Evaluation

Here is our completed evaluation on our first title sequence, Live and Let Spy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=t-lLGQo0Ymo

Live and Let Spy Final Draft

This is our final draft of our first title sequence and the one we are palnning to do our evaluation on.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z568PBom5KY

Evaluation - filming and editing

We have finished filming and recording our evaluation. We used a camera to film the shots of us talking but also a sound recorder because the camera we used doesn't pick up soundvery well. We also started editing. So far we have completed all the lip syncing and cut the unnecessary bits. We will now put shots of examples on. Because we have practised our editing skills over the project we were able to edit it quickly and efficiently.

The Package Final Draft

This is the final draft of our second title sequence. We aren't going to do our evaluation on this film but we are happy how it turned out as we had to plan, shoot and edit it in a much shorter time scale.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5zwAa1Ny8M

Evaluation progress

Today we started our evaluation. We used Google Drive so we could all work on the same document both in lessons and out of lessons. We need to add a little more detail to our answers so they are a good standard. Our plan for presenting our evaluation is to talk over examples from our title sequences and pictures of relevant research we have previously done. We will also show shots of us speaking however we are wanting to keep these to a minimum as we will have to read off a script and therefore look unprofessional.

Title of our second title sequence

We researched other action films in terms of their titles. We found some action films are named after their protagonist. Films such as James Bond and the Bourne franchise follow this convention. Other titles we found were short and therefore had impact. These films include The Terminator, The Tourist, The Mummy, The Grey and many others. We decided to follow this convention and as our film focused on a box we came up with The Package.

Editing our second title sequence

We have completed filming our action film and we have started to edit it. We were lucky on the day of our shoot because of the overcast conditions which allowed natural darker shots so we didn't have to darken the shots when editing. Originally we had planned to put the titles on the screen while the actors were running past but decided against because it took the audiences attaention away from the action. We chose to have a stationary shot of the actors with the name on top of this. We have also made the shots black and whote when paused and red text. This not only makes the text stand out far more but emphasises the red which
connotes danger

Music

As the director of sound, it was one of my jobs to choose the music that we would use for our chase scene. I wanted something with a quick tempo and a high intensity so it would fit the genre conventions and set the right tone that would establish the film as an action film.

After I found several suitable tracks we decided to use movement proposition by Kevin Macleod.

http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?keywords=movement+proposition&Search=Search

It has the right tempo and intensity for our title sequence. It creates tension and is also mysterious and these attributes fit with what we need.

Shooting the chase

Today we shot all of our title sequence. We had limited time so we had to discipline ourselves and follow our plans. At our first location we shot the final few shots of the chase. We picked a location where the protagonist could hide and escape. Our next location was in Halifax town centre. Although we had an idea where our shots would take place we needed to improvise as we didn't want people in the background so some shots couldn't take place where we wanted them to be. We did overcome this problem and came back with some good shots. We got lucky with the weather as it was an overcast day which meant the shots were darker and more effective in connoting mystery. The darker shots also fit with the genre conventions.

Risk Assessment

Hazard	Persons that may be harmed	Property which may be damaged	Risk controls in place	Risk assessment low, moderate, high, extreme	Further action required to control risk
Tripping	Actors, camera man	Camera	N/A	low	Confirm that everyone involved know where the tripping hazards are and are aware how to avoid them
Jumping over railings	Actors	N/A	N/A	moderate	Make sure the actors have the ability to jump over the railings comfortably
Slippery pavements and slope	Actors, camera man	N/A	Where possible make sure the camera man and actors have appropriate footwear	moderate	Make sure everyone knows where the slipping hazard are and avoid then where possible

Time Line

Storyboard

Shooting Schedule

We are going to film on Wednesday 6th from 10:00 to 13:00. We have three hours to get all out shots completed and travel to all the locations and back to school. The locations we are planning to film at are around Halifax Town centre and just outside. This is a much shorter time scale to shoot than our previous film however we think we can achieve it because of the skills and experience we have gained.

