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.
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