When completing the rough cut we tried to focus on the pacing and the editing of which shots looked better positioned together. We are yet to pick our non-diegetic music to go over the beginning. I have looked through copy right free sites and have found lots of different music that I think will go well with our theme and with our film. However we are going to finish the editing of the film and then play the different music with the film and see if they connect well with each other. We still have a little more to do in order for our film to be finished, apart from the music, these include; credits, ending shot of TV fuzzing and we have to decide how we are going to put our title “Researched”.
I think that we are on track and will be able to finish the film by the due date.
Sunday 28 March 2010
Friday 26 March 2010
The Rough Cut
This is just a rough idea of the concept we went for and narrative for our film. With this rough cut in particular we mainly focused on the editing; pace, cutting and timing but we still need to complete the sound which will be dubbed with non-diegetic sound such as the soundtrack, small sound effects (television scattering and ambient sounds).
Friday 19 March 2010
Synoptic Day
On Wednesday 17th March we had a synoptic day where the whole day we spent doing media work. We took this opportunity to start and hopefully finish filming.
We spent the morning of the day filming Finlay and we tried to film all of the shots of him in chronological order to make it easier when editing.
Our first job was to find a place that was watched my a camera so that we could film both Finlay and the camera monitor with him on it. We were then told that there is no cameras inside classrooms to do this. We then decided to film the shot outside as there were plenty of cameras outside we could film from and benches we could use, this also made the character more isolated and alone.
The first shot we filmed was the tracking shot of “Andrew’s” eyes, tracking backwards to reveal his body in a triangle frame. After making the frame we had to make sure it was lined up with the camera and that we could see the whole of his body at the end of the shot. We stuck the card over the camera and did test shots of “Andrew” to make sure everything was lined up right and that we could see everything we needed to. After doing this we did the shot a number of times, in different paces this was so that we could pick the best one when editing.
The second shot we did was the shot where we filmed both “Andrew” sitting on a bench with his laptop and a shot of the security camera monitor with him on it. We filmed “Andrew” on his laptop outside in different angles and we focused his finger where he would be typing frantically. We then told him to look at the camera and look like he was trying to hide something, at this time we filmed the camera monitor, where he was looking straight at the camera.
Our third shot was “Andrew” after seeing the camera packs up his bags and tries to move quickly. We had to show him packing away his laptop and bags and leaving in a hurry. But because in the other shots, his bag wasn’t there it would look wrong if his bag magically appears also it would be non continuous. So because of this reason we decided to make him just pack away his laptop and then walking away. This would give it more of continuity. We when filming him walking away, we decided to film him from to angles; because of this we had to make sure Finlay did exactly the same thing, we put markings on the floor for him to know when he should turn. We had to re take these shots a number of times as the pace of him walking differed also when he was packing away the laptop there were troubles including he couldn’t get the clip undone or papers inside the case flew away; which we had to remove.
We tried to give Finlay as much guidance and told him exactly what to do, this way if we needed to re-film anything we could do it the same. Also we all had a vision of what we wanted our opening to look like, and we wanted it to come true.
We then filmed the different triangles and cameras that we are going to have intercuts in the film. We filmed each object for 20 seconds, this is a lot more than what we are going to use, but we decided to film for a long time so that we could cut and place the part that we want to use.
We were then going to film the person drawing and colouring in a triangle really franticly. As out actress wasn’t here we had to go around asking for people to do this for us, after finding someone we got the camera and scenery set up, but the camera was out of battery, we then decided we would film this last part another day, and we would get the footage we did and start editing it.
We then uploaded out footage and began to watch the bits we did and deciding which of the shots were better and a better pace. After deciding which shots we wanted to use, we decided to call the synoptic day a day.
Overall I think that the day went well and we got nearly all of our filming done and all that we need to do is film the last shot, edit and pick some music to go with it.
We spent the morning of the day filming Finlay and we tried to film all of the shots of him in chronological order to make it easier when editing.
Our first job was to find a place that was watched my a camera so that we could film both Finlay and the camera monitor with him on it. We were then told that there is no cameras inside classrooms to do this. We then decided to film the shot outside as there were plenty of cameras outside we could film from and benches we could use, this also made the character more isolated and alone.
The first shot we filmed was the tracking shot of “Andrew’s” eyes, tracking backwards to reveal his body in a triangle frame. After making the frame we had to make sure it was lined up with the camera and that we could see the whole of his body at the end of the shot. We stuck the card over the camera and did test shots of “Andrew” to make sure everything was lined up right and that we could see everything we needed to. After doing this we did the shot a number of times, in different paces this was so that we could pick the best one when editing.
