Summary of Preliminary Film

Over the last two weeks, four of us have created a 2min short film under the title 'The Package.' The objective was to get the package from one place to another and safely transfer it, then at the end of the film we would find out what was in the box.

We went about this by firstly brainstorming ideas and creating a storyboard. Because we were only filming in school choosing locations was relatively easy. We were also given little scope interms of story, the idea of the project was to get us working together, using the cameras and the editing software (FinalCut Pro X) to improve our knowledge and understanding of the technical elements of a film, the narrative was largely unimportant.

Brainstorming and Storyboarding:
We started off by sitting together, discussing the journey the package would take around school and most importantly, where it would start and end. Once we had established this, we wrote a brief plot and then gave out sections of the film for each person to storyboard over the weekend. The importance of knowing what you're going to film is immense so that you can set up the camera correctly and don't have to plan too much when you're on location.
A storyboard gives a shot by shot cartoon strip of the film, arrows are used to show camera movement and a notations are used to give specifics.
We also ensured we added in the key ingredients, such as match on action shots, low/high angle and also various types of lighting and sound.

Equipment:
We used new HD1080p cameras and tripods to shoot, they are simple DV cameras that record onto an SD card so they were very basic to use and quite self explanatory. We also used a three wheeled dolly for a 360* shot, around a character, this was much harder than we had expected because even the smalled bump can affect the image, therefore we did several takes of this shot.

Filming:
Once we'd written our storyboards and collaborated them to make a shot-shot view of the film we had a brief introduction to the equipment we were sent on location to have a trial and start filming.
We worked in chronological order, keeping strictly to our storyboard. However this became a problem because unanticipated errors occurred, like the weather changing suddenly and the light being different between shots, meaning that any outside shots would have to be re-done another time. So we skipped ahead to the inside shots, managing our time so that we still could back outside to finish the previous shots.
Several shots we had set out on the storyboard eventually became to hard to film so we had to divert from the storyboard a few times a film some fillers to cover for any unseen mistakes we might have made.
There were also certain locations we couldn't use all the time, such as the cookery classrooms and therefore had to book in times that we could go and film at.
Apart from this the filming went relatively smoothly and we had some good footage by the end of the week.

Editing:
We started by watching a few basic tutorials on how to use the program FinalCut Pro X, the free tutorials can be found on www.izzyvideo.com and are very useful in teaching the basics of editing.
After getting a brief overlook, we uploaded our footage and began by sorting the videos into different categories, indoor and outdoor, aswell as deleting the sections we were sure we didn't want.
It didn't take long to slot the shots next to each other, creating a rough cut which we could then fine tune to create a more slick film.
After spending about two hours solid editing, we just about finished, adding titles and credits to give it a glossy overview.
During the editing process it was key to keep watching the film through to check for continuity and that it made sense, we also got random people who knew nothing about it to see if they understood what was going on.

I'm pleased with the product itself and this film was an excellent way of getting to grips with the software and equipment we'll be using to create our two minute thriller openings.

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Orphan - Opening Sequence

Film Introductions

DRIVE

• backlit shot showing silhouette of face
• low-key to show nighttime
• camera angles focus on main character where as everyone else is out of focus, he heads towards a bright spotlight
• another character is briefly established out of focus walking past him as he heads for spotlight
• city - establishing shot to set up location; panoramic views from helicopter shot
• chiaroscuro

The opening two minutes of drive establish location, time and protagonist. The retro font in neon pink, soundtrack, car and outfit of the protagonist let us know that this is set in the 1980's. The opening long-shots of the city at night establish that we are in a city, all shots in this opening sequence are low-key (dimly lit) and this gives us a sense that the movie is quite dark and mysterious. When we see the film title and main character in full it is from a low angle shot, looking up at him, making him look ominous and intensified.

TAXI DRIVER

• red on black, stylised
• bellowing fog, taxi comes through
• close up shot of eyes, giving a distinct emotion
• Scorsese film
• shot from low angle to show power
• mysterious character - wants to work long hours, anytime, anywhere

This film starts dramatically; using harsh yellow/red light with a lot of smoke to create an intense effect, we then see the taxi emerge through the thick fog. The soundtrack is intense and has a fluctuating tempo and beat to create tension, there is an SFX of the car revving engine similar to the sound made at the beginning of an 80's car chase, perhaps implying that there will be a chase theme in this film. There is an extreme close up, shown above that gives us a brief glance at the characters true feelings, we also see the reflection of the taxi window, showing us what DeNiro is looking at. A blurred show motion shot out of the windscreen succeeds the close up, portraying a city that has blurred/merged into one thing, vivid colours are used, like the red rear lights of cars and yellow street lamps, possibly suggesting that this is hallucinated and unlike real vision. The opening ends with a staight cut to DeNiro, although a soundbridge is used to give the location of the first scene.

COLLATERAL

• non-diegetic sound is anything you\'re adding to the scene
• diegetic sound is the original sound; shot on camera
• diegetic is natural sound
• focus on main character through large crowd
• sound non-diegetic is used to create tension and build up
• a constant beat is kept on the track, that is suddenly cut, dramatically changing the atmosphere
• sound bridge from ident to first scene
• synchronised sound of door closing and music cutting

This is excellent camera work in the first scene, a changing focus is used to keep focus on the protaganist throughout the sequence as he walks through the crowded airport. A soundbridge also links the idents and the first shot of a busy airport. We see our two main characters (notified by focus) walk toward each other and then to draw our attention to what they're doing, we see their bags drop on the floor, a low angle shot of only their feet and the bags, an SFX accompanies this to emphasise what they are doing. You then see them subtley switch bags and the beat on the soundtrack kicks in as Tom cruise sets off out of the airport.

LIMITLESS

• Uses close, short burst shots to create a confused effect, replicating characters mental tracking
• Switches between two locations, TV watching and real-life fight scene, idea being that one is memory
• The quick flashes and fast cut pace of editing excites the audience and also confuses them slightly so that we are expectant of whats coming and excited by it's suspense and intense nature
• cold, white lighting and lots of filler to illuminate all characters sufficiently
• Lead character is dressed in suit and always central to shot to show his position in the film
• Intense close up at 0:12

TERMS OF FILM: Useful Terminology 

• long shots set the scene - establishing what's happening
• mid shots show the action - frame stays still when alot of action is happening in the scene
• close ups draw your attention - telling a story without speaking; notifying the audience what is important by highlighting it, using a close up
• extreme close ups are edgy - make us feel slightly uncomfortable having a characters eyes or features in very large sizes, also only allows us to see a certain part of the scene, giving us a secluded view of the action

My Media

My Media;
-- Favourite TV Slob
-The Simpsons
-Family Guy
-Friends
-Wife Swap
-Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

--Favourite Movies Home
-Batman Trilogy
-Love Actually
-Incidious
-Titanic

--Favourite Genres
-RomCom
-Chick Flick
-Horror
-Action
-Thriller

--Artists
-Lady Gaga
-Beyonce
-Modstep
-Azealia Banks
-Adele

--Websites
-Facebook
-Google
-Wikipedia
-Twitter
-Amazon
-Topman

I use the internet for 1-2hours everyday and I mainly use Facebook for socialising and catching up with my friends interests.
I watch about one movie a week but watch TV for half an hour everyday, my most watched TV show is probably Friends, then Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

I would reccommend all of my favourites for lazy days at home when you just want to watch a movie or listen to music... however if you're planning a crazy night out; Beyonce's 'Crazy in Love' or '212' by Azealia Banks are both excellent songs.

Hope this information is useful :)