Friday 21 March 2014

Evaluation : Question 7

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this project?

Through filming our opening sequence I have realized that filming scenes in the correct way and using the camera and editing it in the best way takes a lot of time and concentration. Evidenced also by our preliminary, perfect editing takes concentration and time. Also technology isn't always reliable as we have had to re-upload film clips multiple times after uploading has proved unreliable at certain times. Also we have realised that lots of time is needed to complete the filming and editing process and it is something that cannot be rushed as mistakes will be made.

Evaluation : Question 6

Looking back at your back preliminary task(the continuity editing task), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?
Record and upload voice >>

Evaluation : Question 5


Evaluation : Question 4



Below is our survey that we handed out to around:
Although it's basic we wanted to keep it short so that we got the exact information we needed.




Question 3 continued

Evaluation : Question 3

Question 2 continued









Evaluation Question 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

In our opening sequence all of the characters are in their early 20's. In a comical way it presents the naivity of young love as young people make a lot of mistakes while meeting and choosing the right people to trust in life. It is relatable to many teenagers and young adults as each character shows relatable reactions and emotions which this type audience can understand. Our media piece also represent the modern era and how technology plays a massive part everyday life. For example mobile phones are used by the female in our opening sequences to have a relationship with two boys which effects how the story line plans out.

The use of technology allows how her to manipulate both boys as they are oblivious to their situations which agains shows how our interaction with each other as people has changed due to the progression of technology. You could therefore suggest that our film represents the issues surrounding young relationships in the 21st century.



Evaluation Question 1





Final Opening Sequence (Dating Sam)


How has this improved our Opening sequence

Changing location helped our filming run a lot more smoothly and therefore we was able to make the most of filming time. We had less disruption from the general public as we were in a more reserved, quieter area which overall helped with sound and quality of our film. Also the lighting did not effect our film too much and we was able to get many successful shots that played a pivotal role when editing our film. Our new location also gave us options in which we could change certain scenes which all help to making our opening sequence better than what it would had been if we used our previous location.

How do the changes made affect our Opening sequence

New Location
Keston Ponds - We decided on our new location as it was much quieter and the scenery was a lot more complimentry to our storyline because it wasn't as hectic and busy as our last location. We did not have to worry about the extra noise that we could encounter with the public such as cars and pedestrians. With less of the public around this means that the viewer will also be watching more of what our actual characters are doing rather than being distracted by other members of the public being in our film. 

Major changes in our Opening scene

After reviewing our opening sequence as a whole while in the process of editing it, we decided to not to change some intergal aspects of  our clip. As a group , myself , Taylor and Alice decided to change the location of our film and aspects of our scripts in order to make the direction of our plot clearer.

Reasons for change:

- We decided that our range of camera shots were limited and therefore didn't make our film as effective as it could have been.

- A lack of complimenting music in our film  needed to be added as we realise that at some parts of our film would be helped by sound so that viewers did not loose disinterest.

- The fluency of piece was also a worrying thing as the storyline did not flow or make entire sense when watching it as a finished product.


Wednesday 5 March 2014

Costume and Props

This is the costume I had chosen to wear for my own particular character. I  chose to wear plain clothing as I think that this represented my character best as he is the male who is fairly sensible and intelligent. Plain clothing also does not give away a lot about the character as they costume chosen is not flashy or have any prints or patterns on the clothing to suggest that my character is an outlandish or quirky person through his choice of clothes.



Tuesday 4 March 2014

Final Title


'Dating Sam; is the title

How do you come up with a Title?

Initial Title Ideas

When thinking of titles, there was a few things that we wanted to take in to account. We didn't want our title to be too long which could make our title ineffective. We therefore decided that our title would have between 2-4 words. After thinking of various names , these are the final 4 we decided to choose from.

1)Chasing Samantha

2)The Same Samantha

3)Two Friends, One Sam

4)Dating Sam

Independent Studios


Existing Independent Studio

What is an Independent Studio?

Independent studio are often small companies that are privately owned.


Working Title













Working Title is an independent film studio based in London. Films such as Billy Elliot and Four Weddings have been produced by them. They have been running since 1983.

Final Title

'Chasing Sam' is the final title we agreed on as a group. We chose this title because it is what we want our title to be which is short and effective. We shortened the name of the female lead in(our opening scene) our title from 'Samantha' to 'Sam' so that it is more simple and not as long winded to say.

Final Character Profiles

In the script we are referring to ourselves with our real names, but we will have different names in the play. We are in our early 20's and are all middle-class. Louis is called Jerry, I'm called Samantha and taylor is called Tom.

Both of the boys used to be friends at college. They left not so long ago so when they bump into each other they quickly begin chatting again as if they were never parted. This is mostly helped by Tom's outgoing personality.

