Here is our final product!
Thursday 22 March 2012
Wednesday 7 March 2012
Creating music - Garageband
Anna and I (Lucy) had decided that we were going to make some music on the software garageband as we could not find any copyright free music good enough to use in our sequence, so we started to make our own. We knew we wanted to keep to the 80's funky theme and include tense dark music in the points that the Stalker character would be on screen. Because of this we looked at our sequence and made a timeline to plan out at what seconds needed what type of sound. We would locate the point in which needed a different type of sound and map it out and then put this into our music. We successfully created this with alot of hard work and time, time being 3 hours. 2 lessons and a lunch time as we wanted to make it perfect, and we believe it was and we were very happy with it.
WHAT WENT WRONG
However when exporting our now finished song into iTunes, we realised it said that the song was 2minutes and 58seconds, when it should of been 1minute 30 seconds. What we had realised is that what we had though was seconds on garage band was actually 3 seconds and this had made our music to long, we were gutted however we are going to try our best to fix this the next lunch time and lesson we have to make it fit down to 1minute 30.
WHAT WENT WRONG
However when exporting our now finished song into iTunes, we realised it said that the song was 2minutes and 58seconds, when it should of been 1minute 30 seconds. What we had realised is that what we had though was seconds on garage band was actually 3 seconds and this had made our music to long, we were gutted however we are going to try our best to fix this the next lunch time and lesson we have to make it fit down to 1minute 30.
After having to make loads of further edits working with what we had over having to go back and reshoot some things, we have managed to make some changes to our film that we feel are very beneficial to the film as a whole. We have managed to use the shots we had to create a shot reverse shot between the Stalker and Mandy as she approaches the scene of the murder. We found this quite difficult as we had to edit perfectly to make the continuity of the film work and keep the belief of our film there. This was a major problem as it was very time consuming and we hadn't got the titles or sound onto the film yet therefore we were slightly starting to panic as we knew we were running out of time.
We had to spend an hour learning how to get the titles onto each clip by using tutorials on Youtube to help, one of which can be seen below:
We found this to be a good way to learn as it was something we had no idea about and due to the fact we didn't have it told to us exactly what it was we were meant to do, we had the freedom to play around a bit with the different texts and transitions of each. This too was time consuming but it was worth doing as it means we have learnt something new we can use in the future on Final Cut Express.
Lastly, due to copywright we had to make the music that can be heard on the opening. This took almost 3 hours which seemed forever for such a short clip and we had problems with getting it all put together in time to make the deadline however it all came together really well and we're really pleased with the end result.
We had to spend an hour learning how to get the titles onto each clip by using tutorials on Youtube to help, one of which can be seen below:
We found this to be a good way to learn as it was something we had no idea about and due to the fact we didn't have it told to us exactly what it was we were meant to do, we had the freedom to play around a bit with the different texts and transitions of each. This too was time consuming but it was worth doing as it means we have learnt something new we can use in the future on Final Cut Express.
Lastly, due to copywright we had to make the music that can be heard on the opening. This took almost 3 hours which seemed forever for such a short clip and we had problems with getting it all put together in time to make the deadline however it all came together really well and we're really pleased with the end result.
Friday 2 March 2012
Research into Film Institutes
As a group we need to consider what sort of film institute would distribute our film. Obviously as our film is not a multi-million blockbuster we understand that our film would not be distributed by a world wide famous institute such as Universal Paramount Pictures. However a small independant institute would be much more realistic. We decided to look a some of our favourite films and see what sort of institues they were distributed by.
1) 'PolyGram Filmed Entertainment'
'Trainspotting' (1996) is a crime/drama film addaptation of the novel 'Trainspotting' by Irvine Welsh and directed by Danny Boyle. The film was distributed by 'PolyGram Filmed Entertainment', a film studio founded in 1979 but eventually sold to Universal Pictures. It was based in the UK and invested in many British films such as 'Four Weddings and a Funeral' , "Dead Man Walking' and 'Notting Hill'. PolyGram became part of Universal Pictures to create a joint venture called 'Gramercy Pictures' which was the distributor of PolyGram films in the USA and Canada. 'Trainspotting' was ranked 10th by the 'British Film Institute' in its list of top 100 British Films.
The 'British Film Institute' is a charitable organisation designed to encourage the development the arts of film and television in the UK.
