Production Links

Link to Director's Commentary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYkRwhRIZzM Link to Production Task https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgVo6Mr9A8A

Directors commentary

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61O3mHZ7HoI

this was the directors commentary where we discussed areas about our film such as the sound,camera composition and other technical areas, and we discussed the faults and how we overcame them. as well as what we did well and how we did it.

Feedback for our Film

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWMYzLGjV9Q



this was the feedback for our film where other people were filmed on camera and had to say their opinion and judge what the film was about in different areas of the film such as mise en scene, sound, camera composition, and other technical areas. while we were out of the camera and in the corner generally the feedback was good and considered good.

Addiction- Clothing

Costumes

For clothing Filthy Frank will be wearing a short sleeve white shirt with many buttons undone and a tracksuit or jeans and trainers.

Andrew McGregor would be wearing a cheap Hoodie with jeans or tracksuit and trainers. 

Lewis Hall wears a shirt or t-shirt with a white and blue huntsman jacket and tracksuits or jeans with trainers.

For Filthy Frank we’re going for a classic drug dealer look with the cheap, out of fashion shirt and them not really caring how they come across.

For Andrew McGregor we’re going for a junkie look for someone who doesn't have much money for clothes and only cares about their next high.

For Lewis Hall we’re going for quite a tough, masculine look but still formal and decent while doing it and someone who cares how they look.

Addiction - Soundtrack analysis of action films.

Addiction - Soundtrack analysis of action films.

The soundtrack analysis was generally easy for us because in most action films we had to include quite intense music to quickly and easily introduce the characters into the opening two minutes, in addition, the soundtrack would heavily influence the mood which the audience should be placed into when they first start watching the movie. Our non-diegetic sound (i.e. music) would have to be relatively intense all throughout the opening as we needed to always have that mood that something is going to happen or that there will be a fight at some point, where the music would intensify even more and gradually stop, which is quite a basic thing to do considering most people do it but at the same time is also very graceful and effective for the audience, as it would build up the tension over time and suddenly stop and confuse everyone. We also used the music to surprise the audience, as suddenly there is tense music and next there is fast paced music which suddenly jumps the audience into the scene which the characters are in.

Also, in other action films such as The Raid, the music is slow at first and builds up over time like most action films, where it works with the action which is happening, e.g. at a fight scene the characters would be getting ready to fight, and then the music would start quiet, then the characters would start fighting and then the music would intensify throughout and then most likely suddenly stop. Most action film music is generally influenced by the genres of dub step and rock music, because generally both of those genres have fast paced music and play a big role in building up tension. 

Preliminary task

Preliminary task:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHgCoc2ub2o

 this is our media studies preliminary task.

Storyboard

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8dC-I8qAPk

This is the storyboard to our opening 2 minutes of our movie titled 'addiction'.Our storyboard was just a short montage of images which were to show the audience what our plan for our opening two minutes was, so that they could get an idea of what they would be watching, however because of our change of plot we had to redraw it. 

Also, we decided that we should include some music so that it was better in general, rather than just having a simple slideshow of pictures. so it would get us more marks and it would be more effective generally.

Opening 2 Minutes Addiction movie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgVo6Mr9A8A

This is the opening 2 minutes of our movie titled 'Addiction'.

Evaluation task 5

YouTube Annotations

The first two annotations start as our film starts and last for seven seconds. We really didn't have much to annotate for our film so we said to anyone watching the video to like and subscribe and we linked another video which ieuan had made to our other annotation. 

We also linked another video which ieuan made to our video and it pops up at 14 seconds and lasts for another seven seconds as we didn't have much time to make it very long.

For the annotations using the graph below the video we were able to control where and when the annotations popped up and for how long for.

We were also able to choose the font of the annotations and edit individual annotations for color as well.

Addiction-Film diary

Film Diary

Day 1: We decided to film in order of the events which took place so in the first day we filmed Lewis Hall first sighting the drug deal and approaching the scene and we did the part where you see Andrew McGregor walking towards Filthy Frank because we did five separate shots for that part to try and make it more interesting and capture where and how and where he was walking. We also filmed the conversation in the first day and the drug deal between Andrew McGregor and Filthy Frank.  

Day 2: For day 2 we decided to film the encounter between Lewis Hall and Filthy Frank once Andrew McGregor has left and when Lewis Hall starts to chase Filthy Frank and when Lewis Hall knocks over Andrew McGregor and threatens him with a gun and we filmed most of the fight scene but once it got too dark to film the rest of the scene so we had to leave but one of the staff had locked the gate not realising that we were still in their so we had to climb out the back and walk along one of the fields to get out of the grounds.

Day 3: For day 3 we had to film what was left of the fight scene and the cliff hanger at the end of the film but we had a problem because Luke who played Andrew McGregor in our film was in another group and was just doing us a favour by being in our film and had to film with his group that day so we got Billy to film for us that day.

Day 4: Once we had done the filming, we uploaded it to a computer and reviewed it to see what we had to do again and to when we went back to make sure we weren’t locked in again we got a spare set of keys so we could lock and unlock the gate and Luke was available that day so we redid the meeting the scene and a few other parts we needed to do that day. 

Evaluation task 8- Targets for next year

targets for next year:

for G324 next year we hope to make progress in our film-making to improve the quality and efficiency of our filming and to generally make it look more professional. we also could add a few touches to our film trailer to make it look top-notch for example we could have included more titles and credits of the names of the people acting within the trailer. Also we could improve the editing by making the cuts faster paced and make the film just as action based but also more efficient. but also we could get rid of cuts in the film which weren't as good for example theirs a scene in the film trailer where it goes from morning to night, we need to get rid of this and cut that out as it makes our trailer look unprofessional and cheesy.

mise en scene- for the mise en scene for our next film trailer we aim to improve the location of our film trailer hopefully somewhere with better scenery than oxshott. also we could improve the props and costumes instead of hoodies and jeans, we could have business clothing like suits.

editing- we could improve the cuts and shot angles by including a variety of shots and angle compositions to make it more elegant and more like a actual film trailer.

sound- we could improve the sound quality and maybe add in more non-copyright music to fit in with the mood of the scene at the time. this will make our trailer better and superior overall.

Evaluation task 7:

What have we learnt about editing and camera work since our preliminary task?

We had learnt many things about camera composition, and using different camera shots to enhance scenes in a clip. For example, when Lewis Hall is kicked, We used a dolly shot which followed him flying in the air and landing on the ground. and we used another dolly shot when Lewis hall is walking around the Hut, and Filthy Frank ambushes him. 

Another example which we learnt from our preliminary task and put into our opening two minutes was a match on action shot. The main reason we did this in was because it also enhances the chain of clips, as the audience is introduced to what the character is doing, and is seen clearly, for example, in our main shot (below), we used match on action to show Filthy Frank picking up the gun and hitting Lewis Hall with it. 

In our preliminary task, we were able to use the 180 degree rule, however we did not use this method correctly because we did not film off the same side, e.g. which is evident in the following two pictures, however in our main film we were able to take a perfect shot reverse shot but could not include one side of the shot, so it just made the shot a over the shoulder shot. The reason i did not include the 180 degree shot reverse shot was because it would have gone over the time allowed for the opening two minutes.

Evaluation task 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Key character: Andrew Mcgregor.

Although our mise en scene ( apparel ) was different to most drug dealers, we tried to keep the character ''shady'' by making him seem restless and quite a fidgety person, however most drug dealers in films generally wear normal clothing and can sometimes wear clothing which is upper class, such as tuxedos, however we wanted to show that the drug dealers were from the lower/ middle class and had money issues because of an addiction, and wouldn't be able to afford a suit or tuxedo. the role in the film for the Andrew Mcgregor is not very important, but instead worked together with Filthy Frank for the drug deal, and was only a counterpart for the plot, however he did play a role in the drug deal which is why Lewis Hall threatens him, but is also close friends with Filthy Frank. 

Evaluation task- 6 technologies from the construction of our product

technologies from the process of constructing our product:

the technologies which are involved in the process of us constructing our product involve a camera, computer

from using the computer we used such programmers as adobe premier elements to render and edit the film footage. we also used adobe premier elements to add in music to our trailer, and we also used it to put in title sequences and credits however in the end we chose not to put in that many credits, because of personal preference, we only mainly put the title of our movie in.  and we also got rid of any outtakes we had as we would not need this as it wasn't part of the actual film so therefore it was cut out and deleted in total we had over 150 outtakes. we also used youtube as another programme we would use youtube to upload the videos of our footage and the actual trailer itself on to Richards account. as well as that we also used blogger to upload the editing and the different shots of our film, we use blogger to also publish the film trailer and make sure it is up to scratch.

another technology we used was the camera we used to film the actual footage of our trailer/film at first when we used the camera when we filmed in Guildford, it ran out of charge/battery easily, so therefore we previously had to use Ieuan's phone to take footage, next time we filmed in oxshott instead of Guildford and London as in London the abandoned hospital we originally had wanted to film in would most likely be closed and Guildford the trains kept on cancelling so we decided it would be easier to film in oxshott. overall it was more efficient to film in oxshott. and our camera generally was alright to use, we also used a tripod along with the camera to take different angles and shots, such as close-up shots, mid-shots and birds-eye-view shots. the camera generally was simple and easy to use. however if the charge was more efficient it could have been even better. the tripod would help steady the camera for the film trailer and the different shots and camera angles and composition. this would help make it more professional and reduce the chances of the camera shaking or any inaccuracies with the shots.

Evaluation Task- 1 nine frames

TITLE: Although we didn't include the title of the film in the actual two minute clip, we did include it as a title for the you tube video, this was mainly because we wanted to cut down on time and be able to include as much time as we can of the film. the title was mainly influenced by the fact that our story is about a drug deal, and the word Addiction was best suited towards this fact.

STORY: Lewis Hall is a combat addicted ex-soldier who goes after drug gang for kicks and Andrew McGregor who is just a junkie buying weed off one of the main drug suppliers Filthy Frank. At the start of the film Lewis Hall is spying on the drug deal waiting for an opportunity to intercept the drug deal. 

Characters Introduced: We introduced our characters mainly at the beginning of the short film, and this was mainly because we wanted to quickly get the audience to understand what is happening, as the protagonist, lewis hall is introduced right at the beginning, it is seen that he is spying on a man, who is later then introduced talking to another antagonist.

 SETTINGS: We set this film at a scout hut in Oxshott, our main reason for this was because it was quite secluded, and we could rent out the area for the day and be able to hold one of ieuan's bb guns without people wanting to call the police on us thinking we are holding a real gun. The place had lots of trees around it so it allowed for some good lighting which we could use to our advantage.

CAMERA WORK: for our camera work and editing, we had mainly relied on the tripod to help us film and keep the camera stabalised throughout our filming. also, we had tried many different shot types and experimented with mixing up shots in order to create a chain of events which could gradually work together and form a clip. also, the editing process was quite vigorous because we had to ensure that the music was fitting, as well as cutting and editing each clip, as well as shortening and lengthening the shots using various tools on adobe premier elements.

SPECIAL EFFECTS: because we filmed an action film, we had generally thought that our initial plan was to avoid so much special effects, however we did decide to add certain sound effects to enhance the fight scene, because it ensured that the ''hits'' would have an actual impact ( through the viewer's eyes ) and so that was the only special effect we really used, apart from the introduction where it fades from our logo to the start on the opening two minutes.

Genre and how the opening suggests it.

Our film is a action/crime film, and because of this we needed to acquire music which helps influence things such as chase scenes and fight scenes, which are in almost all action films. The opening suggests that this film is an action/ crime theme because the intro is very quick and sudden, and the music is quite loud, and there is no real introduction to the characters because of the tense moment which the audience is suddenly thrown into, where Lewis Hall is spying on Filthy Frank.

COSTUMES AND PROPS:  Our costumes were relatively simple, this is because the characters were in the drug industry, and they wouldn't be wearing any fancy clothing, also, the character  Lewis Hall is an ex military man, so he would be acting as ''undercover'', which means that his clothing would be similar to the drug dealers, but at the same time dividing himself from the crowd. Our only prop was a BB gun, which was seen at several parts of the film.

TITLE FONT AND STYLE:  For our opening two minutes, we didn't include a title, this was mainly because we wanted to quickly introduce the characters, however, we did place a title on the YouTube video.

