Wednesday 13th Diary Entry- group discussion

 

Today I got together with my team to talk about a group idea. Before we left for the holidays, we had already discussed a few ideas that we wanted to use. Our strongest idea that we have that we all agree on is a 'come to life doll house'

The idea consists of an old woman playing with a doll house and opening it up with the dolls coming to life.

We wanted to have a haunted location, a room/ house that looks symmetrical, it looks old and has elements such as flowery wall paper, china, a rocking chair... 

We wanted the old lady to be spy like as she is spying on her dolls- (real people), controlling them. 

We talked about conspiracy and how the girls could have stockholm syndrome- they like their kidnapper- look happy around a tea party table. 

The idea overall would ideally have an establishing shot of a dolls house, then when opened up everything "come to life" 

We want to track the dolls getting ready and going downstairs to a tea party. 

We also would have a 1940s song playing over this. 

As a group, we also each individually came up with back up plans incase this one didn't work. 

My idea was 'the vaccine' which I presented to the class yesterday. This consists of a build up to a person getting a vaccine (I have wrote another blog on this is more detail) 

My group liked my idea and added some suggestions if we were to use that idea. 

Amys idea was to have a girl who was being stalked. Here are some bulleted points of her idea- 

- This idea would show a room that has a board in I with lots of pictures if a girl on it and her private information. This would include her school, where she lives and her family members.

- He is stalking her, there could possibly be a scene where the girl is completely oblivious to the fact that a man is stalking her. This scene could have the girl walking back from school and the man is following her and she blind to the fact that he is stalking her.

- This would be possible as only two people would be needed to do the acting in the scene. We could also use the studio to create the board with the personal information on it.

- There would be eerie music behind the scene, it would include a ticking sound to make the audience feel uneasy. It could either be violin or piano music

We also discussed that we could work with this one. 

As a group, we would want to use our original idea which we are presenting to Luke and Matt on Monday, but we also have back up options. 

My Individual Idea for an opening sequence

 One of the ideas I came up with for the opening sequence is "the injection" 

With everything going on in the world right now with the virus and the vaccine, I had the idea to use a location in school (possibly old med centre, not sure if its still in use) or somewhere where a few medical beds could be set up and have a build up of a vaccine a being injected into someone. 

I want to include point of view shots from the people having a vaccine, but also maybe cut to a person waiting in a different location waiting looking at their watch to add a sense that someone is waiting for this vaccine to enter the patient’s  body. This actor would be impatient and act suspicious to add enigma codes. 

I had the idea that someone could be out to kill these people but was unsure on how I would show that in 2 minutes and with the lack of dialogue as I would want my opening sequence to have close to no dialogue or none at all. 

As the sequence goes on, the music would pick up the pace and so would the actors. I also envisioned a glass bottle smashing and dropping in slow motion to include at some point to add to the tension of the opening sequence but was still unsure of where that could be added and can discuss this with my group if we decide to use this idea and develop from there.

I had a vision to make the last shot of a patient opening their eyes and 'seeing the world differently' or being in a different location, or leaving the patient once the vaccine entered the body with complete cut off of music and a blackout with silence as the title appears.

Monday 11th Diary Entry

Online lessons started today and in media we discussed our plans for this half term. 

Under normal circumstances we would be in lessons planning and preparing to shoot our opening sequences, which we will still be able to do as social media and platforms such as teams have made it easy to communicate with people. 

My group created a group chat over the holidays where we will discuss future ideas and can communicate easily.

We are hoping to be back in after half term so we can shoot our ideas but everyone is still unsure of what is going to happen and all waiting to see...

For now, we have to plan our ideas as if we are going back but have to keep in mind we will only be able to shoot on campus and have a limited number of cast members.

Over the holidays I came up with some ideas for the sequence which I will be presenting to the class on Wednesdays lesson via teams. 

Storyboard plan

Melis, Maddie and I all worked together to create a story board of a 20 second Clip from the opening sequence of a previous Hurtwood students group. (The sound was the same the whole way through therefore left in blank)

Developments in Film Technology

Film Production Technology

35mm film

35mm film cameras came about in 1889 and are most commonly used to make films. They are traditional cameras which produce high quality films. The 35mm film refers to the film stock is projected on. Essentially, a picture is taken on each little frame and they run through a canister-

(each little frame)

(canisters)

(seen above), at such a high speed, and it is all pieced together. The sound is embedded in the reels in a way that can only be decoded by editing computers and the actual cameras themselves. Films produced on 35mm film cameras are projected in the same aspect ratio as digital cameras, and many directors prefer 35mm film to digital cameras despite the higher. 

