In this project, as such with any media based project, each member involved must be assigned a role to perform, in front and behind the camera, after discussing this at length our group has decided upon these roles; Leonie, as the strongest writer among us, shall take upon the role of scriptwriter as we all agreed that with her knowledge of descriptive and emotive language will greatly enhance the quality of our script, i myself shall use my artistic skills as the groups storyboarder, which shall be easier on the group as they wont have to worry about artistic effect as i have all the creativity and knowledge needed to fill the role from doing A level art, however craig and becky were undecided about which role they should take when i had last spoken to them as for now i understand it that Craig is going to be the director and Becky is going to be in charge of editing, now for this decision i think it is a good one as i feel craig has the leadership skills needed to control the group and becky has a certain air about her which shows to me that she is capable of editing to a high standard.
I have been preparing myself for my role as storyboarder i have been looking into general art and animation forms to do with storyboarding in hollywood films and looking up the basic roles of a storyboarder. From what i have researched i have found that a storyboard is a type of graphic organizer used to pre-visualize either a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence, usually in the form of illustrations or images displayed in a sequence, and was first used as we know it today by Walt Disney Studios during the early 1930's.
The role of the Storyboader A storyboarder, or storyboard artist as they are sometimes refered to, is responsible for the graphic or visual representation of the script to a film or animation, thereby preventing the time wasted by filming scenes which aren't needed in the final production and reducing filming requirements from the entire production.
A storyboaders work is as follows;
Receiving a copy of the original script
Breaking down the scrpit into individual categories, such as characters, props and backgrounds
Drawing out initial sketches of the scenes provided by the script
Allow time for edits to be made with the script and initial storyboards
Enhancing through use of different artist techniques
I am looking forward to this project as it will give me the chance to look into different techniques outside traditional art.
Friday, 30 October 2009
Becky:Job decision and Research into Editing.
With every group project, each member must be assigned to a role/job to make sure each section is completed and not repeated. After discussing which member of the group would be best suited to a certain job; we come to the conclusion, that Leonie will be the Script Writer as her writing skills are astonishing, Martyn is assigned to the job/role of the Story Boarder as he does A level art which enables him to draw almost anything to a high standard, also he is very created and comes up with interesting ideas. As well as myself, Craig wanted to try something new and expand his skills, as Craig has great leadership skills and determination to get something completed before the deadline, he has taken the role of the Directed, which leaves me with the job of the Editor. I am happy with this decision. last year I was the script writer, I did enjoy doing it but I wanted to try something new this year, the role of the editor is ideal as it would expand and improve my computer skills; also I am very determined to complete the last section of this project; editing the shots to create the finial product, to the best of my ability and to a high standard.
To prepare myself for my part in this group (being the editor) I am going to collect information about what certain things an editor does and has to accomplish. As well as this, previously Leonie and I volunteered to interview Gentlemen at their 70th reunion, it was very successful and we were able to collected many touching stories from them. I will use and improve my editing and computer skills by editing the footage we collected. Before this I am going to practice the skills that are required as well as talking to existing A level Editors to receive advice and to gain a better understanding of what I need to look out for, to assure that the overall result will be to a high standard.
An Editor’s responsibilities and roles.
The editor is responsible for assembling the footage in the correct order to create the final result/product. This is made out of short shots, dialogues, sound effects, graphics and special affects, ultimately creating a finished motion picture. It is vital that the final product flows, and that each shot is links together to disguise that they are separate pieces. To assure that the result meets the targets, the Editor and the Director have to work closely together to make sure it fits the brief and the requirements.
The process of work for an editor involves:
Receiving a brief, as well as an outline of footage and/or a shot list, script, or screenplay,
Assembling all raw footage, with camera shots either recorded or transferred onto video tape in preparation for inputting into the computer,
Add in uncut rushes and sound, and synchronising and storing them into files on the computer,
Digitally cutting the files to determine the sequence of the film and determining what is usable or not,
Creating a 'rough cut' of the programme/film and determining the exact cutting for the next and final stages;
Re-ordering and adjusting the content to ensure the logical sequencing and smooth running of the film/video.
There are specifically designed software’s and programs such as Motion clip, iMovie and ‘AVS Video Editor’, which are created to allow film editing to take place.
They allow forage to be uploaded via USB from a Camera, Mobile etc; also they provide a wide range of add ons including special effects e.g. fading, colour adjustment, which are used to improve the overall product as well allowing each shot to merge in together as one piece affectively. I will need to try out and practice on a variety of programs to find out which one is most suitable for what we are doing, and which one gives us as wider range of effects and techniques that can be used. When I decide which software is the best to use, I will practice on it frequently to improve my editing skills and to discover what works and doesn’t in certain situations.