The second shot we did was the shot where we filmed both “Andrew” sitting on a bench with his laptop and a shot of the security camera monitor with him on it. We filmed “Andrew” on his laptop outside in different angles and we focused his finger where he would be typing frantically. We then told him to look at the camera and look like he was trying to hide something, at this time we filmed the camera monitor, where he was looking straight at the camera.
Our third shot was “Andrew” after seeing the camera packs up his bags and tries to move quickly. We had to show him packing away his laptop and bags and leaving in a hurry. But because in the other shots, his bag wasn’t there it would look wrong if his bag magically appears also it would be non continuous. So because of this reason we decided to make him just pack away his laptop and then walking away. This would give it more of continuity. We when filming him walking away, we decided to film him from to angles; because of this we had to make sure Finlay did exactly the same thing, we put markings on the floor for him to know when he should turn. We had to re take these shots a number of times as the pace of him walking differed also when he was packing away the laptop there were troubles including he couldn’t get the clip undone or papers inside the case flew away; which we had to remove.
We tried to give Finlay as much guidance and told him exactly what to do, this way if we needed to re-film anything we could do it the same. Also we all had a vision of what we wanted our opening to look like, and we wanted it to come true.
We then filmed the different triangles and cameras that we are going to have intercuts in the film. We filmed each object for 20 seconds, this is a lot more than what we are going to use, but we decided to film for a long time so that we could cut and place the part that we want to use.
We were then going to film the person drawing and colouring in a triangle really franticly. As out actress wasn’t here we had to go around asking for people to do this for us, after finding someone we got the camera and scenery set up, but the camera was out of battery, we then decided we would film this last part another day, and we would get the footage we did and start editing it.
We then uploaded out footage and began to watch the bits we did and deciding which of the shots were better and a better pace. After deciding which shots we wanted to use, we decided to call the synoptic day a day.
Overall I think that the day went well and we got nearly all of our filming done and all that we need to do is film the last shot, edit and pick some music to go with it.
Friday 12 March 2010
Film Preparation
Props:
Laptop
Books
Casting:
Andrew Mathews - Finlay
Wednesday 17th March
Media all day , start filming
Film all of Finlay during his free lessons - period 2-4
Film camera and triangles - period 5
Start editing - period 6-7
DEADLINE : Friday 26th March 2010
Laptop
Books
Casting:
Andrew Mathews - Finlay
Wednesday 17th March
Media all day , start filming
Film all of Finlay during his free lessons - period 2-4
Film camera and triangles - period 5
Start editing - period 6-7
DEADLINE : Friday 26th March 2010
Tuesday 9 March 2010
Actors & Scenery
We decided for a guy called Finlay to be our actor in this. I think he has the “right look” to be a student who is dedicated to his work.
We also tried to look for locations we could shoot in the school; this would make it easier then having to travel outside of school with all the equipment. As our story board consists of “Andrew” on his computer in the sight of a camera, when we then film him on the camera monitor; this will make it seem that someone is watching him.
As there were no cameras in a classroom where we would film we couldn’t do this. As an alternative we decided it would work if he was outside on a laptop being watched.
We then went around school trying to find symbols that link to our illuminate theme. We tried to find triangles and pictures of eyes, we also looked for cameras as these may be possible settings and we would have 2/3 second shots of cameras and we would put them between the shot of “Andrew”, this would make the opening more symbolic.
Our first shot is a tracking shot of “Andrews” eyes and it tracks away revealing his whole body in a triangle frame. Like the all Seeing Eye symbol. To make this possible I made a triangle frame out of black card and when filming this part we would stick the card over the camera with tape.
We also tried to look for locations we could shoot in the school; this would make it easier then having to travel outside of school with all the equipment. As our story board consists of “Andrew” on his computer in the sight of a camera, when we then film him on the camera monitor; this will make it seem that someone is watching him.
As there were no cameras in a classroom where we would film we couldn’t do this. As an alternative we decided it would work if he was outside on a laptop being watched.
We then went around school trying to find symbols that link to our illuminate theme. We tried to find triangles and pictures of eyes, we also looked for cameras as these may be possible settings and we would have 2/3 second shots of cameras and we would put them between the shot of “Andrew”, this would make the opening more symbolic.