Jerry - He is quiet and reserved. He is an introvert who spends times with friends, but reads alot and think of himself as quite intelligent. He is an opposite to Tom.


Tom - He is an Extrovert who is outgoing and friendly. He is just as intelligent as Jerry, but it is understated. He socialises a lot and his friends are the most important thing to him.


Samantha - She is an instantly dislikable girl who is stuck-up and impatient. She has played Tom and Jerry, but act as if there is no problem with it. She doesn't even appear guilty before her secret is exposed proving that she's a selfish girl with no concern for Tom or Jerry's feelings. She is too relaxed for her own good.

Story Board

This is just an idea of how one of our scenes will look. At this point both males will be entering the restaurant/cafe at the same time to find out surprisingly that they are meeting the same girl.

Monday 3 March 2014

Initial Script


First person to appear on screen is Me.

Taylor: Where are you? (i appear on the phone)

Louis: I'm on my way, chill out, how far are you?

Alice: I'm here just call me when you're here.

Louis and Taylor: Alright.

(Both boys are walking towards each other and are surprised to see each other) 

Louis: Long time.

Taylor: I haven't seen you in ages!

Louis: I know mate you've gone missing.

Taylor: Haha how have you been man?

Louis: I've been good thanks where are you off to?

Taylor: Just off to meet the Mrs!

Louis: What? since when?!

Taylor: It's been a few weeks mate, I think she's the one!

Louis: Funny you've said that, cause i've found someone too.

Taylor: Yeah mate thats good to hear.

(Music starts to play as both boys continue to walk with each other, The scene changes to Alice waiting in the restaurant/cafe) 

Alice: (on the phone) Yeah I'm meeting Taylor now and Louis later, Ha don't worry they'll never find out.

(both boys walk in to the restaurant/cafe still oblivious to what will happen)

Taylor and Louis: well i'll catch you later

Alice: Oh god, i gotta go (puts the phone down)

(both boys walk in to the restaurant/cafe still oblivious to what will happen)

Taylor and Louis: well i'll catch you later

Alice: Oh god, i gotta go (puts the phone down)

(Taylor and Louis realize what is going on as they both look at Alice and then each other in shock. Alice's facial expression is panicked)

- END OF OPENING SCENE-
 

Thursday 27 February 2014

Things we need take in to account when filming :The public




As we can see here filming may be difficult to film because of how busy this particular road can be. Therefore the time in which we film is important because it has to be a time where we can get enough filming done effectively without too much interference from the general public. Also the lighting has to be good for us to so we can't film too late in the day.








Final Location

As a group we decided that the best location for us to film would be at the 'Bird in Hand'  pub located on Gravel Road. There are many benefits and reasons as to why we decided this would be the best establishment for us to produce our film such as:

- Good scenery for example the pub garden which is a ideal area for one of our scenes, will help support and add effect to one of our particular scenes.

- The surrounding area is fairly quiet so we should not have many problems with noise and therefore there shouldn't any major issues with film are opening sequence.

- We have also been giving consent by the owner to film freely so we can maximise the amount of time we spend filming to get the best possible outcome.

Alternative Locations

As a group we need know that while producing our opening sequence, things will run as smoothly as we planned and therefore adjustments will have to be made. Despite deciding our ideal locations we would like to film certain scenes some companies may not allow us premission to do so and therefore we need to make sure we address this with the respected owners/managers before filming in their businesses.


If we can not film in the 3 locations here are two  places we will like to film if our plan to film in our other locations does not go to plan.



The Rib Shack - 5 Station Square, Petts Wood

This location would be a good back up as it is similar to Joe's Kitchen in Bromley. The scenery is ideal and covers what we want to incoporate in a particular scene in our sequence.  The  Rib Shack may be easier to film in also as it may not be as busy as our  other locations because of the area it is in.



















Cafelicious - 408 Crofton Road,Locksbottom

This location is another good altenative location and is similar to cafe scenery you might find in our other location , Costa Coffee. Again , this will be another quieter option for us to film as it is not as busy as Bromley.


















Bird in Hand - Gravel Road

This would be a very convenient and nice alternative compared to the other locations we have looked.    This location is different as we could film inside as well as side in the pub garden as there is nice scenery which could compliment our opening sequence. This location also would be a lot easier to film at because there would not large amounts of public disrupting our filming as it is a more quiet establishment.


Wednesday 26 February 2014

What has the preliminary task taught us?

Preliminary Task Evaluation

The preliminary task was designed so that myself and my fellow colleagues Taylor and Alice, learnt how to use the fundamentals of a camera effectively and correctly. We demonstrated in the task that we all have a firm understanding of camera rules, rules of thirds,match on action editing,reverse reverse shot and also that the film followed the 180 degree rule.