2) 'Lions Gate Entertainment'
Crank (2006) is an action film staring Jason Statham and directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor. The film was produced distributed by 'Lions Gate Entertainment'. It is a North American independent film company founded in Vancouver in 1997 and its headquarters are in Santa Monica, California. It is one of the most successful independent film/television distribution companies due to its commercial recognition and many of its pictures have been very lucrative. 'Lionsgate' also has its own record label and publishing company.
3) 'Miramax Films'
Pulp Fiction (1994) is an American crime film directed by Quentin Tarantino and distributed by 'Miramax Films', another entertainment company responsible for distributing independent and foreign films. Miramax was founded in 1979 and headquartered in New York. It was originally created to be different in that it would distribute films that Hollywood Studios did not consider plausible to distribute. Despite this original plan, in 1993 Miramax was sold to 'Walt Disney' for $60 million.
We feel that it would be totally unrealistic to expect our film to be distributed by any major Hollywood studios. However, an independent film company may be more feasible, even then, the independent film companies above are probably too 'high up the hierarchy' to consider our film. If we were to actually release a whole film I think that the best way to do this could be by previewing it at a local film festival, like that of the 'BFI London Film Festival' except perhaps a more smaller-scale festival, such as a regional or local one.
1) 'PolyGram Filmed Entertainment'
'Trainspotting' (1996) is a crime/drama film addaptation of the novel 'Trainspotting' by Irvine Welsh and directed by Danny Boyle. The film was distributed by 'PolyGram Filmed Entertainment', a film studio founded in 1979 but eventually sold to Universal Pictures. It was based in the UK and invested in many British films such as 'Four Weddings and a Funeral' , "Dead Man Walking' and 'Notting Hill'. PolyGram became part of Universal Pictures to create a joint venture called 'Gramercy Pictures' which was the distributor of PolyGram films in the USA and Canada. 'Trainspotting' was ranked 10th by the 'British Film Institute' in its list of top 100 British Films.
The 'British Film Institute' is a charitable organisation designed to encourage the development the arts of film and television in the UK.
2) 'Lions Gate Entertainment'
Crank (2006) is an action film staring Jason Statham and directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor. The film was produced distributed by 'Lions Gate Entertainment'. It is a North American independent film company founded in Vancouver in 1997 and its headquarters are in Santa Monica, California. It is one of the most successful independent film/television distribution companies due to its commercial recognition and many of its pictures have been very lucrative. 'Lionsgate' also has its own record label and publishing company.
3) 'Miramax Films'
Pulp Fiction (1994) is an American crime film directed by Quentin Tarantino and distributed by 'Miramax Films', another entertainment company responsible for distributing independent and foreign films. Miramax was founded in 1979 and headquartered in New York. It was originally created to be different in that it would distribute films that Hollywood Studios did not consider plausible to distribute. Despite this original plan, in 1993 Miramax was sold to 'Walt Disney' for $60 million.
We feel that it would be totally unrealistic to expect our film to be distributed by any major Hollywood studios. However, an independent film company may be more feasible, even then, the independent film companies above are probably too 'high up the hierarchy' to consider our film. If we were to actually release a whole film I think that the best way to do this could be by previewing it at a local film festival, like that of the 'BFI London Film Festival' except perhaps a more smaller-scale festival, such as a regional or local one.
Monday 27 February 2012
Feedback from Peers
The feedback we recieved from our peers was helpful as it forced us to perhaps notice things that beforehand we may not have noticed. It was also a good experience to see what other people's opening sequences were like and how they could possibly help us to improve our own.
The positive comments we recieved is as follows:
- Lighting very good
- Shots very good
- Daylight good - easy to see
- Close up of eyes good
- Good costume
- Good location
- Simple but effective
- Good costumes/shots
- Good mis-en-scene
- Good acting and characters
- Good quality
- Good range of shots
- Good cuts
- Close ups good
- Narrative liked
- Continuity good
However we did also recieve some more critical comments, most of which will be solved in the final edit before submitting our film:
- Some bits jumpy - this is down to the fact that the editing is not yet compeleted. Once it has been it will be a lot clearer in my opinion.
- Audio is confusing - the audio captured in the film shots is going to be muted completely hence why we aren't too bothered about it just yet.
- Storyline a bit confusing - it was not explained how so we don't understand how it is confusing in order to modify it.
- Editing wasn't smooth - editing isn't finished.
