Media evaluation.

For my project…task……..

Before starting the project I had to create an account on the internet site

www.blogger.com

this enabled me to keep up to date with all my research and gave me the base to collaborate my research and work together. Using blogger previously on my first year project meant I had more confidence with the site and was able to use it more as a diary rather then just a neat version of work events.

This then lead to the thought process behind my short film. The first research that I decided to gather was genre research, as this would define what conventions I would have to follow to create my film but also to understand my audience and the conventions my target audience would want to see from the film.

Firstly I looked at the apocalyptic genre looking at the film twenty-eight days later which was directed by Danny Boyle and released in 2002. The film itself is a post modern post apocalyptic film with the standard use of the dead being alive however re invents the stereotypical ideas behind zombies with the use of a rage virus. The film follows all conventions of the genre also using horror conventions as well. This is a good source of research for any apocalyptic film I may have wanted to make. The film 28 days later itself made me realize that filming in the dark would be hard and trying to find good locations in either the town center or locally that would be abandoned, would be really hard and extremely time consuming. The film could still have been made but without these conventions the film would lack a lot of credibility as a post-apocalyptic film. This then in turn made me try to look at a different form of apocalyptic film. The film eventually being Deep impact which was directed by Mimi Leder in 1998 and is a film showing the destruction of earth and the citizens of America facing the problems occurring as a result of this. Again this followed the normal conventions needed to make this genre of film. From the clip that I analyzed I realized that the genre itself relies heavily on special effects to show the destruction. With little technology and no budget this would be practically impossible to make, however made me realize how my film could follow such conventions without the effects and would therefore be more emotional and meaningful to the audience.

From looking at the two films I had decided upon doing an apocalyptic genre film based around the ending of the earth but to present this through the eyes of the public of Hull. The films also used conventional syntax editing were the audience is lead through an establishing shot to a medium shot then close up and back again but also rules such as the 180 degree rule. This was going to be the way in which I edited my film however also trying to break this by using different shots from different angles which in my opinion created a more interesting film showing the audience a variety of angles rather then the same angles throughout the film. The cinematography in both films was very different as in 28 days later there was the theme of a horror genre as well which meant much of the film had a bleak and washed out feel creating the mood of loneliness and keeping the shots dark referring to how the larger audience associates with this in horror films. This wasn’t exactly what I wanted for my film however did reinforce what conventions I would want to use. Deep impact was very different using normal sunny skies for much of the film and lots of coloured lighting as the film tries to show America coming together. From this I decided to that I would keep the cinematography simple with the use of dry weather in the shots and use effects such as fades or colour fades in place where there would be destruction.

Also I liked the idea of making a film based around film noir. so I looked at posters from the film Sin City as this would help me develop the basic conventions that are involved and the cinematography needed to create a noir film.

The posters again made me realize the difficulties when making a noir film after the analysis I did earlier on my blogger I decided upon using black and white when filming, however to leave other noir conventions such as strong lighting and heavy rain out, because I believed the audience would become confused as to what’s happening throughout the narrative. The reasons behind using black and white filming however was to eradicate any lighting issues as throughout the research process bad weather became more apparent. This then goes against the nice fresh lighting I wanted. After deciding the main areas of what my film was going to be based on I had to be clear about a target audience. With the actors I could use most were aged 16 to 19 which meant the likely target audience that would watch this film would be of a similar age, however using the concepts of (LIiAR) language, institution, ideologies, audience and representation on my blogger. This then enabled me to understand my target audience more and not only my audience but the businesses and productions involved within such a film as mine.

Looking at my film I believe the film was successful in entertaining an audience however could project the ideologies from the characters in a more detailed way for example I could of used more scenes of people panicking which would of given the audience more of an idea as to what is going on but this is partially part of the concept that I intended as I didn’t want my film to be predictable for an audience.

The mise en scene of the film is key to the mood and ideologies that run through the narrative in the film. Not only did conditions of the weather have to be extremely dry but also we had problems with snow through the shooting periods and if there weren’t snow then it would rain which became a real problem when considering the continuity of the film. The film also is based around the sun burning earth and so most shots had to be really sunny to show the audience how the sun is effecting earth. One method I used to combat this was from the film noir research as all the shots was changed to black and white how ever I also believed this enabled the audience to become active and really feel the sense of loneliness and heartbreak that I wanted to flow through my film.

Also as part of the mise en scene I wanted all my actors to concentrate on facial and moving performance rather then the dialogue and so there is no dialogue in my film which I wanted as this would give the audience chance to imagine what they themselves would say or think in such a moment.

This was one comment that many of the people I asked to watch and review my film said. Many saying that choice of locations was good and expressions from the actors was believable.

The cinematography of my film wasn’t very complicated, as I believe in the use of continuity editing following a linear film. This meant that the film was easy to understand and meant effects could be much simpler in the editing stages of production. Due to the camera being a small hand held camera I designed a small DIY version of a steady camera allowing for a much steadier shot and this was used when tracking or panning in shots.

One exception that I had when filming was the sound quality, as my film has two-non dieagetic sound clips. One piece being a composed track of music for the main part of my film. The second piece being a dramatic sound effect there to create tension as the film starts. This music would cover all forms of dialogue and natural diegetic sounds.

The choice of music was a piece of composed music called radio This was a song composed by Marco Bertrami for the third terminator film which was actually used in the film as the earth is ending. this was a perfect bases in which to use in my film intellectually but also as the music is very fitting to the pace of editing and feeling of the film.

overall i belive my film could of been made in a much more detailed manor looking at more areas of depression and feelings also with a beeter budget and the sue of beeter equipment the film could be made using a more hoolywood type feel allowing the scene to be more interesting and have various lighting enambling me to show the moods more.

it wouldnt be fair of me to only blame technology though as many of my desicions was changed through filming and planning somtimes was difficult as i not a fan of always planning however i beleive with a little more planning and possibly more feed back from the audience rather then personal interest i could of had a more varied film with meanings for a wider audience.

　

the poster.

This is the final poster i developed for my film.

This poster contains an image from the film and boldly states the title.

this convention of the poster i will use however using the earth as my main image as this dosent show the audiece to much about the film but does give clues towards how the narrative will work and the genre.

the colour scheme also reflects the cold mood within the film which with mine being the sun destroying earth i will have my poster reflecting this with oranges reds and yellows.

review page.

This is my final review page.

Film review page research.

Three review pages taken from the film magazines Hotdog Empire and Total film.

research on mags.

Hotdog magazine review.

This is Hotdogs review on the hollywood film Collateral damage. the page has a fairly small review article packed with listings of the cast director and certificate and release date. the review is humourous and is a light read meaning its aimed at a wider target audience.

the use of stills or scene photgraphy is heavy backing the review again highlighting the language of the magazine.

Empire magazine review.

Empires review page consists of a more in depth read and has slightly more listings from director cast producers screen play running time and the distributor. this shows how Empire are still attracting fans/ a wider audience but with more infomation then Hotdogs review.

Empire also follow similar conventions to Hotdog with the use of scene photography containing the main character and using the listings as a starting point of the review. Again within the conventions of Empire magazines there is the brief descrpition for those not wishing to read the full article which once again reflects upon the target audience.





this is a review page from the total film magazine and is incredibly similar to that of the other two however again has its own particular layout which is based on the review being an easy read compared to the empire magazine which is a little bit more of an in depth read howver this magazine usues a cinema rating scheme which the other mgagzines dont use and i will consider to use in my magazine review.

out of the three magazines used i believe i will use a review aimed at the wider audience and use a celebrity scale meter aimed at the film fans and so it becomes more of an interresting read.

task for mags and review page...........................

now as part of the project i have to create a poster and magazine review for my film.
the first item will be the review page with the analysis of three pages from other magazines aiming at the same type of audiences then the poster again looking at other examles first.

film itself.

This is my final film.

synopsis of my film.

New York and the sun is shining, sunshine in Tokyo and patchy rain in Britain. News reports from all over the world come in with the same news,
The sun is expanding. Not a shopper nor a worker batters an eye until boom. Earths surface faces over a 500 000 degree sheet of molten rock and gas whilst the innocent race of mankind fights to survive or is it to late.

cast list prop lists and location list.

cast and crew.



Jack Hignett plays the psykick at the start of my sequence.

Denise Waller plays the driver who reflects a general audience.

James Cogging James Walker and Steven Mars play the three people who are praying.



Jack Waller the director and cinematographer.



locations list.

i wanted to use a range of places to film to reflect how the ending of the earth would affect more then jsut one region or person.



originally i planned to use these areas.



town central church.

local streets of hull.

the countryside/ a hill.

a bedroom with either a couple or family.

also the river humber.



these locations was perfrect for shooting however with bad weather and restrictions on time some locations was left out.

final ideas linking to synopsis and liiar.....................

from this and the story line i gathered almost all i need to know to structure my film hovever i now need to develop my story boards and synopsis.

storyboard........................
unfortunately due to errors on the software my story board animation was deleted and so i cant present this.

in oder to do the correct research and planning i have to use the idea of LIIAR which helps me determine the language, institution,ideologies,audience and representation of which my film should show.



Language.



as my film is based on the last minutes of the human race i want my film to show the different variations of general language that there is throughout the world. not only informal but slang and humour as well. The idea behind the film means i have to show different points of view from different charcters as this is a problem facing the world.



Institution.



if my film was made professionally the i would use the paramount pictures distribution company.

this is because they have distributed many films similar to mine for example deep impact was one film that was distributed by this company. deep impact is a film with similar style s and genre as my film. my film would also use soundtracks from artists like john murphy and richard schiff who have developed tracks that are fitting for films like mine.



Ideologies.



the film would contain the normal dominant idelogies of the is era however i would try to show how these would change to the circumstances within the film. the doinant ideology within the film is based around the idea of earth slowly being swallowed by the sun and so all normal conventions of life would change.

audience.

my target audience is unisex and aged 12 onwards. the film isnt targeting the higher classes of society but the lower end as the film is based around a scientists theory however is all fiction.
the film will be easy to watch and so maybe wouldnt attract such large audiences from the higher classes. for this reason my characters will be developed with ideologies from these classes of people.

representation.

i intend to create a film that projects a view on how the world would act in a scenrio such as my film however capturing the emothions and feelings of those in normal society as opppose to thoese with the challenges of dealing with it. this then represents the lower classes to middle class of people from students to the homeless represnting them within characters and showing the audience how them themselves may react.

research info.

looking at the previous infomation i have reaserched about the genres i have been able to gether a story as well as much of my chosen genre tends to have only one story.



i decided upon the earth being consumed by the sun howver to show the perspective of the people and their feelings not the big budget effects.



not only do i want this kind od story and genre but i would also like my film to presented over a mixture of ages as this is a global issue and as much as i know there is no budget for me to travel to different countries i can still have a vary of appearence and age through my sequence and so for this i have chosen actors specifically.

due to this i decide to use the structure of liiar to work out the language institution ideology audience and representation of my film.



theres Jack Hignet who is 19 and plays the narrator at the start of the sequnce.

Densise Waller who plays the female driving home from work.

James walker James Cogin and Steven Mars who are praying.

Adam Thompson and Joanne Day as the loving couple.

deep impact.

At the start of this sequence there is use of a close up of the meteor to establish how dominant and powerfull the item is within the film. aslo the speed and size is highlighted by showing earth move slowly were as the meteor moves at speed.
there is also use of a tracking shot capturing two of the main characters with the meteor heading over them. i belive this represents how the two characters are part of the surviving age post the meteor and also showing three main elements to the film.
thgere is a use of a long shot aswell which shows the masses of people stuck on the motorway and uses a series of close ups to capture the ractions from people there. the shot is also cleverly framed as there is very little gap between the cars and people to the outside of the frame which is used to show the masses of poeple and and how little a part in the world that is in terms of size.
the seqence highlights the emotions in which people could go through in a time of desperate need capturing characters waiting to die and those fighting to survive also there is use of a seiries of long shots from different parts of the world showing how this is a world wide problem.
many shots include buldings being destroyed and one is key to this which is the liberty statue being destroyed by the tidal wave. i belive this is to represent america as a hole being smashhed ny this giant wave and slowly losing control of what they can do.
these shots are usually long shots creating the sense of power and size behind the waves and meteor also there is use of shaking the cameras to capture the panic that the people are going through and again the dominace of what is happening.

as part of the cinematography there is use of red skylines highighting the fears of death and how in such a time love is vital. also cities like new york are filmed in grey dark sjies showing how the city is going to fall with the tidal wave and how also this tidal wave is going to kill people.

the sequence itself is very similar to how i wish my film to be viewed and so will be good research for my film.