I am looking forward to be the editor in our group as it is a new challenge and experience which I am sure I will enjoy. I am also excited to be working with the members in this group, as I believe we will create an outstanding short film.
After a lot of discussion within the group, we eventually came to a unanimous decision on who will have what jobs for this project. We came to the conclusion that: I will take the role of director, as I have the leadership skills, the determination, and the fact I work well with all the other members of the group. Becky will take the role of editor, as she has the determination to try something new, and gets to grips with new software and challenges fairly easily. Martyn will take the role of storyboard as he has experience in the sector and has immense artistic skills. Finally, Leonie will take role of scriptwriter as she has unbelievable writing abilities and will get the work done to perfection before the deadline. Camera duties will be shared.
Last year, I took the role of editor within the group, in which I feel I took the role seriously, and done the work to a high standard, and co-operated well within the whole group, and contributed well throughout. I chose to take this role as it is a new challenge, unknown territory even, and I hope to take this role and perform to a higher standard than last year.
A director will have to interpret a script very carefully, work out the exact representations of each character, and be able to translate this so the script and storyboard both match each other, both to a professional standard. A director must be able to direct everyone and everything within the production, actors, settings, make-up artists, everything, and they are the key character in the production of any film. Without a director to organise everything, there is no film. They have to be able to turn an actor, into a character as well. They also have to make decisions regarding if there is too much footage, what will have to be cut out, with assistance from the editor of course. They have to decide whether a storyboard and a script are adequate and that they go hand in hand in addition, and whether the film is able to flow with ease. They have to make decisions on where and when to shoot the film and what would happen in the case of something happening at the last second. Professional directors will have completed a program which is done through a film school and will have either a bachelor’s degree or associates degree in film and video production.
Every little detail that comes up on camera will have to be added in by the director, he/she has to be one with the camera, and when filming outside, with a camera that changes exposure, it may do this up to 7 times a shot, so there may be a sudden bright or dark spot within a shot, and this is something else the director has to take into consideration when deciding where and when to film a movie. The same problems occur if the camera changes immediately from dark to bright light, as it has to take time to adapt to the new surroundings.
A whole scene is rarely done in one shot, only in very few circumstances are they done like that. In almost every case, like it was last year, they will be done in many shots, however, some shots will have odd lighting, or something not right, which will make that one shot stand out for all the wrong reasons, making that whole piece look really unprofessional. As the director has to be one with the camera, they should have to learn the advantages and disadvantages of each camera available, and learn about their limitations, and make good use of all the advantages of the camera, and shun out all the disadvantages if possible. Camerawork is not the only technical factor that a director has to be aware of, they also need to be able to position one correctly, take lighting into consideration, timing with the soundtrack, as well as work very closely with the film producer, and in this case it will be the same as the director.
The director will get more credit than almost anyone for a film, as it will say ‘A DIRECTOR’S NAME film’ more than once throughout. Throughout the whole production process they will have to be able to visualise the entire film before any filming or editing begins.
My job in the group is screenwriting; therefore I shall be in charge of the scripts for our production. Craig is the Director as we feel he has the correct drive and leadership skills, Rebecca the editor as she has the patience and creativity to complete this job to the right standard and Martyn has the job of drawing the storyboard as he has both the artistic talent and creative mind that enables him to get everything on paper.
As the scripts have to be penned first, I need a good understanding on time management. Last year I was the scriptwriter for our production and found it fairly easy to write, as I practice writing during my spare time.
The job of a scriptwriter is vital, as without a script, there is no film. Producing a film without a script would be a disaster in the making. A scriptwriter decides on the characters, locations and narrative and puts that to paper to the best of their ability and the cast and production team work off that as well as storyboards. If the script is not up to standard, it will affect the film in a large way so it is highly important that it is completed to the very best of my ability, which I am confident I will do.
To help me pen an interesting and concise script I have looked at numerous sources to help me find out how they are set out, how to get everything into a short film I need, the description needed etc. Some of these sources are: http://www.scottishscreen.com/images/documents/firstwritesScreenComp.pdf http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/filmnetwork/filmmakingguide
Both these show that I will need a clear understanding of the plot, characters and locations. Last year I had to script the opening two minutes of a horror film, and there were only two lines of dialogue. Most of my scripts were made up of locations so I will need to work more on dialogue and perhaps improve my plot lines.