Narrative

The narrative of our second film would revolve around a box. It would never be revealed what is in the box until the end. Our protagonist is trying to keep the box in his possession away from the antagonist. Our title sequence shows a chase to set up the importance of the box. We also introduce our protagonist and our antagonist early on. We don't show the audience what is in the box to create mystery and suspense.

Chase scene genre conventions

• Fast cutting speed. This creates an intensity and increases the tempo of a chase. It can also show when the climax of the chase is.
• Close ups that show the protagonists and the antagonists emotions
• Wide and establishing shots to show the location
• The location is normally busy with extras and moving objects such as cars in the background. Or an interesting landscape
• Shot at night to create intensity
• The camera rarely stays stationary. It can dolly, tilt and zoom
• Diegetic sound that creates a realism and connote different things. For example a siren would connote police
• The music usually starts off slow and then adds texture to build up along with the chase until it reaches climax
• The key is to make it appear to the audience that the escapee could get caught

The Bourne Supremacy chase scene

 

 

 

This chase scene is filmed at night and the darkness immediately creates tension. This is then re-enforced by the dark costume of the protagonist and other actors in the scene. The darkness also allows lighting to focus on the protagonists face which not only shows his emotions but makes it clear to the audience that he is the protagonist. In every shot there is lots of movement whether that's the camera, movement in the background, the protagonist or the chasers. This increases the tempo of the chase so it is more exciting for the audience.

 

The camera is never still. It is always panning, tracking or shaking and this adds to the tension. At certain points it disorientates the audience and I think this helps them to engage in the chase. The use of whip pans increases the pace of the chase and adds to the excitement for the audience.

A mixture of long shots and close ups are used. The close ups show the protagonists emotions and highlight that he is an important figure. The long shots show the location and set the scene of the urban location. The long shot of the bridge is shows the impressive structure and I think it's something we could replicate.

 

The use of diegetic sounds create a realism about the chase and convince the audience that the protagonist is in danger. His grunts show that he is desperate to escape. The sounds of sirens connote police and show that he is an important and dangerous person. The car horns and tire screeching also add tension.

 

Music start off with fast drum beat which starts the fast tempo and matches the action on screen. This indicates to the audience that the protagonist i in danger. Then the music starts to build with string instruments and staccato notes and continues to build to the climax. This builds up matches the on screen shots and adds to them to maximise the tension and increase the tempo. When the protagonist is safe, only then does the music quieten and slow down replacing the staccato note with legato. 

 

The editing used involves a fast cutting speed at certain points. This is used so that the tension is not a constant throughout the chase but has moments of high tension and then little. Usually at points where the cutting speed is slow then a long shot is used. At the  end of the chase the cutting speed is slow which shows that the chase is over and the protagonist is safe.

Roles of the group

We have made some changes as to our different roles so we could gain some more skills. I will do the sound, mise en scene but this will only include costume, the risk assessment and contribute ideas to both editing and shots. Jacob will create the storyboard, editing and brief narrative. Joe will operate the camera and contribute to camera shots and editing.

Action film idea

As a group we have decided to do a second title sequence. The genre we have chosen is action. We have also decided that we are going to do a chase scene. Obviously action films have a different set of conventions than comedies so I will do some research into those. We have an idea that their will be one protagonist running from one antagonist. The protagonist will be holding a box and this will create mystery. The antagonist will be some sort of professional but in the end the protagonist will give him the slip and get away.

Changes to the first draft

We made several changes to our first draft based on the target audience feedback we received.

The first change was to change all the titles in the first part of the sequence to diegetic. The title we changed was "photography by Jack Chappell" Instead of the text being non-diegetic on the wall we changed this to writing on the wall in chalk. We felt this matched the rest of the sequence and looked better. However it was difficult to write neatly and as a result it's slightly hard to read.

Another change was made to the long shot where the protagonist struggles to open the door. Previously we cut to a medium shot in because the original footage went on for too long so we had to cut. Our audience said this disorientated them so we have changed this to  a dissolve transition.

We also did the computer screen shot again as our audience said it was difficult to read. We made it a little smoother and slower in a slightly wider shot.

Target audience feedback

We showed our opening sequence to our media class to get some general feedback on things that worked, things that didn't work and suggestions to improve.

