Friday, 13 April 2012
Interview and Presentation
Unfortunately i have found difficulty uploading the interview and presentation, but I intend to try again once in sixth form Monday. Whilst I do not have the videos I do have the powerpoint slide presentation uploaded. Flossi, my partner in the group also has the videos uploaded if they need to be viewed.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media project?
After doing a bit of research we decided Optimum Releasing would be best to distribute our film as they have relesed over 200 films and associate with many independent British film. The style of our film despit it's cliches and humour is a much more realist style than other Hollywood made films which include CGI and 3D, something which does not fit with the style of our film so we thought it would be inappropriate to choose a company which doesnt relate to the style of the film being shown. After research we found that Optimum Releasing had previously released many successful british films that have adopted the realist style, been independently made and include no special effects eventhough what they portray is different. For example Four Lions,Submarine and This is England.
Due to the fact our film company Reel Big Productions would be an independent British film production we knew that if funding for a full film was needed we would have to team up with another company for investment. After watching many films produced by Film 4 Flossi and myself decided that they would be the most suited to our project. This being because they are interested in investing in home grown talent and independent film they were also responsible for taking The Inbetweeners from e4 to a worldwide successful film and for the production of many other independent British films that have appealed to the teen audience for example Hot Fuzz.
Both Optimum Releasing/Canal Studio and Film 4 have created a reputation over the years for producing and investing in quality film, so we believe having these working to promote and create our film could give the impression to audiences that our film is of substantial quality.
Due to the fact our film company Reel Big Productions would be an independent British film production we knew that if funding for a full film was needed we would have to team up with another company for investment. After watching many films produced by Film 4 Flossi and myself decided that they would be the most suited to our project. This being because they are interested in investing in home grown talent and independent film they were also responsible for taking The Inbetweeners from e4 to a worldwide successful film and for the production of many other independent British films that have appealed to the teen audience for example Hot Fuzz.
Both Optimum Releasing/Canal Studio and Film 4 have created a reputation over the years for producing and investing in quality film, so we believe having these working to promote and create our film could give the impression to audiences that our film is of substantial quality.
Who would be your audience and how did you attract them?
Primarily our audience is teenagers. The subject matter and the setting is based around sixth form/ school life, something easily relateable to. The teen genre is hugely popular and films based around school life for example Bring it On ( box office $90,449,929) Mean Girls( box office $129,042,871) and Inbetweeners Movie (box office £45,028,659) all based around teen school life have all been successes especially amongst the teen age. Also the humour of the film is intended to appeal most to the teen audience as it will relate to their age and the situations they find them selves in daily.Whilst they are 'Science Boys' they will also encounter the problems and situations of school/sixthform/teen life something which can appeal to a to the wider audience of teens as it isnt solely focused on 'science' yet that it an aspect which makes it unique. The Big Bang Theory is something which can relate to our film as it does base itself around 4 grown men with careers in science but also their daily lives and how they associate and socialise outside their world of science. Whilst it features many science based things it has accumulated audiences of over 17 million worldwide, showing that the academic side of it does not detract from the series. With this in mind and the pre set fan base it gives confidence to the idea that our film would and could accumulate similar success if advertised and finished to a good standard.
Whilst we are primarily focusing on the teen market the film itself could and can appeal to a range of audiences as adults of any age can relate to school days and also characters that they see in the film that they could either relate to themselves or to another person they went to school with. The voice over at the beginning of the film is of the character Ashley reminiscing on his school days and this could also help attract older audiences as they can relate to the adult reminiscing on his school days and can give comparisons to their own experiences.
Whilst we are primarily focusing on the teen market the film itself could and can appeal to a range of audiences as adults of any age can relate to school days and also characters that they see in the film that they could either relate to themselves or to another person they went to school with. The voice over at the beginning of the film is of the character Ashley reminiscing on his school days and this could also help attract older audiences as they can relate to the adult reminiscing on his school days and can give comparisons to their own experiences.
What have you learnt from doing the project?
