Evaluation 7

Evaluation 6

Evaluation 5

Evaluation 5 from Bethany Gunn

Evaluation 4

Evaluation 3

Evaluation 2

Evaluation 2 from Bethany Gunn

Evaluation 1

Opening Scene

This is my finished opening scene:

Whilst Shooting

Whilst out shooting...

Lilly and Ellie practising shooting the
flashback scene

Lilly lining up the shot



We first filmed the flashback scene for our opening scene. This had to

include both of us so Ellie filmed it with instruction from us. We tried to include rule of thirds in this section to increase the spacial awareness around the characters and therefore the isolation of them and the lack of connection of them outside this friendship. Here you can see Lilly lining up the shot whilst I am stood in position and then showing Ellie how to record and where to place the camera for he best effect. Upon reflection, I like the long frame of this scene however I would've liked us to have been closer together in the shot to show our friendship.

Choosing the location of the den

On the second day we filmed the majority of the scene (my bit). In this photo (see right) we have found the location of the place where we were going to make the den, and this is the finished result. We wanted to include more twigs and structure however we needed to film before it went dark. Upon reflection, I am really happy with this scene however if we included more structure to the den it might've been more obvious to the viewer that this is what they are seeing.




We did include a vlog of our time filming on the first day (see right) however on the second we may have forgotten and didn't really have time to due to the impending sunset. Therefore I have included a few of our outtakes.







Animatic of Opening Scene

This is an animatic of our storyboard, showing what we will do in each scene as well as the camera shots and how long each will last. This allows us to know exactly which part of the scene we were at and helped us whilst filming for that very reason. Some of the timings will probably be slightly out with editing and suchlike however the main body of the scene is planned here.

Non-copyright sound

In our opening scene we had too choose non-copyright sound. Before I realised this I was using the song Afraid by The Neighbourhood which worked really well with the scene; it  had a beat drop for the tense part of the scene and a calm, warped part for the part when the character was outside of her mind. However, I couldn't use this because it was copyrighted so instead I was going to use the song Fumes by The Eden Project. I had this set up as my main song for a while, although it never really suited my scene so i've changed my audio again.

  

I located royalty free songs on www.bensounds.com of which i used in my scene. I have overlayed songs to create the tense atmosphere in the first part of the scene and used a slower song to reflect the slower out of mindedness in the second part of the scene. Here you can hear each of them:

I included some nature sounds at the beginning of the scene also, due to the fact that we couldn't capture these in the audio of the actual film, everywhere else we could.

At the beginning of the scene I used some waves crashing sounds as the background for my production company logo which reflect the picture and atmosphere of the image.

Production Company Logo

For my logo, I used an image I had taken previously as the background (see right). This includes a sunset on a beach. I then imported it into Photoshop and edited some text over the top to read 'Gunning and Co. productions' which is a play me and my partners' surnames. When in the opening scene, I will include waves crashing to make the image come to life. I chose to use this image as not all production companies necessarily have post apocalyptic ties and I wanted to reflect this in my work.

Script

This is the script we wrote for the voice over in our opening scene. We wanted to make it sound informative and sure at the beginning and slowly get crazier by the ending. In the end the character doesn't even remember their best friend. We had a few options for the ending line however we decided to go with 'who are you again?' in the end. By doing this we could visualise the story whilst filming even though the voiceover would be edited in later.

Planning of Opening Scene

In our opening scene we have decided to include the following features in our opening scene:




Costume






Character 1:

• Wearing Black - to represent the foreboding of death, or the dying of the character
• Coat/ layers - to show the harsh realities of the world now
• Mud on shoes, clothes, under fingernails - to show lack of water, washing and the idea of having to 'get your hands dirty'
• Other aspects to show lack of care now taken - chipped nails, lack of possessions, frizzy, unkept hair

Character 2:

• Black - to blend into environment/ darkness and to forebode the characters' death
• Smudged Make-up - to show there's been a struggle between the characters 2 and 3

Character 3:

• Ripped Clothes - show the lack of care or humanity left in the character
• Ordinary Clothes - to show how this disease overtook the character in an everyday normal situation

Props

• Bag - the same bag character 2 uses in the flashback to represent the relationship and the clinging to the past that character 1 displays
• Lighter, can of food, torch, bottle of water - show normal items of significance you'd need in this situation
• Photo - shows memories and importance of character 2 in character 1's life. Represents the trigger that causes the madness at the end of the opening scene

Lighting

• Dark in the bad flashback to increase danger and tension in the scene
• light in the rest to show its the morning and to emphasise that this madness could happen at any time of day.
• Cloudy overall to show the constant bleakness and hopelessness in this time

