WELCOME MODERATOR

 

TOM BOWLING 

CANDIDATE NUMBER 1807

CLAREMONT FAN COURT SCHOOL 64680

My production team included Preesha Patel (1838).

 My brief was the film opening task: the titles and opening of a new fiction film (to last a maximum of two minutes). The title of our film is Criminal Faces. As a romantic crime drama, it combines the enigma of the romance 'Will they, Won't they' trope with the drama elements generated by the world of crime our film-opening teases.

Editing:

Taking the main role in editing, this stage was highly important as many of the decisions made in filming were made with the editing in mind. Many of these edits were highly intensive and required large amounts of time, in fact nearing the end of the project our group decided that many of our editing goals were too ambitious. In light of this, we approached our filming in our year 2 project with editing in mind.

 The most challenging of this editing was the ultra-key motion tracking required in a scene where the actors are cleaning a wall of graffiti. As we didn't have a wall with graffiti at our disposal, we used a simple brick wall with hopes of using CGI to superimpose the graffiti onto it. Much of the feedback commented on this graffiti being unnatural and strange, If I were to attempt this scene again, I'd have used a green screen to avoid the difficulties of the motion tracking. 

Our editing had a further emphasis on voiceovers, with audio being a complaint in initial feedback we were required to be creative in our use of voice-overs so that the dialogue would be heard. We used cuts and audio mixing for the voice-overs to fit seamlessly in with our project

Directing: 

As we took in external actors for this project, directing in such a way that communicates our vision for the scene was a challenge. A particular scene required 8 actors and organizing everyone to be positioned properly was a large responsibility. With the interest of our actor's time in mind, we weren't able to take as many shots as we would have liked, therefore this became a large concern we considered moving into our choice of actors in our next project.

Camerawork:

Many scenes required a multi-camera setup, thus meaning that we had to be coordinated with our positioning to capture precisely what each of us had in mind. This scene challenged our skills as it required us to experiment with angles that simultaneously kept true to what we wanted to capture while not getting in the way of our respective shots. Our camerawork was made highly advanced in utilisation of the expansive amounts of technology at our disposal. With tracking shots being a highly integral part of many shoots, we used a gimbal, allowing shots to move seamlessly.

 Originating from the medieval morality plays, I was inspired by how Marlowe utilised the devil and angel dynamic in 'Dr Faustus' where Marlowe specifically the ideas of temptation vs purity. This duality is one I believe is more prominent than ever in today's teenage culture, with social media and the internet exposing teenagers to everything from smoking culture to unfiltered content that promotes violence and crime.

Photo taken from the quintessence theatre group

The Good Angel's goal is to convince Faustus to abandon his sins and return to God, while the Bad Angel tries to get the scholar to continue in his pursuit of magic and so remain loyal to the devil. Traditionally this would have been staged in such a way where the evil spirit is staged below the good spirit to show this metaphorical pulling into sin

EDIT: CREATION OF FX IN PHOTOSHOP

 In our filmmaking and editing, we explored ways of creating visual representations of what was developing inside our protagonist’s head. This is integral to the narrative – as he is under such pressure from the stressful thoughts about his past criminal record spoiling his chances of any real future – as well as being an artistic experimentation that attracted us as it promised to lift our filmmaking out of the run of the predictable into more filmic work.

To suggest his inner maelstrom, we took an image of the protagonist into Photoshop and cut the space inside the outline of his head, filling it with the sequence of him committing the crime which forced him into community service. 

 

REFLECTION: Production Company Logo Sequence

 Our Company name is Ten Pin Productions, therefore we took the name literally and decided on basing the sequence around a bowling scene, meaning that the company logo would appear behind the fallen skittles.

