on Earth.
"So much pressure in this life of mine, I cry at times"
- This lines outlines how drug users usually have a stimulant to their addiction or desire to consume.
"I once contemplated suicide, and woulda tried"
- This line suggests how drug users sometimes rely upon drugs to live. This creates an interesting idea as obviously eZ turns you undead.
"But when I held that 9, all I could see was my momma's eyes"
- This line shows how things in drug users' pasts prevent them from ending their lives.
"No one knows my struggle, they only see the trouble"
- Drug users are generally labelled and are considered trouble.
"Not knowin it's hard to carry on when no one loves you"
- People are ignorant to drug consumption and the problems which it causes.
"Picture me inside the misery of poverty"
- This line makes the audience think about the pain and anguish which negligence of drug users causes.
"No man alive has ever witnessed struggles I survived"
- The media only portray drug users in a bad light, and not rehab or anything similar.
"Prayin hard for better days, promise to hold on"
- Through every dark night, there's a bright day after that.
"Me and my dawgs ain't have a choice but to roll on"
- People who have a drug habit are forced to continue on their path without any help.
"We found a family spot to kick it"
- This line suggests how drug users have regular locations and take drugs with the same people.
"Where we can drink liquor and no one bickers over-trick shit"
- Drug users commonly share what they have.
"A spot where we can smoke in peace, and even though we G's"
- Again, this portrays the regularity of the locations which they select.
"We still visualize places, that we can roll in peace"
- This line shows the oppression against drug users and how they should be helped peacefully rather than violently.
"And in my mind's eye I see this place, the players go in fast"
- Drug use is becoming more of a problem as more and more people take them.
"I got a spot for us all, so we can ball, at thug's mansion"
- This line suggests the influence which drugs have on vulnerable people and if they're promised a euphoric experience, they're more than likely to return.
Below are the lyrics which are featured in our opening, and with them, an explanation as to how it relates to our convention and film:
[INTRO]
"Niggas need a spot where WE can kick it"
- Since thugs don't have a sense of belonging in many places, they require a 'Thugz Mansion' where they can chill and kick it. A place where they can relax and escape from the society where they're oppressed. This reflects the drug culture which our film is aiming to present to it's target audience.
"A spot where WE belong, that's just for us"
- The lyric is basically saying that since society tends to get all bent out of shape when it looks at drug consumption, Tupac wants place where he actually feels like he belongs. Not a place where he's looked down upon by society, but instead a place where he's accepted. This reflects how the drug consumption is exclusive.
"Niggas ain't gotta get all dressed up and be Hollywood"
- Tupac's describing his heaven as a place where people can be relaxed and not worry about being fake. This represents how the drug is real, and not just "Hollywood".
"Y'knahmean? Where do niggas go when we die?"
- This line reflects the concept of 'life after death'. This fits perfectly with the effects that eZ have upon consumption.
"Ain't no heaven for a thug nigga"
- This statement helps foreshadows how the drug doesn't create heaven, infact it has detrimental effects upon the user.
"That's why we go to a thug mansion"
- This line simply is a metaphor for entering the party and also taking eZ.
"That's the only place where thugs get in free and you gotta be a G ... at thug mansion"
- Basically, the party is the utopia, but also eZ creates a dystopia.
[VERSE]
"A place to spend my quiet nights, time to unwind"
- The drug, eZ, is envisioned to be stress free and the opposite to time on Earth.
"So much pressure in this life of mine, I cry at times"
- This lines outlines how drug users usually have a stimulant to their addiction or desire to consume.
"I once contemplated suicide, and woulda tried"
- This line suggests how drug users sometimes rely upon drugs to live. This creates an interesting idea as obviously eZ turns you undead.
"But when I held that 9, all I could see was my momma's eyes"
- This line shows how things in drug users' pasts prevent them from ending their lives.
"No one knows my struggle, they only see the trouble"
- Drug users are generally labelled and are considered trouble.
"Not knowin it's hard to carry on when no one loves you"
- People are ignorant to drug consumption and the problems which it causes.
"Picture me inside the misery of poverty"
- This line makes the audience think about the pain and anguish which negligence of drug users causes.
"No man alive has ever witnessed struggles I survived"
- The media only portray drug users in a bad light, and not rehab or anything similar.
"Prayin hard for better days, promise to hold on"
- Through every dark night, there's a bright day after that.
"Me and my dawgs ain't have a choice but to roll on"
- People who have a drug habit are forced to continue on their path without any help.
"We found a family spot to kick it"
- This line suggests how drug users have regular locations and take drugs with the same people.
"Where we can drink liquor and no one bickers over-trick shit"
- Drug users commonly share what they have.
"A spot where we can smoke in peace, and even though we G's"
- Again, this portrays the regularity of the locations which they select.
"We still visualize places, that we can roll in peace"
- This line shows the oppression against drug users and how they should be helped peacefully rather than violently.
"And in my mind's eye I see this place, the players go in fast"
- Drug use is becoming more of a problem as more and more people take them.
"I got a spot for us all, so we can ball, at thug's mansion"
- This line suggests the influence which drugs have on vulnerable people and if they're promised a euphoric experience, they're more than likely to return.
Script for the News Broadcast
Today I wrote a script for the revised ending for my group's film opening. The script will be read used by Mr Barker who's playing the news reader in the film opening.