Rule of third: Composition rule of thumb in photography

180 degree rule: From this task I learnt the importance of the 180 degree rule. It is important as it displays the whole of the setting in which you are filming. It gives the viewer full understanding of the surroundings in which you are filming and therefore the scene does not become confusing and unclear.

Match on action editing: Moving closer to a an object , which in our film was the opening of the door. The action is the shot of the hand reaching for the handle and opening the door.

Reverse reverse shot: The conversation between myself and taylor shows how we effectively used the reverse reverse shot without the conversation coming across as scripted or unrealistic. In our preliminary task the camera shots used to go back and forth between the two of us run smoothly and therefore helps to make the conversation effective.




Preliminary Task


Tuesday 25 February 2014

RWS productions


After reconsidering the final logo we had created , we decided to change our logo as we felt that it was not professional enough and therefore would not represent the quality that we want our viewers to feel when they watch the sequence.

Production Logo



What makes a good logo?



When deciding on my production logo I created a mood board of different logo's to decide on what sort of logo's were popular. Also what kinds of colours they used and how relevant the logos were to a variety of different companies.

The coloured logo's are much more fun and more attractive. The basic black and white logo's tend to be for big more serious companies who have already established enough attention and customers and therefore don't need such a bright fully coloured logo. For example Sony have a very professional looking logo and also they are advertising to adults much more than children as children can't afford to but Sony goods alone. Adults therefore care less about bright exciting logo's and much more about the product. As well as they fact they do not want a bright inappropriate logo on their technology purchased from Sony. This is why I think my template logo of 'RWS Productions' is a good idea as the bright colours will attract audiences from a variety of differing age groups and it will not effect the quality or impact of the opening sequence as it just adds a quick fun, eye-catching moment towards the beginning.

Final Log in

Idea 1
'As two friends believe that they have finally found 'The One' they soon realise that their happily ever after, isn't so happy after all.'

As a group we decided that the first log in created was the best one to represent our  opening sequence. It covers the basis of our storyline and gives a clear indication of the meaning of the film without giving away the outcome of the storyline. 

Evaluation of Log Lines

Initial Log in Ideas



Monday 24 February 2014

What is a log line?

A logline is a short summary of a film. It is meant to inform you about what the film is about and gives the audience a chance to see if they would like to watch the film or not. Log lines are therefore hold some importance in grasping a viewers attention in one short effective sentence.

A log line should be able to answer particular questions such as:

- What is the film about?
- Who are the leading characters in the film?
- What are their purposes?


Log lines are needed as they are a useful way to widen and expand the audience being targeted. An engaging may prompt a viewer from our target audience to tell someone else who many not have been initially aware of our film.

Potential Filming Locations

While discussing potential filming locations., these are few locations that we would consider filming if possible. These are locations which we feel would best help make our filming as effective as possible.

Joe's Kitchen - IntuBromley Shopping Centre

 

Joe's kitchen would be a good location for us to film one of our scenes as it has the ideal scenery that we would ideally like for our clip. This would also add authenticity the scene and therefore help this dramatic scene as both Taylor and myself go to meet Alice and found out we have been speaking to the same girl.


Costa Coffee - Bromley Market Square

Costa Coffee would be another ideal location to film as this is another place that fits under the same category as locations previously seen in other romantic comedies e.g.
coffee shops ;cafes

                                                     
                                                                                               



Friday 14 February 2014

Review: The Awkward Moment

Over the weekend , I went to the cinema to see the rom com 'That Awkward Moment' as I thought it will be a good idea by watching a recently produced film under this genre.

In general I felt the film was good and was effective in portrayal of 3 friends who have their own relationship problems.


Does it come across as a typical romantic comedy or were there aspects of the film that made it a bit different?



Thursday 13 February 2014

Decision on 25 Word Pitch

"Two friends who are in awe of their fantasy girl fight to save their friendship after discovering they are dating the same female."


As a group we decided that this would be our 25 word pitch as it covers the basis of our storyline but does not give away the possible outcomes at the end. It informs the viewer about all the main characters and the roles they play also.


Initial 25 Word Pitch Ideas

"Tom and Jerry think they have found 'The One' when meeting new partners but through their naivety are in a relationship with the same girl."


"Two friends who are in awe of their fantasy girl fight to save their friendship after discovering they are dating the same female."


"Sam who has the admiration from two close friends endures a series of ups and downs as she decided which boy she wants the most."


What is the purpose of a 25 Word Pitch

Tuesday 11 February 2014

Mise en Scene in Opening Scene


Camera angels/shots

Various camera shots will needed to be established to help our opening scene effective. Certain situations in our sequence may include conversations or a lot of movement from a character which will then vary what angels and shots we use.