We did this by setting the scene upon a green screen so that we'd have flexibility when choosing the background

We planned originally to use IStopmotion so that we could control the direction of the ball and make the title slide cleanly animated, however it ended up requiring far more attention then we were willing to give and decided on simply just using the camera app on an IPad and exporting it to a MacBook for editing

REFLECTION: EDITING USING THE ADOBE EDITING SUITE

 

Adobe premiere pro has advanced software that has allowed me a lot of freedom to develop the scenes to be exactly to how I envision them, I have done this using CGI. I looked to take it scene by scene, the photo above depicts the most time consuming section of the editing process,  the editing required me to generate graffiti onto the wall that the community services workers are washing. To make this natural and to the point where it is unnoticeable the scene demanded me to take the shot frame by frame making sure that the graffiti was to scale with the wall, this meant that the image required lots of resizing/adjusting. My experience with premiere pro was limited going into this project and I learned a lot of skills I'd look to bring into further projects, however, because of the expansive library of effects and editing techniques that I have barely scratched the surface of I imagine that this process could have been done a lot faster had I the knowledge.

Before the video editing process, I went to photoshop to apply the graffiti to the wall I had to find a JPEG online and edit it to make it easily applicable to the brick wall background. In reflection, the image I chose made it difficult to superimpose behind the actors washing the wall because the image had drip marks that in the process I thought would make sense since this would be the effect that you'd see when you wash graffiti. 

 

REFLECTION: Filming Dec 10th

 

In this scene, we aimed to portray the court-mandated community service our protagonist is working in. Cleaning graffiti off a brick wall the effects would be edited in later on.

To film this we required 6 people to be on-site at the same time, this proved a challenge as with every actor having a different schedule to work around finding time to film was difficult. We had a bit of flexibility in terms of who we cast as Arran's dodgy friend's although Holly and Arran were essential to the scene and Holly only had limited time before she had her lesson. In this time we had to collect the High Vis, bring the actors to the location and prepare the camera, possibly with more organisation it would have been less hectic and we'd have more freedom to enjoy it and get 4 or 5 takes to choose from. If budget was no issue it would have been much better if we could get permission to spray paint the wall and then hire an artist who can spray paint I believe this scene would be perfect.

As a Filmmaker, I looked to use misc-en-scene to leave connotations of the story. With Arran centre frame it positions him as the centre of attention while Holly is off to the left and the mates are off on the right, this portrays that there's a decision for Arran to make.

CALL SHEET

PHOTO REFERENCE OF SHOOT LOCATIONS:

LOCATION:

Camera Equipment: 

iPhone x2 
Tripod Stand 
USB 

Props: 

Visa Jackets 
Sponges / Cleaning Supplies
Hoodies (Kevins Character) 

Wardrobe (Actors):

Arran -  White Hoodie, Visa Jacket, Black Joggers
Holly - Blue Hoodie, Visa Jacker, Blue Joggers 
Gabe - Hoodie, Visa Jacket, blue joggers 
Extras - Yellow Visa Jackets, informal clothing. 

Crew Contact: 
Preesha: Pr********@gmail.com 
Tom: Th*******@gmail.com 

Casting

 

Made with Visme

Distributing my Film

https://tomb-alevel.blogspot.com/2020/10/kung-fu-panda-3-distribution-collage.html

When researching how Hollywood blockbusters distributed a film I noticed the budget requirements for many of the advertisement methods they used.

I was however aware of their use of digital poster's, With my budget in utilising social media as to cut costs on the price of paper this could be a very viable option

Facebook pages can be used to reach an older audience, Instagram and Snapchat for younger.

Build a film website, filled with information about production and screening time

Film poster card; Image of the film, social media links. - BAIT, another independent film used this method

• Apply to BFI
• Try to get the film screened at London film festival

Tortoise in love

The BFI funded for advertising campaign for lesser known films

Mark Batey was the FDA head until march 2019

What, Who, When - in consideration of targeting audience

I intend to position my film as a ....

Talk about the selling points of the film 

Kezia Williams - Entertainment One Uk

RESEARCH: Semiotics

 This post covers what I learnt from Roland Barthes semiotic analysis video.

Roland Barthes analyses an advertising image, Panzani pasta, and uses it as a means of teasing out how different messages are conveyed by a system of signs, this essay is called The Rhetoric of the Image.