Genre.

from looking at the prvious genres i decided that i will be using the apocalyptic genre to create my film. this type of genre deals with the concept that the earth is coming to an end or that there will be a disaster which could destroy mankind forever.
examle films of this genre are Deep impact ,War of the worlds and The day after tomorrow.

a major part in the development of this genre came from films such as the original war of the worlds ,planet of the apes and metropolis.
war of the worlds was originally broadcast over the radio in america as a fiction story however caused scenes of panic throughout america itself.







conventions of the genre.



this type of film genre usually focuses on several areas rather than one story line or the same characters. the idea is to show different emotions from around the world and show the audience how the proposed disaster effects the world.



many of the films produced for in this genre usually have a main character or charaters as part of the narrative for example in the day after tomorrow the father who is trying to find his son.
this gives the film a storyline in which the audience can relate to and become emotionally involved within the diegesis itself.

the mise scene of the genre can really vary however thew general styles used are similar such as the use of iconic images for the locations in which either die or are saved and also the ending of earth always tends to have a gloomy dark setting with little lighting and a high angle shots or long shots which present the characters as lost or lonley but also vunrable to the effects that earth is going through.

a film which shows the other side to the genre is a film based on the sub genre post appocalyptic which not only presents the ending but also what happens next and is based around the idea of an outbreak.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbznuUZIbBQ

this link again is another trailer but is promoting the film of 28 days later and shows the low budget methods that are used when making the film.

this film is a big influencer in my film as i am really fond of this film also the methods used create the film under the pressures of a low budget.

the film uses many shots filmed using handheld cameras and little dialogue in many shots which is perfect to consider for my film as many of the actors will be media students who have never been in a performance before.
the genre really allows me to engage with the loss of life and take my camera to different locations in order to show the effects and how they are of a massive scale.

as a genre apocalyptic films are incredibly interesting to watch however with little special effects would never be able to make films like the hollywood films with high budgets which is why i am inspired by 28 days later as this focuses on the characters feelings and depression as oppose to the big buildings blowing up around them.
another film showing the conventions used is deep impact which is in the next post.

research other genres................

Film genres researched.

Film noir.

Film noir started in the early 1940s going on until the 1950s however the term noir comes from the French meaning of black film. The idea of the genre basically covered all forms of crime drama made within Hollywood.Various conventions and codes was developed through the noir period to make sure the genre works well but also the genre saw the arrival of femme fatal which presents the idea of a strong confident and sexy women who often has an attitude and is incredibly independent.

Noir films have a very particular way of selecting the mise en scene for each scene and they tend to frame the shots using very contrasting lights and the use of blinds and obstacles to present grid like shadows. The films are nearly always black and white and if not incredibly dark, also urban settings are the favorite choice for film noir. The characters always seem to have a rough past and tend to be either employed or ex employed from the police or some form of gang.

To highlight the conventions here is a clip from a modern version of the film noir and this is SIN CITY.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=01omivd4o3e

This clip is a trailer developed for the promotion of the film however does use all components from film noir and the sin city film itself.

The clip instantly shows the audience the use of a an urban setting with characters that have confidence and attitude all of which tend to have there own story. The mise en scene is as exactly as I said previously but also does use some colour especially when highlighting a particular character that the director wants the spectator to associate with.

action genre.

action never really started out as a genre but more a stylistic element of many genres as action has been used whithin many different genres such as thrillers westerns and adventure films.

the ction genre derives from many periods of time mainly starting in 1920s and 1930s when action was used in many adventure films then the arrival of war films throughout the 1940s and 1950s saw more action arriving on the big sreen from holllwood. the 1960s to 1970s saw a big rise in how action was percieved and how much it was becoming its own genre mainly through films such as the bond films. the 1980s however was the true home of the genre as many stars became icons through the genre of action films and the big budget films with little dialougue did very well right through to the early 1990s.