Editing

Editing is key as it has to help contribute to the authenticy of our opening scene, as we do not want it to come across as 'fake' or ineffective. Editing will help our opening scene transition from different scenes and situations shown in the clip.

Sound

Sound can be used to help complement the various scenes shown in the opening clip. Music also adds emphasis to the mood and emotions that may be shown within various different scenes in the opening.


Props

Props are very effective as this will give the viewer a chance to make a judgement on various aspects of the opening scene. For example, characters can be potrayed because of their clothes,which then can lead to other perceptions such as class and wealth.

Initial Planning : Our Cast and their roles


Alice Walsh as Leading Female

Taylor Mortimer as Leading Male

Myself (Louis Lang) also Leading Male

We decided that we didn't want to venture and have others audition for the parts of our film because we felt that as a group we understand the final opening sequence that we want to deliver. We also feel as if we have a good understanding and add qualities that will benefit the production of our final sequence.

Friday 7 February 2014

Target audience and certificate for Opening sequence

When looking at romantic comedies , most of the target audience would be either teenage or an adult audience. There are a lot of aspects which go in to determining what audience you target when making an opening scene. Every genre will vary depending on the nature of the content in the film and this then explains the rating the film is also given.

Here are a few films I looked at when analysing how past romantic comedies narrowed their audience and age certificate they were given and for what reasons.


Friends With Benefits

This film was given a certificate rating of 15 ,which means that it is suitable to be seen by an audience of the age of 15 years and older. The film was certificated this rating because:

- There is frequent use of strong language
- Strong sexual reference and activity
- Discriminatory language or behaviour


Ghost Of Girlfriend's Past

This film was given a certificate rating of pg13 ,which means that it is suitable to be seen by an audience of the age of 13 years and older. The film was certificated this rating because:

- Some content may be inappropriate for children 13 years and   under
- There are aspects of the film which could suggest that parents need to decide whether it is suitable for their child to see this film

- It is 'suggested' that parents or careers are present when children 13 years or younger watch the film.





Audience Research: How institutions target their audience

How do institutions target their audiences?

There are many ways in which the companies behind a film target their audiences. One way in which they do is by using visual art such as posters to attract certain people to watch their films. Posters are another way in which companies can pitch their production to the public. So what things do companies consider when giving another visual form of their product?

For example, this poster would be targeted to a female audience ranging from the ages 20 plus ideally. We can suggest this because of the title of the film'27 Dresses' and the pink font used to highlight the title from the credits. The writing forms the outline of a wedding dress which then confirms the film has a romantic theme.















In this poster , the theme of the film is reasonably obvious in many aspects. Both male and female are back to back which already suggest that they are in some form of relationship. Secondly the barb wired heart motif identifies that this is a romantic film but also gives the viewer the idea that the heart represents negativity in the relationship shown. The red font also can be linked to romance as the colour red is associated with love.















Thursday 6 February 2014

The type of characters found in romantic comedies : Leading Female

1. Naïve and youthful
2.The advice taker
3. The inexperienced one
4. The one who gives it all up for love
5. The Gorgeous klutz

Wednesday 5 February 2014

The type of characters found in romantic comedies : Leading Male

1. Confident Alpha Male
2. Open minded type
3. The lazy type
4. Unconfident and 'nerdy'
5. 'The Player

Tuesday 4 February 2014

Mood board : Romantic comedy



Before starting research on my romantic comedies, I felt that the best way to start was by creating a mood board that I felt represented the stuff I think is in romantic comedies.

One of the first things that came to my mind when thinking about what is found in these type of films is that use of settings such as restaurants, cafes and cinemas. Semantically, food plays some type of role in these type of movie as they are places that seem to attract 'couples' which then can spark important scenes in the film.

I also thought about the type of characters you find in these films. Usually they live in the city and are busy people who don't have time to 'find' love or are in a relationship that is struggling for various reasons. The main characters in these films usually have a lot going for them in some situations or it can be the complete opposite.

Opening Scene story line

After agreeing on the genre of our opening sequence, Alice , Taylor and I discussed our initial storyline to give us an indication of which direction we want our clip to go.

Our initial storyline:

-Two friends who seek 'love' begin to talk to there 'dream girl' until they find out they are talking to the same person

- The two leading males have very different personalities and views on life which makes it comical that they have fallen for the same girl.

- The girl who has been 'playing' both boys does not realise that they are friends.

- The girl can be seen as a 'player' which is unusual because in the majority of films a male would play this role because of social stereotypes.

- They eventually both find out that they are speaking to same girl and both confront her.

- During the story, there would be situations were both find out the truth but narrowly void this in comical scenes.