- Some shots out of focus - this was meant to happen as it creates a certain mysterious atmosphere around Anna.
- Could be more suspensful (when Anna is following Lucy) - once again will be rectified in final editing. The shots are going to be made shorter, there will possibly be more shot reverse shots etc.
- Sound could be used before Lucy is on the floor - is going to be added when we get to editing that last little bit; the kind of thing we had in mind was to do like a blackout when the title of the film appears, with a scream then you see the final shot with Lucy on the floor.
- Add more shots whilst walking - once again, a problem that will be solved during last edits.
Recieving Feedback
After having Ms Thrasher watch our film and give us feedback, we realised that in fact there was quite a lot we had left to do.
For examle, she said that some of the scenes of the Stalker following Mandy were too long and needed to be edited down and a shot reverse shot perhaps to be put in - immediately therefore, we began to cut those down and have already out a shot reverse shot into our sequence but that still needs some more work. Also, we were told that the paning shot from Mandy to the Stalker wasn't a good idea so we have now cut that out and made it into two shots.
Also, there is a scene in the kitchen with Ted and Mandy which we were told was quite confusing as he suddenly changes position (due to two shots being edited together) which we needed to somehow fix and have done by making the shot more specific. We simply shortened the first shot so that the viewer can tell what is going on before they enter the front room therefore it doesn't appear as though we were trying to match the two shots together but instead were more just shortening the narrative but not in such a way that would be confusing to the viewer.
Also we needed to fix the sound up but we decided to do that last as it could go wrong and we would need a lot of help.
For examle, she said that some of the scenes of the Stalker following Mandy were too long and needed to be edited down and a shot reverse shot perhaps to be put in - immediately therefore, we began to cut those down and have already out a shot reverse shot into our sequence but that still needs some more work. Also, we were told that the paning shot from Mandy to the Stalker wasn't a good idea so we have now cut that out and made it into two shots.
Also, there is a scene in the kitchen with Ted and Mandy which we were told was quite confusing as he suddenly changes position (due to two shots being edited together) which we needed to somehow fix and have done by making the shot more specific. We simply shortened the first shot so that the viewer can tell what is going on before they enter the front room therefore it doesn't appear as though we were trying to match the two shots together but instead were more just shortening the narrative but not in such a way that would be confusing to the viewer.
Also we needed to fix the sound up but we decided to do that last as it could go wrong and we would need a lot of help.
Monday 20 February 2012
Audio/Sound for the opening
Obviously we understand that one of the main important things in a film is not just what the audience sees on the screen, but what they can hear.
As we want our opening to be simple and effective and not have too many things going on at once we have decided not to use speech in our scene. Although this is a risky decision we have decided to use only an audio track throughout the geration of the opening. Accordingly, our next important decision was which song would we use? Before a discussion of coming up with possible songs, we decided that because our opening is set in the 80's era, we wanted a song that went with the cheesy upbeat vibe of the 80's, therefore we have come to the decision of using the song 'Sussudio' by Phil Collins. We feel that this song would fit perfectly with the costumes and theme that we are going for.
Because our genre of film is thriller/mystery we understand that this song is not the obvious type that you would associate with this genre, but this is something we think will work to our advantage. Because the song will sharply contrast with the events happening on screen, we believe and hope this captures the audience and although may confuse them, their confusion will encourage them to continue to watch. Our inspiration for this is 'American Psycho' when this song is played it contrasts with the action on screen and adds to the stylishness of the film.
As we want our opening to be simple and effective and not have too many things going on at once we have decided not to use speech in our scene. Although this is a risky decision we have decided to use only an audio track throughout the geration of the opening. Accordingly, our next important decision was which song would we use? Before a discussion of coming up with possible songs, we decided that because our opening is set in the 80's era, we wanted a song that went with the cheesy upbeat vibe of the 80's, therefore we have come to the decision of using the song 'Sussudio' by Phil Collins. We feel that this song would fit perfectly with the costumes and theme that we are going for.
Because our genre of film is thriller/mystery we understand that this song is not the obvious type that you would associate with this genre, but this is something we think will work to our advantage. Because the song will sharply contrast with the events happening on screen, we believe and hope this captures the audience and although may confuse them, their confusion will encourage them to continue to watch. Our inspiration for this is 'American Psycho' when this song is played it contrasts with the action on screen and adds to the stylishness of the film.
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