Friday 9 December 2011

Stop motion test. Struck By Rain.


9-Dec-2011: Shaun's Lesson.
This is our test for stop motion. We used a bottle and moved it slightly. From doing this test we have discovered that this project is going to take a lot of work. This video is only six seconds long and we had to take over fourty pictures. Our title sequence has to be two minutes long. This shows that we are going to have to take over a thousand photos just to make this. 
When were doing this is we didn't see any problems, but when we watched in back there was a list of problems. 

  • The lighting changed in some of the pictures, because there were flicker lights in the room where we took the pictures.
  • Kiera's hand was in some of the shots because we didn't leave her enough time to move her hand before we took the photo.
  • We didn't the bottle smooth enough. 

Wednesday 7 December 2011

Our Film Pitch. Struck By Rain.

Our film is about a woman named Sarah Bailey (played by Idina Menzel) in her thirties, she had a tough time trying to pursue her dream of being on the West end and be famous for doing something she loved. Until she stumbles across a newspaper article, saying that it is holding auditions to play the leading roll of Elphaba in the West End play 'Wicked'. She immediately sees this as her chance to make it to the West End she jumps at the opportunity and leaves no time in making the phone call to schedule her audition time. The day comes for her to make her audition, she goes there with all confidence in herself. She sings her heart hoping that this is it, that this is her chance, just to be told by the director Martin Smith (played by Hugh Janaro) that she isn't what they are looking for. She gets upset and runs out of the theatre, breaking down when she gets outside thinking that she will never get a chance like this again. She believes that she will never be good enough to get on the West End. So she decides to give up trying. To make her mood even better it starts to heavily rain she is drowned in wetness. She wishes her life away, and wishes she could live her life like a musical, hoping that it would end happy. As she is trying to hitch a cab she gets splashed by a passing car, which drove through a puddle. Whilst wishing her life to be different, and getting splashed by a car. There is a struck of lightning above her head. This changes something in which will all be discovered later on. She wakes up the next day not knowing that her life was any different so she carries on with her day. Until she tries to leave her apartment door which she finds herself being attached with questions...'how does it feel'...'do you think you'll be the next best thing in the West End'...'are you coping with all the shock'. She finally starts to question what is going on, she is very confused by this point and starts to realise that something in her life has changed. She carries on with her day, trying to figure out what it is. She gets some very strange looks while she is doing her daily routines she bumps into a handsome young man that she surprisingly recognises, he happens to be the director that was holding auditions for the part of Elphaba. She starts talking to him, starts getting to know him and eventually starts to fall for him. Still getting swarmed everyday with questions from people, and people asking for her signature. She starts to ask herself if this is the life she even wants to live. She gets bored of the fame, gets bored of the life that she is currently living and tries every way possibly to go back to how she use to be. Realising that she would lose everything, including Martin. She goes to work one day finally realising that this definitely is not the life that she wants. So she quits the theatre business and walks out. Only to find that when she gets outside it's a massive down pour of rain exactly like the day she got rejected from playing the part of Elphaba. She hails a cab, gets in and just breaks down. The cab driver recognises her, and asks for her autograph and she cries...'no you cannot have my autograph i am just a normal girl....i want my life back to the way it was. I WISH i was me again'. She goes home and just goes to bed, still wishing for her life to be normal. She wakes up the next day, no reporters. No posters of her around london. She goes to the theatre and finds Martin, she then asks him out on a date.
Warner bros
View more presentations from Soph Eden.


For this task the class was split up in to groups. Half of the class has to pitch a film. The rest had to research a production company. The people that pitched, also got told what production company they were pitching to. So the people that were pitching had to figure out what group was pitching one of their types of film. 

This powerpoint shows our research on the Warner Bros Production Company.
  • In our presentation we needed to include: 

- Who the company was founded by
- What types of films the company produce
- It's most successful film and unsuccessful film
- Who the current chairman was 

Audiences and Institutions.

Audiences and Institutions.

AIM: To Be Able To Indicate How Film Distribution Works.
What is the purpose of a film distributor?

  • Release The Film,
                 - Cinemas
                 - Online
                 - DVD
                 - VHS 
  • Promote/Advertise
  • Mechandise 
  • Posters 
  • Trailers  
  • Adverts
  • Charge A Fee
  • Branding
  • Self Promotion
  • Markets a film and develops an appropriate advertising campaign
  • Easy is there is a star power, it is harder if it is a low-budget/ Independant films.
Getting the film a rating.
Arranging for the copying of the film. 

