Multimedia Productions

2011-10-24T15:28:00.000-07:00

Been a while since I’ve put something up. Anyway, I hope you’ve all had a good summer… I guess. I’ve certainly been thinking a lot more about what job opportunities there are out there for when I graduate and the best way to try and go about getting a career in the field that I love, film.

Some of my thoughts on the tasks we have been set;

Simulated Alumni Project – Due in – 27/10/11
I actually really like the idea of this mock client project as it gives us a sort of test run for what to expect for the official one however I imagine the official one would be a lot more concise in the sense that we won’t be allowed to make something based on such a broad brief as this one. Nonetheless I am enjoying this project and in the process now (literally) of editing my footage for what shall be a cancer research awareness video that is based on University students and will hopefully be useful material for the Alumni sector to use in their campaigns to raise both awareness and funds for the cause.

On a side note, this is the first time where I have been granted permission from a composer to use their work for my video. I consider sound to be a huge priority when I make anything and I came across this very sad, sombre sounding piece, emailed the composer and fortunately not only got a response, but a positive one at that. I had previously tried to email the company that are associated with the artist Enya, but the cheeky mare never got back to me.

Here’s the soundtrack;

To Be Uploaded

Task Enjoyment Rating- 8/10

Research Topic Form – Due In – 25/10/11
Originally the thought of carrying out such an extensive piece of research daunted me and I felt like I would never be able to come up with an idea that was both substantial and interested me to the point where I would be happy to go to the extent of conducting experiments and making video’s which help to further my findings and support my case. (By the way, I hate describing these as… artefacts… this isn’t bleedy time team). Anyway after some thought I came up with a question that I find both interesting, relevant and extensive enough that I can focus my research project on it.

My research question is; ‘How is suspense created within the film genre of horror?’

I enjoyed filling out the topic form as it fired the passion inside me and made me feel enthusiastic about starting the project.

Task Enjoyment Rating – 7.87/10

Factory Start-up Report - Due In – Some Time in November.. 2nd or 3rd
I have found this task so to be challenging so far in the sense that I am not used to thinking in such a business-like mind-set however I can see that the purpose is to enlighten us to just that, thinking as business people and not just worthless, dossing waste of space students.

I am in the process of getting my first draft sent for inspection. I will be trying to refine this piece of work until I am happy with it and take with me the lessons I’ve learned whilst researching what goes into making a successful business.

Task Enjoyment Rating – 5/10

Your Highness Review

2011-04-19T02:17:00.000-07:00

Your Highness
Directed by David Gordon Green
Writers: Danny McBride, Ben Best
Stars: Danny McBride, Natalie Portman and James Franco

After making a rare cinema visit yesterday I felt a noticeable change in my attitude. I still had a passion for film however I could feel an overwhelming negativity for what I was about to watch despite having no knowledge other than the title and even that I couldn’t recollect until the adverts ended and the film began. Maybe the explosion of 3D visuals recently had cast a dark shadow over my judgement of recent movies, although considering this film wasn’t even shot in 3D it appears I may have just been unnecessarily pessimistic going into the screening of Your Highness. This however made that fact that I was undoubtedly entertained throughout all the more impressive and I’m happy to say the film was a great example of a pleasant surprise to me.

From what initially feels like a slow, not so funny few opening minutes soon turns into an edgy, dynamic and enthralling take on a well-used genre. All the characters felt like they did their job and nothing felt unneeded or bland with each delivering their fair share of hysteria and memorable moments. Danny McBride fits perfectly as the younger, less achieving brother of Fabious (Franco), his highly desirable sibling. When the evil wizard Leezar, played by Justin Theroux kidnaps Fabious’ bride in an evil yet hilarious act of sexual desire our journey takes shape. With excellent contributing performances from Natalie Portman, Rasmus Hardiker and Toby Jones everything feels complete.

The film is well worth the watch in my opinion and I particularly liked the crossover in dialogue from folklore style linguistics to modern day slander. There are a host of negative reviews I’ve seen for the movie thus far however I can’t understand why or at least, the reasons seem very feeble. Yes Hollywood has been producing many duds recently but Your Highness for me, actually delivered and I found myself chuckling away countless times. Also, Natalie Portman makes mention of her ‘beaver’ which surely is enough reason alone to check this one out.

Bad – Some of the fighting scenes were drawn out and the sound became extremely mishmashy, though the comedy element allows some leeway for over the top antics.

Good – Most the gags are good ones, the characters fit together terrifically and the narrative, despite being fairly simple and following a timeless formulae, keeps you engaged throughout.

9/10

Film Review - Paranornal Activity 2

2011-01-20T01:42:00.000-08:00

Here is a review I made for one of the few films Ive actually seen recenty;

Paranormal Activity 2

As an expert on the horror genre… no. As a horror film enthusiast...not quite. As a horror film fan…yes that’ll do. I recently went on a rarity these days. I went to the cinema to watch Paranormal Activity 2 and was bitterly, bitterly under-whelmed. Maybe it’s because I, like many others have been exposed to the high levels of violence, gore and unusual events of recent times and therefore acquired somewhat of a shock immunity and increased resistance to film like this. Or maybe, it was mainly because the film wasn’t very good. There were some good points of the film although the swimming pool cleaner wasn’t quite enough to deter me from the shamble’s that made up the rest of this jump-out-of-your-seat thriller/horror.

A few of the jump moments did catch me out rather well, especially during the end however I felt that the overly loud thudding sound effects coupled with the under climatic results from the mysterious events were an all too familiar trait of an unconvincing scary movie. For example, yes, having the pan drop from its hanger in the middle of the night at first caught out most in the cinema when it first happened, but then it was followed up every five minutes or so with something else dropping, with the occasional door opening on its own for no reason flung into the mix. Before long I was finding it an effort to actually hype myself up to become scared, shocked or even intrigued. Thankfully there were a couple of spots that got me, though not so much the timing element than the action that took place such as the when a possessed Katie lunged towards Daniel in a crazed vampire-ish fashion.

In all I’d class PA2 as not being a terrible film of its genre and perhaps even an acceptable form of what it was, when you think of other examples of shock horror. I’d be surprised if on first watching this you don’t get caught off guard at least once, however most of the jump scenes are weak and easily predictable, the characters although I felt seemed realistic as a family being filmed, were dull and even annoying at times and as a film… well, it seemed much more like a low budget ghost hunting documentary although its arguable that the director may have intended on it looking somewhat similar to that.

Film- 6/10
Scare Factor- 7/10

Know your role!

2010-12-01T04:30:00.000-08:00

I have learnt amongst many things that film making at a professional level is at its most efficient when everyone involved does what they are set out to do. Though this may seem common knowledge, to the amateur film maker entering the business side of film, it may come as a shock when they are given no more creative control than their specific job title entails. For instance, working as a team on a study project or a practise piece may mean that everyone chips in and offers there two cents on each aspect of the pre production through to the post production. In the real working world however, a lighting coordinator would not be entitled to question the creative direction of the director. Everyone should maintain a mutual level of respect for one another however there is a hierarchy that exists and an authority from the director, producer and their assistants. So, where in a practise film or a non-work related film everyone may be on the same wavelength and have the same creative input, it is important to remember that in a professional business you will have a given role which you should stick to.

Poster for film idea

2010-11-06T17:59:00.000-07:00

Here's another poster I made, trying to outline an idea that I have for a short. The film would be based around the subject matter of depression and the story will be based on how a lot of people put on a front to mask how they really feel behind closed doors. I may try to make an awareness style film for it around christmas time as I feel this is a fascinating topic. I have a basic structure of what I'd like to do.