From the start we were decided on the concept of 'Science Boys', but think we were slightly naive to the process of planning what went into the opening sequence. Whilst our initial layout for our opening sequence was interesting on paper, the reality was we had overestimated the quality of camera and soon realized the type of shots we wanted would only be achievable with equipment we didn't have access to, so we quickly realized we had to regroup and re shoot.
From this we learnt the importance of meticulous planning, previously we had not thought through every shot clearly enough and when we came to shoot it was a case of thinking on the spot. The second time round, due to planning and avluating, it ran much more smoothly. The shots were right and because we had planned it meant we were more efficient with time, enabling us to film the majority of our shots one night after sixth form.
I also learnt that having co operative actors willing to give up spare time is important. Luckily all of the people we asked to appear in our introduction were willing to give up spare time and work to a schedule will helped us when filming as we were not wating around or finding we had to change dates around which would have cost time and rushed our footage.
The software Adboe Premier Pro was also new to me as I had never used it, but I found the previous tasks where we had filmed short sequences and played around with the effects/tools on Adobe really helped when it came to our final project as myself and Flossi could then build upon the little knowledge we knew to keep learning about and using the software. i think on reflection had we not used it previous to the final project we would have found difficulty creating the piece we were capable of.
When we were actually uploading and editing our footage we found it was useful to go through and check footage and then name the clips we were using so that we knew which ones to use when imported. This not only helped with timing but meant that we would always be able to find the footage we needed again should the software lose ours, which it did.
Finally I learnt the importance of working with someone who also understands what is required of the project and could in this case work in a partnership. Luckily I think myself and Flossi worked well together as we both had creative input and were willing to give extra time in order to make sure the finished product was as good as it could have been. We both agreed on the concept from the beginning and raised any doubts or concerns before it was too late to change. Overall whilst it was a learning curve I believe everything I learnt was beneficial and gave me a greater understanding of what is required the planning/filming/editing in media and filming.
From this we learnt the importance of meticulous planning, previously we had not thought through every shot clearly enough and when we came to shoot it was a case of thinking on the spot. The second time round, due to planning and avluating, it ran much more smoothly. The shots were right and because we had planned it meant we were more efficient with time, enabling us to film the majority of our shots one night after sixth form.
I also learnt that having co operative actors willing to give up spare time is important. Luckily all of the people we asked to appear in our introduction were willing to give up spare time and work to a schedule will helped us when filming as we were not wating around or finding we had to change dates around which would have cost time and rushed our footage.
The software Adboe Premier Pro was also new to me as I had never used it, but I found the previous tasks where we had filmed short sequences and played around with the effects/tools on Adobe really helped when it came to our final project as myself and Flossi could then build upon the little knowledge we knew to keep learning about and using the software. i think on reflection had we not used it previous to the final project we would have found difficulty creating the piece we were capable of.
When we were actually uploading and editing our footage we found it was useful to go through and check footage and then name the clips we were using so that we knew which ones to use when imported. This not only helped with timing but meant that we would always be able to find the footage we needed again should the software lose ours, which it did.
Finally I learnt the importance of working with someone who also understands what is required of the project and could in this case work in a partnership. Luckily I think myself and Flossi worked well together as we both had creative input and were willing to give extra time in order to make sure the finished product was as good as it could have been. We both agreed on the concept from the beginning and raised any doubts or concerns before it was too late to change. Overall whilst it was a learning curve I believe everything I learnt was beneficial and gave me a greater understanding of what is required the planning/filming/editing in media and filming.
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing your project?
During the project I ahve learnt a considerable amount about the technology used in the process of creating just an opening sequence. prior to the project I had never used any form of movie making program.
One of the main things for us was problems with the temprament of the software. We found that if the capacity of the footage was too large the software would find difficulty loading and keeping up to date with our edits, usually ending in it cutting out and us losing our work. From this even though obvious, it reinstated the importance of saving and documenting work through every stage as it would have initially saved us time and patience.
I think I also learnt the importance of getting to grips with the software initially and finding tools that would save time. One example of this being the slice tool. Up until the last week or so of editing our footage we did not know about it, but when we discovered it the time it saved us was invaluable. It allowed us to edit our footage much more efficiently.
