First Filming Session

Our first filming session we focused on the foley sound. We managed to record the sound of a cigarette being rolled. Unfortunately nothing else was recorded as everywhere our group went in school it was either too loud or a teach came and told us to leave. However the quality of the cigarette noise is excellent and we will have no trouble incorporating into our filming. Our next filming session is to happen sometime next weekend probably on sunday as that is the only day any of the group are free.

Production meeting 2

Today me and Ben started planning our pre-production. We have been thinking about deadlines of certain tasks like shot and scene planning aswell as organising props and locations. I will post the completed table when our group finishes it and decides the deadlines.

Production Meeting 1

In this meeting Me,Ben,Izzy and Lauren were discussing what genre and style of film we were going to produce. At first we thought about doing a black and white style horror/thriller film. However after a quick look at previous students films in this genre we discovered how difficult it would be to create a scary/tense atmosphere. So we have now decided to do a happy feeling comedy with a main character being followed through her life by a cmaera. We chose this over other genres as we feel the effect will be fairly simple to create and the outcome will seem very professional and realistic.

We then started thinking about what could make our sequence funny and immediately we thought of things realistic that happen to everyday people but over exaggerated to become almost slapstick. We thought about tripping up curbs maybe the camera falling over something coming out of no where and hitting our character in the face and Izzy was given the task of going away and thinking of these specific moments which could be easily achieved and yet still look funny and professional.

The task I was given was to think of certain items which the titles and names of the crew/cast could appear on. So far I have stuck to the back of someones jacket, a business mans briefcase (all though finding someone to let us do that could be an issue) walls behind the character as shes walking past them. I also worked with Ben who is doing the story board and we thought the first shot could be the character coming out of a house dorr and the title could appear on the door.

Comparing 2 films for atmosphere part 2

http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/the-naked-gun/

This film is again a action movie however this one is an action comedy. It follows the work of a clumsy detective who is investigating a case.


From the opening sequence you can tell its going to be a comedy as you follow the top of a police car when its running red lights pulling onto pavements nearly hitting people. You notice the films not going to be realistic when the car pulls through someones house and then into the shower room of a girls gym. its when you see girls covered only in towels you can tell that the main character will probably be a man who isn't very good around women.

In comparison this is very different to the captain america opening sequence. The captain america sequence is very serious and deigned to create mystery and action and draw the reader in. Whereas the naked gun sequence is designed to make the viewer laugh and make them want to watch more because they will laugh more.

Attack the Block QandA

Whilst we were at the BFI we met and interviewed the director and writer of 'Attack the Block'. He explained on all the stages of preperation before he started filming 'Attack the Block'. He gave us useful information on what to use to prepare for shots and how to manage your time wisely.

One method he said to use was to use playmobile or lego characters to map out shots and to see how far you need to pan or zoom to fit the characters in the shot.

However the best way he described was to storyboard every single shot to make sure exactly what you want the camera to see and what you don't want the camera to see. Using this technique it allows you to picture the sequence in your head before you have to go out using time and resources and allows for less waste.

This Q&A really helped me put into perspective what is important and what isn't for example choosing the name of you film should maybe be the last thing you do along with adding in the titles. Sound and Genre should be maybe 1&2 on your list of things to do.

Comparing the atmosphere of 2 action movie openings

http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/captain-america-the-first-avenger/

The first film I am going to analyse is 'Captain America' this film is based on the marvel comic 'Captain America' its an action thriller film which depicts a normal man turned into a superhero by an experiment gone wrong who is then sent out to fight the Nazis.

The opening sequence of this film really gets you into the war atmosphere with the cartoon style drawing planes and guns firing and the famous picture of the women with her sleeves rolled up and her hand on her bicep. By using drawings the film also makes you relate back to the comic and the situations captain america would get himself into.

The music of the sequence relates a lot to the plot as there is a constant marching beat in the background where as the overlaid trumpets represents valiance almost like the american national anthem.

The final scene of the sequence is the Captain America logo printed on a rip effect almost badge like a soldier would sew onto his uniform which again relates to the plotline of the film.

BFI workshop

On Tuesday of this week me and the rest of my classmates traveled up to London to have a seminar/question time about our final piece for media. Our final piece must be a 2 minute opening for a film and must included titles. Pete (The man who took the seminar) spoke to us about many aspects on how to make our film better than previous candidates and make them stand out to the examiners as better films. First we watched the opening sequences of films that were put into the cinema and made with millions of pounds worth of investment. All of the group perfectly identified the genre of the film whether it was a horror/slasher film or a comedy. What the group found difficult was identifying the narrative and atmosphere of the film from the openings. However after Pete gave us a few things to focus on eg The music used, The colours used or the noises used. We all started identifying and even explaining why they were used. After this we had a Q&A with a specialist in CGI and animations. He told about the work he has done everything from 'Hornblower' an old ITV series to recently the 'Game of Thrones' series on sky. He told us about the camera shots and photos they have to use to build up details on buildings.


I think that this workshop really helped me figure out how I am going to go about planing and filming my final piece. I would strongly recommend anyone to go and do this even if you're not a media student and just interested in film. You can find Pete's blog here---->http://petesmediablog.blogspot.co.uk/