Here's the poster anyway,

I tried my best to blend two main images and combine them with background effects, tints and other blending tools to give an idea of the feel, atmosphere and how I imagine the film to look. I'm not too sure on the text however I need to download some text packs since most my fonts are pretty generic looking. I really like designing images for filmic ideas as I find it gets me really motivated to then go out and make something based upon it. Mostly however, I create banners for already existing products. I see the banner as a way of making a first impression for a product so the more convincing it is for a viewer, the more likely they'll be to indulge further and buy into that product.

Poster for Train

2010-11-03T18:09:00.001-07:00

Here's a poster idea I just made for our team project. I like to work alot with Adober Photoshop and enjoy trying to design posters for film.

'Train' Important things to remember during our pre production phase

2010-11-03T16:46:00.000-07:00

First of all, here's a list of the roles for our team project Train because I'm sure you're all dying to know;

Uri - Producer............'the organisational cheif'
William - Director................'The man with the vision'
Vyte - Art Director/ Locations Manager/ Storyboader.........'the sane one'
Kieron - Assistant Director and Producer.................'the super helper'
Tasha - Lighting/ Storyboader.........................'lighting up the show'
Alex - Editor/ Photographer.......................'putting the pieces together'
Jack - Camera Operator..........................'cameras rolling everybody'
Andrew - Sound Co-ordinator..................'The souunnddddd maaaannnnn'

Things to remember during pre production:

Supporting eachother- Although we all have our own specific roles,and it is important to carry out those roles, we still pitch in and help out as a team so that noone has to be left with an unfair amount of work on their hands.

Listening to eachother - Basic things such as team morale can be overlooked within the hustle and bustle of trying to construct a project in a short space of time however these things are important since I think a worker does their job best when they feel that they’re ideas and concerns are at least being taken into account. I also think it’s very important that idea’s about the film or any elements surrounding it are shared amongst all members of the group and people be allowed to voice their opinions since sometimes the director can miss things or they could do with a second or third opinion on something.

Knowing our roles - As well as helping eachother when it's needed, one of the most important things to remember is what our particular role is and making sure we have a clear understanding of that role and what is expected of us.

Clear Narrative - Even if we wanted to make the most obscure, abstract, mystifying film ever then we would still need to have constructed some kind of narrative or vague story that is unfolding otherwise it would end up looking like a sequence of random events which don’t have any relevance at all. It’s also important to know what you’re character want to achieve and what actions are to take place during that process of trying to achieve goals. I like to use Todorov’s equilibrium theory to remind me of the three states of a story when planning it out. Once you have a narrative that works and have a clear direction then you can build your ideas on from there. Think of it as a Christmas tree ready for you to add all the decorations on perhaps.

Horror(ific) Post

2010-10-27T16:29:00.000-07:00

With the Horror Film Festival coming up shortly I thought I’d write a little about one of my favourite horror films and the first horror film I recall watching when I was younger and explain what it was that I found most interesting and good both generally and technically.

Candyman
Director: Bernard Rose
Writers: Clive Barker (story), Bernard Rose
Release Date:19 March 1993 (UK)

Helen Lyle is a student who decides to write a thesis about local legends and myths. She visits a part of the town, where she learns about the legend of the Candyman, a one-armed man who appears when you say his name five times, in front of a mirror. Of course, Helen doesn't believe all this stuff, but the people of the area are really afraid...

I feel that generally, horror films get a bad rap and are often seen as the bottom of the barrel when it comes to cinema and as a genre generally. Given the good to bad ratio with scary films however, I do see why so many people turn their noses up at the idea of watching another cheesy, poorly made depthless film about someone being chased in a house by a mad being wielding an axe and making peculiar noises. There have been so many disasterpieces in this genre that many won’t give a seconds thought to a horror film however I am convinced that this is one of the most interesting and entertaining types of film to watch or help make... if done well!

Anyway, back to Candyman. Critically, not the greatest horror film ever by any means however it did receive fairly positive reviews all in all which isn’t too common as mentioned with horror films, I enjoyed most the way that psychological themes were blended with bloody and violent dark ones. Most horror films deal with psychology in some form or another, some such as The Grudge for instance, are so hyped up in messing with one’s mind that the ‘hardcore bloodfest action’ takes a back seat and I think the scary child in the film must have under a minutes worth of screen time throughout the whole film. Candyman gets the balance right I thought and the characters were given the depth they deserved but it was done in a way that kept my interest and also made me care about what happened to people in the film, especially the protagonist.

Kieron's Corner 1st addition About A Boy

2010-10-25T05:10:00.000-07:00

Based on Nick Hornby's best-selling novel, About A Boy is the story of a cynical, immature young man who is taught how to act like a grown-up by a little boy
Directors: Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz
Writers: Nick Hornby (novel), Peter Hedges (screenplay), and 2 more credits »
Release Date:26 April 2002 (UK)

Often regarded as being amongst Britain’s top rated films of the past ten years About a Boy is a film that I’d highly recommend to anyone interested in 21st century British cinema.

I like how the film tackles a multitude of different issues and yet retains a clear, easy flowing narrative which is both funny and interesting at the same time. Hugh Grant’s performance I felt was superb and I’d also recommend the film to anyone who hasn’t experienced a performance from him which wasn’t just floppy hair and a lot of bumbling. The film also stars Nicholas Hoult who many may recognise from his more recent role of Toby in teenage sitcom Skins. He plays here Marcus, a troubled 12 year old boy and many credit this as the role that helped elevate his career.

Things I liked about the making of the film;

The soundtrack – The score from Badly Drawn Boy was fantastic and really worked well here, with its cool, uplifting style and gave the film a contemporary British feel I felt. I have heard the same tracks from the artists used numerous times in TV shows and such since and it helps create a really good vibe for whatever material I’ve seen it collaborated with.

In Depth Characters- Due to there not being all that many characters in the film I found that each of them were given the appropriate amount of build up and screen time which a lot of films seemingly don’t do. This allowed me as a spectator to invest more emotionally as to how I felt about each person in the film and how much I cared about their aims and well being.

Lack of action- Although the heading would suggest a negative comment it’s quite the contrary, more appraisal as I felt that for a film that essentially has no stunt scenes, action scenes, violence or blood it still had my attention and I found it entertaining. If it wasn’t for the high critical acclaim the film has garnered then you could just say I’m easily pleased however it was genuinely good viewing. And more to the point, a great example of how you don’t necessarily have go to extreme measures in order to keep an audience entertained.

‘Feel Good’ Factor- A great movie I felt for when you want to leave the cinema (or wherever you watch it) feeling happy about life generally. Though a vast majority of films end with cheesy happy ever afters and soppy moments anyway, I felt that About a Boy, with its charm and refreshing wit, showed class and style throughout technique wise, something that Hugh Grant hasn’t always been accustomed with.

Performances- Last but not least, it goes without saying (so why do you continue to type you may ask) but even if you have a golden narrative with all the guidance and panache you could ask for then it would come to nothing if either your actors and actresses were either off form or just useless to begin with. Thankfully, everyone puts in a great performance here and for Hugh Grant fans, or even those who loath the washed up twit (don’t mean it really Hugh) then I’d recommend watching just so you can see him in a much less familiar role than most of his other movies and one that he carries out very well I’d say.

If you’ve actually read this, then thanks.
If you read and actually liked this, then I solute you, there will be more instalments of Kieron’s Corner coming shortly.