The script can be seen below:
The script can be seen below:
I tried to use pre-existing news articles on the internet to gain understanding on the wording of news articles of this particular genre. I examined several news articles about drugs and worked out the kind of language which they tended to use.
Here is a screenshot of one of the articles which I used:
I took note on how the facts are expressed and then tried to implement these techniques in my own script.
Film Poster
In this scenario I increased the brightness and contrast and decreased the amount of shadows. I then enhanced the picture with a Hi-Def filter. Next, I exported the poster onto the computer. I used Adobe Photoshop to place text onto the poster which my group found suitable to the genre which our film fit into. I finally removed the backgrounds of some zombie hands on Adobe Photoshop and then placed them along the left and right sides of the poster. I felt like this would be a good idea to suggest a zombie theme. I placed the institution logo onto the poster and then finally added the group's names onto the top of the poster.
My group decided to use this poster for our film.
James then created some ways in which our film poster could be implemented into people's lives in and around busy cities such as London. Me and James discussed the best places to place the film poster. James then found some images on the internet and used Adobe Photoshop to insert the poster onto them.
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| Bus Stop: One way in which films are commonly advertised is on the side of bus shelters. |
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| Theater: Here's our film being advertised in a cinema. |
First Draft Freedback
Here is a small selection of the widely positive reviews which our group for The eZ Life received.
My group mainly received good reviews for our film, 'The eZ Life'.
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| Positive Reviews: My group mainly received good reviews. |
We were majorly complimented on the editing of the film, the camera perspectives and lighting.
Our choice of music split opinion of the group which gave us feedback. Some people were unsure of the song as it is lyrically explicit in some parts. However, I personally think that the song reflects the party environment which we was aiming for. In addition to this, music preference is subjective and will never be to everyone's taste. Despite this, we were also complimented on the music choice. I think that the divide in opinion clearly shows who our target audience is.
People constructively criticised the end of our film. However, we quickly put the ending together using gimmicky apps on the iPhone and were never going to actually implement it when it came to the final film.
More Filming and Recce Shot of Location
Today we agreed that we would film for a consecutive night. We filmed the car scenes with the help of Mrs Brooks, who kindly agreed to assist us.
We filmed at a road opposite the school. Here, we shot the scene of Zach exiting the car and approaching the party. James filmed and Archie directed and I played Zach.
Conveniantly, the house opposite had a driveway with very good lighting which Archie spotted. We decided to shoot a scene there, making full use of the opportunity.
Here is a recce shot of the location Archie spotted:
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| Effective Lighting: Archie spotted this location while filming. |
Boyz in the Hood Inspiration
Today during editing I implemented the use of iconography which was inspired from Boyz in the Hood which the class analysed earlier in the year.
The stop sign in Boyz in the Hood is the director's way of conveying a message. In The eZ Life, a similar sign is going to be used to express a similar message.
Here is a recce shot of the sign which we are going to use:
Film Poster Reflections
As a group we decided to create a couple of film posters for The eZ Life. We took several pictures to use for the poster creation a few nights previous.
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| Here's a selection of some of the pictures which we took which we thought we could use for the film poster. |
Props Research/List
Black Hoodie: This will be used in the scene where the drug deal takes place, it will be worn by the dealer
iPhone: Needed to show texts between durg dealer and Zack
Mirror (in bathroom): for scene where Zack looks into mirror after taking eZ pill
Lampost (outside): Needed for drug deal scene for light
Green screen: To edit party scene on Adobe Premiere
Institution for The eZ Life
Film4 is a British digital television channel available in the United Kingdom, owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation, that screens films. We choose film 4 to distribute our film as it is a well known brand with a good Reputation. Film 4 channels many independent and mainstream films. Film 4 was first launched on 1st November 1998. It has made huge blockbuster movies such as 12 years a Slave but it has also made small movies such as The Double. It distributes a wide variety of films. Film4 also notably produced 24 Hour Party People and The Inbetweeners Movie.
Tenacious D Inspiration
As a group we watched this scene from Tenacious D after Issak suggested it. The idea of having a clip of the visions Jack Black has and then putting he clip of reality right after was both funny and made the genre obvious. We can incorporate an idea like this into our film the eZ life. Also the start of it is one of many ways to show drug taking. We will be showing it differently but it is good to see there are other ways we can do it.
Music Research Ideas
I have been looking for various tracks which could fit what we are aiming for The eZ Life.
Firstly, the song 'Hell of A Night' by ScHoolBoy Q caught my notice due to the out of body feel which the synth gives at the beginning of the song. The lyrics are also very relevant to the film.
'Hell of a Night' can be heard below:
Next, the song 'Dancin (KRONO Remix)' caught my attention due to its upbeat and lively tempo which would suit a party scene.
Dancin can be heard below:
Firstly, the song 'Hell of A Night' by ScHoolBoy Q caught my notice due to the out of body feel which the synth gives at the beginning of the song. The lyrics are also very relevant to the film.
'Hell of a Night' can be heard below:
Next, the song 'Dancin (KRONO Remix)' caught my attention due to its upbeat and lively tempo which would suit a party scene.
Dancin can be heard below:
The music video and song 'PMW' by A$AP Rocky ft. ScHoolBoy Q caught my notice due to the lyrics relating to things which happens at parties.
