Edgar - Children's film evaluation

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge conventions of real media products?

Our product has taken a lot from conventional films in the way that we used our shot types and how we sequenced them. We told a story by mainly switching between two subjects in even order to keep the audience aware of both groups throughout. This was also a good tool to project suspense when needed. We also have the usual “Good guy + Bad guy” scenario, where one or more antagonists are conspiring against one or more protagonists. The genre of our product was based on the holiday of the time, being Halloween. It was initially meant to be somewhat creepier to fit with the theme, but in the end it was more of a generic children’s film, without any particular theme. Our camera work was based more on common knowledge of how things in our product should be displayed rather than direct influence from conventional films. It may be that our perception of what is a sensible camera angle or shot choice is derived from a life of exposure to conventional media. The sound part of our editing, I don’t think was very specifically thought through. We chose a fitting soundtrack to cover the whole sequence, and made sure any dialogue was at optimal optimal voice projection. There wasn’t any real influence there. We used no special effects for our product. The only kind of screen editing we did was the titles moving across the screen. The conventions of an opening sequence in films are generally to give the audience a brief insight into the rest of the film and make them want to watch more by drawing them into the story. We have done this by clearly identifying the characters and their intent. And also showing the surroundings and environment to show where the film will mainly be based. We’ve also used the opening to show the general mood of the film, which is light hearted and not serious, this is also useful for showing who the film will be appropriate for. Another way it could possibly challenge conventions would be that we didn’t include any outside sounds apart from one clip; We only added synthetic outdoors sounds where the music stopped. The music continued through the majority of the sequence with nothing else.

Ways we could have improved this include representing the antagonists and protagonist better visually. By showing the characters in a certain way from the start by clothing or appearance through things like makeup, we could have made it easier for the younger audience to identify straight away who is doing what, or who they should like.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

All of the characters in our product are male and of the same age, so in a way we are representing the young male social group. The effect of this might be that in the rest of the film, males would be identified as malevolent or mischievous like the boys in the opening because they would be affiliated with them. Our characters are represented this way by their clear intent in the sequence, which is to pull a trick on Max.

A way we could have improved this is by separating the protagonist and antagonists in a way that they represent separate social groups. This could be done with things like clothing, having them talk about each other to show who they like and don’t like, or facial appearances with makeup.

What kind of media institution would you distribute your media production?

I wouldn’t label our product for any particular company, although I wouldn’t say it was a traditional theme, so maybe not something like Disney or Warnerbrothers.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Our product is going to be rated U, and the target audience will be for children, possibly aged 6-16. I can’t think of any similar products to our own. I wouldn’t say it’s completely unique but it doesn’t resemble anything I’ve seen before.

How did you attract/address your audience?

I think the main way we attracted our audience to continue watching was the build up created by our building sequence; people would want to know what comes next, or if the protagonist escapes. Clues about the narrative aren’t numerous, apart from how we’re introduced to the protagonist and the antagonists, and how it is set in the woods.

What have you learnt about the technologies from the process of constructing your product?

The product has introduced me to several different types of technologies. The first would be the camera and how it is used and set up. Another is the editing software such as final cut and garage band to customise the clip length and sort out the audio.

For example, I learned how to crop video clips with the razor tool in final cut, and how to rise and lower the sound of a clip by raising the slider at the top of the clip rectangle. Specifically, I learnt how to migrate projects from one programme to another, like from Final Cut to Garage band when we wanted to add the audio. There is also learning how to access the student blog on the Long Road website. It took me a little longer to grasp, but now I’m confident I can submit homework to the blog from anywhere.

Ways we could improve the editing process would be to revise how to import files from one programme to another to save time. For example, at one point we were stuck for about 10 minutes because we couldn’t figure out how to move our file from garage band to final cut.

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to your final product?

The second preliminary task was very helpful practice for our opening sequence. Because we only had experience of using the stop motion tools and software, we needed another project that introduced us to camera work and our first look at the editing software as well. Specifically, we learned how to cut up clips and put other clips into them, making for a more intricate scene. It also gave us an idea of our limitations in terms of conversation and dialogue, because in the prelim’, we hadn’t produced a script to use, so when it came to producing the same scene again, we had great difficulties reinacting it accurately. Another technique we gained from the preliminary task was the ability to chose appropriate shots and angles, like the close up on the door handle or the end scene when the camera pans over the classroom.

