23. Production Log 2

In today’s lesson we sorted out our script, props list, cast list, and began looking at possible locations. We have two versions of our script, as we cannot decide yet which order to put the scenes in. This is obvious when you look at the first version, and second version.

22. Production Log 1

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19. Evaluation (Preliminary Task)

The brief for our preliminary task was to “participate in a continuity task involving filming and editing a video sequence of a character opening a door, crossing a room, and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom he/she then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule.” Our alternative was to create a magazine, but it was decided amongst our small group that we would find a film more fun and challenging.

The first thing we had to do was to sit down as a group and brainstorm a few ideas about how we were going to approach the task. Many ideas were pitched in about the genre of the film, how the character would cross the room, what the dialogue would be, and a few other things. We decided that we should create our own take on a classic scene, and then started discussing possibilities for which scene this could be. Again, many ideas were thought up, but we eventually settled on the “handover” scene which occurs in most mafia and gangster-style films. We also agreed as a group that we didn’t want to simply re-create this generic scene, but that we wanted to add an original element to it. Again we came up with ideas of what our original idea would be, and we eventually came up with a modern take; using McDonalds food as the goods to be exchanged (it seemed funnier at the time).

We then began researching different handover scenes, and other films that would seem serious at first, then drop a comedic element in. For this, I looked at Scary Movie, and some handover scenes on youtube. Others in my group looked at Sin City, Snatch, and The Godfather. We tried to draw inspiration from the elements used in these films/scenes, from the voices and dressing styles used, to the weapons, setting, and subtlety of the comedy elements. The main thing I noticed when I was analysing Scary Movie was that periods of seriousness and tension were followed by a comedic impact. This is explained further in the post where I analysed the film, here (opens in new window).

We also created SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Reasonable, Time-based) Targets for our creation, where we had to outline what would be done, and set deadlines for these. As the acronym suggests, these targets were very specific, and were put in place to make sure we kept to our schedule and had everything completed on time.

Our next step was to begin planning our film, and to do this we had to create a lot of documents on various aspects of our production. Our first thing was to create the basic outline and elements of what would be in our film. At this point, we didn’t worry about our script or any locations, we were just focused on a rough outline of each section. We obviously divided it into a clear beginning, middle, and end, and thought of rough ideas about what we could put in each section. We decided that the beginning would be used for credits, and to give a rough outline of each character and what role they were playing. Our middle would be the main build-up, before the end, which we decided would result in the death of a character, although it wasn’t settled which character this would be.

We also had to decide upon who would play each character, and settled upon Matt (King) as the ‘don’, Nik (Vranjkovic) as the ‘bodyguard’, and me as the ‘delivery boy’. We also decided that Darrell would be the main cameraman. We felt that this was the most appropriate casting roles because of our appearances.

The next step we took in producing our film was to make a more solid outline, where we started thinking about camera shots we could use for different parts, different things we thought would be effective.  We thought that extreme close-ups would work well, and fast-paced action with quick cuts from one scene to another. We also started throwing some ideas in about a possible ending, and decided that the delivery boy would be killed off for his wrong-doings. We discussed him killing the don character, but thought that this would be straying too far away from the stereotypical handover scene, as it would be changing the entire dynamics that the scene usually creates/uses.

After this, we decided to start writing our script. The first one we wrote was massively different to the one we ended up using. There were only very basic instructions of actions and camera shots, plus the dialogue (which we later changed anyway as we realised how illogically ordered it was). Later on, I adapted this script to include all the detail needed to be precise, by including all the details of camera angles, speech, tone of voice, and actor directions, along with the basics such as the setting, weather, and lighting.

Over the media lessons during college, we worked on other documents that we needed, such as personal release forms, location release forms, talent release forms, and risk assessments for our filming locations.We filled out basic information on these forms and signed them, ready to give to the necessary people for additional signatures (owners of property, actors, etc.).We also received training in Photoshop, and during this time I created a DVD Cover for our film. In some others we received training to use the cameras, and taught ourselves to use the editing software. For our practice using Final Cut Pro, we made a sequence of me and Nik walking down a corridor, cutting through different angle. We added a soundtrack, and some slide transitions, just to familiarise ourselves with the different functions that can be performed using the program.