PMW can be heard here:
PMW can be heard here:
The song '2Pac vs. Banks Thugz Drowning (Carlos Serrano Mix)' caught my attention due to the high tempo and lyrics.
'2Pac vs. Banks Thugz Drowning (Carlos Serrano Mix)' can be heard here:
Marketing Campaign
James created a marketing campaign presentation for The eZ Life. Other tasks which we had already completed helped him create this presentation.
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| Here is an example of what @TheEZLife would look like on Twitter. |
Location and Recce Shots
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| This is a shot of the wall in the night, outside the sixth form block. This is a photo without the flash. |
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| This is a shot of a wall in the daylight, outside the media department at Great Baddow High School. |
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| This is a shot of another wall in the daylight, opposite the media department. Flash was not used. |
Production Diary
Day 1: Monday 10th November
Today we pitched our own individual film ideas. We then discussed eachother's ideas and contributed to what we felt would improve or what we could do slightly differently. During this discussion we then choose the film idea which we felt would be different and something that has not been done before. We choose this film then gave our own ideas to try and improve and develop the idea. We used this as we felt some ideas would have been to hard to do. We felt as though if we contributed our own ideas and discussed them this would benefit the film itself. We choose my film pitch idea, The eZ Life.
Day 2: Tuesday 11th November
Today we Pitched our film, The eZ life to our fellow peers and teachers. We received mixed feedback with some really taking to the idea however some people found it as though to be too hard and that the party scene will need lots of shots in order to select and pick the best ones. However the actual idea was overall accepted and that this could work. The fact that it is something that is different and has never been done before was something that would be exciting. It is an unusual but clever film pitch. We did have one criticism which was later resolved. We classified the film as a 15 certificate however this was questioned by many of our peers as our film involves drugs however we resolved this issue and we were correct in thinking that our film arrived inside the 15.
Day 3: Thursday 13th November
Today we researched certain films which we felt as though would help us and give us some inspiration. I choose the film Zombieland. I choose this film as it is an age group at which our film is targeted at. Our actors are of similar age. Archie researched the film 21. James researched the film, Zombeavers. We all picked different films and we collectively decided that this would see a wider range of film openings.
Day 4: Friday 14th November
Today we had to research different titles. We did this to try and get some inspiration and some thought as to be what our film title could look like. We also done this to see the timing of the titles and the fonts. This would overall help us in picking our title. We each done this separately and together we came back into a group to discuss various titles that we felt were good or what we could do for our own titles in our film opening.
Day 5: Monday 17th November
Today we had a group meeting and we allocated roles for the tasks that we had to do e.g. Storyboard, audience research, etc. We felt as though if we allocated this now that this would save us time as we know who is doing what. We allocated these tasks to what everyone felt comfortable with and what we felt as thought would work well the best. We also created a moodboard of which gave us inspiration. We did this to give us an overall idea of the shots and the posters which we felt would help us. We choose similar genres and types of films so this would help us look at the shots for our particular film.
Day 6: Tuesday 18th November
Today Archie researched a similar genre film in which he researched various stats and information about the film which I thought would best suit our particular film. This film was Zombieland. This is similar to our film, with both including zombies. I researched different types of music for our film opening. I had to make sure that it was copyright free so therefore he researched and played different musics at which he felt would work best. James created a powerpoint which was synopsis planning. James did this as a brief plan for the overall plan. We then had a group meeting at the end to make sure that we was all on track and we then spoke about what we had researched.
Day 7: Thursday 20th November
Today Archie created our production diary as we realised that we had to post this constantly up to date. James started the script for our film opening, whilst I started the storyboard.
Day 8: Friday 21st November
Today Archie researched film institutions in which we felt would distribute our film. James continued producing and making the script. I continued to create the storyboard. We discussed our various ideas for the script and storyboard so we all felt as thought the storyboard would be as close as it could towards out final shots that we want to take.
Day 9: Monday 24th November
Today I researched certain locations and got some recce shots in which our locations could be. Me and Archie also started to create the storyboard video. Once we completed this however we received some feedback and we realised that we had to introduce titles into the video. James started the marketing campaign presentation.
Day 10: Tuesday 25th November
Today Archie created our risk assessment for our health and safety for our shooting risk assessment. James created our marketing campaign PowerPoint whilst I continued to work on our storyboard.
Day 11: Thursday 27th November
Today Archie planned the shooting schedule and together in our group meeting we decided what days we would film. We decided that if we planned certain days that we could all make that we would keep to this schedule. James finished the script after feedback which we felt as though we could improve the script from our group meeting, so James redid the script at which he improved. James also researched different titles fonts for which our genre was evident. Archie finished the storyboard editing and started to research various music research for our film.
Day 12: Friday 28th November
Today we continued filming shots for our film and started editing for our film. Together we filmed the first three shots of our film. We took two shots of every shot that we had so that we could pick the best shot which would fit our film.
Day 13: Monday 1st December
Today we continued to film certain shots for our film and Issak continued to edit the film. I researched various film institutions and researched Film4. James researched various props that we were using for our film.
Day 14: Tuesday 2nd December
Today we continued to film certain shots for our film and together we contributed to edit the film together. I continued to edit although we would constantly ask each others opinions and what we could do to improve it. We researched various inspirations to try and help us improve our film.