The Final Film

Here is our final film. Enjoy! :)

Personal Contribution - Edgar Pugh

I feel that through the individual abilities of everyone in the group, we have produced a very unique and well made opening sequence.

 Things that I feel I have contributed to include:

• Storyboard production
• Camera shot ideas
• Certain ideas during editing/soundtrack

 Through the addition of each persons' ideas, we have created something I think we are all agreed upon.

Personal Contributions

I feel that our film would've come out very differently if we didn't have the people we did in our group, simply because we all contributed to the group in crucial ways which would determine where our film was set, who was acting, who was filming & what the plot was going to be.

I contributed to our group in the following ways:

• Acted one of the main characters
• Produced the main prop (the ghost)
• Filmed in one scene where Max (our filmer) was acting
• Contributed my ideas to the group, of which some were used in the actual footage

Contributions- Max Mazur

We all contributed to the Film in many ways. Without any one of us, I think the Film would have turned out very differently. I feel I personally have contributed to the group in the following ways:

• I suggested to use the forest as the location
• I did a lot of the filming, mainly due to the fact that my character featured in the film a lot less that the others' did
• As I mentioned before, I acted on the film as the target of the others' trap
• I thought of the framing for the final shot, which differed from the storyboard as we felt it would look better
• Probably the most important contribution I made was in the editing process, as I had used Final Cut and GarageBand before

Children's Film- Max Mazur

A Children's Film is a film aimed for children as it's main audience. As a result, they are almost always rated U or PG by the BBFC. Children's films are mainly in the fantasy or drama genre, but almost all have elements of comedy in them. Children's films almost always include a "hero" or "good" character, usually accompanied by a sidekick or two, and a villain or "bad" character. In the end, the good always triumphs, with the bad character seeing the error of their ways, being sent away, or in rare cases dying. Some notable examples of Children's film include the Pixar films, the early Harry Potter films (the later ones are normally rated 12A by the BBFC), the Shrek films and most of the Disney animated films (Snow White, Cinderella etc.). 

Planning and Production - Edgar Pugh

The planning and production process so far has been intuitive and straightforward. I would say the most difficult part of the process would be coming up with initial ideas like scenario and themes. Once you have come up with those two, you can sit with your group and ideas flow onward, each one a link to the next idea. Deciding things like what kind of shot a scene was fairly straightfoward, there were never any disputes in our group on how a shot should look, because the ideas were mostly mutual because they simply looked the best.

 Creating a storyboard was key to a well organised production, and it came pretty naturally to the group what should happen and how the shots would be. Once that was drawn up we had something to refer to during filming. All of our main ideas came when we created the storyboard, so filming was straightforward. Before each shot we took a small time to discuss possible techniques or camera possition, before confidentally acting out the frame in the storyboard and moving onto the next one. Some ideas that weren't in the storyboard appeared as well, or modifacations to ideas that we couldn't perform, but the production closely stuck to our initial ideas.

 Problems we have encountered so far included things like materials for props, for example it was originally planned to have three traps, but we had to settle for one. Another issue was finding the right spot, because in the storyboard it was planned for three of us to hide behind a bush, but being in a thin woodland we had to settle for a nearby trench. I think a problem in the future will be in the editing process in terms of the soundtrack, because we aren't allowed to use copywrited music, so creating our own will be a definate challenge.

 After half-term we will begin the editing process, which includes putting all the clips together in the desired order and splicing them up to the desired length or arrangement. It will also include the soundtrack and music, which I think will be a big challenge for us because we have to use only original sounds or music. We may also have to work on some dialogue, as it is inaudiable on camera, we can do this by re-recording the speech and dubbing the clip.
 
 The order we will edit in will be arranging and editing the clips first, so we have something to work with when it comes to the music and soundtrack.

Storyboard

Here is the Storyboard for our Film Opening.

"Back to the Future"

For this assignment we were shown the opening to the film “Back to the Future” twice. The first time we watched it we were told to take notes on features such as camera work, personally, in addition to camera work, I looked at how quickly (or slowly) the main plot unfurled. I could then use introductory ideas in my own film work in the future.

The second time we explained the shots & notes we had taken, explaining their purpose and why they were used. We were then put into groups and were told to create a storyboard based on what we had seen and annotated with the notes we had taken. In each shot on our storyboard we had to either give directions on the movement, and give a small analysis on it.