• The shots chosen show that it was well planned
• Character is easy to relate to
• Music blends well and flowed. Worked well with shots
• The close cuts work well except from the door shot
• Computer screen is hard to read
• Could use message similar to mission impossible to parody it
• Non-diegetic text doesn't work should use all non-diegetic
• Open up studios is good with the opening door

Editing

One thing we knew before the editing process was that the jokes needed to be supported by the editing to work. One technigue we used was to cut to a closer shot at the point of a joke. This makes it easy for the audience to watch and enjoy as they know nwhere the comedy is coming from. We also matched the comedy to the music which hopefully gives the same effect.









The titles are a mixture of diegetic and non-diegetic and on reflection we think we could have made the titles in the first part of the sequence all diegetic but in the second part of the sequence have all non-diegetic text. This would show how the protagonist has changed.








The non-diegetic text we have used in the second half of the sequence is black font and we decided to use this as it matches the shots on screen as the protagonist becomes a spy. The end title is in a bold red font and we used this for impact. The effect connotes smoothness and reflects the protagonists thoughts of himself.

The montage of the protagonist suiting up has a fast cutting speed. We decided to include more shots while filming the scenes to build up the action and also the comedy as the end of the sequence finishes with a juxtaposition of Glen's mum mothering him.

First Draft Complete

This is our completed first draft. I will talk about the editing and sound later. We have already had target audience feedback which I will put on in the next blog post. We were very happy with our first draft but I think improvements can be made.

Mise en Scene

The mise en scene I have used connote different things about the protagonist. The colours we have used throughout are red, white and blue. I chose them to show the protagonist is proudly British and this leads on to the narrative as he becomes a British secret agent. However we didn't want to use too much red because it connotes death and although they may be some characters dying it wouldn't be filled with gory deaths.

Examples of blue, white and red mise en scene are on the right.The costume of the protagonist, white trainers, blue jeans, blue white and red England T-shirt also connote Britain. The glasses, school books, laptop that the protagonist wears adheres to the nerd stereotype I also tried to connote.

 

Film Title

Originally we had planned to put the protagonists name in the title on its own. The protagonist is called Glen and the film would focus on him throughout and we wanted to connote this in the title. Then we realised that this would not fit our research on genre conventions of British comedies. As the film is a parody we decided to denote this in the title. Similar to "Shaun of the dead" which is a parody to "dawn of the dead"

As our film is parodying the spy genre we wanted to change one word in an existing spy movie to Glen. Ideas were Live and Let Glen, From Russia With Glen and The Spy That Loved Glen but we felt that these titles didn't match the narrative.

We then decided not to include Glen in the title and came up with Live And Let Spy as our title. This parodies the James Bond film Live And Let Die.

Progress Update

We had originally planned two filming sessions as shown on our shooting schedule however we had to organise an extra shoot on Wednesday 6th. This was because we didn't film all the shots we needed and because some of the shots had errors. We also decided to add more shots with a view to increasing the cutting speed towards the end of the sequence. This would build the action to place more emphasis on the protagonists actions and hopefully increase the humour of the end joke. When we shot the extra scenes we didn't use a storyboard and instead improvised a few ideas on the spot.

We decided to include a shot of the protagonist gazing out of the window (right) before shot 15 however we couldn't get the lighting right and it will have to be done again. We chose this particular window because of the mise en scene of the red curtains. Except from this one shot, we have finished our filming.



We have started our editing. The first scene, when the protagonist is in his house has been put together. Jacob has matched the shots to music effectively but we may have to cut a few shots to keep the sequence under two minutes.

Filming Progress

Wednesday 30th - We had planned to do 19 shots however we underestimated the amount of time some of the shots were going to take to set up the mise-en-scene so ran out of time and will have to organise another time to film the missing shots. We had some difficulties with shot number 2 as it had a high angle and to position the camera correctly, Joe had to hold it and keep it still. Feeling that the end of the sequence needed to be built up further into an important part, we shot a few extra bits so that we could increase the cutting. This will hopefully make the last line more humorous.