Day 15: Wednesday 3rd December
Today we continued to film certain shots for our film as we try to continue filming as a way to see what we could do and need to improve our film sequence. We looked for different locations in ways which were we could improve the shots to make them better. James made the shot list of what shots that we are using for our film sequence.
Day 16: Thursday 4th December
Today we continued to film certain shots for our film as we found shots at which we wanted to improve for our film opening sequence. James started the PowerPoint whilst James started the representation PowerPoint, Archie started the timeline of our opening sequence.
Day 17: Friday 5th December
Today our first draft needed to be in. This needed to be in so that we could receive feedback from our fellow peers. We however continued filming on this day in order to finish as we were slightly rushing. Archie also finished the timeline of our opening sequence.
Week commencing 8th December:
This week we received our feedback from various peers and teachers in order to try and see what we would could improve. Our feedback was what we expected and was very good however we felt as though we could improve our film when we had group discussions. We continued to film for our opening sequence and we changed other sections and shots of our film in order to improve it. We constantly stayed every night after school as a group till 6 O'clock at least. Together as a team we discussed various ways our film could be the best it could be. As we were ahead with paperwork we filmed various of shots that we did not use and shots that we filmed twice as we were ahead of time. The final film needed to be in on Friday 12th December and therefore we focused our time on the film opening sequence. After a long and enjoyable journey we finished our film: The eZ Life.
Today we pitched our own individual film ideas. We then discussed eachother's ideas and contributed to what we felt would improve or what we could do slightly differently. During this discussion we then choose the film idea which we felt would be different and something that has not been done before. We choose this film then gave our own ideas to try and improve and develop the idea. We used this as we felt some ideas would have been to hard to do. We felt as though if we contributed our own ideas and discussed them this would benefit the film itself. We choose my film pitch idea, The eZ Life.
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| Working hard |
Today we Pitched our film, The eZ life to our fellow peers and teachers. We received mixed feedback with some really taking to the idea however some people found it as though to be too hard and that the party scene will need lots of shots in order to select and pick the best ones. However the actual idea was overall accepted and that this could work. The fact that it is something that is different and has never been done before was something that would be exciting. It is an unusual but clever film pitch. We did have one criticism which was later resolved. We classified the film as a 15 certificate however this was questioned by many of our peers as our film involves drugs however we resolved this issue and we were correct in thinking that our film arrived inside the 15.
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| James helps Issak |
Today we researched certain films which we felt as though would help us and give us some inspiration. I choose the film Zombieland. I choose this film as it is an age group at which our film is targeted at. Our actors are of similar age. Archie researched the film 21. James researched the film, Zombeavers. We all picked different films and we collectively decided that this would see a wider range of film openings.
Day 4: Friday 14th November
Today we had to research different titles. We did this to try and get some inspiration and some thought as to be what our film title could look like. We also done this to see the timing of the titles and the fonts. This would overall help us in picking our title. We each done this separately and together we came back into a group to discuss various titles that we felt were good or what we could do for our own titles in our film opening.
Day 5: Monday 17th November
Today we had a group meeting and we allocated roles for the tasks that we had to do e.g. Storyboard, audience research, etc. We felt as though if we allocated this now that this would save us time as we know who is doing what. We allocated these tasks to what everyone felt comfortable with and what we felt as thought would work well the best. We also created a moodboard of which gave us inspiration. We did this to give us an overall idea of the shots and the posters which we felt would help us. We choose similar genres and types of films so this would help us look at the shots for our particular film.
Day 6: Tuesday 18th November
Today Archie researched a similar genre film in which he researched various stats and information about the film which I thought would best suit our particular film. This film was Zombieland. This is similar to our film, with both including zombies. I researched different types of music for our film opening. I had to make sure that it was copyright free so therefore he researched and played different musics at which he felt would work best. James created a powerpoint which was synopsis planning. James did this as a brief plan for the overall plan. We then had a group meeting at the end to make sure that we was all on track and we then spoke about what we had researched.
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| Working as a team |
Today Archie created our production diary as we realised that we had to post this constantly up to date. James started the script for our film opening, whilst I started the storyboard.
Day 8: Friday 21st November
Today Archie researched film institutions in which we felt would distribute our film. James continued producing and making the script. I continued to create the storyboard. We discussed our various ideas for the script and storyboard so we all felt as thought the storyboard would be as close as it could towards out final shots that we want to take.
Day 9: Monday 24th November
Today I researched certain locations and got some recce shots in which our locations could be. Me and Archie also started to create the storyboard video. Once we completed this however we received some feedback and we realised that we had to introduce titles into the video. James started the marketing campaign presentation.
Day 10: Tuesday 25th November
Today Archie created our risk assessment for our health and safety for our shooting risk assessment. James created our marketing campaign PowerPoint whilst I continued to work on our storyboard.
Day 11: Thursday 27th November
Today Archie planned the shooting schedule and together in our group meeting we decided what days we would film. We decided that if we planned certain days that we could all make that we would keep to this schedule. James finished the script after feedback which we felt as though we could improve the script from our group meeting, so James redid the script at which he improved. James also researched different titles fonts for which our genre was evident. Archie finished the storyboard editing and started to research various music research for our film.
Day 12: Friday 28th November
Today we continued filming shots for our film and started editing for our film. Together we filmed the first three shots of our film. We took two shots of every shot that we had so that we could pick the best shot which would fit our film.