Another important feature which we learnt was the colour correction. Many of our opening shots especially around the school appeared on screen with a yellow/ orange hue whilst others were too bright. The colour corection allowed us to edit the footage and make it look more realistic and in a similar light so the continuity was correct.
One of the most crucial things which we discovered was the importance of the tripod. As we found with the first shoot of our film intro, without a stedicam it was not possible to create smooth proffessional looking shots without the use of a tripod. Handheld didn't work in this instance. Once we had re grouped and re shot our film intro we realized how important the tripod was and how we should not have underestimated the importance of it.
With regards to sound we knew that the recording quality of the camera was not the best and from preliminary work in other projects found that sound from the footage shot sounded tinny and took away from the effort and quality of footage. With this in mind we chose to do a voice over and I believe it worked so much better. As the camera only had to record sound the quality was much better and the clarity meant it did not take away from the introductory sequence.
One of the main things for us was problems with the temprament of the software. We found that if the capacity of the footage was too large the software would find difficulty loading and keeping up to date with our edits, usually ending in it cutting out and us losing our work. From this even though obvious, it reinstated the importance of saving and documenting work through every stage as it would have initially saved us time and patience.
I think I also learnt the importance of getting to grips with the software initially and finding tools that would save time. One example of this being the slice tool. Up until the last week or so of editing our footage we did not know about it, but when we discovered it the time it saved us was invaluable. It allowed us to edit our footage much more efficiently.
Another important feature which we learnt was the colour correction. Many of our opening shots especially around the school appeared on screen with a yellow/ orange hue whilst others were too bright. The colour corection allowed us to edit the footage and make it look more realistic and in a similar light so the continuity was correct.
One of the most crucial things which we discovered was the importance of the tripod. As we found with the first shoot of our film intro, without a stedicam it was not possible to create smooth proffessional looking shots without the use of a tripod. Handheld didn't work in this instance. Once we had re grouped and re shot our film intro we realized how important the tripod was and how we should not have underestimated the importance of it.
With regards to sound we knew that the recording quality of the camera was not the best and from preliminary work in other projects found that sound from the footage shot sounded tinny and took away from the effort and quality of footage. With this in mind we chose to do a voice over and I believe it worked so much better. As the camera only had to record sound the quality was much better and the clarity meant it did not take away from the introductory sequence.
How does your media project represent a particular social group?
The social group our film represents is the teen age I believe. This is because whilst it is about 'Science Boys' each character could be related to a host of people that many went to school with. For example Ashley, apart from his love for Science, he is quite style conscious and holds an arrogant attitude that he is better than the others in the group and Fenton, who is more involved with his studies than socialising. Whilst Science is the thing that holds the group together and is their common interest, the film itself will look more closely at the dynamics of the group and how they deal with day to say situations. We created characters with trademarks and personalities that could be associated with by anyone especially the teen age, but also adults looking back on their school days and school life.
How does you media project use develop or challenge the codes or convetions of your genre?
From the beginning, our film it is clearly aimed at the teen comedy genre. From the start we had the idea of exxaggerating the usually cliched genre in order to give humour, we drew this from the use of characters all being exxaggerated versions of characters many audience members could relate to or believe they attended school with. By doing this from the offest it also helped us to draw in and engage the audience. The use of characters which audience memebers could in some way relate to and the light hearted easy going nature of the film meant whilst it would appeal to outr target audience teens, it would also be understood by a host of ages as it is centred around light hearted entertainment. We took obvious influences from other popular films/tv series for example the Inbetweeners tv series/movie and the Big Bang Theory, each worldwide successe. Whilst the subject of each is different the format is the same as each follow the lives of four individuals, so we decided to have four lead characters in our film. Also the humour of each is obvious, something which we implemented into our film. Whilst we drew influences from these series/films we also looked at other films of the teen genre such as Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and Hott Fuzz and other films such as Trainspotting and Resevoir Dogs. We were interested by the opening scene of resevoir dogs and Hot Fuzz both similar. We liked the idea of trying to in some way spoof the Resevoir Dogs intro by having the character walk down the corridoor in a group, but also slow down the pace to intensify the situation and humour. We also took the idea of freeze framing each character and posting their name beneath from trainspotting as we felt it would quicker establigh connections between the audience and the character and their engagement into the film. Whilst we drew influences from American teen comedies, for example we took how the names of director/editor etc had been protrayed creatively in the opening sequences of Napoleon Dynamite, we wanted to keep the film about a British secondary school and in doing so keep some of the humour associated with the BFI. This has had major commercial success with the Inbetweeners movie in America and Europe and we hoped to replicate this success by portraying the slightly exxaggerated sixth from experience of four British 'Science Boys'.
Tuesday, 27 March 2012
Friday, 16 March 2012
Music and Sound
For music, me and Flossi were adament from the start that the genre should be indie, something which would fit with the traget audience age and also the age and setting of the characters as the genre is especially popular amongst teens. Obvious choices for us to look at were Arctic Monkeys and Jamie T, so we set about looking for covers that could work. We came across a guitar cover of Mardy Bum by the Arctic Monkeys and knew it would work well and did when we trialed it with the intro. The fact that it was a cover without vocals played to our advantage as it enhanced the sound of the voiceover being played.
The voiceover proved our final hurdle as coming up with the script and finding an appropriate person to voice it was challenging. Initially we went through a range of people that we wanted to do the voiceover, one of the them being Fenton played by Sam Humby, but then realized in the test run that he and the others werent suitable. We were also working on the script and inititially found difficulty with it. After sitting and discussing we realized that we were again complicating matters by overthinking the script too much so decided to try and figure out the format in which we would present the characters through dialogue. We came up with the idea of using the voiceover guy to represent a future version of one of the characters, we chose Ashley, to reflect on his school days. We then decided to present the characters in a 'top trump' style, by ranking their qualities from -10 to 10. An example Daniel - Cool Skills 0, Dissection rate 9.8. By sticking to this format of introducing the characters we found it a much easier process. With the problem regarding who would be voicing it, we decided to choose our Media teacher Mr.Earl.
Overall the decisions we made I feel worked well to form our introduction. The music fit with the style, theme and audience of the film whilst the voiceover narrated and pulled together the introduction.
The voiceover proved our final hurdle as coming up with the script and finding an appropriate person to voice it was challenging. Initially we went through a range of people that we wanted to do the voiceover, one of the them being Fenton played by Sam Humby, but then realized in the test run that he and the others werent suitable. We were also working on the script and inititially found difficulty with it. After sitting and discussing we realized that we were again complicating matters by overthinking the script too much so decided to try and figure out the format in which we would present the characters through dialogue. We came up with the idea of using the voiceover guy to represent a future version of one of the characters, we chose Ashley, to reflect on his school days. We then decided to present the characters in a 'top trump' style, by ranking their qualities from -10 to 10. An example Daniel - Cool Skills 0, Dissection rate 9.8. By sticking to this format of introducing the characters we found it a much easier process. With the problem regarding who would be voicing it, we decided to choose our Media teacher Mr.Earl.
Overall the decisions we made I feel worked well to form our introduction. The music fit with the style, theme and audience of the film whilst the voiceover narrated and pulled together the introduction.
Sunday, 26 February 2012
Resevoir Dogs
Whilst this film was not a likely choice for research with regards to Science Boys and the teen comedy genre, there were ideas that we took from the introductory scenes to implement into Science Boys. This being the way in which characters are introduced. In the opening scenes characters in Resevoir Dogs are seen to walk in a group formation at a slowed down pace to heighten the sense of superiority and dominance the group holds. We used this idea in Science boys asthough it were a spoof. Unlike the characters of Resevoir Dogs the characters in Science Boys do not assert dominance of superiority over others, quite the opposite, so by making a spoof style introduction we hope to highlight this and how the characters in each film are complete opposites.
Sound
So far myself and Flossi havent added any dialogue or music to our intro. Within the next week we will be recording the dialogue and producing a script. We haven't yet produced a script because we wanted to sit down with some of the people who we cast in the film and ask their opinion of what dialogue should be incorporated. We also don't want to try too hard in producing a humorous script as trying too hard to make it funny may ruin it, so we are hoping to draw on any spontaneous comments or input from cast members to incorporate into the dialogue.We have come to the decision to have just one person saying the dialogue as it tends to be usually only one character who does voiceover.