BBFC Regulations

For this assignment we had to make a poster on the regulations on U rated films presented by the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification)

Using BBFC.com we were able to check the contents that is restricted or permitted in a U rated film, for example, only natural nudity is permitted in a U film. After studying this web page, we put together a poster showing the BBFC’ regulations on films.

Written up "Back to the Future" storyboard

Clocks are ticking on the wall, this could perhaps suggest that the owner of this house is very interested in the time, the subject of the film is to do with time, or, as could be suggested later, the owner of the house is an inventor.

The latter could be suggested by the makeshift radio, dog food can-opener, coffee machine & robotic arm, which follows the clock scene. This sequence of scenes instils a happy sense of creativity & practicality in the viewer, often making them wonder what happened next and whether anymore wacky inventions come from the owner of the house.

We then meet a teenaged boy with a skateboard letting himself in using a key from under the door mat, to which he repeats “Doc?... Doc?!” this gives us an indication that the owner of the house is a doctor and is known well by the boy. After seeing the dog food slopped in the dog bowl and reacting negatively, his skateboard slides along the floor, colliding with the missing plutonium that was mentioned in the new report on the television. This gives us the first sinister bit of the film; however, this keeps the viewer interested and wanting more information.

Intended Target Audience for our film

For our film, we were aiming for children as our target market, so for this, we tried to make our film as easy to understand as possible, and to have as much childish humour as we could. (slapstick)

However, our target audience was aimed at the children too, because we would then rely on the children to use their persuasive habits to make the parents pay to take the children to the cinema.

We believe the film would mostly be for children, including theme & general setting of the film. The age of the children this film is aimed as would most probably be between 6-13 years of age, all of which will need Parental Guidance (PG). The gender of the children does not matter, as we have no preference; there are no particular scenes where being male or female is of any relevence.

Title Sequence Analysis- Max Mazur

Tim Burton's Corpse Bride

The opening sequence of The Corpse Bride focuses mainly on a Butterfly, flying around a village, showing characters and secenery. What is most noticable is that the Butterfly is the only thing in colour, everything else is black and white. The titles are placed over the picture and follow this pattern as well, being white in colour. These titles mainly focus on the Actors/Actresses providing their voices for the film, as well as the usual "Warner Bros Pictures Presents" at the start. The font itself is striking, mainly due to the spiky spirals on some letters. The spiral is a reccuring image in the film, with tops of towers, grass and even beards being spiral shapes. The spiral is also an image in The Nightmare Before Christmas, one of Burton's other films. For our titles, we plan to find a font similar in style, as we are making a horror/comedy film opening. We will possibly use white, but may use a colour that stands out more, for example red and our titles will include an imaginary production company name, our names and the name of the Film.

BBFC task - Edgar Pugh

For this task we had to make a poster on the regulations on U rated films presented by the BBFC. Using the Long Road film studies website we checked the regulations that restrict U rated films’ contence.

After studying the web page, we put together a poster clearly showing the BBFC’s regulations.

Back to the Future storyboarding task - Edgar Pugh

For this task we were shown the opening to the film ‘Back to the Future’ twice. The first time we just watched and thought about the camera shots ect. The second time we took notes on all the camerawork and shots, explaining what they do, where and why it’s appropriate.

We were then put into pairs and created a storyboard of the opening sequence based on our notes. In each tile we had to show what kind of movement is happening and where the camera is, and give a small analysis on it. 

Movie opening- Max Mazur

Monster House - PG

   Monster House is a 2006 film directed by Robert Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg. It is about a house which comes to life and eats people and is surprisingly scary for a PG film
   It's opening sequence involves a small girl on a tricycle getting stuck on the lawn of the house and the angry old man who owns it storming out, scaring her away and breaking her trike. This is unusual for a PG opening, as PG films normally have a positive shot after a scary or sad moment.
    The film is a horror/comedy, the genre we are using for our film, so we can use elements of it for our film. One thing which struck me was the manner in which the man emerges from the house: the door slowly opens and his face melts in from the shadows. I thought this was a really good way of making the audience instantly dislike him. We could possibly use something like this for our film.

Children's film analysis: Edgar Pugh

Film Details

Camerawork
We will be using a variety of different shots in order to make our film as interesting as we can. If all the shots were of a similar framing, the film would get boring after a while. We will be using:

• Extreme Long shots
• Long Shots
• Close ups
• Medium long shots
• Medium close ups
• Over the shoulder shots
• and various different angles

Sound

We will be using little dialogue, mainly using the sounds of the forest. We will be making our own music on Garageband to feature in the background of the action. 