Saul Bass

7-11-11: Saul Bass Case Study: Saul Bass
D.O.B-Death: 1920-1996

Bass studied in NYC Art Students League. Worked as a freelance graphic designer/commercial artist. 1946 he moved to LA to get away from creative constraights. 1954 Otto preminger invited him to design the poster for his movie he was so impressed he asked him to do the title sequence.

Saul Bass is best known for his use of simple geometric shapes and their symbolism. Often a single dominant image stands alone to deliver a powerful message.

Bass's posters and titles had an uncanny ability to capture the mood of a film with simple shapes and images.

Bass was heavily influenced by bauhaus and russian constructivism- 1923.

Between 1970 & 1986 Bass only worked for a handful of films.

Narrative.

Aim: To understand what narrative is, the role it plays with in moving image texts and how narratives are structured.

What is Narrative?
  • Structure of the story
  • Plot
  • The way the story is told
  • Linear and Non-Linear
Key to understanding. Narrative is knowing the difference between story and plot.
Narrative is a casual transformation.
Equilibrium > Disequilibrium > resolution/New Equilibrium

Story Board. Title Sequence. Struck By Rain.

Struck by Rain Pitch. 
These are just the first six story boards for our title sequence for 'Struck By Rain'. Basically these first six slides. Choosing stop motion has proved to be a lot of work. We have done a test using a bottle, and move in slightly in every shot. The video was only six seconds long and we took over 40 photos. 


*put video of 'stop motion test' up*
  • Starts with Sarah Bailey in bed
  • The quilt moves down the bed
  • Whilst the quilt is moving her arms come up to rub her eyes (close up)
  • Then arms come down (long shot) and she turns over.
  • Once she has fully turned over. Her bed moves from underneath her and pillows come together to form stairs to look like she is walking downtairs.
  • Clothes then changed from pajamas to everyday wear clothes.
  • Shops then start to appear.
  • Then a newspaper article flys past her and you then see her chasing it.
  • She then grabs the newspaper article and takes off. 
  • Once shes looking at the newspaper article then a load of leaflets fly past with all other musicals on them. 
  • She looks at the newspaper article looking all amazed settles back down to the ground. She carries on walking in people. One person in perticular that she walks into martin the director of the show she is auditioning for. 
  • It then starts to rain and she then runs to the audition. 








                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Monday 5 December 2011

Mise en Scene.

Mise En Scene- Everything in the frame.

C- ostume
L- ighting
A- cting/ body language
M- ake-up
P- rops
S- etting/ location

Settings & Props
These are stereotypical settings and props for a variety of genres.

  • Sci- fi
Space - rocket
            moon
            aliens

  • Rom Com 
Bedroom- rose petals
                 coffee shop

  • Horror  
psychiatric ward
cemetery
morgue
hospital
castle
abandoned houses/ buildings
country side

Costume Hair and Make- up
Costume hair and make-up act as and instant indicator of a character's personality, status & job.


Facial Expressions
Facial expressions provide a clear indicator of how someone is feeling. A close up camera shot would make the facial expression the most important aspect of the scene, it highlights the mood for the moment.

Using a wider shot would not give a clear view of the characters emotions, however in a group shot you should still be able to get the mood from the variety of facial expressions. It is important to take into consideration the positioning of the characters & objects within a frame.


Lighting
Lighting & colour can be used to achieve a variety of effects.

Low Key Lighting

  • Created by using only the key & back lights. 
High Key Lighting

  • Movie filler lights are used. 
  • Lighting is natural and realistic to our eyes. 

Mise en scene.

Five Elements Of Mise en Scene 

  • Setting & Props
  • Costume, hair & make up 
  • Body Language 
  • Lighting & Colour 
  • Positioning of Characters 

Representation.

    - The Thing it's self
    - The Opinions of the people doing the representation 
    - The reaction of the individual to the representation
    - The context of the society in which the representation is taking place. 
  • The representation is constructed with a set of ideas and values. 
  • The context of representation is part of the representation. 
  • The audience reacts to this representation and this depends on their own personal interpretational context. 

Camera Shots

Pan- means to pivot. Leave on tripod and move the camera round.

Crab- moves side ways (also know as a dolly)

Track- moving in and out.

Zoom out- Make the lens move further away from the object it is focusing on so you get more in the picture.

Pedestal (ped) Up- Moving the position of the camera to sit vertically about the subject.

Low Angle- looking up at a character or object, often used to install fear into the viewer.

Dolly- The camera is mounted on to a train which then travels along rails which gives off a very smooth movement.


  • Straight Angle Shot
  • High Angle Shot
  • Canted (Slightly Slanted)
  • Extreme Close Up 
  • Mid Shot
  • 3/4 Knee Up 
  • Over the Shoulder 

* add photos of each shot later *