post 15 - Ancillary task

(Post 15) Ancillary task 1 practice

October 30, 2017

Ancillary task 1 practice

Recreate an existing film poster 

In groups of two we were given a film poster to recreate using what we had. For example our phones and laptops (of course some did not have these resources). We randomly picked a letter between A, B, C, D, E and me and my partner - Jack - picked the letter D leaving us with the poster 'Dark knight' with the joker holding a playing card. The image is displayed below.

To create this outcome, myself and Jack got a mutual friend to model for us in a dark drama room within our school premises. We wanted to use a dark room as the original film poster is very dark and we thought it would make the editing process a lot easier if the background was already dark. We then transported the image from my phone to my macbook to ultimately edit the photo on Adobe PhotoShop. We used numerous tools (such as; brightness and contrast, levels, curves, exposure, photo filters and many more) to try and create a similar effect as the original poster that we were copying from. Overall i believe the outcome we have created is some what similar to our chosen film poster the dark knight. The image displayed directly next to the dark knight original film poster is myself editing our poster - taken by jack. 

The photo displayed to the right shows me and jack with our original film poster that we got given. The image displayed to the left shows our final outcome. 

Post 14

What is your idea for the coursework at the moment?

At the moment the idea for the coursework is very vague and will definitely change loads. We haven’t really thought about the song all that much but we have decided that we don’t want to use the grime genre as we believe it would be too hard to work a music video into that genre of music. We have also decided that we will be using a song that we all like so that we can have four different views on how to film the video and what should be included in the video. If someone in the group doesn’t like the song, then they would become less involved and we believe that would reflect badly on the outcome of the whole project. We have been looking at different songs and reading into the lyrics to find a song where we can link both the lyrics and video together. When we decide on a song for the music video I will be shore to update this blog or make a new blog post on how and why we picked the song.

Who are you planning on working with or do you want to work alone?

In are group there are four people. Me (Jordan Rolf), Jordan Hayward, Jack Kirby and Luke Marchant. We decided it would be a good idea to work in this group for multiple reasons. Firstly, we all get on well with each other which means we will put in effort to help each other out with blog posts, filming and editing. We all also have our own special traits which we can contribute together to use in a positive manor.  For example, I have experience in editing and filming which is obviously very useful to use in media as that is what the subject consists of. We all have our own ways of contributing towards the team’s efforts which is exactly what we need to have a successful final outcome which is what we are all hoping for.

Where do you want to film?

Currently we are unaware of a filming location as we are yet to pick a song that we want to use. The location has to be dependent on the type of song we use as that’s part of the story. The location does a huge part in telling the story so it is important that we get that part spot on. I will update this blog post when we are decided on the location of the shoot.

Post 13 - Music Video or Short Film

Post 13 - Music Video or Short Film

We, as a group decided between us, that we would rather choose to create a music video over the production of a film because of our music interest and enjoyment of sharing skills in a music genre we all agreed would be suitable yet a genre we all had interest in. For me personally, I didn’t want to create a film for our coursework due to so many great films around on the media that its just such a high expectation to make it best to help people enjoy it as much as other amazing high quality and expensive films. Due to being amateur and also strict with costs, it causes a lot of stress to be perfect and worthy of the audience taking time out of their lives to watch it. Also, with films, the story lines are very much familiar. A good guy, a bad guy, a pretty girl who needs saving or even happy endings. However, with music videos there is so much more variety and less pressure around creating a good music video as sometimes the simplest and cheapest videos are regarded as the best. The use of lighting, actors and even props help create build a good music video, but in my opinion, As long as the song is good, then the music video does not need to impress that much as it’s the music that the audience is really after. The only negative to music video is music and videos change hype and fashion in the industry rapidly with new artists and technology that you have big competition. However we will adjust accordingly and have plenty of research and enjoy ourselves during the project.

Post 12

What went well? – When we were filming we had built up a plan prior to the filming date on the shots we wanted so that it made it easier on the date. We decided that this was a step we had to take to set ourselves in the right direction to improve on last year’s coursework. In the previous year we filmed coursework of the back of our hands. We decided that it really wasn’t the right idea to follow that procedure again as it hadn’t worked in the previous year. We felt like the plan would give us more time to focus on the quality of the shots and setting up the equipment and actors instead of actually working the plot out on the day. We also gave ourselves longer to film the project this time round in comparison to the hour we gave ourselves on the last practice task. We really didn’t take it as seriously as we should’ve last year so we have learnt from our mistakes.

What didn’t go well? – In majority the shoot for the film went surprisingly well. We used the equipment we had to the best of our ability and I really took time in the edit to focus on the look of the shots by adjusting all significant sliders to get the best out of the raw/original camera shot. The main issue was organising a day to film the music video on. We were all reasonably busy over the summer with all four of us in the group going away for different periods of time. This gave us very little if any time to film the music video. We decided to shoot on a Sunday in the end as on Saturdays none of us are available. However, the shoot had to take place after midday as we all play football in the mornings. This was the only real issue we ran into during the course of the process.

What will you do/not do next time? – In the next time of filming we will most definitely pick a song that the whole group likes. I feel like this will give us the best chance to produce a music video that we all enjoy. Therefore, the quality and dedication put into the video should transfer into the final product. Next time will we also be more precise on the filming date and organise it earlier on into filming so that we don’t encounter any issues on a final filming date.