Thursday 31st - originally we hadn't planned on filming but due to the shots on the previous day we thought we could get a couple of shots done. We filmed 5 shots however one shot couldn't be filmed because we couldn't use the props needed. Despite this setback we decided to replace it with a different shot we spontaneously devised.

The shooting schedule shows that filming was going to take place on Friday 1st but we didn't have the necessary equipment.

Music

The music we chose for most of our opening sequence is  "Chasin it" from the site Audionautix which can be found at this site http://audionautix.com/html/country_jazz.html Jacob found the music and we all agreed that it fits the genre and on screen shots. Jacob has edited the shots so that it fits with the shots. We alsos the thought that the repetetiveness of the music reflects the protagonists life currently and when the music changes his life changes.

We also needed a piece of music to go with our end scene. Jacob found It at http://www.audionautix.com/html/rock_pop_blues.html and is called "Purple Rider." We think that it fits the tone we are trying to portray and builds up the protagonist. It will also help the end joke to be more humorous which matches the genre. It is a convention to build up a character and then make him look the fall guy.

Storyboard

 

 

Shooting Schedule

The filming of our opening is going to take place over 2 sessions.

One of these will be from 9:45-12:30 on Wednesday 30th of January where we will film the majority of our shots. These all take place at Adam Lewis' house. These are for the scenes in the house before and after school. This is also the time when we will take shots of the protagonist walking too and from school.

The second session will take place from 3:00-4:00 on Friday the 1st of February where we will film all the scenes that take place in school. This is a small amount of our shots and require a few extras to act as students so after school is a good time to find these extras

Timeline

 

Shot list

1 - Dollys in to the alarm clock

2 - Crane shot shows Glen falling out of bed

3 - Close up of glasses

4 - Glen walks down stairs and hit head

5 - Toast pops out of toaster and close up of buttering

6 - Toast falls on floor and Glen picks it up to leave name made of mise-en-scene

7 - mirror shot of shirt

8 - Close up of books

9 - Glen leaves the house and can't find keys

10 - Close up of stepping in puddle

11 - Back shot of him going into the school

12 - Walks past a girl and trips

13 - Close up of drawing

14 - Long shot of him getting cutlery

15 - shot of sky

16 - close up of clock

17 - Steps in puddle

18 - Long shot of going in house

19 - trips over door

20 - close up inside cupboard

21 - Close up of phone

22 - Back shot on laptop

23 - close up of computer screen

24 - Back shot of Glen

25 - close up of sleeve

26 - close up of shoes

27 - Back shot of Glen walking down corridor

 

Narrative

The opening title sequence gives background to the protagonist and builds up Glens character, showing him to have a normal life of a teenager going through college. At the end of the opening sequence he receives a message on his laptop. He then suits up and leaves his house. Glen signs up to become a British secret agent and in the early scenes of the film he is shown to go through training. He is then given a partner that is more experienced and capable than him and humour comes from him making mistakes and trying to recover. Just as he finishes his training MI6 is under attack. It is revealed that a number of MI6 agents were double agents. Glen and his partner must find out who did this and why.

 

 

Script

(Glen walks down the hallway confidently)
Mum - Put a coat on love it's chilly outside

Target Audience and Feedback

Our target audience for our film would be teenagers and young adults. It would mainly appeal to a male target audience as they would be able to relate to the protaganist therefore finding it more amusing, however females may also like the film.



Jacob carried out some research and this is from his blog
 http://www.jacob-media.blogspot.co.uk/

When i had the chance to ask a group of teenagers (age 14-18) I told them our idea for our film and they gave me their responses.

From all the girls there was negative feedback. This was in the form of people saying it was too cheesy and unrealistic. However from the boys there was a positive response. They said that the film sounded intresting and one laughed because he found the idea of it relateable.

First storyboard



 

These are pictures of our first draft of our storyboard, changes have been made and will be uploaded on a later blog post

 

 

 

Risk Assessment

Planning progress

We went to the location we would be filming and took photos which will form a storyboard. We also got a better idea of what shots would work and how the shots would be put together. We have changed the storyboard since then so more shots will be needed to form the storyboard.

