Change of Idea

After watching our footage over and over again and thinking about our idea, we have come to the realisation that we all HATE it. The idea it self we have realised was to complcated for us to produce, constontly we were adding other new bit s to story and it was getting out of control and unachieveable for us, MAC4 to make. We want to make something good and that we would be proud to put our names; and this idea definatly was not it. After thinking it over and over, we want a very simple idea that we can make great.

Running MAC 4

Fridge Vlog

For our opening I thought an interesting shot angle could be a point of view from the fridge. I am certain this particular shot has been used many times in different films and television programes, however it is inspired by Breaking Bad. As stated in a pervious blog post not to long ago, the shot angles used are very interesting for the audience to see and it almost helps us to view the scene in a diffrent light. Therefore we thought it was time to test out this theory. This is a vlog from inside my fridge!

Final Idea for Opening Sequence

For our final idea we have decided that at the beginning you will see the back of a hooded man making a ransom letter. Then it will switch to the shot of a professional, glamourous woman returning home from work wearing sophisticated clothing. She will then find the letter but before opening it she will carry with her everyday routine e.g getting wine out of the fridge. When she finally opens the letter she drops the wine and runs and you will see the letter fall slowly and piece of the ransom left behind. You will then see her running across millennium bridge and lady smith football grounds because we think these settings will suit the story line best. While she is running, we thought it would be effective to have flashbacks of her troubled past and towards the end of the run she will have returned to her old, drug-abusing self. 
If this was to turn into a feature length film it would tell the story of what happened to the girl in order for her to be in this situation.

Song Idea?

Since the day we had finally pick an idea for our opening sequence, I had a very specific idea in my mind of how i would like it to turn out, and since that day i was listening to everything possible and  was comparing it to whether it would be good for us  to use for our opening. I had become obsessed. I was listening religiously to all times of music, blues, classical, country, house, indie EVERYTHING. Consequently of this abnormal behaviour the list of songs are growing every day. However these are just if the few which i would thing would be perfect for our film opening.

Phildel - Afraid of the dark
This was the first song which when I heard thought would be perfect for our film opening. The tone of this song is very sad also depressing. Creating a very emotional atmosphere to the opening. I thought this song would be good as it creates this particular atmosphere for the opening the viewers are left intrigued and have already imagined what sort of film it is going to be. Whether they are correct or not, they will  be determined my how the film continues.  I, personally have never heard of this song or Phildel. When watching 'Ravenswood' an American television program, In a scene of one of the characters funerals this song was playing in the background and the song was continued over from another scene. When I heard the song,straight away I  could imagine it in our opening.

Market Research- Interviews

After asking many people, a vary of questions i have come to these conclusions:
1. Boys/ Men enjoy more Thriller, scary films.
2. Girls/Woman enjoy Comedies and Romantic sort films.
3. Boys/Men dislike Romantic films.
4. Both women and men, ages does not impact the answer, agree the actors influence whether you watch a film.
5. A mix answer on opening sequences, however majority said it sets the tone for the film.

Unexpected Pitch

When telling  the plot of our opening to her dad, Ciara by telling the wrong plot, she stumbled across a much better beginning.
Here's her explaining it now:

Music Idea

During the night i had an idea for how we could use music in our opening sequence. I realised that the character we have created wouldn't really wear headphones when she starts running therefore we had to come up with an idea. I thought that the character's phone could be ringing, therefore the song playing would be her ringtone. This would be playing during the flashbacks/memories being shown whilst running.
This is how the group reacted when i told them my idea:

Breaking Bad Camera Shots

As a newly obsessed Breaking Bad fan, whenever watching an episode i can't help but be amazed by all the different and creative camera angles. When thinking about writing this blog post i began to start thinking of all the different shots like these which are illustrates above, and my favourites, and i have come to a conclusion and have pick my top 3, although i cannot bring myself to rank them as i think they are all amazing, as well as all the others; my top 3 Breaking Bad camera shots are: Jesse disposing of the body in the bath tub, Walt and Jesse after nearly killing Tuco trying to hide the gun and last but certainly not least is walt, second to last photograph. 

 Although i have yet to discover how i can accomplish an Breaking Bad inspired shot, i am un

 determined to have one in our opening sequence. 