Continuity with shots

2010-10-14T01:49:00.000-07:00

We will be making many moving image works this year ranging from documentary, to short fictional films and they will all require a high level of continuity in order to be taken seriously, look professional and try and create the right meanings and be believable from the spectators point of view.

Continuity is often amongst the first aspects of a film to be criticized and this comes naturally as the intention of the film is to be as realistic as possible and try to make the spectator buy into the ideas, characters and storylines in the ways they had intended.

Shot selection in particular can make the different between a free flowing, believable scene and one that is disjointed and doesn’t come off very well.

Of course, in certain cases a director may want the viewer to be confused or disorientated however the same principle of keeping the continuity in check and gathering the desired response from the audience is very important.

Continuity, Mise en Scene

We noticed whilst filming material for Malac that there were a few continuity errors in our scene. The props, some of which had consisted of candles had been removed from there position in the room after it was thought they wouldn’t be needed any longer. However, after trying out a different camera angle later on, we realised that the absence of these candles was evident in the shot and therefore we had to replace them in order to make the room appear as it was earlier during the filming. Mistakes like this are very easy to encounter when filmmaking and I think that clear planning and just a thoughtful method of going about scenes.

Ethics and School Research handbook

2010-10-12T01:52:00.000-07:00

I have read through and agree with the requirements within this handbook and shall ensure they are implimented for each of my projects.

Thoughts on Moving Image Courseworks

2010-10-08T01:43:00.000-07:00

1
Showreel Project – individual work
Produce a showreel that showcases your development as a Moving Image
practitioner.

I am quite aprehentious about this project since I do not feel that I have a substancial amount of quality work yet to use for this project however I am hoping to get involved in as many opportunities as I can in order to add both work and experiences to my repertoire. I will make sure that I only add work that I feel is to a high standard or is particuarly relevant. This is a simple point however many people confuse the idea of a port folio with that of simply creating a mass bank of work consisting of various levels rather than a method of showcasing your most valued and accomplished work.

2 Essay
Practitioners Essay – individual work
After investigating three practitioners working in Moving Image Production e.g.
director, editor, VJ, etc produce a 1,300 word essay that explains which
specific skills, knowledge and attributes are required for being employable in
these roles.

Include a S.w.o.t analysis and an action plan
I am looking forward to this task because I feel that it is both important to know the specific skills thatare required for the different jobs available in the sphere of moving image and I also enjoy learning more about certain directors, cinematograhphers and other practitioners from this field. I also feel this is a task that I can get stuck into fairly quickly.

3
Fictional Project – team work
In your give teams of 7/8 produce a
six minute fictional film using the
given script. You must choose the
role(s)

I am looking forward to this project as I feel the subject matter of fiction will encourage us to use our imaginaton and perhapse try new and more innovative ideas and approaches to our work. I enjoy fiction work because it is a terrific way of delving out from the realms of reality and escaping into a world or situation in which we usually can only derive from our dreams.

4 Documentary
Documentary Project Group production and individual evaluation
As a group of 4/5 produce a 10 minute documentary programme. Each
member of the group should take pair of the following major and minor roles.

I have watched numberous documentaries over the years and find them to be a fascinating insite into a subject matter or case example which we have likely never even been aware of or have previously had a very poor understanding of. I personally enjoy the human disorders and biological style documentaries most as I find they give a great deal of perspective to the viewer. Usually I preffer to be involved in the editing process of the projects however I would like to have a more on set role for a task such as this.

5
Titles Design Project – individual work
Task: Research a number of titles sequences examining their technical and
creative conceptual underpinning. Create a 20 second sequence for a given
film using specific techniques and creative concepts you have identified.

I am probably looking forward to this project least because I would have preffered to of been given a much broader choice on what we are designing the title sequence for. With that said, this may help me to increase my skills with title developing which I've learnt is now a completely seperate role in its own right.

6 Research
Research Project – Individual Work
You are to find an area of AV that you wish to investigate. Within this area you
are to find a question that can be investigated using short artefacts.
You will produce a 5 minute presentation that includes A description of the
aspect of AV that you intend to research. An explanation of why you wish to
investigate this area. A description of the artefacts you would use to investigate
your subject.

I think that this project will be won or lost depending on how interesting/relevant the question is that I choose to investigate. I am hoping that I can use my debating skills and analysitic style when working on this project but also try to focuss other aspects such as presenting, taking accuarate records and making sure I abide by the marking criteria as much as I can without going off on various tangents.

7 Protools Audio Mix
Design and produce a sound mix using Protools – Group
Students in teams of 2 will produce a sound mix using ProTools. Initially
instruction in the system will be provided. The students will then complete a
mix of a piece of recorded music or a soundtrack.

I have been interested in the audio aspect of film for a while now and feel that sound and image go hand in hand and the art of composing music which sets the perfect moods and atmopsheres is in itself a specialists craft. I am also looking forward to improving my knowledge on the practicalities of audio.

Screen shots of my lair and Inspiration for it to be annotated

2010-05-13T01:45:00.000-07:00

Virtual Environments!

2010-04-22T04:15:00.000-07:00

Making an emotional investment

Cover for the game Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha

Emotional investments, what is ment by this? Well basically, it can be to do with literally anything that you have any significant care for and interest in what happens to this person/thing.

More specifically, in the worlds of film and games design, which I think are becomming further and further linked over time due to a players ever increasing expectation of the game they are playing and the life like graphics that are now being created; making an emotional investment is to care about a character/ story or any aspect of a games or film product enough to grasp your concentration and ultimately keep you hooked on it, enough to purchase the product, enjoy it and possibly buy the next installment should there be one.

This theory is also very business orientated, as the producers ultimately want this empotional investment of the specatotor/player because it means that they will be selling the product which of course means money... We do however, expect a certain level of quality and interest when we make these purchases, so these creators arent getting their money for nothing, especially in this ever evolving age of technology and innovation which as a result means that it takes more and more to satisfy us the customer.

Why the hell am I going on about this so much? :/

Because, in order to gather a lot of interest, revenue, and overall success for your product, whether it be a game film or even somethin to do with flash, one of the most important and deciding factors rests on your abilty to make people care about what it is you are making.

Why did so many people tune in to watch the live episode of Eastenders not too long ago? Because many people must have at least cared remotely about Bradley and enough to get them to tune in an watch to find out his fate. The same principal applies here.

For me, just one of many examples of a game that has captured my attention in the past made me become emotionally invested was Street Fighter. At the time, I had a Sony Playstation One and was relatively new and novice to the field of games such as this one. The theme of the game was very simple, the player can either fight against another opponent which could be a friend or the computer controlled AI player, or you could compete in the arcade mode to try and concure each character in which was the 'meat and potatoes' of the game.

Protional poster showing many of the character from the game

What made this game, which to complete, did not take much time, nontheless so compelling to me was the fact that each character/fighter had been so carefully crafted and built up. It wasnt as if the game consisted of a load of crazed maniacs attacking eachother for the sake of doing so. Rather, each character had their own story which gave us an insight into their lives and why they are doing what they are doing. There was a lot of variety and I found that there were at least some character who's style and technique I felt I could relate to. This encouraged me to play the game more and spend more time playing each character, honing their craft and distinguishing each of their different nuances, moods and personalities as well as fighting style.

The reason I used Street Fighter as an example of an emotional investment was because it represents how a game that isnt particuarly multi platformed such as its counterparts at the time (ex. Spyro) can still have longetivety and cause the player to emotionally invest in the game.

Readdd Mee Now!!!!

