Dear Moderator,

Welcome to my A2 Media blog in which I show the stages I have been through in order to create my main product, a thriller film trailer titled "Eye Spy" along with two ancillary tasks, an "Eye Spy" film poster and a magazine front cover called "Uncut" which features my film trailer. You'll find all of these completed products directly below. My Research & Planning posts start in September and my Evaluation begins on March 11th.

I hope you enjoy,

Luke

Friday, 26 October 2012

Research & Planning: Storyboard Progress

Storyboard Progress


We are currently in the process of making our animated storyboard.  We plan to finish the editing after half term to help us get our ideas across.

Research & Planning: Meeting Post.

After meeting with Abbie, we decided that over half term we will both add extra posts containing more research into our genre, various film posters and magazines so that we can begin to shape our ideas into a product.
      I will be researching production company names and logos and designing possible icons we could use to feature in our magazines, posters and trailer and Abbie will do the same with distribution logos.
     We will decide on a definite name and possible look around some locations which we could feature in our trailer.

Wednesday, 24 October 2012

Research & Planning: Film Title Ideas


Film Title Ideas



 
Here are some words that we felt were relevant to our film title.  We particularly like the titles "Eye Spy", "The Room" and "Manhunt" as they work well with all of our ideas.


Sunday, 21 October 2012

Research & Planning: Costume List


Character One - Equilibrium
-Female.
-Dark Jeans.
-Simple T-Shirt with maybe a logo or writing on.
-Converse or some sort of trainers etc.
-Hair Up in a ponytail.
-Minimal Makeup.

Character One - Disruption / Peaks
-The t-shirt will become dirty, maybe ripped.
-Blood stained.
-Mascara running down her face.
-Scratches on her body.
-Dust and dirt all over her.

Character Two - Equilibrium
-Male.
-Checked shirt.
-Dark Jeans.
-Converse or pumps on.
-Messy hair.

Character Two - Disruption / Peaks
-The shirt will roll up on the sleeves, ripped one sleeve off.
-Dirty, dust.
-Scratches on his face, blood on his knuckles.

Character Three - Equilibrium
-Female.
-Shorts.
-Vest.
-Cardigan.
-(Looking a lot more girly than the other female).
-Possibly a dress.
-Ballet Pumps (Dolly Shoes).
-Tights. 
-Hair Down.
-Make-up done perfectly.

Character Three - Disruption / Peaks
-Scratch right down her face.
-Make-up all over the place.
-Dress ripped on the shoulder.
-Tights ripped.

Character Four - Equilibrium
-Male.
-T Shirt.
-Joggers.
-Trainers.
-Messy Hair.

Character Four - Disruption / Peaks
-Blood on Knuckles.
-Dirtier clothing.

Research & Planning: Prop & Location List

First Location
Clearing in the woods, with a single campfire as a light source, surrounded by logs or chairs for our characters to sit on:



Second Location
A dark, abandoned looking room with little light and only one door.  Old chairs scattered around the room and a table in clear view of the cameras against one wall covered in rusty old tools that add a brutality to the area.




Friday, 19 October 2012

Research & Planning: Equipment & Software List


Adobe Photoshop
I will use Photoshop to create my film magazine and poster as it allows me to create the initial layout of the products, but also allows me to edit photographs.  This makes it an ideal for my products as I can manipulate them to suit our genre.

iMovie
This software will be used to edit any form of video featured on my blog, including my final trailer.

GarageBand
we will use this software to create and edit any sound included in our trailer such as sound tracks and various effects.

iPhoto
This software will be used to upload any photo's I have taken that're featured throughout my blog.

iMac
We will be using the iMac for everything based around software therefore we will be creating our magazine covers, posters and editing our trailer on one.

Sony HD Camcorder
We will use this type of camera will be used to film mostly static shots which could be used with a tripod.

Canon mini DV Camcorder
This type of camera will be used for our hand held shots featured in our trailer.

DSLR Camera
I will use this type of camera for any photographs featured in my magazine cover or poster as it will give me the high quality images I need to give a professional feel to my products.

Research & Planning: Production Company Name Ideas




Production Company Name Ideas - Wordle

I created a word cloud on Wordle.net in order to see all the words I came up with that are relevant to my genre.  I also made the theme of the cloud relatable to my genre which should make it easier to find a name for my production company.

I particularly like the names:
Killer Studios
Blackout Productions
Red Raven productions
Hollow Mind Studios
Black Iris Productions

I shall make at least one logo for each and decide which I prefer at a later date.