Practice Filming

Although i am very pleased with our practice video after watching it a couple time i am seeing more and more mistakes which i wished i had fix but here are a few: the music not changing beat the same time of the shot changing, the sound of the clip still being on (forgot to mute it) nit having more of different camera shots. however despite these factors i am really pleased, but i will not EVER make these mistakes again!

 

2 Minute Opening Idea - Group Vlog

First Time Editing

When editing the prelim  it was the first time  that any one from my group had edited. An experience that was fun but scary at the same time. There was highs and lows. Tears were nearly shed, when we thought we had deleted all  the  edited prelim as well as the footage. So all in all, it was a roller coaster ride but i did enjoy it. 

This is a print screen from the outtakes editing and the final prelim editing :

Prelim Outtakes

Prelim - 'Mean Girls' of MAC 4

Group Prelim Vlog

First Group Vlog Attempt

180 Degree Rule

The 180 degree rule is  a significant rule in filming. As it keep the focus of the viewers and avoids confusion. The rule is, that once the scene has been set, the camera must stay on one side, and must not have a shot from the other side. when following the 180 degree rule, an imaginary line is used that runs straight down the middle of the scene. An example of this is:

Once this line is in place, the camera can move anywhere providing it stays on the same side of the line as demonstrated in the digram. 

AS Media Studies Course Booklet

ECS as and A2 Media Studies Course Booklet

First Vlog!

Making this vlog has truly been a traumatic experience, so please no mocking me.

Final Destination Opening Sequence

Despite me not being the biggest fan of scary and horror films. When looking through the website, Watch the Title (which could be found in my links). I came across the opening sequence of Final Destination One, and i was surprisingly impressed. I think that the opening title sequence is perfect for this particular film. Thrilling and explicit. It illustrates to the viewers what the film entails . The use of only: black, whites, greys and a splash of red really caught my attention, and was beautifully presented.
The use of x-rays of human body was a very intelligent idea that made the opening sequence effective. Harsh, fast pace, violent music used to set the scene for the film. This website was very useful as it has  storyboards for all  the different opening sequences, illustrating all the different shots.
 Here's a screen of the website i used, and the opening sequence of Final Destination:

First Time Storyboarding

On Tuesday i draw my first ever storyboard for media. Although i was uncertain in what it really was, i was sort of dreading it; partly due to my horrific drawing skills. We watched the first two minutes of the new season three episode of Luther, and i must say for i did scream. After watching the clip a few times, it was time to start the daunting process. Against all olds (including my bad drawing skill) i actually enjoyed the process.
This is how the final storyboard looked like.

Filmmaking Techniques

Favourite Actress

Dame Maggie Smith without a doubt must be my favourite actress. Being apart of the show business for over 60 years now, Maggie Smith continues to create award winning films and Tv dramas.
Her comitment too acting and the fans is like nothing seen before. Whilst film Harry Potter Maggie Smith was struggling with Breast Cancer, however continued filming as she did not want to let the fans of the book and film franchise down. As well as other amazing roles Maggie Smith is also known for her role in Downton Abbey, which continues to be a success. These are just a few out of the many reasons why Maggie Smith is my favourite actress today.

Favourite Actor

Today there are so many different types of actors, whether its comedy, romance, musical or historical; Only an handful of actors have excelled in all of these aspects of film. Colin Firth is one of these actors. He has the ability to play varies of roles to a high standard. Contributing to many films successes; whether its a romantic comady such as Bridget Jones Dairy or Love Actually, a musical such as Mamma Mia or even a historical drama such as The King's Speech. Colin Firth has been recognised for his acting, winning many awards such as an Oscar  for Best Male Actor along with many other highly respected awards. This is why Colin Firth is admired from many.

Favourite film

When thinking about my favourite film at least 50 different films come to mind, however one film that sticks out more than any other is Fight Club. I don't think anyone can explain, why this is such an amazing film. It's one of those films which you just  HAVE TO SEE. Nevertheless i will try my best to explain what the film is about. Dark and disturbing yet equally smart and stylish. there wasn't a second in which i was remotely bored. Making a bold statement aganinst the modern consumer driven society. The film has you on your toes and guessing throughout. But the best part of all is the ending. It's one of those 'Sixth Sense' ending where the film makes more sense now but you view it intiraly  differently  than before. 

I definitely recommend everyone to watch this film. 

Scene from Fight Club: