RESEARCH: Initial Storyboard

i. Establishing shot - Heavy breathing is heard while the shot slowly fades to a man running. The shot will last aprox. 6-7 seconds and consist only of his feet.
ii/iii. The first of the opening credits. Currently debating on whether to keep the heavy breathing over these or not. The text will fade in.
iv. Similar to i, shot of man running, this shot will last only about 3 seconds.
v. More opening titles.
vi. This shot consists of the main character making a turn to the right and going up some steps. The shot will pan slightly as he makes the turn.
vii. Group names

viii. This shot will start with the character appearing from the right hand side of the screen. He will be walking backwards so the audience can see the front of him, he will have blood on his shirt and should give the impression that he is running from something. He will then jump over a fence behind him.
ix. During the same shot the camera will move forward with the character as he jumps over the fence. Then quite loudly (probably through use of sound effects) a car will appear from the right will collide with the main character. During viii and ix smaller opening credits may appear.
x. The scene will cut to a shot of a man getting out of a car, he will ask if the man on the ground is okay.
xi. The shot then cut to a POV shot in which our main character will appear dazed. He will then get up and begin to run to the right. Smaller opening credits will stop here if introduced.
xii. The scene cuts to the main character running off, possibly telling the man in the car he is fine.
xiii. The scene then cuts back to the same angle before of the man in the car. He will mutter something under his breath and look dismayed and then get back into his car. Upon the door slamming shut the scene will instantly cut to a room with a lady in it. Not sure what she should be doing in the room, it might be a good idea to avoid her doing housework, someone might complain for all we know. A phone will ring and she will walk over to it.
xv/xvi/xvii/xviii/xix. Brief conversation on the phone, it should be understood at this point that the main character and this secondary character are or were engaged in a relationship. MC as we shall now call him for convenience purposes will more or less force invite himself round her apartment. The shot will consist him running towards the camera head on while the camera maintains distance. BeforeSC can say otherwise, he hangs up leaving her saying "hello?" and then looking at the phone in confusion.
xx. Scene cuts to a birds eye shot of the MC running up a set of stairs.
xxi. Shot of MC coming through the apartment door with a brief shreak from SC, the camera pans right and MC exits to the left of the screen.
xxii. From the right MC walks towards a door and goes in.
xxiii. These shot will make use of a canted angle to represent confusion as nobody other than MC knows what is going on. He will turn the tap, take off his bloody shirt and then lean over the sink until he turns them off when the sink is full.
xxiv. Over the shoulder shot as he splashes water over his face and then he will begin to dunk his head in the water.
xxv. Shot shows his face entering the water following shot xxv. He then exits the water.
xxvi. Shot then cuts to the shown shot and SC appears round the door.
xxvii/xxviii/xxix/xxx/xxxi/xxxii. Contrary to the dodgy story board pictures the couple then engage in conversation. Something along the lines of what has just taken place. The two minutes of filming should at this point be complete

This is our initial storyboard. Later on we will be making changes to it to fall in line with what our target audience research suggests.

RESEARCH: Audience Research Analysis

RESEARCH: Audience Research

Before a film project can be undertook, it is apparently necessary to perform some audience research. This allows one to decide what direction should be taken with the film in order to "Get" the audience. Of course, if one is undertaking a film project that is true to their own vision, this research would not be needed. However, as this film is undertook to receive as high a grade as possible, this research will be useful.

The questions asked and the results were...

1) Are you...

     Male?   [12]     Female?   [8]

2) How old are you?

    15 or under  [1]    16-18  [17]   19-21 [2]

3) Do you enjoy films?

   Yes  [19]    No  [1]

4) What is your favorite genre of film?

   Action                       [6]

   Horror                      [5]

   Comedy                    [4]

   Adventure                 [2]

   Science-Fiction         [3]

   Romance                  [0]

   Other...                    [2] (Thriller and War were given, and have been factored into Action and Horror.)

5) What do you find important in a film? (Up to three can be picked)

   Special Effects    [9]

   Acting                 [13]

   Set pieces           [5]

   Pacing                [3]

   Aesthetics           [6]

   Dialogue             [8]

   Continuity           [3]

   Editing                [4]

(Out of 51)

6) What makes you watch a film?

   Specific Actor                     [4]

   Critical Reception                [5]

   Director                              [2]

   Genre                                 [5]

   Premise                              [1]

   Word of mouth                   [2]

   Unsure                               [1]

RESEARCH: Deconstruction #4

RESEARCH: Deconstruction #3

Title: Metropolis
Director: Fritz Lang
Year: 1927
Genre: Dystopian Science Fiction
BBFC Age Rating: PG
Starring: Brigitte Helm, Alfred Abel, Gustav Frolich

The establishing shot of the film is a landscape shot of the upper, aristocrat parts of the Metropolis with lights moving across them. These lights quickly become whirring machinery and cogs. As the higher buildings have to be divided before becoming the machinery, this suggests that there is a great gulf between the workers and the nobility, establishing Metropolis as a Science Fiction film with a Dystopian theme. 

The next few shots show more futuristic moving machinery, showing that the film will have a lot of emphasis on technology, a staple of the science-fiction genre. A lot of the machinery features many cogs in its' design. The nature of the machinery may be a reflection of the workers of the city- they are all just cogs in a much bigger machine. This concept is one of the conventions of a dystopian Science-Fiction film, and is used prominently in the first few shots. Interspersed within this machinery is a shot of a clock ticking toward 10 O'clock. The clock only features ten hours on it. This suggests that this society has decimalised its' time. Decimalisation is seen as a form of logic, suggesting that this society is one of few Romantic values. This coldness toward life and society is an established convention of Science Fiction, keeping Metropolis in line with its' genre.

As the clock reaches ten, a focused shot of a whistle blowing is shown, followed by the words "The day shift.". This suggests that the workers have a very long shift, as the shifts seem to be simply divided into "the day shift", and "the night shift". This suggests that the workers are being exploited by the upper classes, further adding to the dystopian science fiction theme of the film.

After the whistle blows, the final scene of the first two minutes- a massive line of workers are shown standing outside of an entrance, blocked by a huge gate. As the gate opens, another massive line of workers are shown on the other side of the gate. The workers shuffle subserviently into and out of the factory, all still in order. This subservient nature is reminiscent of an ant colony, as the workers go about their tasks without question. This further develops the Dystopian genre theme of exploited workers.

Metropolis is a classic example of dystopian film. The great, imposing architecture shown in the establishing shot suggests that this city is incredibly vast (possibly continent spanning), and ruled a single group of people. The workers are all exploited and are completely subservient, and the systems of time measurement are different to our own, suggesting that this society is incredibly different to our own. All of these concepts are conventions of a Dystopian Science Fiction film.

RESEARCH: Deconstruction #2

Title: A Clockwork Orange
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Year: 1971
Genre: Science Fiction Drama
BBFC Age Rating: 18
Starring: Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee, Michael Bates

The establishing shot of A Clockwork Orange is an extreme close-up of the main character, Alex's face. The camera lingers on his face for several seconds, allowing the audience to establish that all narration will be done by him. The camera then slowly zooms out, showing his three friends. The camera then zooms out more, showing that their location is a milk bar called  the Korova. All the tables in the bar are statues of naked women. This suggests that the main characters may have a hedonistic streak in them, which is the case. The shot shows Alex as being in the centre of his friends. This establishes that he is the leader of the group, as well as the main character.

All the other people in the first scene are looking or bowing away from Alex and his friends, suggesting that they are feared or respected. This further builds on the theme of Alex as a leader. This idea of leadership helps establish the Drama genre, as it sets the audience up for his fall from the top of the chain.

The clothes people are wearing are of a fashion not seen in real life, suggesting that the film is set in a future era, helping to establish science fiction themes in the story. The Korova also uses a lot of clean colours, a convention of futuristic dramas.

The opening scene uses non-diagetic music. The music seems to be a classical piece that is being played on a synthesizer. This fusion of Classical music, usually used in Dramas, and synthesizers which sound futuristic allows the audience to establish that the film will be a Science-fiction Drama. The opening scene also has a non-diagetic narration by Alex. His voice sounds quite threatening and off-kilter, making the audience feel uneasy. This helps establish a dramatic convention- the evil character. However, this convention is subverted slightly as the "evil" character is also the narrator of the story.

Alex uses a made up slang (called Nadsat) in his opening speech 'trying to make up our rassoodocks...' , to make the audience feel out of place in the story, further adding to the unease felt. By using a version of reality that the audience has no understanding of, and then narrating it from the perspective of a rather unpleasant character, they begin to feel uncomfortable and isolated, further adding to the dramatic elements of the film.

