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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