Eventually we were ready to film, but found that trying to find a day to film (due to work commitments and other absences) was difficult. We eventually decided that we would have to film quickly or we would be out of time before the deadline. Me and Nik filmed early one morning for the parts that we could do with just the two of us. Him and Matt then filmed pieces between them that would be possible. The parts we needed everybody for were very hard to film because various people had work, but we ended up having a two-hour window on a saturday afternoon, the only time where everybody was available. This led to this part of filming (everything that was set in an office) being rushed, and therefore we didn’t have many takes of each scene. The result of this was that we didn’t have a lot to choose from. Another problem with having such a small window to film was that, as we were filming in a school, a teacher was present. We didn’t notice at the time, but he had moved several things around on the desk without knowing, and this resulted in lots of continuity errors which we only realised when we watched the film back later. This forced us to crop our film heavily, and this made the quality slightly worse. It also meant that a lot of our captured film was unusable, as it would have created fresh continuity errors. The main cause of this was that we were only able to film at the school on the Saturday, as there were no teachers in on Sunday.

When it came to editing, we didn’t have much idea how to use the software, so progress was very slow at first. One of the first things we did was to put a filter over our film, as this made the whole thing look slightly more serious, by draining a bit of colour. We still left colour in, but it was more subdued and subtle with the filter over it.We then had to look through the footage we had taken, and decide which scenes to use. There wasn’t much to choose from in some parts (for the reasons mentioned earlier), so it fit together quite quickly. We then had to cut down a lot of the video to make it run a bit smoother and flow better. This took a few lessons to get right, and precise. We then addressed the continuity errors we found (again, this was mostly the objects on the table, as mentioned earlier). We made several people watch our film, and pick out as many errors as they could spot, to ensure we were as thorough as possible.

To combat some of our errors, we had to shoot fresh add-in scenes, which I feel are easily noticeable in the film, and make it look very poor and amateur. Because of several factors, we were very limited as to what we could film to counter continuity, but we managed to come up with some things that, although solved the problem, didn’t look very good.

In addition to the blue tint, the last few scenes were covered with a noticeably red tint; as this is a classic sign (mostly used in games) that a character has been shot. We also added a heartbeat over the top of this scene to show that it was a make-or-break part of our film, in the respect of that characters life. To create the blinking effect on this scene, we used slide transitions and shortened the timings, along with other settings. We did this twice to portray blinking, before the final stamp which is the end of the film. We decided against using transitions throughout the rest of the film, as we felt that the ones available on Final Cut Pro were very amateur and looked poor when we tried them out. This means that every scene just cuts to the next one with no transition.

This final scene is the one I am most pleased with, as I feel that the blur on the camera, the red tint, and the blinking, it fits together quite nicely and creates the effect desired.

The credits were created by Nik on Adobe AfterEffects, as we knew roughly what we wanted to do with them,  but weren’t able to do this on Final Cut Pro. They came out okay, but I feel they could have been better if the whole group had been present, and again if we had more time to do them.

When we had sequenced our video, we noticed that a lot of the sounds hadn’t been picked up by the video camera, due to the distance it was away from what was being filmed, and also because there was very strong wind that day which overpowered a lot of the other sounds. To rectify this, we used Soungle.com to find some sound effects. We ended up using a buzzer for when the intercom is pressed outside the flat. We also used a gunshot sound, as when we filmed, we were using a BB Gun which doesn’t create noise. A heartbeat was also found to put in over the final scene, but we were unable to find a good ‘thud’ noise to add in where the foot comes down, which I feel does bring our film down a bit.

For our soundtrack, we decided we wanted a contrasting track, to create a comedic effect. We ended up using a jingly-tune, with a cowbell every now and then, which was very light and upbeat (as opposed to our film which is generally serious and sombre). I was also disappointed with this, as it just seems tacky and not thought out. I also feel this brings our film down.

After we had finished, we got people to watch it again to check for continuity errors, and it was decided that we had edited them out very well, and there were no longer any remaining.

18. Final Piece

This is our final film after editing…

17. Production Log 7

In today’s lesson we made a lot of progress in getting rid of our continuity errors. We decided to re-shoot two scenes which will help to smooth over the ones that cannot be fixed. The most common way of getting rid of our errors were cropping the video we had to cut things out of the side. We did this on a number of scenes, mainly to cover up the endless appearance/disappearance/reappearance of paper, scissors, and a whiskey bottle. We also managed to get rid of a few tell-tale signs that our film was shot in a classroom, by cutting out posters and signs on the edges of our image.