Signs

Signs covers all of semiotics, it can be broken down into denotation and connotation. Denotation covers the literal aspect, how something is intended, whereas connotation can be left to interpretation.

A 'myth' in terms of Roland Barth says that it is an obvious level of signification that is built upon arbitrary stereotypes and is defined as a denotative signs.

The video looks at the Apple logo, an apple, its connotations to me suggest high costs and sleek design, while to someone else it may suggest sweatshops and globalisation.

The presentation taught me how to analyse aspects of film language through his breakdown of Tales of Terror From Tokyo

• Misc-en-scene
• Misc-en-scene covers what we see on screen, this including the set. In the video, he shows us an extract, Tales of Terror from Tokyo going through and breaking down how it uses semiotics. He brought attention to the corridors of the set being small and cramped, this demonstrates and increases the high anxiety of the scene

• Sound
• The tone of characters can be used to establish their intentions/personality, this can be supported through ambient sounds, in the extract the man behind the door has a high, shrill voice creating him to seem like an antagonist while in the background chimes are playing to create a nervous feeling in the viewer.
• Camerawork 
• The camera can be used as to establish setting or a characters position within the scene. The extract used wide angles as to make the girl seem small in the room.
• Editing
• Editing can influence the audience by choosing where their attention is held, by using sharp cuts to a door handle accompanied by intense non-diegetic music, this alerts the audience as to know something dangerous is behind the door.

Signs being found everywhere in film and Tv mean that directors and filmmakers must be creative with their signs to keep audiences interested.

Ken Loach's Ae Fond Kiss is an example of a creative who effectively utilises symbolism to create meaning In his texts. 

The screenshot from Ae Fond Kiss portrays a bulldog, a symbol of Britain, urinating on the shop owners sign. Loach uses connotational signs here where this could be interpreted as the toxic relationship between Britain and other cultures, this is due to the disrespect that the locals are showing him and with the dog being a bulldog portrays this is Britain being discriminatory as a whole rather than individualistic behaviour 

RESEARCH: AUDIENCE THEORY

 

Audience theory from TomBowling2

PLANNING: CHARACTERS

 CHARACTER CONCEPTS

the good angel /bad angel dichotomy is a concept that dates from medieval morality plays. The painting above by William Blake depicts this opposition and it's cruelty as they fight over a child, Blake's aggressive depiction of the evil spirit lunging from the fire establishes this metaphorical battle for morality and goodness.

We look to create a similar dynamic to depict the teenage experience in our film opening. Gabe (on the left) symbolising the draw to the criminal path and a life of rebellion while there is a clear counterbalance exerted by the angelic Holly (on the right) who is redemptive and wholesome, representing strong social values and a new life for Arran.

With these concepts in mind, the respective characters must be polar opposites as depicted in the drawings of evil and good in the Romantic Era. 

COSTUME DESIGN

https://pin.it/5SGjMuQ

The stereotype of people who do community service are the typical full tracksuit often worn with a beanie and fingerless gloves. We experimented with the idea of using orange jumpsuits (as evident at the bottom of the screenshot) however High Vis jackets would be far more realistic to get in our time frame and would be more realistic in application to UK community service.

The importance of stereotypes are made clear through our research into Frank Ash and his views on stereotypes, he says that stereotypes are comfortable to audiences and will apply many of the characteristics they previously identify with the stereotypes.

Therefore the stereotype of delinquents wearing tracksuits and black coloured clothing is essential in audiences resonating with the characters.

PLANNING: MY TARGET AUDIENCE

1. Who is my primary target audience?

My Primary target audiences would be anyone of aged 15-30. People who are fond of teen dramas or psychological thrillers will be most drawn to this film. The audience is not limited to any gender or race.

2. What kind of films and television are they likely to prefer?

The genre lands around the middle of a teen drama and a psychological thriller with enigma being the main driving factor for the hook which keeps audiences engaged. Therefore any TV or film which uses a similar hook would have a mutual audience. Many more grungy audiences who prefer a more dangerous lifestyle would possibly relate to the characters further therefore they may find more meaning within the film.