To prepare for my role I have decided to try and pen a few short scripts, and to aid me in this I have Linda Cowgill’s ‘Writing Short Films: Structure and Content for Screenwriters’. This book helps me look into building up strong characters, film structures, tips for good strong plots and how to get people to read between the lines of the short film.
I knew that another good research technique to write a screenplay would be to seek advice off a professional in this area of expertise. After looking, I soon found the screenwriter John August who had written for large movies such as the Corpse Bride and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He has his own website where many people ask questions all about the film writing techniques and he himself replies as well as other people. This has helped a lot as most of these questions link to the writing process and what not to do.
The website is: http://johnaugust.com/archives/category/qanda/story-and-plot.
I am already looking forward to scripting this short film, even though we haven't really started on the ideas yet!
I decided to study a short film to get a better understanding for the areas of which my group may want to explore and as the rest of the group is going to look into professionally made / award winning shorts i shall look towards the ametuer area, just to get a better understanding of how it may be for our project.
I during my research i stumbled across an internet company called Roosterteeth, which is based at http://roosterteeth.com/home.php , who make short films to fit a mostly specific audience, mostly in the computer gaming community, and to a certain degree the shorts made do have a deep meaning if one looks deep enough into the film. The series of short films can be found on their own website roosterteeth.com and Youtube.com, and can also be embedded in other webpages such as Facebook and Twitter. This particular one is Warning/Error, it is based partly on the advances in technology and the social fears that occur, professional hollywood disaster films and the effects of internet security. It follows the basis of a comedy, albeit only 4:41 in length giving jokes and one-liners throughout.
Roosterteeth has not won any awards for their films as they are not a company set out on becoming award winning short film producers, it is an ametuer company making ametuer shorts for an ametuer audience, all benefits for the film are for the general public and is funded by a collection of sponsors supporting their work through subscriptions to the sites special features.
The synopsis is a simple but effective one, the characters are working on their respective projects when one stumbles across a computer problem, he then asks his collegue for assistance, who takes a look at the problem when the computer becomes self aware, obviously following the basic movie plot of it wanting to destroy the world, what makes it different is the chemistry between the characters and when another person walks on-set we discover that it may not be a legitimate crisis, this is done with the shot techniques that reveal enough from one perspective but once the connection has been made in the mind it reveals so much more on a psychological level.
The audience targeted for this short is a really diverse one as it could appeal to all within the computer games community and any who find it funny, but if i were to put it into a category i would select teenagers to young adults seeing how childish, yet adult also, the film seems to be and the way it is distributed.
Becky:Analysis of a short film- ‘Mankind Is No Island’
I decided to study this short film, as I believe it is distinctive, and stood out from the others I looked at, including ‘Signs’. In just 3min 31seconds this short film told an important story and portrayed its message to the audience differently from the others as they did not use verbal communication, they use words found in New York and Sidney, from signs to pictures and objects (signage) they used this to narrate their story. As the director decided to use this method to narrate their story, they had to assure that their target audience would be able to understand the context, and could keep up with the fast pace, also the viewers must have high concentration otherwise their message would not be successfully understood by the public, this potentially could reduce the amount of suitable viewers and audience.
I found this short film on YouTube but it is also available on many other sites including Technorati and VodPod; however it became well known at the Tropfest NY, which is one of the largest short film festivals in the world. This short film, which was created by Jason van Genderen and Shane Emmet, which unusually was shot entirely on a Mobile Phone, appealed to a great number of people and stood out from the other competitors, which made it the winner of the ‘Best Short Film’ and the ‘Peoples Choice’ awards on 29th September 2008 at the Tropfest NY.
This is a short film is about how the world treats homelessness or people in need of help. They are highlighting that a little bit of time and help can make an impact, even if it is a small compliment or helping someone across the road, these helpful things can only take a couple of seconds but can make a big difference. The main message they are trying to portray, is instead of ignoring the less fortunate people who need help, be generous and help them as it can make a bigger difference than you may have previously think.
‘Mankind Is No Island’ is a documentary as it brings ups and shows the ‘truth behind the scenes’, and that there is a different story around every corner. This documentary is aimed at adults of both genders, as their message is complex and would not be suitable or understood by children or young teenagers. As there is no verbal communication in this short film, it would not be suitable for people who are blind or have poor eyesight, however with today’s technology, a voice player could be available.