Editing

We will use Final Cut to edit our film. We will use transitions such as fades in order to create a slightly creepy feeling for the film, but combine this with the comical action in order to create irony.

Special Effects

We are not using special effects as we don't feel it is necessary as we are trying to make the film look as real as possible as it is set in the real world. 

Mise-en-Scene

At the start, we will focus heavily on the forest in order to establish the location. The location will be the main device we use to create an eerie atmosphere. 

Props

We are using bin-bags, string and "scream mask"s, all used to create the traps. These are the only props we will use.

Costume

We will be wearing ordinary clothes, as we are setting the film as if it is on a regular day.

Color/Lighting

The film will have a dull colour scheme, as it will be lit by natural light and the colours will be dark as we are filming in a shady area.

Film Opening Analysis Homework

Princess Mononoke - PG

   Princess Mononoke is a 1997 film directed by Hayao Miyazaki. The film is a Fantasy or Adventure, but has a meaning that is hidden to the seven-year-old viewers, but is very prominent to the older audience. The film is essentially an “environmental protection” film, and although it sounds cliché, the film puts across its message in a thoughtful way.

   The film opens with a shot of mountains, covered in mist. A narrator then has a short monologue, which talks about “Ancient times” and “Spirits of the Gods”, which immediately tells the viewer that the film is a Fantasy, set in the past. Whilst the narrator is talking, the camera tilts downwards now showing a forest scene. These opening shots establish the themes of “the natural environment”. The monologue, combined with the slow, haunting music and the slow, deliberate camera movements establish the dark mood of the film.

   Towards the end of this monologue, as the camera comes to rest just above the forest floor and the narrator mentions “Demons”, we see a shadowy creature moving in the distance and knocking over a large tree. This is foreshadowing the destruction of the forest at the conclusion. Just before the title screen appears, we see the leg of the demon, covered in strange purple worm-like creatures, and as the leg passes, it kills the grass where it stood. This again is foreshadowing of the destruction of the forest. This audience suspects that the narrative of the film will have something to do with this demon, but apart from the foreshadowing, that’s all the audience gets in regards to clues about the rest of the film.

   This is what the opening sequence does so successfully. It gives almost no concrete facts about the rest of the film, keeping the audience watching, wondering what is going to happen next.

These are photographs of our brainstorm and a diagram of our "trap" idea. This shows what our basic plot will be and how we will create our traps.

Preliminary Task (Video)

This is the film we created for our Preliminary Task. We feel it went reasonably well and it helped us learn to use the equipment and editing software.

Lesson Overviews

 6/10/11- Classification

  This lesson, we looked at the features of the two possible classifications for our film: U and PG. After comparing the features, we watched clips from four children's films (Up, Watership Down, Home Alone and Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone) and tried to guess which of the two classifications each film was rated. Most of them were simple to guess, the exception being Watership Down, which was rated U, which was surprising for the amount of violence in it. 

Watership Down - rated a U!

   Classifications are given by the British Board  of Film Classification (BBFC), whose website we visited to establish the features of U and PG. We were assigned U, and our findings are featured on a separate post. This is the link to the U classification page and this is the PG section.

   It is important for film makers to have a target market when they make a film. Target market is the group of people whom the film is aimed at (in our case, children and families). It is important for film makers to follow the classification requirements carefully in order to create a film that will be rated appropriately for their target market.

   After considering both options, we have decided to create a film that is classed PG. We have decided this as it gives us more freedom about what we include in it. If we had chosen U, we would be much more limited in our choices, and we would like to open our options as much as possible.    

10/10/11- Storyboarding

   This lesson, we storyboarded the opening scene from Back to the Future (Storyboard posted earlier). Tom and I created a diagram of the entire room featured and drew arrows to show how each section of our storyboard related to the location in the room.

   In commercial film-making, storyboards are used for very much the same purpose, meaning the company will minimise shooting time, therefore decreasing the production cost significantly. Creating a storyboard before the final product will also enable film makers to edit their ideas at a much earlier stage: it's a lot easier to re-draw a couple of images than re-film an entire scene if the director feels the framing should be different.

   It is important to create a storyboard for our children's film, as it will give us an idea about what exactly we will film, and how many shots we will need, therefore decreasing time spent filming and give us more time to edit and make the film look professional. It will also help us visualise how the finished film will look.

Classification

Storyboards

Storyboard Lesson. The first is by James and Edgar, and the second is by Tom and Max.