Sunday, 14 October 2012

Research & Planning: Treatment

Treatment Proposal 1

After discussing our options with our tutor, we came to the conclusion that this idea is the best suited us as we will be able to play around with the cinematography and editing:

We decided to use:
  • MPAA Message (Rating)
  • A handheld camera view of the teens around the camp fire, with a recording signal flashing in the corner.
  • The teens start to sway and fall to the ground one by one, causing the camera to fall on its side.
  • We see the teens getting dragged off the screen from the camera's perspective, which will be lay sideways on the ground.
  • The campfire dies out and the shot fades to black.
  • The production/distribution company name and logo appear and then fade out again.
  • Next, there's a single, static shot of the teens from the corner of the room.
  • Fast editing from all four perspectives, a camera in each corner.
  • Single light source in the middle of the room, goes out and jump cuts to black.
  • Light source comes back on, we see a figure/silhouette in the furthest corner from the POV.
  • Faced paced shots from various peaks e.g. character's getting hurt, zooms onto specific characters etc.
  • Beat of a heart, non diegetic.
  • On each individual beat the clip fades between victims and killers hand slowly.
  • Just as the killer's weapon is being brought down. 
  • We cut to black on moment of impact, we hear the thud.
  • Film title fades in.
  • Innocent cry of a female character plays over the top.
  • "Coming Soon"

Friday, 12 October 2012

Research & Planning: Proposal Idea 2

Proposal 2

Character with schizophrenia, during his psychological episodes, thinks he's having hallucinations of people being killed when actually he is the killer but doesn't realise it.

Mise-en-scene:
  • Various killing locations e.g. alleyways, under bridges etc.
  • Blood, cuts and scars
  • Killing utensils
  • His own room with twisted images/posters on the wall
  • Hallucination Diary

Sound:
  • Screams
  • A mixture of digetic and non diegetic sounds
  • Character theme during his killings
  • Voice Over

Editing:
  • Fast paced
  • Dissolves
  • Fades
  • Jump cuts in the killing scenes
Cinematography:
  • High angles
  • Tight framing
  • Eyeline matches
  •  Over the shoulder
  • POV shots



Research & Planning: Proposals Idea 1

Proposals 

Idea One

Party in the woods goes downhill and characters end up in an abandoned house with no means of escape and no explanation of how they got there:

Mise-en-scene:
Open spaced woods with a camp fire and low key lighting making it seem as though the camp fire is the only available light source.
     Deserted house, low key lighting
     Murderer, is going to need some distinctive feature i.e. strange eye, scar etc. yet has normal clothes to make him seem more human.
     Victims, aged 17-19, slow decline in appearance to show stress and vulnerability.
     Titles will be used throughout the trailer to give a rough idea of the plot, vital pieces of dialogue could also be included 

Sound:
Various themes and stings and highlight areas to shock the audience and add tension to specific areas.
     Diegetic sounds will be used to add realism to the trailer, making it a more believable story.
     Non-diegetic music can be used to build tension slowly and add cause the audience to panic.

Cinematography:
POV shots from the murderers perspective will be used in a handheld style so imply that he's watching the victims.  These will be on a slightly higher angle to show they are the power figure in these areas.
     We decided to mix between handheld and tripod shooting styles to show the contrast between murderer and victim.  We also thought it would make the murderer seem more sinister if he was shown recording his actions.

Editing:
Our editing will be fast paced to work with the feeling of panic we aim to create in our other factors.  Yet it will be slower in the woods to give a calmer feel, showing the equilibrium stage of our plot.
     We will use mostly straight cuts in the abandoned house to emphasise the disruption along with various peaks featured in the trailer.  However, we felt dissolves would be best in the woods to the imply calmness of the equilibrium.  This also works well with our editing speed.
   

     

Thursday, 11 October 2012

Research & Planning: London - Trip to the BBFC

London - BBFC Visit

Our visit to the BBFC in London helped give me a better insight onto how I should present my trailer in order to gain the age rating I want as well as some knowledge into what working at the BBFC would be like and a rough idea of what to expect.  

Firstly, we discussed how the contents of a film affects the age rating given to it by discussing a clip from "The Simpson's Movie" (2007).  We picked up on the fact that this film contained:
  • Underage smoking
  • Bad language
  • Cartoon child nudity
  • Police brutality
We then discussed why a film containing this was given a 12A rating, in which we decided that due to the fact that all four factors weren't severe and didn't last very long throughout the clip made the entire video feel much more relaxed without the feeling of maliciousness.  Also the fact that it was a cartoon, making it an unreal visual in which people are watching due to its humorous content.  This gave me a good idea on how the age rating process works as well as some key pointers to use in my trailer in order to get the rating I want.

Research & Planning: London Trip Photographs














Last week, from Wednesday, 3rd - friday, 5th of October I visited London in which I went to London Film museum.  I was able to see many props and costumes from films such as Harry Potter and Hell Raiser which gave us a few ideas on characters that could feature in our film.

Wednesday, 10 October 2012

Research & Planning: Sound Test


For my sound test I experimented with Garage band using both pre-recorded tracks and things I created with the electronic sounds installed on the software itself. This works well with my genre with the strange sounds and twisted lyrics from Nirvana's Something in the Way.