Are you looking to develop on this idea for the actual coursework? – With the actual coursework we are looking to find a completely new idea. We believe that with a completely new idea we could form a piece of work that is much better than the preliminary. Seeing as we were set the nursery rhyme theme for this task we think that If we were to use an idea that is new to us we will put more effort into forming the idea and developing it into a well worked coursework piece that will make us proud. We have learnt that it would be in are best interests to work on a song that we all like which will allow us all to contribute ideas to the final piece.

 Were we brave enough, original enough and creative enough? – When asking about the level of braveness we took in terms of filming the coursework I definitely think we were not brave. We didn’t feel the need to take extreme risks and venture into new fields with this specific task due to the fact that it is only the preliminary. We stayed very safe in terms of location, camera shots and props. We left it very basic which in-turn also stops you from being original. We will definitely be prepared to take more advanced and dangerous risks when filming the actual task. We want people to be amazed with are final piece so therefore found there to be no need to go all out on the preliminary. There was also a lack of creativity due to all of the above that I have explained. When you don’t show a level of braveness it would be very hard to then work creativity in. However, like mentioned above I will be sure to push the boundaries of our abilities to get the most out of the shoot on the final piece task.

Post 11 - Final practise cut

The Practise task we filmed was based on the classic nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty which is based around the character all happy and joyful but one big mistake leads to a irreversible outcome that could not be reversed. We used this moral of the story into our film by creating a happy relationship by a couple which is unanimously torn apart from a single mistake that is some what hidden from the viewers as we only use half the song for a one minute clip of the music video. The video then shows a switch, including flashbacks to the happy times showing regret but also failed attempts to put the relationship back on track. The song corresponds well to the story of the music video as love is a key factor in this song as is shown passionately. This still has many mistakes and difficulties but from these we have learnt to prepare us for the final cut.

Lip-syncing was originally a good idea, however was difficult to edit and this effort was used most to perfect this than effort used on other criteria such as the flashback colours. We understood that next time for the final cut, that in the use of flashbacks, we would use black and white or a lighter shade to help the audience understand the story behind the actual story line. Also next time, it would look more professional if we use a tripod or a better quality camera to make the shorts sharper but most importantly more locations and settings to help the music video look more professional and better quality.

View the practise task cut here...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4WUoobBg6o

Post 10 - what is in the news

Song - Six Paths by Dave. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuV_cyckCqY

I believe this song would go well because the tone and background beat mixes well wit the tense background of Ireland conflict. This song however might work better as an instrumental as the lyrics might not correspond to the music video based on Ireland conflict.

Post 9 - I've watched a new film

The Sixth Sense (1999) featuring Bruce Willis.

What was the film about?

The film is a horror / Thriller film with a less threatening genre but more mysterious and realistic approach. It's about a psychiatrist who helps a young boy who is alienated by society and also sees dead people from which he found mentally challenging and difficult which is understandable for a child his age. The major twist is that the psychiatrist is dead and this is not accepted or known until the end of the film however, if you watch the film for a second time, this becomes very clear as communication is only clear with him and the child not any other character as he is the only the child who talks to dead people.

What have you heard about the film before?

I saw that the film was a classic thriller mostly from the title or front cover image from SKY TV or Netflix. However, I have not heard this film from anyone's word of mouth or had i heard reviews or discussions therefore when this film was given to me, I had no idea about the film I was going to watch.

What happened in it?

The key character came to terms with seeing dead people and came more relaxed with the help from the dead psychiatrist whom later was confirmed dead when he was shot at the start of the film from a previous patient which was later clear as himself, was unaware he was dead. The child came abused by bullies and other people as he was seen as a 'freak' and also by other nasty dead people who scared him. The child became close and opened up about his secrets to the psychiatrist then later became more confident and brave which was signified in the play when he lifted the sword.

What was good?

the film was good in terms of the story line and the original and creative idea of a child seeing dead people and both key characters played their parts well being the most realistic characters for the job which gave the thriller a good sense realism which is important as realistic horrors tend to be best sellers.

What was bad?

the films special effects and use of blood and gore at times look unrealistic and fake which makes the film look a lot less real giving off a weak sense of realism. However, at the time, special effects wasn't as strong as they are now and there was no invention of green screen or editing at a modern level therefore, it is acceptable for this film to have these special effects as at this time these where the best they could be due to the lack in technology.

What did you enjoy?

I enjoyed the plot twist in the film about the psychiatrist who later was confirmed he was dead for the majority of the film and if you re-watch it, you realise it became clear he was dead through hints the child gave such as drop in temperature and how dead people do not know they are dead. Also the lack of communication between other characters except the boy, such as his own wife.

What didn't you enjoy?

I don't usually like Horror films as its not my preferred genre of film and the use of poor quality special effects made the film less realistic which made the film look naff. I also wish there was more to the film and an extended story line as the film was deemed short in terms of events in the film which seemed like there could be more scenes to build more of a story line.

Anything you would use as stimulus for your music video?

There was a slow motion scene when he came out of the locked cupboard which can work well with a music video and also look creative and original as I haven't seen a student made music video with the use of slow motion yet. The use of a plot twist may also work if I can fit it in a short space of 2 minutes as it will make the video more appealing for audiences as it will look more entertaining, professional and creative therefore, both options will be considered. 

Would you recommend the film to anyone else?

Yes I would due to the film being a classic and it's not too scary so people who don't like horrors may still enjoy this film due to being creative and interesting. however, due to its age it may not appeal to younger generations due to the bad quality film and special affects in contrast to modern films which have better technology to have better quality films. The film is also a 15+ therefore i cannot recommend it to them due to their legal age.

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