The next scene is set in a clean white underpass, and begins with a close-up of a drunken tramp. The use of the tramp set against a stale underpass in this scene possibly signifies social decay, and begins to paint a picture of a dystopian society. The idea of a dystopian society establishes to the audience that there may be some kind of revolution at some point in the plot. This build-up to change at the beginning of a story is a dramatic convention which is strongly established in this scene.

The final few seconds of the initial two minutes end ominously, with the shadows of Alex and his 'droogs' appearing in the underpass armed with weapons. This begins to immerse the audience in the ultra-violent world of Alex in A Clockwork Orange.

The initial two minutes of A Clockwork Orange used many of the established conventions of the drama genre. Many of these conventions are then subverted slightly to entice the audience into the film from the off.

RESEARCH: Deconstruction #1

 

Title: UP
Director: Pete Docter
Year: 2009
Genre: Adventure
BBFC Age Rating: U
Starring: Edward Esner, Jordan Nagai, John Ratzenberger

UP begins by showing a film-within-a-film by way of a newsreel. The content of the news real is used to establish the films' theme of discovery and adventure, and also is a nod towards classic adventure films, especially The Lost World (1925, 1960). This firmly establishes the genre of the film for the audience.

Partway through the newsreel, the camera zooms out to show the audience the cinema in which the film is being viewed. There is then a close up of the main character Carl, which shows him wearing standard clothes for the era, but with a pair of flight-goggles on his head. This establishes that Carl has been greatly interested in discovery from a young age, but, judging by his clothing, his family have normal, every day jobs. By having Carl wear normal clothes with a pair of flight goggles on his head, the shot makes a nod to his method of flight later on- an everyday thing (his house) with a means of discovery (balloons) on top. The idea of an amateur becoming a great explorer is another conventional theme used in the classic films of the Adventure genre , further establishing the film as being an adventure film in the style of a classic.

The character on the newsreel, Charles F. Muntz looks like a combination of Charles Lindbergh and Howard Hughes, two great aviators from the period. The use of a Howard Hughes reference would suggest to the viewers that Muntz may in the future become an eccentric recluse, which is indeed the case. His airship is named The Spirit of Adventure, a reference to Lindbergh's Spirit of St.Louis plane.

The rest of the scene in the cinema shows actions on the newsreel and reactions from Carl. This allows the audience to see that Carl considers the character on the news reel to be a hero, as he expresses shock and anger when the explorer is labelled a lier. The only shots used are of the newsreel and of Carl, suggesting that the explorer and Carl are two main characters who may cross paths.

The clothing, architecture, language and use of monochrome on the newsreel suggest that the opening two minutes of the film is set in the early-to-middle of 20th century (1930-1950), which was a time when many of the classic adventure films was made. This once again helps establish Up as being a classic-inspired adventure film.

The final scene of the opening two minutes shows Carl running down the street carrying a balloon with the words Spirit of Adventure on it. By having Spirit of Adventure on the balloon, the scene suggests that Carl's hopes and dreams of adventure will involve lighter than air flight, which it does. Also, by using Adventure, it yet again establishes the genre of the film.

In conclusion, the first two minutes of UP fit the film in very well with the conventions of a classic adventure film. The era shown was one that generated many of the great classics, the use of an adventurous amateur and a depiction of unexplored lands allows sets the audience up for a film of risk, adventure, and discovery.

RESEARCH: Preliminary Final

This is the preliminary video for our research. My role in this was to provide direction to the actors and to manage the environment. The preliminary shows a number of the researched techniques, such as Match-on action, and Shot/Reverse shot. As most of the filming was done within the space of a day, continuity issues with the actors was not a major issue.

A key issue in the filming was the environment. The hallway used in the first scene is quite busy throughout the day, and people had to be made to wait for our shot to be done. This created an issue with time, as we did not want to delay people going to their lessons. As a time saving measure, the first segment of the scene was done entirely in one shot with a pan. This allowed us to quickly move on to an area that would not be subject to such issues.

Another issue was continuity. The conversation was performed with a Shot/Reverse shot technique. This created an issue when both actors spoke their lines on both takes. To get around this, we had a single audio track running over the entire scene, using a keen eye to ensure that the lip syncing was correct.

RESEARCH: Preliminary Story Board

This here is the storyboard for the preliminary project that our group is undertaking. As it is merely a display of technical knowledge, please do not expect a gripping tale of greed and of retribution and so on.

RESEARCH: Match on action

Okay gang.

Today we will be looking at Match on action. Match on action is a filming technique used to establish and maintain continuity during a