the action genre relies heavily on martial arts fighting and special effects either as props or edited in later on. there is no deffinate coventions for the mise en scene however it does contain much of iconic buildings as either the ending fight scenes or as part of the stunts used. also there tends to be either nice scenery or a sense of lonliness in a very idilic steeing.

the 1980s saw the rise of action as i previously said but also creating the new setting to action such ascitys like san fransisco new york and los anglese.

one film highlighting this is DIE HARD.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qxbxm7zutm

the clip again is a trailer for another hollywood film however again is a leading example of the codes and conventions used in a action film.

notice the use of high buildings to create the sense of lonliness and also the iconograpghy of the buildings as these are obviously sky scrapers and items of national identity for America.

another genre u i looked at was the appocalyptic genre.

the idea behind this genre was because this was the genre i was most fond of and so beleived i should research this one last as to keep an open mind whilst reserching the genres for my film.

the other two genres had inspired me to use certain characteristics such as black and white filming from the film noir but also trying to keep the characters on their own when filming as to ahow the vunrebility and lonliness thats shown in the action genre.

apart from this the genres still never really seemed to be what i wanted i wanted and so i looked at the appocalyptic genre looking at the film 28 days later aswell.

Analysing a small film.

Analysing a small film.

The film in which I am going to analyse is called first time it hits and is directed by Jason Budge.

The sequence starts with montage editing at a fast pace and has inserted animations in within the frames describing the production details and the name of the film.
The mise en scene of the this sequence is very dark urban and rough. This establishes the setting and co notates the depressing feeling of the area. Also in the montage sequence itself you are introduced to the two characters from the film briefly which again helps when establishing audience expectations.

When You see the main character of the sequence which is the boy.
He is positioned centre of the frame and filmed at a low angle which immediately shows the audience the dominance of his character within the sequence.
This also allows the audience to view the character as the director intended by the use of mise en scene, for example the boy is dressed in mixed black and white clothes and looks fairly innocent also with the light above his head this creates the sense of innocence surrounding the boy.

The female is portrayed very differently however with gothic clothing little lighting plus she smokes and is wearing badges containing adult content. the audience is then meant to be able to establish that the girl is rebellious and with the use of close ups of the cigarette bubble gum piercings and porn star badges this highlights her rebellious ways. then you see her like the boy captured from a low angle giving her dominance however she is sat down relating to how she is clam at this point.

When the audience first see the characters together there is use of a two shot but also there is a trolley placed in the scene as part of the mise en scene which I believe is meant to show how she could be trapped within this life and how the boy sees him self freeing her.
There is also use of close ups when the boy enters focused on the girls face showing her eyes following the boy however the girl is relatively un phased by his entrance.
At one point there is a two shot of the girl drawing on the floor and the boy is in the shot as well however there is some graffiti on the wall which says “bizarre dwarf porn” and I believe this subliminal messaging allows the audience to reflect on what she thinks she is to him as he is obviously besotted by the female.

Also another subliminal message I believed used in this sequence is when the camera pans up to the boys face because it starts the shot focused upon a hawk sticker on his skateboard and this could co notate the boys desire to hunt for the female.

There is also a series of teenage pop art animations in place to show the audience briefly how the boy is in love with the female character and how he intends to perform a trick to impress her. This animation cleverly uses pop art which immediately reminds the audience of the boys age and how its just a teenage crush.#

When the boy starts his trick there is a series of close ups used in order to create suspense on the trick in which the audience are going to see but also use of a depth of field shot in which is close to the skateboard and shows the distance to the female.
The trick is then performed again using different angles of camera shot heightening the audience suspense to see if the character does it well.

When the trick then goes wrong in the background there is another subliminal message which says”wime” which I believe is short for “why me” and co notates how the boy feels.
There is then use of an eye line match from the boy to the female and this shows how the boy is concerned and then there is use of cartoon like love music played for a short time. This shows again the true age of this boy and how he quickly gets over the girl.

Task.

My task is to create a short film in its entiety that reflects ideas behind the creation of meaning within a sequence.



for this task i need to look at the history of short films and how they achived there desire to create meaning within the sequence. Also i will be following this shedule as shown underneath.


the first part is to look at some other films made in the past by different directors to see how they achieved there aims.

the first film i will look at is...The first time it hits by Jason Budge.