3. What platforms do they choose to watch films and where are they likely to see information about films?

I believe our audience would be British therefore much of their information on what shows to watch would be made through reliable British sources like The Guardian and they would further go to watch many of their shows through streaming services like Netflix

4. What brands do they prefer?

This audience would be keen on more underground, vintage clothing to reflect how they are different group in society.

My film provides a level of depth into the minds of a teenager that many shows just gloss over

5. What makes my film stand out from the competition?

My film provides a level of depth into the minds of a teenager that many shows just gloss over.

6 . Why should my audience watch my film? 

We are willing to bring a level of personality towards our work considering it is only two of us working on it and I am going to put the level of work into the film to make something that we can be proud of later to come. This means the cinematography and visual codes will be of higher quality then you'd expect from a general student production. 

I have made an audience profile that I believe reflects the kinds of films our target audience would enjoy, as well as how they fit into different social groups.

 

PLANNING TREATMENT

 Writing a treatment

Friday 13th November - Tuesday 17th November

We had done some research into how to write a treatment, this is what we had found:

• Write a short/brief outline
• Remember what the purpose/meaning is of the treatment
• Don’t include all of the information
• Make the treatment readable and moving
• Show an active protagonist
• Include two or three intriguing, vivid images

As part of our research we took part and watched a Future Learn video/course, which is presented by Frank Ash. Frank Ash has taught us storytelling and creativity technique to teams across the BBC and worldwide. 

See link below for Frank Ash’s Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0DjaV-Y-90

Four Key Points/Quotations: 

1.     “What is the story?” - What is it all about, what is about, what is the issue about (Top line)

2.     “What is going to happen?” - giving them a questions that gives the audience a sense of anticipation and suspense.

3.     “What big story question” - what is the questions that your going to pose at the beginning of the story, which is gong to give the audience a sense of anticipation and suspense. The end goal.

4.     “How will this story relate and connect to me (personally)” - think about the main theme in this storyline.

Our Treatment

Kevin has been given court mandated community service  for stealing from a convenience store and emerges with little reason to go straight. He does not realise how much prejudice he will face based on his criminal record  and how many setbacks threaten to sink him. He is haunted by his past mistakes. It comes to a head when he is almost tempted back to his old ways, until a chance encounter offers new hope.

Top Line/Title and Big Questions

We decided our top line would be: “Facing life with a criminal record in their back” 

Title: “Criminal Faces” 

Big Question: "will Kevin make peace with his past and find a future?"

RESEARCH: Scoop.it

 I used scoop.it as a way of accumulating all of my research ad compiling it into a very easy access format with clear labels. I further made comments below the video's as a way of reminding myself why  I picked the certain video clips.

The resolution on the screenshot makes it hard to see dome of the text therefore the link to the page is here

Black Panther - Title Sequence

 

• Production Company - Marvel Studios
• Distribution Company - Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
• Director - Ryan Coogler
• Writers - Ryan Coogler and Joe Robert Cole
• Executive Producers - Kevin Feige
• Based on -  Mavel Comics by Stan Lee, and Jack Kirby
• Director of Photography - Rachel Morrison
• Production Designers - Hannah Beechman
• Editors - Michael P. Shawver
• Costume Designer - Ruth Carter
• Visual Effects Supervisor - Geoffrey Bauman
• Visual Effects Producer - Lisa Beroud
• Music - Dave Jordan
• Music Supervisor - Dave Jordan
• Casting - Sarah Halley Finn
• Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o

Uncut Gems - Title Sequence

 

• Production Company - A24
• Distribution Company - A24
• Director - Josh Safdie
• Writers - Josh Safdie, Benny Safdie, Ronald Bronstein
• Producer - Lakeith Stanfield, p.g.a 
• Executive Producers - Oscar Boysoue, Scott Rudin and Brad Winderbaum
• Executive Producers - Thommas M Hammel, Sebastian Bear-Mallard
• Co Producer - David J. Grant
• Based on -  The New York city's diamond district
• Director of Photography - Javier Aguirresarobe
• Production Designers - Sam Liscenco
• Editors - Ronald Bronstein
• Costume Designer - Mayes C. Rubeo
• Visual Effects Supervisor - Jake Morrison
• Visual Effects Producer -Benny Safdie
• Music - Mark Mothersbaugh
• Music Supervisor - Dave Jordan
• Casting - Sarah Halley Finn
• Adam Sandler, Kevin Darnett, Keith William Richards, Judd Hirsch, Eric Bogosian, Julia Fox, Lakeith Stanfield

Digital Storytelling with Frank Ash

Frank Ash discussed how to make a film well by satisfying certain aspects of a film  audiences will be looking for when beginning a film.