Our first shot is a tracking shot of “Andrews” eyes and it tracks away revealing his whole body in a triangle frame. Like the all Seeing Eye symbol. To make this possible I made a triangle frame out of black card and when filming this part we would stick the card over the camera with tape.
Wednesday 3 March 2010
Storyboard and Shooting
This is our storyboard of the six main shots that we want to feature in our opening for a psychological thriller.
1) An image of Andrew Mathews' face. Camera techniques used are tracking camera movements from extreme close up to an establishing shot of his whole body. The music will be continuous throughout and no FX sound effects so the narrative appeared realistic. We used tracks and a tripod to create this effect. The shape of the blinds is a triangle which fits in well with the theme about the Illuminati. The focus will become unclear and credit will be inserted.
2) An Image of Him in his room but this was changed to him outside on his laptop and he is being watched on CCTV. This is taken at a mid-shot to accentuate his character. The music remains continuous throughout and very little use of FX. The editing used will be cutting and short takes to create a fast paced sequence.
3) A monitor screen capturing this shot of him on his laptop, this is taken at a high angle shot. And the room we used to display the video was in one of the reception offices. This scene is a very important scene because this is the where Mathews is being watch and the idea of paranoia is introduced. The effectiveness of this shot is that it will be film in a room where he is already being filmed from outdoors; this creates a more terrifying feel.
4) Is a transition of many objects found among school such as CCTV camera's, triangular shapes and etc to emphasize how the Illuminati is in the mist of the school in some sort of way. These will be very short cuts also so that the narrative appears more quicker.
5) The fifth caption is of one of the students drawing a triangle. This is also taken from a high angle shot and creates an illusion of the Illuminati and government being associated with schools. With the editing software imovie we will change the pace to make it faster and also so that it matches the speed of the rest of the sequences.
6) We return to Andrew Mathews, who becomes very paranoid and decides to pack his bags as he suspects that someone is watching him. This shot is now taken from two different angles and both of which are in a mid-shot view. This creates an effect that looks as if he is being watched from many angles.
Tuesday 2 March 2010
Story Board
Our overall theme of our film is illuminati.
Define illuminati: In modern times it is also used to refer to a purported conspiratorial organization which acts as a shadowy "power behind the throne", allegedly controlling world affairs through present day governments and corporations.
When completing our storyboard and we tried to put as much detail in as possible. Information including the mise-en-scène, sound, camera shot and composition and how long the shot would be.
We did this as it will be very useful when filming as we will know exactly what the film and there would be no confusion, this means that we could get the filming done as quickly as possible and we could get started on the more complicated aspect of editing.
We also had to pick the non-diegetic music that goes on top of the film, as the new copy right laws we had to find a song or a piece of music from a copy right free site. We are yet to find one right now, but will however keep looking as music is a big part of setting the tone to the film.
Main shots:
1.Tracking shot: Finlay’s eye tracking backwards to reveal his whole body in a triangle frame.
2.Different angles: Finlay on computer and typing rapidly.
3.Camera: Finlay looking up at camera.
4.Camera monitor: Finlay tying and looking up at camera.
5.Different angles: Finlay packing his bags and walking away.
6.Different angles: somebody drawing a triangle and colouring it in. being very frantic.
Other shots:
We would film cameras and things in the shape of a triangle, this would make it more symbolic.
Define illuminati: In modern times it is also used to refer to a purported conspiratorial organization which acts as a shadowy "power behind the throne", allegedly controlling world affairs through present day governments and corporations.
When completing our storyboard and we tried to put as much detail in as possible. Information including the mise-en-scène, sound, camera shot and composition and how long the shot would be.
We did this as it will be very useful when filming as we will know exactly what the film and there would be no confusion, this means that we could get the filming done as quickly as possible and we could get started on the more complicated aspect of editing.
We also had to pick the non-diegetic music that goes on top of the film, as the new copy right laws we had to find a song or a piece of music from a copy right free site. We are yet to find one right now, but will however keep looking as music is a big part of setting the tone to the film.
Main shots:
1.Tracking shot: Finlay’s eye tracking backwards to reveal his whole body in a triangle frame.
2.Different angles: Finlay on computer and typing rapidly.
3.Camera: Finlay looking up at camera.
4.Camera monitor: Finlay tying and looking up at camera.
5.Different angles: Finlay packing his bags and walking away.
6.Different angles: somebody drawing a triangle and colouring it in. being very frantic.
Other shots:
We would film cameras and things in the shape of a triangle, this would make it more symbolic.
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