The film is developed in labs.

35mm film cameras are still very commonly used due to their high quality.

eg. the most recent Star Wars film was shot on 35mm. 

Advantages for the film companies- 

• 35mm film cameras don't rely on batteries as much as digital, producers can shoot for long periods of time.
• The quality is better than digital
• Technology is not needed for editing 

Advantages for the audience- 

• better quality than digital, makes the audience watching it a more enjoyable experience

Disadvantages for the film companies-

• The cameras are extremely big- their heavy and big in size. (This makes it hard to travel)
• Have to shoot the scene many times, most producers use a 10:1 ratio (film the scene 10 times even though only 1 will be used) which makes the film production process more expensive.
• Can't watch the film back there and then, have to transport it onto material where it can be watched and edited (digital can be watched and re shot straight away)
• Can affect profit on the film

Digital Video Cameras

 Digital video cameras came around in the early 2000s by Sony. In 2003 the need of tape in video recordings was eliminated completely, and now days film makers use high end professional digital video cameras for film production. 

These cameras require batteries and they capture motion picture information from live environments and then puts it in a format that can be decoded into electronic visual media. The videos produced are stored on memory cards and edited on technology. 

These are different from film cameras because the recording can be seen there as you can see what you are recording on the screen. If a director or producer does not like something, it can be re done there and then.

Many film companies use digital video cameras today because they are cheaper in the long run than film, and are extremely easy to use.

Advantages to the production companies-

• lighter than film cameras and easy to transport 
• the memory cards used where the videos are stored can store more images than a dozen rolls of film, and memory cards don't require much physical space
• images can be viewed immediately
• can edit images straight away in camera 

Disadvantages to audience- 

• not as good quality as film 

Disadvantages to production companies-

• requires computer skills 
• need batteries 
• digital storage can sometimes get lost 

70mm Film

70mm is similar to 35mm except the format of 70mm has larger frames in size and a wider aspect ratio. This makes the film better quality and more detailed.  Everyone thinks it is a new film technology but it actually came about in the 1950's/60s, its just not used as much due to the high price. 

Advantages to film company- 

• The film might get better reviews and more publicity because of the good quality- more revenue

Disadvantages to film company-

• Not as many cinemas are interested in buying these films due to the cost and the fact that each reel is twice as heavy as 35mm reels.
• The film may be a loss leader if the film is put in a cinema where it wont sell because of the higher price of sale tickets. 
• affect profit

Advantages to audience- 

•  'crisper, brighter' image. It allows audience to see details they may have not noticed before. 

Disadvantages to the audience-

• tickets at the cinema may charge a higher price 

For example, Wonder Woman was filmed on 70mm IMAX-

(IMAX is explained further on)

Film Marketing Technology 

Facebook & Twitter (+ other social media platforms)

A lot of film companies use social media platforms to promote their films as they can reach a large number of their target audience. 

Social media is used globally, and messages can get across easily quickly to thousands of people. 

Many people post reviews and opinions about films on social media such as twitter which can be good publicity for the film.

Twitter is good to use for films because posts can be retweeted and hashtags are also great to use to reach large audiences. 

for example this review- it creates a good brand image for Warner Bros and is good publicity for the film, it will make people want to go watch Wonder Woman. 

Wonder Woman also has its on twitter account with 376.9k followers where they post content to do with the film. 

Snapchat has also used methods of publicity, for example when Wonder Woman was released, which targets a young audience and is fun. 

(people will want to use this filter to look like Gal Gadot and putting a crown above her head portrays her as a role model and someone to look up to)

Film Distribution 

Distribution is...

Making the film available to exhibitors, raising awareness and demand through marketing. 

Exhibitors include...

 Netflix

Netflix is a subscription based streaming service where people can watch TV series, programmes, films, etc without adverts. Netflix is available to download on all gadgets such as laptops, phones, TV's...  

Netflix do deals of 50/50 with film production companies. This means that Netflix would get 50% of profit made and the production company would get the other 50% 

Netflix is available worldwide however have different content available in different countries eg the film Tank 432 was available on Netflix USA but not on Netflix UK.