On the music front we have decided that we want the genre to be Indie as it fits with the key demographic of the film and the age of the characters in the film, as this genre tends to be most popular amongst the teen age group. We wanted to use a band like Arctic Monkeys or artist such as Jamie T but due to copyright reasons we can't use an original version, so are currently searching for a cover.
On the music front we have decided that we want the genre to be Indie as it fits with the key demographic of the film and the age of the characters in the film, as this genre tends to be most popular amongst the teen age group. We wanted to use a band like Arctic Monkeys or artist such as Jamie T but due to copyright reasons we can't use an original version, so are currently searching for a cover.
Credits take 2!
One of the things myself and Flossi were most concerned about when looking over our rough cut, was the credits at the beginning. Whilst the idea had initially seemed creative enough to use as the opening credits (a text book with its pages being turned revealing producer/director etc on each page), when put into practice it appeared lacking and slighly monotonous, it didn't engage you from the start. Once we recieved our feedback it reaffirmed our previous thoughts that there was something that needed doing to the credits.
We had had a few ideas when thinking of how to present the credits and decided to go back to one we had earlier. The idea being to shoot the names of the director/editor/producer etc printed onto paper in the science boys text, being stuck to walls and doors etc around the school.
The footage is currently being converted into a suitable format, but from what we had filmed on Friday I am confident that the footage is suitable for its purpose and is much more interesting than what we had used previously.
We had had a few ideas when thinking of how to present the credits and decided to go back to one we had earlier. The idea being to shoot the names of the director/editor/producer etc printed onto paper in the science boys text, being stuck to walls and doors etc around the school.
The footage is currently being converted into a suitable format, but from what we had filmed on Friday I am confident that the footage is suitable for its purpose and is much more interesting than what we had used previously.
Adjustments
After being given our advice back after handing in our rough cut me and Flossi have started working on improvements.
Our first was revisiting an idea we had had previously - freeze frames. After shooting our film introduction for the second time we weren't so sure whether or not to include the freeze frames, but decided that n the end they should be added. So far we have included four freeze frames of each of the characters with the character name superimposed onto the screen. I am glad we decided to go down this route in the end because it gives more of an edge to the intro and breaks up each of the sequences between the characters.
In the process of incorporating freeze frames me and Flossi learned a few new skills with regards to using Adobe Premier Pro. First of all the cut tool. Previously we hadn't been aware of this tool and had we have known about it, it could have saved us a lot of time. It has proved useful thorughout this final project.
We also learned how to create freeze frames. At first the process of creating one seemed slightly complicated, but now both myself and Flossi feel confident about using it and it has proved a valuable technique to learn.
Our first was revisiting an idea we had had previously - freeze frames. After shooting our film introduction for the second time we weren't so sure whether or not to include the freeze frames, but decided that n the end they should be added. So far we have included four freeze frames of each of the characters with the character name superimposed onto the screen. I am glad we decided to go down this route in the end because it gives more of an edge to the intro and breaks up each of the sequences between the characters.
In the process of incorporating freeze frames me and Flossi learned a few new skills with regards to using Adobe Premier Pro. First of all the cut tool. Previously we hadn't been aware of this tool and had we have known about it, it could have saved us a lot of time. It has proved useful thorughout this final project.
We also learned how to create freeze frames. At first the process of creating one seemed slightly complicated, but now both myself and Flossi feel confident about using it and it has proved a valuable technique to learn.
Friday, 10 February 2012
Science Boys - rough cut ready!
Me and Flossi have finally finished the rough cut of Science Boys introduction, today being the deadline. Whilst there isn't music or audio in it so far, I am confident with the clips and how we have edited them together. When thinking back to our first attemot at filming I am pleased that we decided to re shoot as it has given us better material to work with. When discussing what we want to do further on into the editing process, we decided to change the main character and voice over from Matt (Amir Yahari) to Ashley (Michael Wilson). We did this because we found Michael seemed to lead the group as they walk through the corridoor so we thought naturally he suited the part better. At this point of the process I am happy with the progress me and Flossi have made and I believe our introduction so far actually looks like an introduction to a film.