2010-04-21T12:26:00.000-07:00

Well I have been told to leave by the secertary guy person at Waverly and the video's for my two Figure edits arent displaying right

So please for the time being, just click on the title that appears when you hover over the video and it will send you to youtube and you can see it that way, thanks :)

Moving Image, Two Edits for 'Figure'

2010-04-21T11:21:00.000-07:00

Here is the first edit that I made for our film, Figure.

The basic idea that our group estabolished after reading through the original script was to have an inventor win an award for something that could be potentially dangerous and even world ending. We edited the script a fair bit and used the awards speech as the main structual point of the film.

I personally changed a few things for this edit as I wanted to include some additional shots that I had filmed over easter, without scrapping many of the pre existing ones. Therefore I used a few of the excess footage, particuarly the grave yard scenes to create a preminition sequence that we had not before disccussed.

Due to a tape malfunction, the workshop, flashback sequence in this edit appears to be currupted however with it being a flashback in time, we felt that we could improvise and almost use it to our advantage to help the sequence look older and dated. The 'actor' was rushed in at the last minute as I knew him from my uni accomdation and thankfully he was more than happy to help us out and being from Bulgaria and having a different speaking style, we felt it helped and suited the style of what we felt Stan the professor would be like.

I used music that I had brought especially for this edit as I thought they would match the particular shots and sequences well however I struggled to blend them in certain parts so it may have been better to use just one main soundtrack.

Credits for this work go to;
Hannah Gregory - Director
Annie Landau - Producer
Alex Mitchel- Sound Co ordinator
Lars Thurlow- Camera Operater
Me- Editor and Lighting
Mr. V/ Vasil.S - Stan the Professor

Here is the second version of our short film for moving image

For this second edit we had a different actor because I could not get hold of the original person due to him being away at the time and we didnt have enough time to wait. The main reason for the second shoot was because the tape had previously currupted and some of us werent happy with the way it looked. Also, we felt we could include more dynamic shots the second time around and also shoot an improved awards acceptance scene with better lighting.

I tried to use a different style for this one and also test a few thins out such as having a voiceover to accompany the music in the climatic shots in an attempt to increase the tension.

I wanted the ending shots and apocolytic stage of the second edit to contrast with the style I used for the frist by having the pace gradually speed up and get very frantic towards the end, creating a panic, hectic sequence which along with the fast paced music at the end helps to replicate a race against time effect which I thought worked well with the theme of the film.

This differed from the slower, more methodical ending to the first edit in which I tried to emphaise the grinding loneliness of a desertless world.

I am happier with the seconf edit overall because it feels smoother and I think keeps the viewers concentration better whereas there are a number of mistakes I made with the first one that I am not happy with and would go back and change if I had the time. Namely, these are the noticeable inclusion of people/ cars and obvious signs on life in the supposed end of the world shots. I am however pleased overall and enjoyed this module a lot.

View/Read before you read 'Text Transformation'

2010-04-14T16:16:00.000-07:00

Here is a brief summary of the book 'The Curious Incedent of the dog in the night-time' in which the post below is based on. If you havent read the book and are interested in reading my text transformation then here's the summary;

"15 year old Christopher Boone is autistic. One day he discovers that his neighbour's dog has been murdered with a garden fork. He decides to launch an investigation and write a murder mystery about it. Christopher has great trouble coping with other people. He screams if he is touched and doesn't understand facial expressions. He uses math, for which he is very talented, as a coping mechanism.

During his investigation he discovers that his mother isn't dead as he thought but is living in London and has been writing him weekly letters which his father has been hiding. On learning that his father actually killed the dog Christopher is frightened and decides to embark on a terrifying train and underground journey to go and live with his mother in London. This award winning novel captures with humour and empathy the terrible plight of a troubled mind. "
John Marcel, Resident Scholar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWY3ntr3sdI

Above is a link to a video I found on youtube which seems to describe AS syndrome well and watching this should help you understand a little more about how the character in the text transformation piece below behaves and has to live with. You do not have to watch this video or read the piece but maybe you'll like it if you did :)

Text Transformation

2010-04-14T06:50:00.000-07:00

Here is a text transformation peice I did last year as part of my English course. I have posted it as I felt it was a good way of getting to thoroughly get to know a character and then place that character in a different situation and see how it turns out. In this case, I took, Christopher, a 15 year old boy with AS syndrome from Mark Haddon's 'The curios Incedent of the dog in the night time' and decided to have him make a detective guide. If you have not read the book then this may be confusing however I thought it was quite interesting and enjoyed writing it.

Based on Christoper Price from The Curious Incident of the dog in hhe Night Time

My name is Christopher Price and I have decided to write this guide about how to become a detective so that other people who might have been in a situation like I was can be able to solve problems and find a solution. I thought that I would write this explanation because uncle Mick who has come down to visit me this weekend said that to make my guide more professional looking, I would need to explain what I was going to be writing about. I said that the title on the front being “How to become a Detective” might have given people an idea. I explained anyway because he said he would take me out to the park later and there were lots of nice dogs there and if you get there just at the right time then you can see the sun setting which mum says would be a beautiful picture idea to include in my guide. I told her that I don’t think I will include a picture of a sunset in my guide though because it does not have anything to do with detective work I don’t think. Now I am going to make a list of all of the things I think help to make a good detective...

One- Know yourself first...
Mum said that if I start, point with a sentence called a cliff hanger, then it should draw in more people. I was a little confused because I wasn’t going to be drawing people in this book, it wasn’t a sketch book. A few seconds later though I realised she meant drawing more people in as in attracting more people to read my guide. I was annoyed at myself for making the mistake so I punished myself when mum turned away by pouring my apple tea down the sink even though I was very thirsty and now the inside of my throat feels rubbery and I can feel the air catching more as I breath. I had to look at the first point that I have got written down in my notes again because I have done one of the things that my Sociology teacher Miss Gray tells me I shouldn’t and go off on a tangent. I don’t know if I should listen to her or not though because the other teachers at school, some say that Sociology is a silly subject and doesn’t get you anywhere and Melissa from the year above me shouted something the other day about Miss Gray having escaped from a mental home. I was shocked so told my mum when I went home but she said it was just a joke and Miss Gray was nice really and that I shouldn’t believe everything I hear.

My first point is to know yourself. By that I mean to know what your own problems are before you go out trying to solve other peoples. I told this to Nana May who is 73 years old and wears tweed jackets that mum buys her from the second hand shop but tells Nana May that really she brought them from Marks and Spencer’s and Nana May likes Marks and Spencer’s so she is very happy when mum does that. Nana said the point about knowing yourself was good and important and then talked to me for approximately 359 minutes about how the world works which just made me more confused than I was before but I said thank you Nana May anyway and carried on typing this on the new computer than I got for Christmas. I know what my problems are, I was going to make a long list but mum said to keep it brief so I will just list a few so you can see...

A: Not talking to people for a long time.
B: Not eating or drinking anything for a long time.
C: Not liking being touched.
D: Screaming when I am angry or confused.
E: Not liking really small places with other people
F: Mother has just looked at me typing and said that’s enough. I think she made a joke because she just said ‘Don’t make any more negative points about yourself Christopher or the readers might think you are a devil.” Then she laughed a bit and told me my dinner will be ready in two minutes and to press save as on the computer and shut down the computer so I can help set the table with uncle Mick so I will continue my guide later tonight if mum lets me go back on the computer. She said that I can’t if Heartbeat is on later though, because if I ask for help then she will miss who gets killed. I said “ok”. I better go now...

Back now and on a new page. I was worried that by starting writing on a new page that it would mean I was evil because it was wasting some of the paper on the previous page and therefore contributing to the rapid cutting down of the rainforest. I told mother this and she replied “just finish your banana milk Christopher and write your next tip for your guide.” I would have done, except for the milk being chocolate flavoured and not banana which meant that I couldn’t drink it because I knew that chocolate was brown and I didn’t like that colour. Mother eventually realised this and said sorry and has now gone off to the shop to get different milk even though I said it’s alright.

She said to make sure I have written another tip before she gets back so I need to hurry now. Hurrying feels strange as this next tip is all about focussing which involves doing the opposite and taking your time.

Two- Concentration and Observing
This tip I think is really important because when being a detective there will be lots of times when you need to just take a step back and think everything through. I find this difficult sometimes especially if there are lots of people near me, like the time I was in the shop and it was busy and mother said we would be home in ten minutes but I looked at my watch and it was 19 minutes and we were still there. I wasn’t happy and started screaming because I wanted to get away from all of the people which mum says caused a big scene at the time. I think I also wet myself but I was five so she says it was nothing to feel embarrassed about. When I screamed though, it helped me to concentrate and go into my own world. In my own world no one can hurt me and I can’t hear what is around me. Most importantly, I can think a lot clearer. In the shop ten years ago when I was screaming it was just to block out the people and think. I realised that soon I would be home and my favourite police programme, The Bill would be on. Unfortunately though, I had wet myself before screaming...it was a learning experience anyway.

So, that is concentrating and I decided to include observing in this tip because when you concentrate it is then easier to “observe” what is around you which you need to be good at if you are going to be successful in your investigation. To be good at observing, you need to be able to pick out every part of the scene no matter how little it might seem at first. For example, I don’t really like anyone to go into my room because my room is my own little house according to dad. People have to always knock to be allowed into my room but I don’t like it. Sometimes I can tell when my dad has been in my room. He says he doesn’t go in there but when using observation skills, I can see that he has. I will walk in and look around, being careful not to accidently move or touch anything. My dad tries to make it look like he hasn’t been there and nothing seems to have been moved. I thought that after ten minutes of observing that maybe dad was right and I was just being paranoid because I had checked the windows, carpet, bed cover shape, my pencil crayon arrangements and drawings from when I was three but none of them seemed any different. I decided it was worth checking everything a second time to make sure for definite and it was then when I saw a paperclip on the carpet. I never used paperclips for my work so I went downstairs to where dad was cooking dinner and asked him, “Dad, could I please borrow a paperclip... if you have any that is.” He replied “Of course Christopher, I’ve got stacks of them, keep falling out of my pockets.” He laughed little and I tried to laugh a little but I had just found out that it must have been him and that he did go in my room. So, be observant and on another note, mum has just come back from the shop so I better go and drink my milk which will be the right flavour this time I hope...

Three- Interviewing people
One of my teachers at school once said “strike when the iron’s hot”. I wasn’t sure what this meant and thought it could be dangerous because if you strike a hot iron then you will get burned but the teacher just told me to settle down and that it was just a figure of speech that meant when you are getting into a rhythm make the most of it. I think I am getting into the rhythm now so I will strike because the iron is currently hot.

Having interviews is a really good way to get information from people that seem suspicious or might be able to help you solve a mystery. This was something that I didn’t find easy when I was trying to find out who killed Wellard the dog. I am not very good at talking to strangers and I don’t think that anybody should because they can offer you a lift in their car and then drive you away somewhere and chop your legs so you can’t get home. When I knocked on Miss Shears’ house which was opposite to ours, I thought that maybe I shouldn’t have been because was on my own. I quickly had a talk to myself in my head where I reached the conclusion that a 74 year old lady probably won’t chop my legs off. When interviewing, I think that you should always tell the person what your name is and what you are trying to uncover. This way, the person shouldn’t think you are being rude. Miss Shears’ wasn’t a stranger, but she was very strange. She used to make trays of cookies, biscuits and little fairy cakes even when there was no one there but herself to eat them. Dad said it was just to help keep her busy since her husband died ten years ago. When I knocked on her door I said ‘hello, my name is Christopher Price, I live opposite to you and I am trying to find out who killed Wellard.” She looked quite shaken at first, as if she had just thought she had won £100 on the lottery, but then found out it was really £10. She said “Hello young man, yes I know who you are, your father tells me allot about you. I think you should leave the detective work to the police, don’t you?” Before I could answer she continued. “Would you like to come inside and have a chocolate Christopher?” I didn’t want to for two reasons. One, I wouldn’t feel safe if I went inside Miss Shears’ house because then she could lock the door and I would be trapped and two, chocolate cookies are brown.

Hello, I’m back now. I decided to leave four spaces between the last tip I wrote so show that I stopped and have started writing again. I am not feeling very good and cannot find my notebook which I write down my thoughts in. Sometimes I can just write down my notes in my head but my head feels like a room full of drawers and those draws are split up into different groups. For example if there is something I eat for the first time and liked it, I will store it in my food and drink drawer. I seem to be able to recall things by doing this, the problem though, is that all my drawers seem to be full. They are overflowing and when I try to remember something I get angry because it feels like the thing I’m trying to remember is trying to escape. Mother just came over and said that I need to stop ‘babbling’. I don’t think she understands sometimes. No one does. How can they? Time for another tip I think, I am getting side tracked.

Four- Do it yourself
I think that it is a good idea to avoid including anyone else in your detective work because it will case more problems. I hate it when Mr Eklewait, one of my Maths teachers, makes the class work in teams for everything. It encourages discussion he says. We always have to work in teams and I usually end up being teamed with Mitchell who pulls faces a lot and always wears the same red, chequered shorts to school. Last time we were a team, the subject was prime numbers which is my best but Mitchell felt sick and vomited on the paper so we came last. When I am at school I do not argue about having to work in teams because I don’t want to get told off and be kicked out of school because then I wouldn’t be able to take my maths test and get to university. Luckily, outside of school I can do things by myself. I always like doing things on my own because I can decide by myself the best way to go about solving things. It might just be because I don’t have many friends but my uncle always tells me that as long as I’m happy inside it doesn’t matter what people on the outside think. When trying to solve the curious incident of the dog in the night time, I found that doing things my own way worked better than it would if mother, father or anyone else had trying to get involved.

Well I am finished now, thank you for reading and I hope you have found my guide useful.

Tuesday 13/4 Lecture

2010-04-14T06:34:00.000-07:00

Representatives from each pathway

I found this a very helpful lecture as it gave me more insight into each of the three pathways and how the people who have chosen them have changed as practitioners as well as what specific tasks they have been set.

Notes I made from each pathway, via the questions presented to the representatives;

Interactive Media
-Learning not just Flash but a range of scripts such as Java and PHP

-It is recommended that you try to make a range of websites both for practise and for customers in order to gain more experience

-I do not like this pathway

Virtual Environments

-Probably the most time comsuming and intensive of the three pathways

-I seemed more interested by the modules in this pathway and the creative freedom

-The pathway is the broadest and there are decisons to be made on which area you wish to focuss on

-Rendering takes a very long time

Moving Image

-Working in groups for two out of seven projects.

-Making work for companies such as Broadway, YMCA and any other additional work is very important for building a port follio.

-There is a chance to experience a range of different role in film production such as camera operator, director, producer, editor and more.

My thought;
Im torn between Moving Image and Virtual Environments.. I will see how I feel about Virtual Environments tomorrow when I have my first seminar finally.