It is clear that this short film isn’t a clip from a mainstream film, as there isn’t a film that I am aware of that has continually used the method ‘signage’ to narrative their story. As well as this, it is shot entirely on a mobile phone which makes it differ from most mainstream films. They had the opportunity of using professional filming equipment, but they wanted to prove that an important message and a successful short film doesn’t have to be costly and can be created by different types of technology/products.
The film I have chosen to study is ‘The Black Hole’. This stood out for me when I first watched it as I felt it followed all of the forms of a comedy film, despite only being less than three minutes long. As with a lot of videos, it was found on the website ‘YouTube’ and teaches the importance of karma and greed.
The director of this film is Diamond Dugs (AKA Phil and Olly), who have worked together since 2003 and this film is officially a comedy. The film is commercial and was entered for the National Film Board of Canada festival, in association with the Cannes Film Festival and YouTube. This film was nominated for Best Film in 2009. Other places where it is available is the NFB website as well as returning over 800,000 results on search engine Google when ‘The Black Hole short film’ is entered as a search. It is not available anywhere on DVD. It was shown in festival and is currently only on the internet.
The synopsis is quite simple, a worker prints off what looks like a big black dot, however it is a hole which can allow him to fit through any surface he chooses to. He then decides to go into the company safe and take all the money, he puts his whole self inside by sticking it to the safe, however the paper falls off and he is stuck.
It is clearly a comedy simply by watching it the first time; the punch line is delayed in the film, however it does teach about karma, greed and risk-taking. It is slightly clichéd as well in the idea that bad things happen to bad people and so forth. The worker is the only character and this is emphasised through the editing and shot techniques such as loose framing and the distinct lack of close ups.
A suitable target audience for this film would probably be middle-aged males, as well as teenagers through how it is distributed, as a lot of them who work or worked in that sector could relate to the character, seeing the frustrating side of it as well as the humorous side on top of that.
Leonie: Analysis of a Short Film - Please!
The film I chose to look at was the one that stood out for me the most. Please! is a short film drama lasting just over 15 minutes and available on numerous websites, but I found it on YouTube. The Director and Writer is Paul Black, who self taught himself the ropes of Directing and Screenwriting to produce this video as well as America Brown, and has also gone on to produce more short films.
He directed the film Please! in five days with a budget of £10,000 to make it, not even having to pay the already growing in popularity actors. The lead actor is the famous Gerard Butler, who went under the name “Gerry Butler”. He was not as popular back then but from then on has gone to stardom with Phantom of the Opera, 300 and P.S I love you.
It is an independent film that is not available on DVD, only broadcasted on the Internet. Please! won two awards at film festivals one being the Palm Springs International ShortFest as the best Live Action under 15 minutes and the Williamsburg Brooklyn Festival for the best Short Film. It was also shortlisted for a BAFTA.
This short film is about a failed novelist called Peter who has lost his family as his dreams crumbled around him. He is now faced with the prospect of living without his daughter and wife and his sanity disappears as he goes round his daily activities wielding a gun. However, his life suddenly turns around when his manuscript is accepted and whilst he is spreading his happiness, his daughter find his gun in the car. As she mistakes it for a toy, she shoots herself but the barrel only has one bullet and as luck would have it, she does not get hurt. The next shot shoots her father with the bullet and it ends him dying on the ground. The form of the film I feel is a chronological drama, showing his slow downward spiral, to go back up again before plummeting to an all time low. It was exciting to watch and always kept me waiting to see what would happen next, with his life and the gun.
The ‘failed writer’ scheme is quite a popular one in the fictional world so it can be seen as an intertexual entity, ideas borrowed off clichés. Please! is very quick to the point and if made into a feature length movie it would not have the same effect. The most pleasing aspect of this short film is that it is short enough to leave you on the edge of your seat to see when he will pull the trigger. All the relevant information is put in the short clip, so it would not be mistaken as a clip from a feature length, mainstream movie.
The target audience is possibly adults and females. It has a complex storyline, with a hint of violence but I say females because it in the end revolves around the love of his family. It could however relate to men but the audience I feel is either female or writers. Writers could be a possible target as it almost seems to be written for writers, showing the obsession and the dedication put into the process of publishing. So, this video could have been directly linked to writers before even put onto screens.
There are many ways of finding short films; the most common way nowadays is on youtube.com and short film festivals, however there are different ways of finding these films outside of the internet. Some of these films are found on DVD and can be bought from a DVD shop such as Blockbusters and even other shops such as HMV also provide these, they can also be purchased through websites such as play.com and amazon.com, which is a very common way of obtaining these. There are a wide range of websites that also help distribute these, including the obvious youtube.com, as well as video.google.com and shortfilmcentral.com and newgrounds.com. With the initial research we can now look into short films and analysing them and working out the meaning of those before getting some ideas down.
