Weekly Updates (6-7) (Elizabeth Mensah-Tandoh)

This week a lot has changed.The first being a new member to the group.Elizabeth.The reason for this because the previous group member was not meeting deadlines and us unable to catch up with work that needed to be handed in. The two group members that are left feel that Elizabeth is more reilable and will be able to make deadlines.

We have carried on with the work we are meant to do regardless of the changes we have made to our group.Above is a picture of Audrey on one of the days that we have put in some extra hours so we make sure that we are not kept behind,and to ensure that our work is up to date.A nd meet our finally deadline on the 21st of March.

Call Sheet (Georgia Harris )

This is the call sheet we will be using when we have taken out the equipment and are ready to film. As i am the director i will be filling in 3 call sheets for each member of our group and handing them out on the day of filming. These sheets enable us to know where and when we are exactly filming and in case of any emergencies the numbers we will need to contact and the people we would need to inform.

Shot List (Georgia Harris)

Shot list

Rules and Regulations When Filming ( Elizabeth Mensah-Tandoh )

The 30° rule is a basic film editing guideline that states the camera should be moved at least 30° between shots of the same object. This change of perspective makes the shots and angels different enough to avoid a jump cut.

The 180° rule another guideline that should be followed when film making that says that two characters (or other elements) in the same scene should always have the same left/right relationship to another. If the camera passes over the imaginary axis connecting the two objects or subjects,it is called crossing the line. The new shot, from the opposite side, is known as a reverse angle

Responsibilities (Elizabeth Mensah-Tandoh)

Responsibilities

Draft Storyboard (Elizabeth Mensah-Tandoh)

Storyboard Pictures

Story board ( Elizabeth Mensah-Tandoh)

As nobody in the group are good drawers.We came up with the idea of taking photos with a digital camera.By doing this it was allow us to take photos from different angles and potential shots we may be able to use when we eventually film. They are many advantages to this as it is time affiant than drawing a picture out on a piece of paper.The Storyboard entails us to tell a story with a number of sequential images with consideration for scene detail, character continuity, camera angles, special effects. However because we are taking pictures of our storyboard instead of drawing. There will not be as much detail than if it was done by drawing as you are able to add more detail to it. Although we may change the angles we want when filming, it gives us a plan we can go with when filming.But if they are any changes made when filming when will ensure they are noted down and given a reason behind the reason this was done and how it has helped by making this changes.

Final Story Board (Elizabeth Mensah-Tandoh)

Final Story Board

Change of Plans ( Elizabeth Mensah-Tandoh)

So today i have taken the opportunity to get some theory work done. Making sure that certain things are added to our blog,Making sure things are up to date and adding more to the blog.

Here is a picture of Audrey on one of the days that we spent more time on the blog.As we was unable to film.

Group Logo ( Audrey Khanye )

This is a logo that i created for our film production and blog. I chose to name this logo 'Twisted' as i feel that this name is a reflection of our storyline. This logo also suits our thriller genre as the killers, kidnappers and stalkers state of mind in thrillers seem to be twisted and disturbed, when they act violently and unremorsefully against their victims. I chose this colour skeem as i feel it coincides with the colours of our blog.

Production Brief (Georgia Harris)

Project name: The Replacement (Thriller 2 Minute Trailer)

Length: 1min to 2 min

Deadline: 31st March 2010

Group members & their roles: Georgia Harris(Director), Audrey Khayne(Editor) and Elizabeth Mensah-Tandoh(Camera Person)

Brief overview of content (approx 50 words):

Target audience (age group, gender bias (if any), socio-economic status and lifestyle profiling): Our target audience is teenagers aged 16+, it isn’t typically aimed at a particular gender, and we would say our trailer would be aimed at people of working class.

What comparable products have you researched?
We have looked into other thriller film's for our coursework, looking at codes and conventions of them and how we can interpret certain aspects of them into our film.

What is the rationale behind this text?
Our film will be portraying a sense of suspense and twist, by which the audience will not be expecting the things to happen that do. So overall we want to make the audience feel shocked and left wondering what happened.