Seminar, reflection

2010-03-23T05:03:00.000-07:00

In the past seminar I learnt the importance of thoroughgly thinking out possible questions and making sure I become efficicent at answering them.

It also allowed me to think about what influences, research and practitioners as well as other factors, have helped developed my work so far during the course.

Clip from I am Legend

2010-03-17T14:48:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tK0e4DT8uE

Protagonists..

2010-03-17T14:35:00.000-07:00

I was looking at a few independant films that I have, ones in particular that deal with quite risky themes and have the type of central chracters who are uncommon in most Hollywood style bockbusters.

A film called Brick (2005, Rian Johnson) for instance, deals with themes such as drugs, gangs and killings. Although these themes are dipicted in a number of Hollywood movies, I feel that they are often glamorised or sugar coated in order to suit or please the wider target audience in which its aimed for. In Brick, the true grittiness, pyscology and thinking behind the drug culture as well as other related thiemes are expolored. It is not only the subject matter but the central protagonist that caught my attention. Brendan, (Joseph- Gordon-Levitt)is a very isolated, intricate character and does not possess many of the sterotypical qualities of a hero. The film is very intelligent in its story telling and I found it very hard to miss things and lose track when first watching however it is highly praised by reviewers and is a good example of how stereotypes and 'safe options' dont necessarily have to be followed in order to create a compelling story with dynamic characters.

Brick

Images of filming and location

2010-03-12T07:21:00.000-08:00

Thing of the week - '9'

2010-03-11T01:55:00.000-08:00

Synopsis from imdb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0472033/

9 takes place in a parallel world, in which the legacy of humanity is threatened. A group of eight sapient rag dolls, living in a post-apocalyptic wasteland is joined by 9 (Elijah Wood), who shows the leadership they need to truly survive. The dysfunctional but resilient group includes 1 (Christopher Plummer), a domineering coward; 2 (Martin Landau), an aged inventor; 3 & 4, mute twin archivists; 5 (John C. Reilly), a stalwart mechanic; 6 (Crispin Glover), a visionary and artist; 7 (Jennifer Connelly), a brave warrior; and 8, a large silent bodyguard and supporter of 1. There are several creatures up against this group; the cat-skulled creature from the short film, a split-headed flying pterodactyl, and a snakelike creature with hollow pod body.

Moving Image- Our Film, hyped up synopsis

2010-03-10T17:14:00.000-08:00

Synopsis for our film

This short film is based on technology and how advances within this ever evolving sphere of life can be seen in a negative light. Celebrations soon transpire into disaster as Stan, a creator come inventor wins an award for his magnificent ‘figure’. The figure however soon turns out to be his downfall and that of mankind as a whole, which an apocalyptic ending to the piece. Whether Stan had an underlying knowledge of these events before they unfolded or whether he had some kind of evil, malicious intent will remain unknown. Technology is a strange beast and if you fail to tame it, it can and will consume you.

Based on themes and ideas from film such as

The Iron Man/ Tetsuo (1989)
The idea that technology can become destructive and remorseless is something that we have incorporated into our film. Also the idea that technology as a whole can be extremely consuming, dangerously so.

I am Legend (2007)
The idea of a desertless, remote landscape is also something that we have tried to use in our film. Following the gastronomical massacre caused by the award winning creation in our piece, we hope to create a similar effect of an empty, barron world.

The History Boys New vs Old

2010-03-03T16:14:00.000-08:00

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0464049/

I saw this film for the first time earlier this week after picking it up from work and thought that aside from being very enjoyable, it was also a good example of the tranisition of things through time and how old and new style practises can clash. In this case teaching methods are clashing as a group of Oxbrige hopefulls are mentored in an additional school term, necessary if they want to stand a chance to study at the grandest Universities in the country.

Moving Image- Our Script and making different meanings from things

2010-03-03T15:38:00.000-08:00

1 INT. STAGE. NIGHT 1
TITLE: FIGURE
Flashbulbs pop, camera shutters click as STAN smiles, blinking in the
glare of the lights
2 INT. STAGE. NIGHT 2
Stan stands at the podium. He leans towards the mic
STAN
This isn't just testament to me. I know I'm
the youngest to ever win this. And I know
some say this is symbolic
Stan shakes the award towards the audience
STAN
Though I'm grateful. Though it's not just
about me
3 INT. WORKSHOP. DAY 3
Stan applies slightly more pressure to the vice
STAN
just, just, just, just
Taking the scalpel, concentration high Stan makes a minute adjustment.
We can't see what he adjusts
STAN
(v/o)
They say technology is a station that you
pass through. You can't stop. This awards
says slow down to read the station name at
least
2.
4 INT. STAGE. NIGHT 4
Sam holds both hands high in the air. In his left hand he holds his
award. Between thumbs and forefingers he holds something else,
something very small
STAN
I learnt from my dad. It's the detail
We can now see the figure, white, small, plastic figure sam holds
SAM
See you can't get that with computers...
5 INT. WORKSHOP. DAY 5
We travel slowly across the shelf of figures. Man holding a briefcase,
arm in pocket; a woman carrying a purse; an old man with walking stick
SAM
(v/o)
...all too generic by computer
MAN
Please stop
6 INT. STAGE. NIGHT 6
Sam pauses
MAN
(v/o)
I can't speak about this. If you let me go
7 INT. WORKSHOP. DAY 7
Sam has paused, scalpel in mid-air
3.
MAN
(o/s)
I promise. I probably can't get a signal, O2,
shit network
SAM
You see if you can get the detail. Really
look at the detail
8 INT. STAGE. NIGHT 8
Sam milks in the applause
SAM
(v/o)
Really good, then the rest will follow
Sam punches the air celebrates as waves of applause crescendo
9 INT. WORKSHOP. DAY 9
The man is chained into a pose. Hunched. Sam places a walking stick in
his head. Returning to his workbench he resumes curving the figure
The END

DP2 Film/ Moving Image pre-thoughts

2010-02-24T15:19:00.000-08:00

The camera here is positioned just as low as the character is and we as a spectator can really feel involved and sympathise with his desperate struggle.

Here we have a shot where not only does the person look powerful as we the audience look upwards towards them, but the gun has a lot of emphsis placed upon it, in the foreground of the screen. These shots are effective for when there is an object or person that you are trying to make seem intimidating, powerful and dangerous. It reminded me of a scene at the beginning of scream where the killer's knife if highlighted despite being in very dark surroundings.

Again we are looking up at someone in this shot, however the close up shot means our attentions are drawn to the womans face and what she has to say, lessoning the chance of us being distracted by anything else and reinforcing her dominant position in the shot.

Here we nearly have a full body shot which arent very common compared to most other types of shot when focussing on a person (close up, upper body, extreme close up are more common examples). The forth wall is also broken down in this shot which in iteself is very incommon within film and makes us the spectotor feel more actively involved. There is a lot of unocupied space around the person which is counteracted with the position their body is in (crotched, hunched up) and suggests that they are trapped.

A few thoughts about the Moving Image task and thigns to consider:
With the second task vast approaching I have decided to put some thought into the different cinematic aspects that combine to creat an effective scene. This should be useful seeing as we will be in charge of making a short film following a script that will be handed to our respective group.

Tone/Mood: Before going into the phase, thought has to be given to the tone of the piece... whether you want to promote a feel good factor or leave the audience with a bitter-sweat taste. This will likely depend on the script and the events that unfold. Depending on the choice of tone for the film, the other mise en scene as well as techniques used will be aimed at putting that tone across.