These aspects included; 'How to connect well with audiences emotionally'. He describes that this could be done by creating a plot audiences could relate to. I believe this is something i want to take into account with my own film opening. I believe that if you apply a character many people can identify with and stick them into a believable reality then they can feel immersed as if they themselves are the main character.

I took this information and translated it into a digestible format I can easily read, a comic strip. I did this using Comic Life:

PRODUCTION PRACTICE: MONTAGE / TABLE TOP SEQUENCE

I worked with Laura to come create a film opening which has connotations of travel (as suggested through maps and objects associated with Asia), amongst this main idea we imbedded themes of a bank robbery through the 1 dollar bills eventually leading to the face of a women suggesting a possible plotline for the show were creating a title sequence for.

We carefully placed down the objects and placed them considering the order of how they'd show up in the final cut after filming so that it feels seamless when watching

we took inspiration 'Delicatessen' which incorporated a sense of business behind the main text and theme 

Kung Fu Panda 3 Distribution Collage

 The I watched a presentation on the FDA website by Kezia Williams head of theatrical distribution at Pathe, on how distributors work to create a successful and exciting new marketing campaign for each film, on the film distributors' association site. In this presentation it was explained by Chris Besseling of Pathe, that major movie marketing companies will position a film to make it stand out to the rest, they can do this by having a USP such a major movie star titles, literacy adaptations or cast director

The film I chose to research was Kung Fu Panda 3, it is a 2016 computer-animated wuxia comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by 20th Century Fox worldwide and by Oriental DreamWorks in China. It is the third instalment in the Kung Fu Panda franchise, and the sequel to 2011's Kung Fu Panda 2. In the film, Po enters the panda village and re-unites with his birth father and other pandas, but problems arise when a villainous undead warrior named Kai

The Warner brother’s distribution team did extremely well to produce a wide variety of content which was able to reach all audiences depending on what age, this was necessary as the film was trying to target at all ages therefore its marketing needed to reach these different age groups.

Posters

The posters as made evident in the collage above signalled the main genres of the movie, this being a Kung Fu inspired family friendly comedy. The poster advertises the slogan 'the weight is over', this being a pun about how evidently the panda shown is fat while also portraying how the movie is finally out, this gives us a feeling of the type of humour one might find when watching the film. The marketing campaign gives a teaser to the plot of the film with the audience being further shown what to expect through the nervous look on the Panda's face while he's having to juggle karate, his love of food and some smaller pandas who see to be troubling him, This further gives us a reason to watch the film as anyone who has seen the previous movies will understand that Po (the main character, and the panda depicted in the middle of the poster) already has a lot of pressure he must overcome, and it seems he has been thrown further challenges.

Trailers

The marketing team at warner brothers didn't have to push for the trailer to be watched as the first two films were widely popular meaning many people would go out of their way to find the trailer on websites like YouTube, this however puts pressure on the team editing together the trailer as this was were many audiences would decide whether they would end up watching the film, however I believe the trailer was extremely effective in this sense as it built of a lot of excitement with audiences considering the amount of plot they showed while still leaving a lot up to mystery with them introducing a new villain which will provide a new challenge for Po to overcome. 

Advertisement and Publicity

The warner brothers marketing team partnered with McDonalds having their happy meals advertised with all things Kung Fu Panda, this is from the box to the toy inside. This would have caught many children's attention as these Happy Meals are popular among children, this means that they bring their whole family along when they go to the film creating more publicity as it begins to spread between all age groups.