Production and Distribution in the Film Industry

There are many arguments involving who has the most power in the film industry in terms of what gets made and what gets seen. You could argue its the audience; they decide what they like and the film companies accommodate to make the most profit. This is also correct in terms of actors; if the audience likes an actor or celebrity, film companies will employ them and then the celebrity becomes extremely powerful. In todays films you can increasingly see more comedians, models, singers, you tubers in films because film companies know that audiences will watch them. But does this mean they have the most power? Hollywood actors are still the most in demand due to their status and legacy of past films. Alternatively, another perspective is that its the promotion and the need and demand for films that make them sell. Do the film companies have the most power because their convincing us these films are what we want to see? Its true that the best films are those with the most hype, but this can also hinder the production company due to the fact that if the film doesn't live up to the audiences expectations the film will flop.


Distribution entails :

• Promoting Films
• Distributing Films to the Cinema
• > Do this by using a system called DCP that gets shipped to other countries inside a case
• Getting them onto DVD/UMD

Promotion

Above the line Promotion - Advertising with mass media to promote the film and target consumers. This includes conventional media; TV, radio, print and the internet. Its targeted towards a wide spread of audience not individually.

Below the line Promotion - More one to one promotion. For example the use of pamphlets, banners and placards.

Analysing multi-screen cinemas
Odeon Cineworld Showcase
How many screenings? 24 47 62
How many films in total? 11 16 16
How many films being screened several times? 7 9 12
More than one cinema at the same time? 16
Number of unique screenings compared to total screenings  25% 14.9% 6.5%
Number of films in terms of number of screenings 45.8% 34% 25.8%
Conclusions? In the UK, the film industry is very much based on big produced films, mainly those from American Hollywood. There are a few individual films but these only have a few screenings and are therefore very limited in their exposure and audience. The big films usually have more than one screening due to very high demand and some even in 3D, as time progresses the show times are usually reduced due to less demand until they stop showing them altogether, this can take weeks or even months.

A small UK based film company might face problems in getting its film shown due to the 5 major film distributors taking up around 9 of every 10 films seen in the UK. Not just this but major distributors usually have more than one screen or multiple showings throughout the day, leaving the smaller film company around one showing a day. This means only so many people can see this film as well as the timing being limited and the promotion for it being less in size due to a smaller budget for the film.

In what format and why are films shown in cinemas?
Nowadays, cinemas use a system called DCP. Its a file that requires a licence to activate, that the cinema has. Films are shown in cinemas because of the experience, better quality sound and a bigger screen all account to the atmosphere of the cinema experience.

Location Shots

We took some recce shots of possible locations where we could film our media project. These include:
Abandoned Stairway:

 Train Station:

 Forest Den:

In the end we decided to film the present scene with Character 1 in the forest den and part of the chasing scene on the abandoned stairway, the rest will be filmed in the woods. We decided not to use the train tracks because it didn't add anything to the scene and we couldn't find anything to fit with that atmosphere.

When editing, I later decided the stairway scene didn't fit with the overall story so I cut it, instead opting to use darker scenes to create an eerie atmosphere filmed in the woods. Also, upon reflection lots of scenes of this genre i've seen have been have been on old, abandoned areas that could've been used previously and we wanted to do something a little more different.

Ratings for Post apocalyptic genre

Post apocalyptic films, if done well, have high ratings for the opening weekend. Here are various examples of this in films I have previously focused on and their opening weekend ratings for the UK:




I am Legend - £11,009,376
Book of Eli - £1,232,001

The Road - £1,502,231
28 Days Later - £1,500,079
Zombieland - £1,240,984
Mad Max: Fury Road - £4,538,933

Foley

What is a Foley artist?
A Foley artist produces sound effects added to a film during post production to enhance the audio quality. This includes sounds such as punching, glass breaking, gun shots, footsteps and doors opening.


Who was Foley?
Jack Foley was the creator of the modern effects still used today in films and television. They were named after him due to the mammoth affect they've had on the media and quality of sound today.


Why are Foley artists needed? Give examples why might be needed
Foley artists are needed to create an aural depth to a production. Without them the film would sound empty and hollow, obscuring the dialogue and preventing the piece from coming alive. films would lack the realism to make them convincing and therefore wouldn't sell to the audience.

 In comedies for example, various sounds are enhanced for comic effect whereas in action movies punching and gunshots are added to give a more satisfying sound as the actors aren't really punching or shooting each other.

Give examples of why Foley artists traditionally achieve their outcomes.

To give the punching sound Foley artists use objects such as meat, cabbages and celery to record unique and more realistic sounds as well as being able to control the sounds and volume of the effects. 

How is Foley work completed nowadays?
Nowadays, a Foley studio is set up to capture the sounds. The artists see a screen on which the film is playing and add the sound effects to correspond with the action taking place.