Props/Location: Depending on the scenerio... the sort of atmosphere you want to create and also relevancy.

Sound- Diegetic, Non Diegetic

Messages, both explicit and implicit- Meaning in cinena can be made from virtually anything and it is often up to the spectator to ultimately decide on what that feel has happened or what message has been portrayed. Messages in films can range from very subtle to very explicit and there are a number of techniques to support both.

Sketches and Ideas- Interactive Narrative Quiz

2010-02-08T10:50:00.001-08:00

Here is a rough sketch of a few ideas I had of laying out the main pages of my quiz.

I have decided to base the quiz around revision for student studying in areas that the quiz topic covers. I have tried to put my own spin on the theme of the quiz by choosing subjects that arent central to the curriculam and appeal more to creative people.

Where has my creativity been in the last few years/ research

2010-01-25T13:37:00.000-08:00

For the last few years the main source of my creative influences has arisen from films and cinematography in general. I studied topics in AS Film Studies such as Shocking Cinema, Film Noir and Gendered Cinema. These sections provided a lot of discussion and I also learnt a lot of different techniques that went into making a film and creating a specific meaning.

As well as my creativity being in film recently, I have also become more adapt to designing and producing different pieces of work on computers. As well as creating websites and simple themed interactive stories, I have worked on understanding target audiences more and coming to grips the marketing side to creating work as well as other aspects.
Research

I feel that research can help me in a number of ways. One of the most fundamental being that I can research the background of a product I am designing or a genre I am looking to go into so that I can have an idea of what is to be expected and gain more knowledge of the market place. I can also research how different products are made and how they specifically cater for different people will different needs and expectations.

If I am working on something which I am not feeling comfortable with then research is an effective way to help increase my understanding on the topic.

I seem to use the descriptive based research more often than not as a starting point when I’m looking into something because I am after an overall background of it rather than anything specific. When I am looking for an explanation for something then exploratory research would be preferred however.

Practitioner development activity

2010-01-19T01:18:00.000-08:00

Topics included writing, listening and reading.

Personally, I had been given a few books over christmas to help me improve my reading skills and get me reading more consistantly. (New Design London, Reading at University)
Watched some films such as Slumdog Millionaire etc to help remind myself of the mise-en-scene of films and cinematography.. and entertainment value

DP1 One-Shot 'An Apple A Day' (Finally!!!!)

2009-12-01T06:53:00.000-08:00

I had to compress the fil so the quality is reletivitly poor, sorry...

My edited version (second time around) of our One Shot film.

Images for my Interactive Story. Original sketch and edited versions

2009-11-25T16:42:00.000-08:00

Structure of my story interactive story

2009-11-25T16:36:00.000-08:00

This is a rough drawn out plan that I made to give me an indication to where my interactive story will go. My story has two stories which run parellel with eachother and eventually lead to the same conclusion should the user be correct in their decision making.

Interactive Narrative: Screen Shots from games Evil Twin and Rayman and how my idea relates to them.

2009-11-18T15:43:00.000-08:00

Looks like something from a dream and very surreal imo. I am looking for something similar for the setting of my interactive story as I think it will definately help capture the audience's attention and help me to keep them engaged.

Here is a shot from the Sequel to Rayman one, which was dubbed Rayman: The Great Escape. The graphics aren't great but this was amongst the earlier games I got involved in and I remember that decision making as well as quick, sensible choices would be a vital part of getting through the game, much like our interactive stories will be imitating.

And here is a screen shot from the very first Rayman game when it was released on the Sony Playstation. I remember playing this game when I was around the same age as the target audience that I'm aiming for with this task (around six to nine years old). This game was also 2d and relied on tones and lighting effects it the to help create the illusion that the characters and setting were rounded when infact they were all 2 dimensional. This more basic, generic yet effective style will be more the sort of thing that I am aiming for in terms of the backgrounds I create however I will make them look as professional as possible.

Interactive Narrative: Sketches

2009-11-18T15:18:00.000-08:00

Here are some rough sketches of designs and ideas I had for my interactive story which will be made in Flash, although I will use other prgrams such as Photoshop to help create backgrounds etc.

Character ideas
The following are a few rough drawings of the character I imagined making. The chracter would be made up and not human, in an attempt to reach out to my target audience for the story which would predominantly exist of six to ten year olds.

I started off by drawing a character which looked similar to a rabbit and was friendly in appreanance. I then moved on to coming up with some attributes that the chracter would have, such as being able to fly for instance. I dropped the idea of the chracter having powers shortly after as I realised I was overcomplicating things and should focus more on the interactive aspect, which I would find more challenging

I also considered having a sidekick for the main character/hero, which I have named Hansel.

I also sketches a rough Idea of some of the possible 'worlds' and lanscapes which I would base my interactive story in. Again I thought about the target audience when doing this. I also thought about the layout of the page and tried to create some sort of uniformity as to where my text and buttons would be placed.

This sketch is a rough idea of what 'Cloud Land' would appear like should the user decide to enter this location;

The idea being that the light in this world is being taken away by the 'baddies' and Hansel must recapture this light by overcoming them as well as any other obstactles.

My other idea for a alternate world should the user choose it is called 'The Magic Forest'. Here is a rough sketch of what this world would look like, as well as some markings where I will have certain features on the page positioned.

Evaluation for One-Shot (not yet finished)

2009-11-18T15:16:00.000-08:00

DP1 One Shot Evaluation

Introduction: For the first task I came across in design practice one, I had to work together in a group to create a short film that would have to abide by a rule which had been set in place. The rule was that the tripod that the camera was mounted on was not to be moved throughout the course the shot. The positive that came from having this rule was that it allowed me to focus more heavily on audience engagement and techniques used to keep the spectator interested considering the restrictions we had.

Working as a group: I found the thought of working in a group quite daunting at first as I felt problems could easily arise should any of us have conflicting ideas however, there is always a challenge when working with others and I thought that we dealt with everything fairly and got along very well with each other which made the project all the more manageable and enjoyable from that standpoint. We started off by listening to each other’s ideas and then trying to pick out the best features of each whilst simultaneously bearing in mind the practicalities of fulfilling each idea in the time we had and the resources available to us. The strength or conducting ourselves in this way was that we would come up with an idea which was both interesting and logical. The only weakness of this may have been that due to the time span and the recourses we had in terms of costumes, settings and props, we were perhaps a little less adventurous than we may have been. We improvised however and often found a way around any problems.

The Design Process: Although the vast majority of the multimedia course involves working on computers, I decided to make a series of illustrations of possible scenarios for our one-shot film that would be plausible considering the rule that had been given. Later I would scan these into the computer since they were relevant in the design process of the task. My scenarios included a shop keeper scene where an altercation between them and a particularly difficult customer would arise. I felt that the shop situation would be ideal to create a strong dialogue and considering that the camera would not be moving all over the place, compensated well. One of the strengths if this was that we could have people walking in and out of the shop and into the film to make it more interesting and create a constant flow throughout the film which would create more movement on screen.

Another idea was to have someone simply make a sandwich, however this person would have some sort of mental disability and thus, find a mundane task all the more difficult. I would try to make a comedic feel about the situation however, rather than create a potentially offending and upsetting scene. I imagined it being something similar to one of Rowan Atkinson’s Mr. Bean episodes, where he too, is faced with many everyday tasks that usually go wayward, to the amusement of the audience; however at the same time, his mental issues endear them rather than make the spectator feel any unease. The strength of this idea was that we could use a lot of light humour, which is a powerful tool, especially in short-films and episodes; however we eventually opted for a more serious idea.