One of the key things I did in this process was drawing sketches of each scene, so I could tell which was where rather than watching it each time (picture to be uploaded). This gave us an indication of where we needed to crop, and I just shaded these out on the sketch to show that it had been fixed.

We still need to re-shoot the gun scene, as the gun changes hands between shots, and the McDonalds logo on the bag, as this is a key moment of the film in comedic value. Today we also shot a quick scene of the main actor pulling his hood down just before the stairs scene, to fix that continuity error.

We also began finding sounds to add to our video which we are going to put together next week. We began on the sounds captured when filming, making the wind quieter and voices slightly louder, but the main soundtrack will be completed next Friday.

Also, an idea for how to implement credits was thought up, which will also be worked on next week.

16. Production Log 6

In today’s lesson we began to edit the footage we shot last weekend. We sorted out the clips we had taken and organised them into the order we’d like them. Then we started analysing each part of it for errors, so we could discard any unwanted footage. After this, we started to gain a basic idea of the order, and began cutting down and trimming pieces so they fit together well. After we were happy with the basic core of our film, we began to experiment with tinting the piece with effective colours and putting filters over it. We decided upon using a blue-ish tint on the majority of the film, as it creates an element of coldness and hostility, which is a key part of our film. The final scenes have a red filter over them, as the actor is dying, and this is a familiar effect used in many games when the character dies. We also desaturated the whole sequence, as it removed a bit of the brightness and colour, which made it seem more serene and sincere.

When we had applied these filters, we had to analyse the film once more, and we noticed continuity errors: different blinds, hood up/down, gun changing hands, scissors disappearing, and rain alternating throughout. There are also a few sequencing errors, where the footage we took was cut short for one reason or another. The main parts affected by this are when a character is putting a blazer on (and doesn’t finish), and when he is loading a gun, it immediately cuts to him shooting.

To address these problems, we have decided to re-shoot the key scene of where the gun is fired, as we don’t need to use the same setting or character, as it will be an extreme close-up of just the gun in a hand. We cannot alter the scissors’ disappearance by re-shooting, as one of our actors has had a haircut and this will become a new continuity error if it changes. We are also going to film a scene where the main character pulls his hood down, to quickly rectify this error.

Next lesson we have to create the soundtrack for our film. We will discuss what sounds would be appropriate in the next lesson, and find some in non-copyrighted music websites. Then we must add in a few finishing touches before we are finished.

15. Production Log 5

In today’s session we learnt how to use the video camera, and the software for editing footage. We took some short footage of me and Nik walking down a corridor to experiment with, taking several different cuts from different angles so we could cut them together and make a good sequence. We took 6 or 7 different angles, each of us walking down the corridor, then we uploaded the footage onto the Mac, and imported it into Final Cut Pro. As it was one sequence, we had to cut them appropriately, so it didn’t seem as if we were walking forever down an endless corridor.

We watched over the pieces we had taken and decided which parts we were going to use for which stage of the walk.We ended up using long shots, extreme close-ups of the feet, high and low shots, and swiveling the camera to follow (reverse?). After we had trimmed down the pieces and fit them together so it looked like one sequence from many angles, we decided to make it black and white, as the original colour was very bright and looked a bit tacky. We also added in a lot of different transitions, so we could see what they looked like. A few of the transitions we used were channel map and cross-fade, amongst others. It came together nicely,

We also had to think about the soundtrack we were going to use, and we used Soungle.com to get a quick tempo beat, as we thought it would be humourous and contradictive to the slow walking down the corridor. We used three different ones, two at the beginning, and one main one which continued throughout the rest of the sequence. In total (including credits) – our video was just under a minute long.

Youtube video to come soon.

14. Production Log 4

In today’s session we printed off, and partially filled in; Location Release, Personal Release, Talent Release, Call Sheets, and Risk Assessment forms, and completed our script and storyboard.

They are all filled in as far as possible, ready to be completed on the days of filming. We edited our script from last lesson and added a third scene, to add an extra part and make our film more meaningful. We also overcame the obstacle of one of our team members leaving the group, by agreeing to film on a weekend, so we don’t lose him as an actor. Filming at a weekend also gives us much more time to film, and this helps the continuity of our film as we will be wearing the same clothes and have not changed anything of our appearance. We also added types of camera shot to our storyboard and script, to show the types of shots we will be using in our film.