What representations will be operating in your text? Are these justified?
We will be using the everyday representations of teenagers in our film, the typical everyday college student. We will also be going against the usual representation of disabled people as our actor who will be playing the disabled character will in fact cause the twist in our film, and go from playing the protagonist to the antagonist who goes from being seen as the good and innocent person to the bad and in fact main perpetrator of the story.

How will you test whether the product is successful?
We will be publishing 2 questionnaire's for the audience to fill in, also have set up a facebook page in order to gain feedback and let us know where and if we need change things and how.

How will you check that it accomplishes the intended effect?
We will look through our finished film and also get other members of our class to judge if our film fits into the criteria that we set from the beginning.

What generic codes and conventions will be operating in your text?
We will be using things such as typical camera shots and movements used to create suspense, such as close ups of the character's, quick cuts and low angle shots.
Also we will be using the sound to create the suspense too, things like jumpy music, music that starts off quiet and builds up throughout until the end where the usual main piece of action occurs.

What are the overt (obvious) messages incorporated into the text?
The obvious messages portrayed in our film will be the dark and empty setting in which its been filmed, also our genre is obvious, this is shown through the settings and the actors used.

Are there any (hidden) messages incorporated into the text?
The hidden messages are the twist at the end of the film, when the audience are least expecting it. When the disabled character actually turns out not to be disabled.

Identify any resource constraints (time, money, equipment, human resources) that might affect your production and your hopes for your product: Some constraints we have encountered are human resources, not having the desired actors to play certain roles, also given the time limit, things haven’t always gone to plan due to last minute adjustments to the group and the work being produced within.

Additional notes:

Weekly Updates (Week 5-6) (Georgia Harris)

This week we got all the cast notes/location notes and pictures done and uploaded.
We also completed our script and published it to our blog. We are currently trying to complete our storyboard in order to start filming next week within the half term.
Our main focus now is to finish the last bit of our planning paper work and get started quickly on our practical part of the coursework or filming, editing then eventually evaluating.

Final Location Notes (Elizabeth Mensah-Tandoh)

There has been some slight changes to the locations that our group will be filming at.We will still be located in the college. However we will be filming in a different area to the college.The reason for this is because the lighting in the other located area is not very bright. As well as at the time of filming. There will be to many people around.So we felt as a group that this was the best place to film.


The location that we have chosen to film our two minute opening sequence to a thriller is in the college inside the building inside the corridor as the women is walking out of her class.The reason for this is for the audience to have a clear view of where the women is located and what is happening.


This is the second place.The reason we choose to film in a lift was becauseit make our film realstic.As we have a disabled women in the film.It makes the film more likely to believe.As if we were to film the disabled women walking down the stairs,the storyline will not make sense to the audience.


This is another picture of the lift.We will just be filming when the actress come out the lift.This is just a follow up and so that it makes sense to the audience.


The four picture is when they come out of the building.Which is another follow up for the audience to hae a full understanding of where they are going.This also leads us to outside to the next location of where filming will take place.



The last place that we will be filming is at the car park.This is where the Protagonist pushes the antagonist in the car and kidnaps her.Where is will be parked in a disabled place so that her real identity is relieved.

Draft Location Notes and Images ( Elizabeth Mensah-Tandoh )

The location that we have chosen to film our 2 minute opening sequence to a thriller is in the college inside the building inside the corridor as the women is walking out of her class.The reason for this is for the audience to have a clear view of where the women is located and what is happening.



The second image is just outside the class the class room doors.Where the disabled women bumps into Shenna and drops her books and bags.The reason this was done was because ther is a corner at the side and it makes it more realstic when she drops her things as both of them are unable to see another.




The third image is of the sliding doors of where the two actors will be leaving to make there way to the car park.



The last place that we will be filming is at the car park.This is where the Protagonist pushes the antagonist in the car and kidnaps her.Where is will be parked in a disabled place so that her real identity is unknown.

Costume and Props (Elizabeth Mensah-Tandoh)

The type of clothing our character Sandra will be wearing is casual clothes.Such as jeans,a top and simple pump shoes.The reason for this is because these sorts of clothes fit in with her role of the film.If she was to wear anything else it will no fit in the role s because of this it helps for our audience not to know what is going to happen next and will put them in suspense and come across as being a vulnerable,innocent disabled women that is seeking help from the public.



