Today we found out that the two men we had planned to play the characters in our film are now unavailable for this weekend. We cant change the date as it is difficult for us to find a time when we are all available to do it, so we decided to find new actors. We have John Flint to play the vagrant, he is a 53 year old male who is the step dad of a member of our class, Anna. Our business man will be Craig Coombs, he is a 19 year old male.
If for any reason either of these actors are unavaible at the last minute, we also have back-up actors who are available incase we need them :)
Tuesday, 24 November 2009
Prop List
We need to be organised, so that we are not wasting our time and our actors time, to do this we need to make sure that we have everything we need to make our days of filming successfull. We do not want to be refilming things after this weekend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
List of Props;
- Cigarette Packets x 2
- Zippo lighter
- Ipod classic
- Posh car, Audi/Mercedes
- Coins
- Coffee cup, bottom says cardboard dreams.
- Still camera
- Video camera
- Tripod
- Cardboard box for tramp to sit on
- Can of cheap cider
- Co op bag (for tramps possessions)
List of Props;
- Cigarette Packets x 2
- Zippo lighter
- Ipod classic
- Posh car, Audi/Mercedes
- Coins
- Coffee cup, bottom says cardboard dreams.
- Still camera
- Video camera
- Tripod
- Cardboard box for tramp to sit on
- Can of cheap cider
- Co op bag (for tramps possessions)
Shot List
We are filming this Saturday and Sunday, as well as our storyboard we felt it would be usefull to have a shot list, showing all of the different shots we will be using in order. I have also added tick boxes for when we have filmed and edited each shot, which will hopefully make it easier for us to keep track of what has already been done, as we are a group of 4 and will be sharing out the filming and editing equally.
shot listNext we will need to continue the planning stage by writing a list of what we need, and costume/appearance of our actors.
shot listNext we will need to continue the planning stage by writing a list of what we need, and costume/appearance of our actors.
Blog Layout
Check out the new layout.
It links to our film because there is cardboard, and there is a city. Simple.
J x
It links to our film because there is cardboard, and there is a city. Simple.
J x
Friday, 20 November 2009
Filming
With 2 and a half weeks left until the deadline, weve now decided upon the actors and were planning on filming over the weekend of the 27th and 28th of november. The actors are called Josh Rapley and Luke Norbury, who are friends of family members. After a long decision we decided these people suited the roles for our characters, because they are a lot older than us so they would be more suited for playing a businessman and a tramp. They also fit the main characteristics of our characters, (not saying Josh Rapley is a tramp) however with a little bit of work on appearance, we feel we would be able to represent a homeless person very well.
Same applies with Luke Norbury, who is well suited for our businessman. We will attempt to do everything we can with their appearance to represent them as their characters, to create that cultural code, where the audience will assume who the characters are without us having to introduce them.
We have also decided that we will need a new filming location upon filming the businessman, as we havn't taken photos of a built up area, that would be linked to a wealthy businessman. Therefore as we have the whole weekend to film, we will be able to swap location fairly easily, so we will be doing that.
J x
Same applies with Luke Norbury, who is well suited for our businessman. We will attempt to do everything we can with their appearance to represent them as their characters, to create that cultural code, where the audience will assume who the characters are without us having to introduce them.
We have also decided that we will need a new filming location upon filming the businessman, as we havn't taken photos of a built up area, that would be linked to a wealthy businessman. Therefore as we have the whole weekend to film, we will be able to swap location fairly easily, so we will be doing that.
J x
Tuesday, 17 November 2009
Layout of Review
As a group we have been working on the layout and design of our magazine review recently, taking inspiration from the magazine Empire. Here are some ideas we came up with...
This A3 sheet shows the first double page spread, with the right side being taken up completely by a picture - this is either going to be of a business man walking past the graffiti wall or a bench with the vagrant and the business man sitting on at opposite ends. We have not yet decided this and are going to see which looks better when we have the shots. The left hand side shows a piece of ripped cardboard, showing the title of the film in a large font and a small subtitle to hint the genre of the film. There will be a small amount of text at the bottom of this page, in 3 equal comments. When looking through empire we noticed that it was common for the reviews to have little writing on the first pages, and for the focus to mainly be on the pictures and title.