Today our class received the brief for our A2 media studies project, the choices presented to us were; A Short Film, A Television Advertisment and a Music Video, out of these i chose a short film as it seemed the most interesting to me as last years work really appealed to me, what i didnt know was that the rest of the class felt as i did...so the vote was unanimous and we were all sorted into groups, which turned out exceptionally well for me as i was patnered with a group with the best possible chance of cooperating well together as we're all friends which will help towards finding the best solution of film, the other members of this group are Becky, Craig and Leonie. The short film shall be targeted for a specific audience and will have to be no longer than 5 minutes in length to be truly effective.
Last years project was a fantastic time for me as it helped towards building teamwork and using other peoples knowledge and talents to different uses, although we did have a large complication in the form of two group members leaving halfway through the project, we did pull together to create a fantastic piece, using techniques gained by having to do extra work i really think it helped put time management into perspective, which should help even more with this project. Last year i was both a storyboarder and editor, which was predictable really as i was the only one in my group last year who had any artistic experience from actually having taken Art as a subject, and this year is no different, but i am not annoyed by this as i love drawing out the storyboards and i know the others have talents that i do not have myself, such as Leonie being the best scriptwriter ans she does English, my only hope is that i have even more fun with this project than i had last year.
Becky:The Brief-Short Film.
Today I received this years A2 Media Brief, I was happy with the result as creating a short film was my favourite option out of all the choices including making a music video and a TV advertisement. This short film will be designed and created for a specific target audience, and will last for a maximum of 5 minutes or less.
Shortly after we were informed with the brief we got into groups; it was an important decision who to work with, as it is vital that the members of the group will work in sync and well together to produce, hopefully a successful short film. I am happy with the people in my group as I believe that each one will bring positive ideas and skills to our project. I will be working with Leonie; who has impressive writing skills, Craig who has great ICT skills and Martyn who is very creative; with the combination of our skills I believe we will be able to produce an interesting and creative short film.
Last year I was working in a different group, I felt that we did work well together which resulted in a good short film. My job was to write the script for our film, I enjoyed this. The main conversation in our short film was near the beginning between two people, I had to make sure that the script was suitable for the specific situation as well as making sure that it linked well with the narrative.
I am looking forward to this year’s group project, I’m sure we will create an interesting and successful short film.
A new year, a new project, a new subject, we received the briefing for our next project today, as well as organising ourselves into groups. We were given multiple options on what we could do, however unanimously, we all decided on attempting to make a short film... This short film will be designed at a specific target audience as well as being no more than 5 minutes long in length. We all considered the other options however, music video and soap opera proved to be 2nd and 3rd respectively to the short film however, which ran away as the most popular selection. After much consideration about who to work with in a group, I eventually decided to work in a group with Leonie, Becky and Martyn. All of us get on very well, have good contact with each other and each have the unique skills required for this project.
Last year’s project was unbelievably enjoyable for all of us, especially with everything we went through as a group, including equipment failures as well as multiple members of the group dropping the subject altogether. However, with a lot of work, we pulled through and produced a video to a very high standard. I worked especially well with Becky and decided to keep her on as a member of our group, as I feel her skills will be required in this project too. I worked as the editor last year for our project and this was a key part in the project as once all the planning and producing of the project took place, it was up to me to glue it all together in the right places, as an ICT student, it was also interesting to learn about different programs and how to upload onto computer. I am certain that I will enjoy this project just as much as the previous one and hope to outperform last year's work.
Leonie: The briefing Having been given the brief today, I was very pleased with the outcome. As we looked through the options, I did favour the short films and was glad when the decision was made to produce one as a group project. We have to have a specific target audience and work a five minute film around that. We soon got into groups and I chose to be in a group with Becky, Martin and Craig. They are very nice people, as well as easy to work with, having a good rapport.
Last year I was very happy with the turn out of the video in a different group. Being the scriptwriter, I worked hard with my group to produce an abstract opening of a horror movie. However, our group fell apart a little and I feel that affected us, so this time group relationships will have to be stronger, which I think they will be. Last year I enjoyed being the scriptwriter as I am an English student and liked coming up with different ideas for the production. However, I also took up the Director's role during our production as our Director could not attend any of the filming. Above is a snapshot of my AS production, which I enjoyed immensely and hope to have the same enjoyment in this project and quality of outcome.