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| Editing |
Today we continued to film certain shots for our film and Issak continued to edit the film. I researched various film institutions and researched Film4. James researched various props that we were using for our film.
Day 14: Tuesday 2nd December
Today we continued to film certain shots for our film and together we contributed to edit the film together. I continued to edit although we would constantly ask each others opinions and what we could do to improve it. We researched various inspirations to try and help us improve our film.
Day 15: Wednesday 3rd December
Today we continued to film certain shots for our film as we try to continue filming as a way to see what we could do and need to improve our film sequence. We looked for different locations in ways which were we could improve the shots to make them better. James made the shot list of what shots that we are using for our film sequence.
Day 16: Thursday 4th December
Today we continued to film certain shots for our film as we found shots at which we wanted to improve for our film opening sequence. James started the PowerPoint whilst James started the representation PowerPoint, Archie started the timeline of our opening sequence.
Day 17: Friday 5th December
Today our first draft needed to be in. This needed to be in so that we could receive feedback from our fellow peers. We however continued filming on this day in order to finish as we were slightly rushing. Archie also finished the timeline of our opening sequence.
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| Me putting in blood, sweat and tears |
This week we received our feedback from various peers and teachers in order to try and see what we would could improve. Our feedback was what we expected and was very good however we felt as though we could improve our film when we had group discussions. We continued to film for our opening sequence and we changed other sections and shots of our film in order to improve it. We constantly stayed every night after school as a group till 6 O'clock at least. Together as a team we discussed various ways our film could be the best it could be. As we were ahead with paperwork we filmed various of shots that we did not use and shots that we filmed twice as we were ahead of time. The final film needed to be in on Friday 12th December and therefore we focused our time on the film opening sequence. After a long and enjoyable journey we finished our film: The eZ Life.
Blog Reflection
Have you learned new online programmes for showing off work?
I have used Prezi as an alternative to Microsoft PowerPoint to complete some of the tasks given to me. At first I didn't like using Prezi as I found the process of creating them very monotonous. I became more comfortable with the features after using it a couple of times, and despite still disliking it, I am now able to create Prezi's efficiently. I have also used SlideShare on a few occasions to upload PowerPoints that I have made onto my blog and offer an alternative method of viewing the PowerPoint to make it more interesting.
What mark out of 20 is it so far?
I think my blog would get 18/20 at the moment. I personally think it looks impressive, it is organised and I have managed to keep my blog up to date. To improve my blog and then gain maximum marks I need to keep the level of quality high and keep blog posts consistent.
Where could you be more thorough or a little less complacent?
In some of the evaluation tasks such as the film opening evaluation I think I need to stay consistent in length in comparison to some of the other posts which I have done. I think I just need to keep the posts flowing and keep the work ethic up.
Is it fun to look at?
I always look to use interesting images and either PowerPoint or Prezi presentations when possible to make the blog less textual. I also think that by using diverse methods of presenting my ideas, I have improved my blog and have made it more interesting to explore.
Three targets to improve my blog:
I have used Prezi as an alternative to Microsoft PowerPoint to complete some of the tasks given to me. At first I didn't like using Prezi as I found the process of creating them very monotonous. I became more comfortable with the features after using it a couple of times, and despite still disliking it, I am now able to create Prezi's efficiently. I have also used SlideShare on a few occasions to upload PowerPoints that I have made onto my blog and offer an alternative method of viewing the PowerPoint to make it more interesting.
What mark out of 20 is it so far?
I think my blog would get 18/20 at the moment. I personally think it looks impressive, it is organised and I have managed to keep my blog up to date. To improve my blog and then gain maximum marks I need to keep the level of quality high and keep blog posts consistent.
Where could you be more thorough or a little less complacent?
In some of the evaluation tasks such as the film opening evaluation I think I need to stay consistent in length in comparison to some of the other posts which I have done. I think I just need to keep the posts flowing and keep the work ethic up.
Is it fun to look at?
I always look to use interesting images and either PowerPoint or Prezi presentations when possible to make the blog less textual. I also think that by using diverse methods of presenting my ideas, I have improved my blog and have made it more interesting to explore.
Three targets to improve my blog:
- Stay consistent with posts
- Use every part of D.I.S.T.I.N.C.T in my Genre task
- Use more technical terms in my posts
Target Audience Research
Today my group researched a film with a similar genre to our own. We researched various stats and information about the film which we choose, Zombieland. We felt this is similar to our film, with both including Zombies. This has given us an idea to which worked well and which did not.
Moodboard of Initial Ideas Including Inspirational Shots From Real Films
Here is a moodboard displaying the initial ideas which we used as a starting point for creating our film. The moodboard also incorporates inspirational shots from real films.
The eZ Life - Film Certificate
The eZ Life revolves around drugs and is a teen drama. Therefore, itis important that the film receives a get a 15 certificate. After doing some research we found that: 'Drug taking may be shown but the film as a whole must not promote or encourage drug misuse.'With this knowledge, fortunately our film would be accepted as a 15. This is because the main message of the film is not to take drugs and to promote the difficult lives which drug addicts face daily. This was very important; if it was an 18 rated film and a teen drama it would have a very limited audience.