This is the second page of our review, there are going to be lots of images showing different stills of the film, which is something we noticed a lot when looking through Empire. There is the ripped cardboard in the middle again which will link the two pages together, and make it clear to the reader that this page is following on from the last - this circle will contain key facts about the film, which is something that Empire includes in all of its reviews. The quotation marks show where we will include a key point that the film critic makes, a possitive thing that will entice the reader to read all of the review. The 6 collums will include text.-x-
Here is another idea for our review, this is the first A3 sheet, there is a large picture at the top which takes up a lot of the space, we feel that pictures are just as important as text in our review; as we want it to interest the reader, and not include too much text, as this could be quite boring. The picture is of the benches setting with the business man in the corner slightly, this will allow the reader to see the actor we have chosen, as this is a short film without famous actors it is unlikely that this would entice them to see the film, in the way that a well known name would do. This layout includes 5 collums of writing, and down the far right side there is a piece about the charity that our short film supports - the salvation army, with information on how to donate, we believe this could really increase our audience!
This is the second page of our second layout idea, again we have chosen to include several pictures, which will break up the text and make the layout more interesting and colourful. We have also included the circle of 'info' which will include the same key facts found on every review in Empire - as a group we prefer the idea of this being made out of cardboard, like the first idea. Again there is going to be a quotation from the reviewer at the bottom of the page, and some extra information about the film/directors/actors at the top in the larger 'info' box.
-x-
Here is another idea for our review, this is the first A3 sheet, there is a large picture at the top which takes up a lot of the space, we feel that pictures are just as important as text in our review; as we want it to interest the reader, and not include too much text, as this could be quite boring. The picture is of the benches setting with the business man in the corner slightly, this will allow the reader to see the actor we have chosen, as this is a short film without famous actors it is unlikely that this would entice them to see the film, in the way that a well known name would do. This layout includes 5 collums of writing, and down the far right side there is a piece about the charity that our short film supports - the salvation army, with information on how to donate, we believe this could really increase our audience!
This is the second page of our second layout idea, again we have chosen to include several pictures, which will break up the text and make the layout more interesting and colourful. We have also included the circle of 'info' which will include the same key facts found on every review in Empire - as a group we prefer the idea of this being made out of cardboard, like the first idea. Again there is going to be a quotation from the reviewer at the bottom of the page, and some extra information about the film/directors/actors at the top in the larger 'info' box.-x-
We have decided that we would definitely like to use 2 double spreads for our review, after looking at Empire magazine it was clear that a whole 4 page feature on our film would be a better idea, giving us more space to write a longer review and include more pictures. We have been working on making a mock review using photoshop, which is similar to the first images I uploaded here, as a group we think that this looks really good and works the best, as it allows us to include a balance of pictures and text, without there being too much of either.
Animatics
In todays lessons we used the pictures Caitlin and Jamie took of a possible location to play around with animatics. Although this is helpful in showing where our characters will be walking and the position of the camera, because the shots used are still the scenes look very boring. When we come to film we will be using numerous different angles, but at this stage, these pictures are helpful to show the surroundings and where our actor will be positioned.
I used windows movie maker, paint and youtube to create this small film :)
The opening of the video shows the business man walking accross the street, he will be smoking and we will include close ups of his cigarette, face and shoes, as well as long shots such as this which show his surroundings. The busyness of the area we have chosen will reflect the characters hectic and busy lifestyle.
Next the business man will walk past the cash points, on the opposite side of the road, again we will be using numerous shots here. The shot shown in the still image is from a low angle, which portrays the character as powerful and important, as he is looking down on the audience.
The next shot is of the business man walking past the vagrant, who is sitting in the alley next to the cash machines, the homeless man will not be looking at the camera; he will appear unhappy. By sitting down he is making himself appear vulnerable compared to the business man, who is walking past him without noticing he is there.
Next is a shot of the man walking down a greener area, still in the city, here the man will walk forwards and then backwards and then forwards again, each time his suit will change - this will highlight the repetition of his daily routine, and our film will not seem like a 'day in the life' type genre, which we would like to avoid.
Finally there is a scene of the business man walking past the graffiti, which is also included in our magazine review. The run down area surrounding this public walkway represents the neglected lifestyle of the vagrant. Again we will include numerous shots here alongside this long shot to show the surroundings.
Obviously our film will be a lot longer than this, and include lots more shots, but because of lack of pictures this is all I could do so far! Ps, I was unable to speed it up anymore and realise the business man will not be walking this slow.
Also, thankyou to Anna Shepherd who gave us this idea :)
I used windows movie maker, paint and youtube to create this small film :)
The opening of the video shows the business man walking accross the street, he will be smoking and we will include close ups of his cigarette, face and shoes, as well as long shots such as this which show his surroundings. The busyness of the area we have chosen will reflect the characters hectic and busy lifestyle.