The risk assessment and was made by Jacob and he has also started to research possible music and sound effects we could use. I researched the genre conventions and analysed opening sequences of Indians Jones and Johnny English. Later posts will contain our planning.

Genre Conventions

The genre of our film is comedy/action. The conventions of this genre are as follows:

• Comedy action films usually focus on one r two characters. An example of this is Johnny English or Bad Boys
• Comedy films normally start by setting up the scene or describing the character. Hot Fuzz gives us background to the main protagonists. Then something crosses the protagonists path which they have to solve.
• Many comedy action films contain lots of violence so that it becomes funny, such as Hot Fuzz
• Weapons are used frequently and can be a source of humour like in Johnny English
• Music often conveys the tone of the film and how dark it is.
• Editing is used in comedy action films can sometimes have a fast cutting speed to show action.
• Montages are often used in comedy action movies, sometimes to make it comedic or to give the audience information about the characters.
• Films such as Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz use hypersensitive sounds.
• Comedy action films aren't filled with jokes as such but often use mise-en-scene for comedic effect. A good example of this is Johnny English
• Juxtapositions are often used for comic effect, comparing opposite things.
• Unlikely situations are frequently used. Hot Fuzz shows characters unlikely to be violent with weapons

Many of the genre conventions appear in this short clip from Hot Fuzz such as the fast cutting speed, violence, juxtapositions, weapons, music and mise-en-scene used for comic effect

 

 

 

Examples of films that have an action/comedy genre are as follows:

Hot Fuzz

Shaun of the Dead

Johnny English

Bad Boys

Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol

Rush Hour

Kick Ass

Men in Black

Zombieland

 

Johnny English opening sequence

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDrIGdCMwT4



The opening to Johnny English builds up the protagonist's character. The audience first see him wearing a vest and shorts which shows he isn't the stereotypical secret agent. He then practises a series of scenarios that he may encounter when being a secret agent which shows him as being a hard worker and constantly trying his best. This creates a juxtaposition when he makes mistakes and increases the humour when the protagonist is wearing stereotypical secret agent clothes and trying to  fit the stereotype. It also shows that the protagonist's thinks he is a successful secret agent but it s clear to the audience that he is wrong but doesn't know it. When he chooses his gun he chooses the biggest. This could be phallic symbolism, showing his power, but when he sets it up wrong his superiority is lost. He walks with confidence until he realises he is lost. This shatters his secret agent persona. He regains his composure when he enters the room but when he throws his coat out of the window by mistake, he looses it again. The humour throughout this opening sequence derives from the constant subversion of the secret agent stereotype.

The camera shots when he is walking around the building with confidence a slightly lower than eye level and medium or close up shots are mainly used which shows he has power and is confident in his surroundings. When the protagonist realises he is lost,  lots of long shots are used to show that he is more inferior than before. A crane shot is used which also shows his inferiority.


The blue and red colours on screen represent the union Jack and show that the protagonist is proudly British and fights for his country. The text is silver which signifies wealth. This could connote that wealth is a large part of the plot. The fast cutting speed when the protagonist is wearing different clothes adds to the humour and shows his desire to be perceived as well as possible.

The non-diegetic sound of the song lyrics describe what the protagonist thinks he is, but the audience can see that he isn't. The diegetic sound used when he attacks a coat stand shows he struggles doing so and this shows his incompetence. A non-diegetic swooping sound is used when a shot cuts to the guns on the table and the car. This could show his equipment is important and impressive.

Raiders of the lost ark opening sequence

The opening title sequence here builds up the protaganists character. The camera shots don't show his face which makes him appear mysterious. The music also creates this mysterious vibe through the use of legato notes. The non-diegetic sound of the animals also help build up the scene of  a mysterious jungle.

The low shot (shown on the right) connotes superiority. It is also quite dark again showing mystery about the protagonist and mystery about his surroundings and that he may be in danger. Many of the shots used show the protagonist through leaves or branches. This shows that he is in dense jungle and creating the mysterious tone of this opening sequence.