Tuesday, 31 January 2012
Filming take 2!
30th january
We notified all of the actors to meet us at school for 3:20pm as some had to travel from other sixth forms. On the previous friday after looking over our footage and realizing it was unusable me and Flossi brainstormed and came up with a more cohesive, organised and effective way of filming which will hopefully show in the final footage. We went through step by step what we wanted:
We notified all of the actors to meet us at school for 3:20pm as some had to travel from other sixth forms. On the previous friday after looking over our footage and realizing it was unusable me and Flossi brainstormed and came up with a more cohesive, organised and effective way of filming which will hopefully show in the final footage. We went through step by step what we wanted:
- Shots of Sam sitting doing work
- Michael checking his hair in the toilets
- Craig tripping over a mop and throwing his work everywhere
- Amir defacing a whiteboard and window
- Establishing shot of all characters walking down the corridoor
- Credits written in a book
First attempt at filming
Me and Flossi decided to shoot our film on the 21st of January, a Saturday when the school was open. We asked all of the actors to meet at 8:00am so that we could have to time to set up and establish where we wanted the shots to be filmed. We faced a few difficulties. Mainly how we could get a reverse dolly shot down the corridoor. We tried different ways but settled on using a swivel chair as a means of pushing the person using the camera. For some of the shots this worked, but on reflection after looking at the footage on the computer we realized the footage was too off balance and the camera moved too much for us to be able to use. Whilst this meant we would have to re group and think of another way of shooting with the same concept, the day had been useful in showing us what we did and did not need to do. We realized that using a tripod was essential (something we hadnt used as part of it had been missing on the day of shooting), the importance of always looking over footage and scrutinizing it to see if any improvements can be made. I believe with the previous idea of doing a dolly shot down the corridoor we over complicated the process for our selves. Had we had appropriate equipment i feel it would have worked but this wasn't the case.
Sunday, 22 January 2012
Finalised Character Profiles
After much discussion into how we want our actors to look and be we have finally compiled a conclusive character profile of each:
Matt is the self styled leader of the group. He is a very confident individual believeing he is popular and generally cool eventhough this may not be the case. A slighly arrogant and cocky character, we wanted this to come across in the way he walked so we asked him to try and incorporate this into his facial expression and how he walked.
Ashley is the most 'streetwise' of the group. He is into his style and has the belief he is better than the other people in the group. We gave him a slight attitude to further the idea that he is better than the rest of them, when in fact he would be lost without the rest of the group. We wanted him to walk as though he were better than the rest of the group and further this by the filthy look he gives to the other members.
Fenton is the character that we wanted to stay away from the rivalry between Matt and Ashley. He is the least streetwise of the group and his priorities lie solely with science. He is in his own little world and doesnt care about materialistic things. We wanted his character to be a bit confused and nerd like which we feel was represented in his costume and how he walked the corridoor.
The characters together do make for a dysfunctional group but thats where we wanted the humour tocome from. They are all friends because of their one common interest science, that and the fact they had no ther choice.
Matt (Amir Yahari)
Ashley (Michael Wilson)
Ashley is the most 'streetwise' of the group. He is into his style and has the belief he is better than the other people in the group. We gave him a slight attitude to further the idea that he is better than the rest of them, when in fact he would be lost without the rest of the group. We wanted him to walk as though he were better than the rest of the group and further this by the filthy look he gives to the other members.
Fenton (Sam Humby)
Fenton is the character that we wanted to stay away from the rivalry between Matt and Ashley. He is the least streetwise of the group and his priorities lie solely with science. He is in his own little world and doesnt care about materialistic things. We wanted his character to be a bit confused and nerd like which we feel was represented in his costume and how he walked the corridoor.
Daniel (Craig Forster)
Daniel is the clumsiest of the group and seen by the others as a bit of a joke. We wanted this to come acorss to the audience so we asked him to mess his hair a little and incorporate a few stumbles into his walk. We also wanted our opening scenes to start with him sumbling and falling as to really establish his character.
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