Timeline: Zombieland Opening Sequence
In today's lesson we researched certain films which we felt would give us some inspiration. I decided to research Zombieland. Zombieland is a 2009 American zombie/comedy film directed by Ruben Fleischer from a screenplay written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. I chose Zombieland as the film which I would research due to it being in the genre of zombie, striking a similarity to my group's film 'The eZ Life".
Zombieland is about a reserved student attempting to get to his family in Ohio, a tough guy trying to find the last Twinkie in existence, and a duo of sisters trying to reach an theme park. They join forces to travel across a zombie-filled America.
Zombieland Opening Sequence:
Zombieland is about a reserved student attempting to get to his family in Ohio, a tough guy trying to find the last Twinkie in existence, and a duo of sisters trying to reach an theme park. They join forces to travel across a zombie-filled America.
Zombieland Opening Sequence:
Timeline:
0:00 - 0:03: There's a blacked-out screen which fades into a waving American flag, the camera slowly zooms out to allow viewers to deduce that the flag is atop an overturned car, with the sky and ground the opposite way round.
0:04 - 0:11: The narrator sets the scene that the country, America, is without people. Offers enigma, as to why?
0:12 - 0:21: The narrator stops speaking and the shot shows an effect of interference, the camera rotates to put perspective upon the car overturned, upside-down. The camera work is from the perspective of someone filming the event. Mass destruction can be seen; smashed, burning vehicles, firearms scattered on the floor.
0:22 - 0:37: The camera pans right and a zombie is introduced, covered in blood and dressed in a suit, jumps off of an overturned car, revealing the White House in the background. The zombie chases the camera man who is screaming. The camera man trips, the camera falls on the floor and the screen cracks and flickers, blood is also splattered onto it. The zombie can be seen eating the camera man, it stops and burps. The narrator addresses the audience as 'friends' and introduces the setting as 'United States of Zombieland'.
0:38 - 0:49: There's a shot which zooms out, showing an accelerated birds-eye view of the Earth in space. The rotating world is fragmented by lava. The narrator is setting the scene using his personal perspective.
0:50 - 2:40: The narrator talks about rules which he has implemented and lives by, these rules are presented and 3D text is shown on-screen. The things which happen interact with the 3D text.
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| Interactive Rules: An example of how the rules are incorporated into the shots. |
2:41 - 4-19: The film credits begin to be incorporated into shot. The actors interact with the 3D text. Various events of death and destruction by zombies can be seen.
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| Impact: The zombie throws the victim into the 3D text. |
Group Film Pitches
In today's lesson we discussed as a group on which film idea to use for our opening sequence.
Archie's individual film pitch slideshare can be seen here:
As a group we felt that Archie's film pitch was alright. However, we felt that the idea was not original and interesting enough to be a standout film.
James' individual film pitch, 'Second Bite Of The Apple' can be seen here:
As a group we felt that James' 'Second Bite Of The Apple' was not too bad. However, we felt that the idea was not original and interesting enough to be a standout film.
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| Deep in thought: Member of my group, Archie in mid discussion with James (pictured right). |
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| Disagreement: James was very sceptical of some of the ideas put forward, he was very eager to put forward his views and discuss them. |
Next, we moved onto my individual film pitch, 'The eZ Life'. The slideshare can be seen below:Titles Research
As homework, we were given the task of watching the title sequences of films and analyzing them. I researched the title sequence of 'The Conjuring'. The Conjuring is a 2013 supernatural horror film directed by James Wan. This research will be very useful when we compose the titles in our film as I will now be able to know how to structure my own titles for when it comes to editing.
Picture 1: 0-26 seconds, part of the background story shown
Picture 2: 27-43 seconds, producers, executive producers, director of photography
Picture 3: 44-57 seconds, production designer, editor
Picture 4: 58-65 seconds, main actors
Picture 5: 66-67 seconds, TRANSITION
Picture 6: 68-93 seconds, lesser actors, casting by, costume designer
Picture 7: 94-109 seconds, music composer, institutions
Picture 8: 110-115 seconds, director
Picture 9: 116-123 seconds, title of film
Individual Film Pitch
In today's lesson we had to create a film pitch individually which would later be used to pitch to our fellow members in our groups. Each film idea had to be unique and each person in the group had to do a seperate genre so when it came to choosing a film we would have several different options to go with.
I had to create a way to pitch my film idea to the group which I was put in. I decided that the best way to present my ideas would be on Microsoft PowerPoint. With that, I went ahead and created it. I have converted it into a slideshare format for your viewing pleasure:
I had to create a way to pitch my film idea to the group which I was put in. I decided that the best way to present my ideas would be on Microsoft PowerPoint. With that, I went ahead and created it. I have converted it into a slideshare format for your viewing pleasure:
Previous Student Film Openings
In today's videos we watched several videos made by students from previous years and other schools and then analysed them. We did this to give us an insight into what we think the sequences were like. This will also help us and give us some ideas which we could use when it comes to creating an opening scene.
After watching this title sequence I analysed it and gave it a mark based upon the system which was covered in the lesson previous.