Advantages of Netflix

• Netflix has become increasingly popular over the last 10 years. Many people turn to streaming sites instead of TV boxes with channels now days. This is good for Netflix because their gaining a larger audience because people can type in what they want to watch instead of having to sit through adverts and watch TV programmes they aren't interested in. 
• contracts can be made
• Production companies can choose to put a film on for a certain amount of time to make it "limited edition" therefore making people want to watch it before it is removed. (This is what Tank 432 did, they were on Netflix USA for a number of weeks)
• This is also good for production companies because they're reaching a large audience 

Disadvantages of Netflix

(to production companies)

• Netflix charge a fee to production companies to have their film put up, and also take a share of the profit.

Netflix is just one example of a subscription streaming service. There are many others such as Amazon Prime Video, HBO, Hulu... which all have the same concept. 

Video Upload Websites

Digital technology has made the illegal piracy of films very easy. People use illegal websites to upload films they've managed to 'steal' either by recording the film itself at the cinema, or stealing the tapes, hard copies... 

These are all illegally copied and are free of charge for the audience. 

Production companies can lose large amounts of money, for example Warner Brothers lost $1BILLION to the piracy of Wonder Woman. 

Some examples of illegal websites include 123movies, Putlocker, tinyzone... 

These websites usually get shut down but people continue to make new ones.

Large conglomerates have the rights to sue if they find out who has done this because they have the ability to go to court, do the legal cases... However, smaller production companies such as Belstone Pictures aren't able to do this because of finances. 

IMAX 

IMAX is a film format with a system of high resolution cameras, film projectors, and cinemas having a very large screen that 'curves' round the audience to immense them in the action. 

IMAX CAMERA- 

The difference between IMAX screens and standard screens is that IMAX is 6 times larger. 

 

Sound- IMAX has a 15000 watt digital speaker with a wider frequency response. There are special sound engineers in creating these speakers with powerful sound which make going to the cinema more enjoyable for the audience. 

Most IMAX movie theatres use a high-powered laser light engine. Unlike the traditional xenon lamps, IMAX lasers have a twin 4K proprietary digital projectors to light the huge screen, which gives a clear and vivid showing in the cinema. 

(this source of information is from a website about IMAX screens)

Sexy Beast opening

 PLANNING FRAME FOR SEXY BEAST OPENING

Character Man by pool	Character Man by pool	Character  Man by pool	Character  Helper
Adjective-  lazy/relaxed	Adjective-  rich/powerful	Adjective-  self absorbed	Adjective - inferior
Mis-en-scene Evidence Doesn’t move from sun bed much- lying down. Eyes closed Moves really slowly Sun burnt- implies hes been in the sun for a long time.	Mis-en-scene Evidence Location- big house, pool, has someone who’s working for him Chains and jewellery he’s wearing	Mis-en-scene Evidence Doesn’t notice the rock when it comes flying down- too absorbed in his own world.  Wears a wedding ring but no wife is seen- he’s more important  Wears tanning oil to make him look better- cares about his appearance.  Has an icy cold flannel to keep him cool.	Mis-en-scene Evidence Working for someone else Takes orders  Prop- broomstick
Camera Evidence Birds eye view- makes him look longer	Camera Evidence Establishing shot of whole house	Camera Evidence Camera is on him most of the scene, even when speaking to the other character in the scene.  Close ups of him Shallow focus of the other character	Camera Evidence Blurred out in the background of the scene- less importance Shallow focus
Sound Evidence Dialogue- “Im sweating here”  Implies nothing else to do but lie around Chilled music on Talks slowly	Sound Evidence Orders people around- “go and get”  Rude and informal mode of address	Sound Evidence no one else talks, long monologue in the opening	Sound Evidence Is ordered around Lack of dialogue from him implies he doesn’t get much of a say
Editing Evidence Eyeline match- he’s looking at the sky and sees the sun- nothing else to be doing	Editing Evidence Long take of the scenery and house (location) emphasises the size.  Short takes of the worker, less camera time- less important	Editing Evidence Song ‘Sexy beast’ plays- he thinks he’s “sexy”	Editing Evidence All takes of him are short, not much screen time

Skyfall opening Sequence analysis