Next the business man will walk past the cash points, on the opposite side of the road, again we will be using numerous shots here. The shot shown in the still image is from a low angle, which portrays the character as powerful and important, as he is looking down on the audience.
The next shot is of the business man walking past the vagrant, who is sitting in the alley next to the cash machines, the homeless man will not be looking at the camera; he will appear unhappy. By sitting down he is making himself appear vulnerable compared to the business man, who is walking past him without noticing he is there.
Next is a shot of the man walking down a greener area, still in the city, here the man will walk forwards and then backwards and then forwards again, each time his suit will change - this will highlight the repetition of his daily routine, and our film will not seem like a 'day in the life' type genre, which we would like to avoid.
Finally there is a scene of the business man walking past the graffiti, which is also included in our magazine review. The run down area surrounding this public walkway represents the neglected lifestyle of the vagrant. Again we will include numerous shots here alongside this long shot to show the surroundings.
Obviously our film will be a lot longer than this, and include lots more shots, but because of lack of pictures this is all I could do so far! Ps, I was unable to speed it up anymore and realise the business man will not be walking this slow.
Also, thankyou to Anna Shepherd who gave us this idea :)
Friday, 13 November 2009
Location
Me & Jamie went to search for our possible location on tuesday afternoon.
I thought we has a successful trip (see the pictures below).
The area we found is just outside the centre of Leicester, Jamie & I thought the location worked well as you can see it is a mixture of a new thriving city area which can be seen as a representation of the businessman and then there is also a more urban area covered in graffiti which can be seen as a different representation for the vagrant.
I believe this location also shows that the two different classes can always intermingle within everyday life.
Over & Out, Caity x
I thought we has a successful trip (see the pictures below).
The area we found is just outside the centre of Leicester, Jamie & I thought the location worked well as you can see it is a mixture of a new thriving city area which can be seen as a representation of the businessman and then there is also a more urban area covered in graffiti which can be seen as a different representation for the vagrant.
I believe this location also shows that the two different classes can always intermingle within everyday life.
Over & Out, Caity x
Layout for our film review
Today we have been looking through a copy of Empire magazine to get some inspiration for our film review. I have taken pictures of some of the pages to show examples of what we would like to create. If this particular magazine chose to include a review of our film, we would need to ensure that our review follows their style. 
This is similar to what we would like to create, a double page spread consisting of a review and a picture. Here the main picture takes up the majority of the review, and is the only picture included. I think that if we used such a large picture then we couldnt really include any smaller ones, as this would take up lots of space and make it hard for us to write a detailed review.
This is a zoomed in clip of the first paragraph of the review, this short fact file about the film is something that Empire use throughout their magazine. If we choose this magazine for our review then we would deffinitely need to include something like this. The headings are: Released, Certificate, Director, Cast. Screenwriter, Running Time, Plot.
Here is a double page spread showing several smaller reviews, with an advertisement running across the bottom of both pages. Again each review includes the same headings as above, but without any more of a review on each film. I dont think this is something we could really use, as it would take away the focus of our film, as it wouldnt be the main feature. To overcome this issue we could make the advertisement at the bottom of the pages for our film, but as a group we would prefer to make the whole double page focussed on our film.
Here is an example of a single page review on one film, again it includes the same headlines used throughout the magazine, to show some of the key facts. At the end of this review there is a 'verdict' from the critic who wrote it, with a 3 star rating, this is something we would like to include in ours, to conclude the review with a final opinion, which will be positive. The writing in red at the bottom of the page reads 'normally investigators try to make a witness talk - here he wont shut up' this sentence gives away a part of the plot, and stands out so allows the reader to know what type of film this is without reading the whole review. We would like to use something similar to this in our review.
Here is an example of a double page showing an advertisement on the right hand side and 2 reviews on the opposite page, this is something we could use if we made the advertisement for our film. However, we would also have to review another film, which doesnt really fit with what we are required to do, and we would prefer to focus on just our film.
This is a longer review of the film 'Nowhere Boy' which has not yet been released, it starts with a double page spread, showing a big picture of the main actor which takes up the whole page. There is a big title on this page and a few paragraphs of writing. The next page has a larger part of the review with several other pictures, shots from the film. Agiain this page includes a short fact file about the film, as seen previously on the other reviews. There is also a quote included from the critic, which is larger than the rest of the text, and makes it stand out, as well as breaking up the rest of the text, making it easier to read. This is similar to what we would like to create, making our review 4 pages in total. When filming we will need to make sure we take stills of the film to include in our review.
