Learning to use the programs

I learnt to use both Adobe Premier Pro and LiveType

Here you can see the track used to organise shots, and the source monitor, where you can select what part of a shot you want to use. The sots are arranged on alternate tracks to ensure that there is no confusion.

This is a still of the playback screen, where we can view in large our edit so far. This is positioned next to the screen above, on a seperate monitor for a larger size.

This is a still of the progrma we used to create titles - the track is under the screen that shwos what we have made so far. On the right, you choose the text and effects required.

Time Planning and Production Schedule

We shot this weekend, and now have all of our footage. Here is my plan for the week beginning 7th March, listign when I will be at the edit suite:

MONDAY - Period 1, 2, 3 - Capturing, start editing (By myself)

Period 6 (Lesson) - Continue with rought edit (As a group)

TUESDAY - Period 2, 3 - Editing (By myself)

Period 4, 5 (Lesson) - Editing (As a group)

Afternoon - Looking for music (As a group)

WEDNESDAY - Period 2, 3 - Editing (With Jess)

THURSDAY - Period 6 - Editing (As a group)

FRIDAY - Period 2, 3 - Looking for music

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The editing process - choosing shots and arranging them on the tracks

By Tuesday, we had our rough cut ready, and we were finalising the footage we had on Wednesday and Thursday, trying out different shot orders etc.

Some lessons we spent looking for music tht coudl be played on the radio. We found it helpful to do this together so we could hear eachother's song choices and discuss easily.

Filming - My Responsibilities

We have given eachother responsibilities to ensure that nothing goes wrong on our shoots.

What I will bring:

Tripod
Clapper board
Clipboard
Admin pages - shotlist/log
Stills camera


I have made a checklist of things that we must remember before filming each shot:

Focus settings - must always be on auto
Correct camera position and height according to shot list
Check time - note on shot log
Make sure that we are not taping over anything
Continuity! - WKD and phone in same hands, door closed or open, radio on or off, chairs in correct   position, cupboard open or closed, cans in right place

Film - Taken

In response to changing our idea, I have looked into films which have similar themes to ours. Taken is a film about an ex FBI agent who hunts down the people who kidnapped his daughter and her friend. It was  directed by Pierre Morel and released in 2008

Here is the trailer:



Taken is an action thriller. There is immense suspense throughout the whole film, as we are never sure if Bryan will ever find his daughter. Bryan (Liam Neeson) fights the criminals alone in this film, and survives many fights, which is something that I find quite unrealistic. The fact that the film presents the shocking reality of sex trafficking is something that I think makes the film more interesting and gripping, as it does not seem unrealistic in this aspect.

What I have found from this real media product that I can apply to my project:


- It is important to have a dramatic and emotional kidnap scene to draw the viewer in.
- Presenting a gritty reality makes the film more appealing and unglamorised, fitting in with the stereotype of an independent British film.
- An unrealistic hero deters an audience, it is effective to have a tragedy (Josh dying)
- The search for Dannie throughout the film would work well, at the suspense is maintained, keeping the audience interested

Research on Genre

To learn more about the genres that we are going into, I have researched horror and chick-flicks:

RESEARCH ON HORRORS

“Horror films are unsettling movies that strive to elicit the emotions of fear, disgust and horror from viewers.” – Wikipedia

Horror films are made to scare audiences, and this is often done through typical gruesome attacks and monsters: the genre often overlaps with fantasy, science-fiction or thriller.

According to the UK Film Council:

7% of all film releases in the UK last year were horror films

The 35 releases generated £66.7million in box office gross

The most popular horror film of 2009 was ‘Final Destination’ (Ellis 2009)

Horror films are more popular for male audiences; however elements of comedy would bring in a female audience, as would female characters.

British production companies that are famous for horror:

Hammer Films – Dracula (1958), The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)

Amicus Films - Dr. Terrors House of Horrors (1964)

Tigon Films – Witch Finder General  (1968)

The 1960s generally defines the 'golden age' of horror, as films such as Psycho (Hitchcock 1960) were released during that era. By using new technologies for filming and editing, we could incorporate the signiture elements of 60s horror films and give them a modern twist, bringing in a teen audience as well as attracting adults who watched these films when they were younger.

RESEARCH ON CHICK FLICKS

Chick flicks focus on female characters and are aimed at a female audience looking for a relaxing, funny film. They are heavy in emotion and romance, which means that most are released in theatres around Valentine's Day.

Famous chick-flick releases: The Twilight Saga, Eat Pray Love, The Notebook

Eclipse, the third film in the Twilight Saga is currently number 37 in the Box Office top 250, showing that chick-flicks with teen appeal can make a lot of money.

Paul Dergarabedia of Media by Numbers once said that  the female audience has 'been an underserved audience for way too long' - our film would serve this audience as well as many others.

Film Idea

We have decided to make a film about a schoolgirl killer. This unusual film concept is a chick-flick horror.
Here is a rough storyboard of our idea:

It was my job to put together a treatment page using the information that we had decided on as a group. It explains our idea in more detail:

Group 6 Proposal Page

Initial Film Ideas

The first thing we need to do to start our coursework project is to decide on an idea. we have decided as a group to think of ideas individually, then meet as a group to decide on our best one, or combine eachother to create an idea that we are all happy with.

These were my initial ideas:

Here is a rough storyboard of one of my ideas:



Schoolgirl on her way home from school, gets kidnapped by strange man