We have set aside the weekend of November 14th and 15th for filming, as this gives us a lot of time to make sure we have the appropriate footage. After this we will have time to edit our video before the coursework deadline on December 7th.

13. Production Log 3

This session was another Photoshop training session with Renier, with the target of making a good-quality Magazine or DVD Cover by the end. As my group is doing a film for our piece, we had to create a DVD Cover for our film. At the beginning of the session we were given CD’s with short videos on how to go about creating different parts of a magazine. Some of these pieces weren’t really relevant to making a DVD Cover, but they still contained useful tips and instructions on how to use the different functions in Photoshop.

I started off finding out the dimensions I would need for my DVD Cover, and found that I would need it to be 149×190mm. This breaks down to the main cover (129×184mm), the ’spine’ of the cover (14×184mm), and then the ‘bleed’ area, which is 3mm added on to each side.

After putting in lines to show where the different sections mentioned above were, the first thing I did for my cover was set the background as black, as this is the colour most commonly associated with the type of film we are creating. Then I went on Google Images and found a generic image of a spooky, haunted landscape. The image I chose happened to contain a singular, abandoned treehouse in the centre, and a few small details such as bats/birds to add to the effect. It was also in black and white, which was my preference, although had it been in colour I could have simply edited the hue/saturation to make it colourless.

I put this on its own layer, positioned in the middle, stretching across the whole image (including the spine). I wanted to keep my cover quite basic, so as not to give away the plot or anything about the film, and also make sure it wasn’t too busy. However, it needed more to it than just an image on a black background, so the next thing I did was find a silhouette of a man with a gun (again using Google Images). There weren’t many of these images available, so I had to settle for one with two people in. I simple used the magic wand tool to remove the unwanted silhouette and the white background of the image, leaving me with just the silhouette I wanted. I then put this in a layer, and decided that I would like to make this a more noticeable part of the cover.

Because the initial image was of a low resolution, the edge was very rough, so I softened this using the soften tool until it was a smooth edge. I also created a shadow for it in layer effects, and set this slightly away from the actual figure. I also used the ‘outer glow’ effect in layer blending options, and gave the silhouette a white-gold ‘halo’ around it, which immediately made it more noticeable. This also represents the fact that this person, a character in the film, will be untouchable, but this is only a very subtle hint.

Keeping with the simplistic theme of my cover, I added a title (using the text tool) just above the main image. I made the title blood-red, to indicate the film would be violent, and used a font that was plain and basic. The film is unnamed so far, so I made a temporary title ‘The Comeuppance’ as this sounds pretty serious and I don’t believe there is an existing film called this. I also added the title to the spine. This was a simple process, just do the text as usual, then use the ‘free transform’ tool and rotate it 90 degrees so it fits nicely.

Looking at my cover, I could see it taking shape, but was unhappy with the blank space in the lower half. To combat this, I decided to fill it using a ‘quote’. I used a pretty generic statement about how brilliant this film was, and put it in another basic font. I made this by ‘The Daily Mail’ and gave the text a slightly golden colour so it stood out.

To finish off my cover, I added a ‘certificate 18′ image to the bottom-centre of the spine, as I realised it was necessary for films to clearly show their age restrictions. This was easy enough, I just took an image of this from Google Images, and removed the white from around it so it fitted in nicely with the cover.

Altogether I am pleased with my cover, as it is basic but quite effective I feel. The one thing I would change is the main image, as something that has relevance to the film would probably be better than a derelict treehouse! The general feel of the cover is good though, and I like the little spots of colour that draw attention. I do also think that the cover is unprofessional, in the sense that it’s not something you would ever see in shops, although I am unsure as to why this is (perhaps it seems more like a poster for a film than a DVD Cover itself, possibly created by the inclusion of the quote at the bottom?). Another fault I can pick out (if i’m being very critical) is that the edge of the silhouette is quite rough, and could definitely do with being softened further, or covered by the halo sort of thing around the edge.

12. “The Comeuppance” film cover

This is the DVD Cover I made using Photoshop for the film we are going to make. I tried not to give too much away about the film, so have used ambiguous, generic images, only giving away that it is a very sombre film. I used many different layers, and took the images I used from Google Images. I used blending and outer glow on the silhouette to create this effect, and placed my text where I thought it would be appropriate and effective. The left 17mm is the ’spine’ of the cover, but the rest is the front cover. I will probably do a back cover at some point to go with this.