Evaluation - Who is the audience for our media product? activity 4

       target audience:

the target audience for our film is mainly teenagers to young adults, the genre of our film is action-adventure, there are similar action-adventure series made which are similar to ours and use some similar features, this includes such notable ones such as Spider man the animated series (1994), Dragon Ball z, Naruto Shippudden, and Smallville.  The features and Conventions within our genre of the movie adhere to their wants and tastes such as the average teenager liking a lot of action and imagining themselves as the protagonist to give the main antagonist a good old kick in. a lot of teenagers also like fighting as well so this again adheres to mas low's hierarchy of needs, the need to be entertained, this definitely in my opinion suits the needs of the average teenager. due to media and culture the average teenager has become desensitized to violence, so minor fighting in our trailer is of no concern for the parents as well as teens.

the teenagers also seem to like fashion as well, within our media product we have the characters typically wearing hoodies and jeans, these are clothes stereotypical of teenagers as they seem to wear it a lot. the characters are also stereotypical of thugs and drug dealers in quite a lot of movies as they don't really care about their appearance much, leading to the stereotypical thuggish appearance.

the teenagers also like different themed films of the same genre so a bit of variety within our film will also adhere to this as our film also has music they would like a bit of action-based theme to the film as their need for adventure.

Evaluation- How are social groups represented in Our production

How are social groups represented in our production?:

Within our production film we have different characters which are stereotyped typically, we have two ex-soldiers who go off to join in with a drug deal with Lithuanians, they are stereotyped as killers and adrenalin junkies as they are dealing drugs mainly for kicks, and enjoyment. They are also terrorised by the war and haunted by the war crimes they have had to commit. We also have filthy frank who is the main antagonist of our movie; he is represented as a typical thuggish character and exchanges drugs with the two ex-soldiers, he is represented as being adept at fighting as the end scene shows him besting Lewis Hall in unarmed combat, so he isn't the stereotypical muscle bound thug who uses nothing but brute strength.

The different shots and angles within our trailer show close up shots of Lewis hall’s face when he is having a gun being pointed at his face, it shows a scared expression as he is about to die, this comes into direct contradiction that soldiers are fearless due to wartime experience. We also 

Young men in thrillers and in action films tend to be represented as violent and traditionally masculine and this is something that we have adhered to in our production because all the characters are men and are aggressive and masculine as the testosterone-driven ambitions of our characters being involved in crime to ‘make something of themselves’ show this within our film, filthy frank is typically thuggish and Lewis hall and the other characters need to be aggressive in order to avoid jail and survive.

In action films we also have a villain who tends to be killed very early on as almost a minor villain in our production this adheres because we have the other gangster who is out of the production early on replicating this also the stereotypical representation of him being feminine and we imagine ourselves to be the protagonist to give him a good kick in.

Opening analysis of casino Royale

Opening Analysis of Casino Royale:

overview:

Casino Royale is the twenty-first film in the eon productions James bond film series, it is also notably the first James bond movie to star Daniel Craig as the fictional MI6 agent James bond, his predecessor pierce brosnan left the role and Daniel Craig took it up. casino royale is set at the beginning of James bond's career as he is earning his license to kill. After preventing a terrorist attack at Miami International Airport, Bond falls in love with Vesper Lynd, the treasury employee assigned to provide the money he needs to bankrupt a terrorist financier, Le Chiffonier, by beating him in a high-stakes poker game. The story continues in the following film which is called James bond quantum of solace (2008).

Plot:

After killing a backstabbing MI6 section chief—who has been selling classified information—and the chief's contact, James Bond receives his double-0 status and is designated 007. He has to then travel to Madagascar in pursuit of mollaka, a globe-trotting bomb maker-for-hire. After a parkour chase to an embassy, Bond kills mollaka and escapes by setting off an explosion. Searching through Mollaka's mobile phone, James see's a text message, which he traces to Alex dimitrios, an associate of the banker and terrorist financier Le chiffre. Le Chiffre's investments involve short-selling stock in successful companies using his clients' money, and then creating terrorist attacks to sink their share prices, creating big profits for himself.

      

certificate research

Certificate Research

Addiction will be rated a 15 because of its scenes of strong violence and drug use and strong use of language.

In the dialogue scene we have a bag of weed gets passed between two characters which makes reference to drug use and we've use strong violence in the fight scene at the end of the clip.

Addiction- props

Addiction-Props:

With most of our props, they will be average clothing, such as jeans, hoodies, and shirts. The reason we wont include any guns or knives is mainly because that there are legal risks, and if we are caught carrying BB guns or fake knives, might give the wrong impression. However, because of our film idea we will easily be able to take advantage of hand to hand combat, and it doesn't necessarily need any weapons.

Some of the villains will wear worn out clothing, which is mainly to resemble the fact that they are drug addicts and can not afford to buy much clothing. One of the main villains will wear worn out jeans, and maybe some other villains as well.