As well as Empire, we are planning to look at the layouts of less mainstream film magazines, such as Sight and Sound :)
This is similar to what we would like to create, a double page spread consisting of a review and a picture. Here the main picture takes up the majority of the review, and is the only picture included. I think that if we used such a large picture then we couldnt really include any smaller ones, as this would take up lots of space and make it hard for us to write a detailed review.This is a zoomed in clip of the first paragraph of the review, this short fact file about the film is something that Empire use throughout their magazine. If we choose this magazine for our review then we would deffinitely need to include something like this. The headings are: Released, Certificate, Director, Cast. Screenwriter, Running Time, Plot.Here is a double page spread showing several smaller reviews, with an advertisement running across the bottom of both pages. Again each review includes the same headings as above, but without any more of a review on each film. I dont think this is something we could really use, as it would take away the focus of our film, as it wouldnt be the main feature. To overcome this issue we could make the advertisement at the bottom of the pages for our film, but as a group we would prefer to make the whole double page focussed on our film.Here is an example of a single page review on one film, again it includes the same headlines used throughout the magazine, to show some of the key facts. At the end of this review there is a 'verdict' from the critic who wrote it, with a 3 star rating, this is something we would like to include in ours, to conclude the review with a final opinion, which will be positive. The writing in red at the bottom of the page reads 'normally investigators try to make a witness talk - here he wont shut up' this sentence gives away a part of the plot, and stands out so allows the reader to know what type of film this is without reading the whole review. We would like to use something similar to this in our review.Here is an example of a double page showing an advertisement on the right hand side and 2 reviews on the opposite page, this is something we could use if we made the advertisement for our film. However, we would also have to review another film, which doesnt really fit with what we are required to do, and we would prefer to focus on just our film.
This is a longer review of the film 'Nowhere Boy' which has not yet been released, it starts with a double page spread, showing a big picture of the main actor which takes up the whole page. There is a big title on this page and a few paragraphs of writing. The next page has a larger part of the review with several other pictures, shots from the film. Agiain this page includes a short fact file about the film, as seen previously on the other reviews. There is also a quote included from the critic, which is larger than the rest of the text, and makes it stand out, as well as breaking up the rest of the text, making it easier to read. This is similar to what we would like to create, making our review 4 pages in total. When filming we will need to make sure we take stills of the film to include in our review.As well as Empire, we are planning to look at the layouts of less mainstream film magazines, such as Sight and Sound :)
Camera Angles
This is a set of camera angles that we took roughly around school, we will try to recreate all these angles when we go to the set location.
J x
The Wave
In media last week we watched a film called 'The Wave' (Die Welle) from the director Dennis Gansel. It's a German film, so this meant we watched the entire film with subtitles. This was a challenge at first, but once I got into the routine of it, I began to connect with the film more. The basic plot of the film is about a teacher (Jurgen Vogel) who uses his power to influence his students into a cult gang; 'The Wave'. He transforms them into united group, dressed in white shirts. This is made as a key feature of the film, the white shirts become compulsary to their collective status within the school.Within the film there are many different scenarios in which we see the powerful force they have over the other pupils. Their military like nature is demonstrated through their salute and the way they have to recieve permission to talk & stand up whilst doing so. The 'cult gang' also come up with a trademark for their group, and in one of the more visually stimulating scenes you see them running around their town 'tagging' everything with their symbol. This is also one of the first times you see the extremities of which one of the pupils will go to. Firstly, when meeting an opposing group of older men, he pulls out a gun (which later becomes iconic) and then later climbs the Town hall, covered in scaffolding showing the risks he is willing to take for his so called 'people'.
The idea of this film is based on a real story in America, in which a teacher followed the same pronciples i've spoke of previously creating a clut gang. Originally, it started as just a simple lesson which then turned into a week experiment. However, the ending was completely different as it did not end in suicide. The students were informed that it was part of an experiment and went back to ordinary school next week.
We felt the impact this film had on our project is that it illustrated a strong sense of collective identity. This related to our idea due to the fact that vagrants are put under the title of 'homelessness' and are not seen as individuals.
Over & Out, Caity x
Sunday, 8 November 2009
Saturday, 7 November 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