The jumpy and worried men that are following him show that there could be danger, this causes a juxtaposition between the scared men and confident protagonist which builds up the his character. A good example of this is when the birds fly out of the cave and scare one man. The protagonist then walks straight past the cave without flinching. The fact that he is leading the men through the mysterious jungle connotes his superiority and shows that he is the leader throughout the film. The protagonist investigates the poison dart first again showing that he is the leader and superior to the other men following him. The other men show their inferiority by not asking questions or talking to the protagonist.

The text used for the titles fades on to the screen and then off which adds to the mystery. The font has a slight black outline, matching the dark mise-en-scene used.

Preliminary task

The Brief

Continuity task involving filming and editing a character sitting down opposite another character with whom he/ she exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180 degree rule.

Planning

Below is our storyboard. This helped our planning so that we wouldn't miss any camera shots out. It also sped up the editing stage because we knew the order in which to put the shots in. We didn't stick to this story board because we felt we could improve our film by changing the sequence and
adding more camera shots.

It is set in a school and there is panic because there is an unknown murderer in the school and someone is running around the school looking for survivors - he is the protagonist. He checks several rooms until he finds s mysterious person in the corner. The audience first impression that he is scared and vulnerable but as the conversation starts they should doubt this and then realise that he is the murderer. We tried to make the ending as shocking as possible and the music helps this.

In this first shot we are introduced to the the person running. We used a wide shot to show the setting. This cuts to a high shot of another person looking vulnerable. It then cuts a close up to show his emotions. At this point the audience are confused to who this is. This cuts to another shot the runner.



There is then a shot of the runner checking a room. To improve this we could have used an extreme close up of the handle. The runner carries on searching to build the tension and keep the audience asking questions.






The runner finally finds the the mysterious person and the music stops. Tension is released as the audience think the characters are safe. Again a variety of camera shots could have improved this scene.






The camera pans away from the person in the corner to follow the runner getting a chair. This camera shot didn't quite work because it took the attention off the mysterious character. The series of questions that follow show the runners intentions and that he is the protagonist.









In the last shot all is revealed as the mysterious person attacks the runner showing that he is the antagonist. We used a point of view shot to emphasise the shock.








We also wrote a risk assessment for the actors so they had full knowledge of the risks that they might take. The next step was filming. This was quite tricky and a lengthy process because it was our first experience of filming and acting. We shot at various locations around school and this made it difficult to get the continuity right but I could only spot one small mistake.


Our next task was to start editing. I was trusted to obtain suitable music which had a high tempo with a spooky tone and I think the music goes well with the theme and shots. The editing process did take a lot of time however it was something we full well knew before we started. A few lessons later we had finished and the the group and In were very happy with all our work.

Individual Performance


I feel I worked very well as part of the team. When we had been set the brief I came up with multiple ideas but not only that but took on board the groups ideas and took good bits from the two. I think I understood our genre well which allowed me to make a good music choice to go on in the background in the running scenes. I was committed to completing the project to a good standard and because of this gave up my free time. There were times when I could have been more professional to get the filming done quicker but in the end I don't think this affected the final piece. I found the editing tricky and because i was my first time using this software but I definately improved all mu skills throughout the editing process.

Group Performance
We worked well together as a group, especially coming up with ideas in the initial stages because we listened to each other and took good points from everyone. We shared out our responsibilities evenly and this helped us get on well. When it came to the filming I think we could have been more professional but we did manage to get all our shots done. One issue was that we only needed one person to operate the camera and the other two were actors so the other person was a bit distracting. In the editing process we all contributed to ideas and we came up with a professional final cut.

Roles of the group

We have split the jobs that need to be done up. This will allow us to be more organised and to know as individuals, exactly what we have to do and when.

Me - narrative, genre and conventions, shotlist, mise-en-scene
Jacob - sound, editing, target audience research, risk assessment, timeline
Joe - storyboard, camera shots

First things first

Hello, this blog will be used to record everything to do with my media coursework, hence the blog's title. I will be working with Jacob Simpson and Joe Cockburn to produce this piece of coursework. The genre we decided on is to be action  comedy. We brainstormed a few ideas and it was agreed that we wanted to build up a character in the title sequence particully throuh the use of mise-en-scene but camera shots editing and sound would also play a part. We researched a few films that use this at the start - more detail in the next blog post.