The wheel chair also used so that the Protagonist comes across as being vulnerable,and fragile.This also helps to create great suspense for characters as our target audience thought of a women being disabled will be,unable,fragile,needy and to have a disabled women in a wheelchair makes great suspense while the audience watch as they will already have a general stereotypes of the disabled woman.


The use of a car will be another use of a prop that we will be using in our opening sequence. The reason for this is when the protagonist pushes the antagonist into the car. The use of this prop helps to put the audience in more suspense when it is relieved to the audience that the women in the wheelchair is actually not disabled but in fact very much able. The car will just help our opening sequence to be better.

Cast Members (Georgia Harris & Elizabeth Mensah-Tandoh)

Antagonist
Name:Georgia
Characters Name: Sandra
Age:17
Gender:Female
Appearance: white,Blonde hair,
Build:slim,5ft 4 inches
Mise-en-scene: Casual everyday clothing
About the Character:Sheena will be playing Natalie the Antagonist.We choose Sheena to play the role of Natalie because she fits into the typical college student look, and portrays to the audience a sense of innocence which is what a character needs to have


Protagonist
Name:Sheena
Character Name:Jo
Age:Mature Women
Gender:Female
Appearance:White Blonde hair
Build: 5ft 6inches
Mise-en-scene:Casual everyday clothing
About the character:We choose Jo to play Sandra who is seen as disabled in the film because she met the criteria of an middle aged woman who could realistically have a teenage daugther in real life, so again a sense of reality to the audience and making it easier for them to relate too.

Preliminary Evaluation (Audrey Khayne)

In order to get the hang of using the filming equipment and also to help us to generate ideas for our final 2minute film sequence, we were instructed to film a preliminary task in which we had to include match on action, shot reverse shot and the 180 degree rule. We were sown examples of other preliminary tasks on Youtube to give us insight into the task ahead of us. After viewing the example I had the impression that filming the task was going to be easy until we started filming, I discovered that it was not as easy as it seemed. Overall this task has helped me get used to the filming equipment, has given me the filming experience, also as the group editor it has helped me learn how to use the editing software so I can edit our final film.

About The Preliminary Task ( Elizabeth Mensah-Tandoh)

The Preliminary task was the first piece of camera work that i did.When we was put into groups and assigned to do this task i felt it was important for me to take role as the camera person.The reason for this was because when my media group eventually begin to film our opening sequence to our film.I will be taking the role as the camerawomen.And was accentual for me to get some practice while i could.It allowed me to learn more about the camera,the different buttons there were,the various camera that would be available to us and how i could position the camera at different angles.These were just some of the things i needed to learn and get practice in before we filming.There are various things I learnt when you film.Patience being one of the most important.And this is what i found was virtual with the actors when they forgot there lines,as well as when when had to change angles when wanted to shot from.It was also very important for me memorize the angles and shots there were as the director or an individual in the group may have a different idea from what we had previously placed as.So two days before we filmed the preliminary task i had to revise all the angles and shots there were.However my preliminary group was very hardworking and dedicated want hen mistakes where made.We all insured to just do the best we could and continued filming till it was filmed correctly.

When it came to editing our preliminary task my group was all shown by our teacher the ways we could edit,how we could add score music and add different affects we could add to the filming.However i felt this was too challenging for me to do and felt that i was taking up to much time trying to get use to the editing software.So another member in my group that had previously done editing took charge of it. I sat beside her and gave her assistant of the different shots i had used while filmingand what ideas i thought would make the editing looking a lot more better.

Overall it made me have a lot more confidence when i came to using the camera.As the preliminary was the first piece of filming i have ever done i found it extremely exciting and bits of it challenging.However i feel there is a lot more i could learn about the cameras which i am hoping to learn in the next following weeks.

Weekly Update (Week 3-4) (Georgia Harris)

In this week's night class we finished editing our preliminary task, and uploaded it to Youtube.
This week we have also completed and uploaded our Brainstorm, our group member pictures, added more information to the codes and conventions of a thirller.
Our main focus now is getting our cast/location pictures and note, and the still images for our storyboard to then start filming our sequence.