Roses are Red is an opening sequence which comes across as a teen drama. I think that this opinion can be gained through several factors, mainly by the fact that the character is a female teenager and the props are ones which are typically found in a teenagers bedroom, I thought it was very clever how the students incorporated the actors' names onto the props rather than editing text onto the video. I thought that the use of stop animation was very effective and the overall title sequence benefitted from it. Unfortunately I found the every day task of getting dressed to be a boring scene as it lasted too long and it wasn't interesting enough to keep my attention and I found the music really annoying and it began to irritate me very quickly. This being said, I enjoyed the part at the end which offered up an enigma to the audience. I gave the 'Roses Are Red' title sequence 47/60.
GEMINI Title Sequence:
The analysis' can be seen below:
The Edge Title Sequence:
After watching this title sequence I analysed it and gave it a mark based upon the system which was covered in the lesson previous.
The Edge is an opening sequence which comes across as a thriller/action film. I think that this opinion can be gained through several factors such as the fast pace of the video and moving shots. There are many scene cuts which are typical conventions of the thriller genre. The way which the editor placed the text showing the actors names was really clever and suited the genre perfectly, making the sequence look slick and hi-tech. The sequence immediately offers up several enigmas to the audience such as why the boy is being chased and who the people chasing him are. The varied camera shots were used to great effect, close up shots were used more at the start of the opening, whereas wide shots were used more as the opening progressed. I gave the 'The Edge' title sequence 60/60.
Roses Are Red Title Sequence:
The Edge Title Sequence:
The Edge is an opening sequence which comes across as a thriller/action film. I think that this opinion can be gained through several factors such as the fast pace of the video and moving shots. There are many scene cuts which are typical conventions of the thriller genre. The way which the editor placed the text showing the actors names was really clever and suited the genre perfectly, making the sequence look slick and hi-tech. The sequence immediately offers up several enigmas to the audience such as why the boy is being chased and who the people chasing him are. The varied camera shots were used to great effect, close up shots were used more at the start of the opening, whereas wide shots were used more as the opening progressed. I gave the 'The Edge' title sequence 60/60.
Roses Are Red Title Sequence:
After watching this title sequence I analysed it and gave it a mark based upon the system which was covered in the lesson previous.
Roses are Red is an opening sequence which comes across as a teen drama. I think that this opinion can be gained through several factors, mainly by the fact that the character is a female teenager and the props are ones which are typically found in a teenagers bedroom, I thought it was very clever how the students incorporated the actors' names onto the props rather than editing text onto the video. I thought that the use of stop animation was very effective and the overall title sequence benefitted from it. Unfortunately I found the every day task of getting dressed to be a boring scene as it lasted too long and it wasn't interesting enough to keep my attention and I found the music really annoying and it began to irritate me very quickly. This being said, I enjoyed the part at the end which offered up an enigma to the audience. I gave the 'Roses Are Red' title sequence 47/60.
GEMINI Title Sequence:
After watching this title sequence I analysed it and gave it a mark based upon the system which was covered in the lesson previous.
GEMINI is an opening sequence which comes across as a thriller or crime drama. This can be learned through the fact that one of the characters are being interviewed by the police or similar crime enforcement unit. I felt that the editing wasn't as slick as it possibly could have been as shots changed very suddenly and seemed to change at the wrong time for my liking. However some of the editing was good such as the split screen and the timing of the gun sound effect was accurate. The colours used for the titles were well suited to the genre. The sound was sometimes not of the greatest quality and sometimes this became noticeable and disrupted immersion into the piece. Overall, I gave the 'GEMINI' title sequence 45/60. I gave it this mark due to several reasons.
GEMINI is an opening sequence which comes across as a thriller or crime drama. This can be learned through the fact that one of the characters are being interviewed by the police or similar crime enforcement unit. I felt that the editing wasn't as slick as it possibly could have been as shots changed very suddenly and seemed to change at the wrong time for my liking. However some of the editing was good such as the split screen and the timing of the gun sound effect was accurate. The colours used for the titles were well suited to the genre. The sound was sometimes not of the greatest quality and sometimes this became noticeable and disrupted immersion into the piece. Overall, I gave the 'GEMINI' title sequence 45/60. I gave it this mark due to several reasons.
Marking System for Openings
We were given a marking system which would be used to analyse several film openings created by other students. We watched a few of their openings and then gave each of them an individual mark. We did this task collectively, as a group.
This was the marking system which we used:
Level 1 0–23 marks - The work for the main task is possibly incomplete. There is minimal evidence in the work of the creative use of any relevant technical skills such as:
• Producing material appropriate for the target audience and task.
• Using titles appropriately according to institutional conventions.
• Using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task set.
• Shooting material appropriate to the task set; including controlled use of the camera, attention to framing, variety of shot distance and close attention to mise-en-scene.
• Using editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer and making selective and appropriate use of shot transitions and other effects.
Level 2 24–35 marks - There is evidence of a basic level of ability in the creative use of some of the following technical skills:
• Producing material appropriate for the target audience and task.
• Using titles appropriately according to institutional conventions.
• Using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task set.
• Shooting material appropriate to the task set; including controlled use of the camera, attention to framing, variety of shot distance and close attention to mise-en-scene.
• Using editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer and making selective and appropriate use of shot transitions and other effects.
Level 3 36–47 marks - There is evidence of proficiency in the creative use of many of the following technical skills:
• Producing material appropriate for the target audience and task.
• Using titles appropriately according to institutional conventions.
• Using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task set.
• Shooting material appropriate to the task set; including controlled use of the camera, attention to framing, variety of shot distance and close attention to mise-en-scene.
• Using editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer and making selective and appropriate use of shot transitions and other effects.
Level 4 48–60 marks - There is evidence of excellence in the creative use of most of the following technical skills:
• Material appropriate for the target audience and task.
• Using titles appropriately according to institutional conventions.
• Using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task set.
• Shooting material appropriate to the task set;including controlled use of the camera, attention to framing, variety of shot distance and close attention to mise-en-scene.
• Using editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer and making selective and appropriate use of shot transitions and other effects.
This was the marking system which we used:
Level 1 0–23 marks - The work for the main task is possibly incomplete. There is minimal evidence in the work of the creative use of any relevant technical skills such as:
• Producing material appropriate for the target audience and task.
• Using titles appropriately according to institutional conventions.
• Using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task set.
• Shooting material appropriate to the task set; including controlled use of the camera, attention to framing, variety of shot distance and close attention to mise-en-scene.
• Using editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer and making selective and appropriate use of shot transitions and other effects.
Level 2 24–35 marks - There is evidence of a basic level of ability in the creative use of some of the following technical skills:
• Producing material appropriate for the target audience and task.
• Using titles appropriately according to institutional conventions.
• Using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task set.
• Shooting material appropriate to the task set; including controlled use of the camera, attention to framing, variety of shot distance and close attention to mise-en-scene.
• Using editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer and making selective and appropriate use of shot transitions and other effects.
Level 3 36–47 marks - There is evidence of proficiency in the creative use of many of the following technical skills:
• Producing material appropriate for the target audience and task.
• Using titles appropriately according to institutional conventions.
• Using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task set.
• Shooting material appropriate to the task set; including controlled use of the camera, attention to framing, variety of shot distance and close attention to mise-en-scene.
• Using editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer and making selective and appropriate use of shot transitions and other effects.
Level 4 48–60 marks - There is evidence of excellence in the creative use of most of the following technical skills:
• Material appropriate for the target audience and task.
• Using titles appropriately according to institutional conventions.
• Using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task set.
• Shooting material appropriate to the task set;including controlled use of the camera, attention to framing, variety of shot distance and close attention to mise-en-scene.
• Using editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer and making selective and appropriate use of shot transitions and other effects.
Representation
Nowadays, people in the media can use any picture, video or even a single word to completely change a certain opinion on something.
For example, in this video Russell Brand highlights, in a comedic but ultimately serious manner, how Bill O'Reilly manipulates the argument against immigrants in the US on Fox News:
Stereotypes: These are used so the audience can instantly understand a character and make assumptions.
Representation: This is the way people or events are presented to the audience. This is normally done in a way in which viewers can identify with. So if you were making a film about drug dealing in an urban ghetto it is likely the characters would be represented with specific stereotypes, for example being black or mixed race.
The Male Gaze (Laura Mulvey):
In Laura Mulvey's opinion, the cinema puts the audience in a males position, with the women on screen seen as an object of desire. Mulvey suggests two distinct modes:
The Bechdel Test:
The Bechdel test asks if a work of fiction features at least two women who talk to each other about something other than a man. Many contemporary works fail this test of gender bias. This is a prime example of how the media represent women and men.
The test revolves around the idea of two women having a conversation:
In this particular scene of Slumdog Millionaire directed by Danny Boyle, some little boys are behaving mischievously on an overcrowded train which is travelling through the Indian countryside.
For example, in this video Russell Brand highlights, in a comedic but ultimately serious manner, how Bill O'Reilly manipulates the argument against immigrants in the US on Fox News:
There are several key definitions used to summarise representation:
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| Bonjour: Above is a stereotypical Frenchman |
Archetypes: This is the ultimate stereotype. An example of this is an English person watching cricket, eating scones and drinking tea.
Counter type: This is someone or something that doesn't conform to the traditional stereotype.
Mogul: This is the person who has control over editors and owns a media outlet who has great power and can manipulate issues to suit what they want. An example being Rupert Murdoch.
The Male Gaze (Laura Mulvey):
In Laura Mulvey's opinion, the cinema puts the audience in a males position, with the women on screen seen as an object of desire. Mulvey suggests two distinct modes:
- "Voyeuristic" - women as whores
- "Fetishistic" - women as unreachable Madonna's
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| Role Reverse: The women in Spring Breakers (left) are all scantily dressed and are composed in a way which suggests promiscuity. They are seen as sexual objects. James Bond (right), is being portrayed as a sexual icon. |
The Bechdel test asks if a work of fiction features at least two women who talk to each other about something other than a man. Many contemporary works fail this test of gender bias. This is a prime example of how the media represent women and men.
The test revolves around the idea of two women having a conversation:
- The conversation have at least two (named - important) character women in it)).
- They have a conversation with each other.
- The conversation has to be about something other than a man.
Representation Task
In this particular scene of Slumdog Millionaire directed by Danny Boyle, some little boys are behaving mischievously on an overcrowded train which is travelling through the Indian countryside.
This scene represents the Indian community to be very poor and impoverished. The little boys cheekily move through the train stealing food. This highlights that crime is a problem in the region. The train is very cramped and in poor condition, this further helps create a stereotype that the Indian community is lacking in widespread wealth. Some of the people's clothes are dirty and have holes in which gives the stereotypical impression that the people are unclean and lack sanitation.
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