My final idea which didn’t get taken further was to have a bus stop setting, which two characters as the focal point. One of the characters would have some form of A.S. which caused him to be very robotic and unaware of many common human emotions, and the other being a friendly old lady. The idea would be that a great sense of awkwardness and tension would be garnered as the frustrations of the A.S. sufferer would become apparent during this predominantly one sided conversation between the two, eventually leading to him simply getting up and walking away. The strength of this style of short film making would be that it would help the audience try and get a feel into how the mind of a character works and perhaps empathise with them on certain levels, or maybe even find is bizarre behaviour. The weakness of this however was that it was very difficult to find a sheltered bus stop in a location where we would be allowed to film, both in terms of safety due to roads and the fact that the general public would be walking around the area. Problems such as traffic noise and the positioning camera equipment also posed as large obstacles.

The idea that got the go ahead was a hospital scenario in which the primary feature would be to have the camera representing a real life person, in this case the patient. I’ve seen films before where this first person shot is used and often it creates quite an unusual, disorientating

One Shot- (Practicalities, Thoughts etc)

2009-11-02T20:07:00.000-08:00

Well, all great ideas need appropriate backing in order to support them and when you are on a lowely student budget as myself and presumaly the other memebers of my filming group (who are all fine examples to humanity) it is important to ensure that even if your idea(s) are amazing, they can be supported with appriate props, settings, actors/ actresses, equipment and loctations etc.

Part of the challenge of the One-Shot project that I found (although Im still trying to edit and plan the film in my own time to add to it) was the actual organisational skills which were required to ensure the group was constantly aware of what the their individual tasks were as well as details such as location/room bookings and what times we were due to pick up the all vital equipment and start filming our magical piece of footage. (keeping in mind the set rule of not being allowed to move the tripod on which the camera was fixed to throught the whole of the clip...)

I was on the verge of a mental breakdown by the second week as I feared that my group had not met up enough amongst other things and that time was running out for us to actual shoot this film and be ready for the editing process which was just around the corner in this emphatically fast and testing three weeks. On a cold and blusterly Thursday afternoon(yes ive gone into story mode now)me and the rest of our team met together to discuss some final ideas and book some key factors such as the location for our film and the all important eqiupment that we needed to actually carry out this delicate operation.

We did just that and Mr. John (The techniction) was actually pleased with how we carried out our plans and the way in which we had a list prepared three days in advance of the day we intended to film (Monday) that we handed to him. 'Well done he said', it was like being given the Queen's blessing or something to that effect. This of course, was after we had arranged to use the TV studios in Waverly on Monday, by booking them before we approached former RAF member, John. So, Thursday essentially turned out to be the arrangement day if anything. Monday wasnt particuarly great for all five members of our group to film on but with the magic of improvisation and willingness, we managed to meet together to get the film shot and redy for editing, which was the very next day in fact!

We didnt just have to improvise in terms of when we were available to film but also the actual idea of the short film we were making as once again 'practicalities' reered its ugly head and we had to deicide what the most realistic and achievable scenerio would be. Rather than have a stituation in which a patient(camera) would be looking up from a hostpital bed at the on-looking doctors and nurses, we created a scene in which a patitent (again acting as the camera) would have a consultant style meeting with a doctor over an underlying illness which was bothering them. It would be more capable to create a doctors office setting we figured, than it would to make the scene look as if it was in a hospital with the patient (camera) looking up at doctors, nuerses and surgens, especially given the short space of time we had to gather features such as props and costumes.

The uniqueness of our idead I felt (unless some other groups have done this already) was that to try and cope with the rule of having the camera on a tripod which wasnt allowed to me moved, we made the camera out to be a real life person, and as a result, placing the viewer in the position of someone in that sitation and thus causing them to ask question such what they would do in such circumstances. This we hoped would help counter the barrier of the restrictive movement and generate some ineterest and intrigue for the viewer. An added effect of the spectator seeing things through the eyes of the character is disorientation, especailly considering that the character (camera) in our film was noticably unless and started to deteriate throught the consulation with the doctor.

Also to substitute for the lack of avaible camera movement due to the rule set in place, I thought that it was important to create a dialogue between the characters involved (in our case mainly the patient/camera and the doctor/consulation)that would be lively enough to engage with the audience and keep them interested long enough to portray the story we wanted to tell, which was patient who was deteriating throughout a consulation with their doctor. By using a first person camera shot and spontaneous, noticably dialogue as well as the adition of camera effects (which im still trying to add to the film now) we hoped that we could bipass the rule that had been handed to the us all and maintain an element of excitment and intrgue throught the three or four minutes which our clip lasted for.

Thank you for reading (if you did), right now Im very tired so goodnight!!!

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly Trailer

2009-10-29T04:39:00.000-07:00

One-Shot Summary Part One

2009-10-28T17:05:00.000-07:00

I have just come to the end of my three weeks working on the filiming phase of design practice one which was called 'One-Shot'. I enjoyed the project largely because I have an interest in film, cinematograhy and the ways in which different ideas can be put together to create a certain meaning.

We worked together in groups and part of the challenge was to ensure we were all well organised and knew what one another were doing so that we could work efficiently in the short time span we had to plan, make and edit our peice.

Here are some points I wrote down when first thinking of some ideas for our one shot film (bearing in mind the rule of the camera not allowed to be moved from the tripod throughout the clip.)

One-Shot Design 2 'Shop inccident'

2009-10-22T05:08:00.002-07:00

One-Shot Design 1 'Bus Stop'

2009-10-22T05:08:00.001-07:00

'Bus Stop'
For this idea I wanted to have a character similar to that of Christopher Boone, a character from a book I read by Mark Haddon called The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time in which 15 year old Christopher, the lead character, suffers from AS. The condiction restricts his abilty to empathize with human emotions and the feelings of others, whilst at the same time having very strong beliefs of his own, often seeming very unusual to the common person.

The narrative of the short clip would basically be the character, suffering from a condition such as AS, sitting at the bus stop, anxiosuly waiting for his bus to arrive. Before long, to his dismay, an elderly lady sits besides him and tries to make conversation. The character then begins what turns out to be an epic struggle as he tries to put an end to the small talk and what seems a simple, mondane situation turns out to be a tortuous one as he eventually loses his patients and walks away.

I liked the idea as it provides an insight into the mind of someone who thinks very differently to most people and has an unusual yet intriguing outlook on life.

One-Shot Design 4 'Surgery'

2009-10-22T05:06:00.000-07:00

One-Shot Design 3 Entitled 'Making a Sandwich'

2009-10-22T05:01:00.000-07:00

Introduction to the world of Multimedia

2009-10-07T05:19:00.000-07:00

Hey im Kieron and I am enjoying the fist few days of the Multimedia inductions. We are known for being the 'drunks' of the design subjects so hopefully we'll all live up to that repuatation. I studied Media, Film Studies, English and ICT at A-level last year.

The tutors all seem like adults who still have the child inside them very much alive and kicking. They are very animated and thats what we need since this is the ultimate creative course and the best course.. of course.

The help and safety talks have been useful and have been ideal to listen to in the semi drunken states we have been in these last few mornings im sure.

I did the whiteboard task on Tuesday and really liked the concept of short animations consisting of many still frames taken from altered drawings. I thought that many people had clashing ideas which made it hard to articulate everything on the whiteboard but that just went to show how vibrant minded some of us students are I guess.

Thats enough for now... catch ya later aligater(s)