26/03/10

Evaluation

In this project my aim was to work coherently within a team to create a Gothic film portraying Bath in a unique way. I started by researching the Bath Film Office and the Suited and Booted Company finding out what they do. I then met with them to receive our brief and get started with ideas for our project. I found it very helpful working with clients it was good to have a deadline and a purpose to the work we were going to do. The brief we were given was very interesting and I found my team was very exited at the thought of creating a Gothic film with the incentive of a small competition.

“We met with the Suited and Booted film company to learn about what they do and what they are about, I also looked on some of the websites they suggested to get a background knowledge of their role.”

In the initial stages as a team we were coming up with some good ideas but finding it difficult to narrow them down, instead we chose to pick a few ideas and combine them, I wanted to have a romantic love story with similarities to Shakespeare and Ophelia, so we decided to combine this with themes of suicide, madness and insanity.

After this we decided on a rough storyline and wrote it down into a storyboard, this we found got changed and adapted as we went along and developed our ideas further. Writing the film treatment I found fairly easy but wasn’t sure what problems we might come across. This was a learning experience for me and found events occurred which we had not predicted, such as team members leaving halfway through the project. I think we dealt with this fairly well each supporting each other with extras that needed to be done.



I loved our choice of locations especially the Roman Baths as I had only seen images of it before. It was a successful idea but I think we could have got more out of it if we explored different ways of including it in our film. We didn’t get as much footage as I would have liked and if we repeated this project I would suggest two sessions of shooting rather than just one as we were only allowed to film before opening hours.

“I think this session of filming went fairly well although if we did it again I would have filmed a lot more as we didn't have enough to work with as I would have liked.”

Permission to film was fairly easy to get although we came across a few problems with a track in Bear Flat, which we could not find an address for. This was solved on the day as we found a location suitable for what we wanted away from the general public.

While making our film a problem we came across was getting experience with the cameras within a restricted time period, it was fairly easy to lose track of time but we got the hang of it in the end and I found myself pick up the role of time-keeper. I was pleased with how we came together as a team and took it seriously, I was focused throughout and wanted to achieve a good outcome. As an actress I found my role fairly easy as I didn’t have many lines and had to be very still in most of the shots. The Ophelia related shot in the bath was quite difficult as the water was getting cold and it was hard to look dead and not breath for a long period of time. To solve this we got more than one shot, which we could put together, or use, at different points in the film.

I enjoyed editing the film the most I found experimenting with different techniques and transitions very interesting and got a feeling of pride when the film was completed as I had never done this before and I was happy with the outcome. It was fairly difficult to edit the film to start with but we had a good few sessions to learn it and develop your ideas. I had seen a technique before where a clip is broken down into just the important parts to show the passing of time so I decided to recreate this in my film. It was also helpful when I found a shortage of footage such as the overdose scene at the end and could make it seem there was more than there was.

We chose to put forwards my film and Jadine’s film as they were both fully completed and showed two different versions of the same footage. Also my film had sound added to it where as Jadine’s was silent. This showed our film could be understood with or without sound.

“I decided to use this lesson adding sound to the film. If I had more time and freedom with this project I would have tried to find a way to use a song as the soundtrack as I think the use of a song as a soundtrack would have been really effective but for copyright reasons this was not allowed.”

Overall I found I really enjoyed this project and I am happy with the outcome and final version of my film.

19/03/10

the first part of this lesson was used to organise our work into folders such as pre-production work like location sheets and storyboards to send off to the examiners. The second part of this lesson we used to evaluate another groups film, I chose Abi's group with the film Afterlife as I thought their film was the best.

After Life by Jack Crossley
I think this group was trying to achieve an emotionally provoking film. I think in relation to the brief with themes of gothic they succeeded very well, using an old fashioned style of film with no soundtrack and made black and white with only a red dress. I think this was very effective in creating a nostalgic and emotional atmosphere but with more time and funding they could have improved the costume to match the time period intended a bit better.
I think they were trying to achieve a gothic themed storyline in which a ghost who is locked in time cannot find her lover. This is very apparent and is helped by subtitles, I like the way subtitles were used as they helped add too the atmosphere of the film and keep you interested as you were forced to read as well as watch, this is a clever technique to hold the audiences attention. I think to improve there could have been more film shown in relation to type.
The overall mood of the film to me was quite sad and portrayed a tragic love story. I think not having a soundtrack helped this and I particularly liked the black and white theme with just the dress in colour. It all fitted together very nicely the effects used complimented the film such as the cctv effect used at the beginning. The way the camera is slanted in some shots compliments the composition and shows off the surrounding area, which was part of the brief, I think they followed the brief quite well including some really nice shots of the surrounding area.
I like the style of writing in which the subtitles are written, as this fits in with the overall theme of the film and helps bring it all together. The flickering writing also compliments the silent movie theme bringing a nostalgic emotion feel which also makes the movie timeless. I noticed how some of the shots have been slowed down this created a sense of passing time. It almost seemed like the shots of the woman had been slowed down especially com-pared with the passers by who looked like they were moving at normal speed, this enhanced the feeling of time passing.
I particularly like the clever type at the end of the film which includes the title After Life ‘After Life comes only death” This is predominantly striking as it uses the title of the film in a clever way. I think the target audience is very wide as the theme of a tragic love story appeals to most ages I think the use of young actors helps it appeal to a younger audience but the theme of a silent move attracts an older audience.
The narrative of the film is very easy to follow and subtitles help make it more apparent although it would be interesting to see what effect the film has with a soundtrack. The plot was emotionally evoking with a tragic storyline of lost hope and love, overall the film was very smooth and sound with a clear beginning middle and end. I would recommend this film to others as I enjoyed it, I was kept interested throughout with use of titles and effects which made the film overall thoroughly watchable and enjoyable.

12/03/10

This was the day of our presentation. It went fairly smoothly except that the powerpoint was not where we thought it had been so had to improvise and show the powerpoint as a printed version rather than on the projector. Although this did not hinder our performance we still should have double checked the presentation was on there before we started, this shows a slight lack of organisation and would definately be something I focused more on if this project was repeated, it was also something I learned from. As we were talking I got less nervous and relaxed as answering questions made it easier to talk. I think we were precise and to the point making a clear and successful presentation.

09/03/10

This lesson was used to finish our presentation, put it all together, plan how we were going to present it and practise it. To start with I put everyones parts into one folder, Jadine had edited the documentary style film and made a short film, this went alongside Tom and mine's presentation. Tom had also made some small handouts to promote our film, these showed a still of the film. We planned that Jadine and Jake were to go first after introducing our group and the film they would show the video of our locations then talk a little about their role in the project and how they found it. I would then talk about how the film was edited accompanied by a slideshow of stills from the film then Tom would make his presentation. Finally we would show our films, as a group we decided to show Jadine's final version and mine, to show how we both created different films with the same footage and storyboard. I think this was a good idea because it showed two different perspectives. While practising our presentation I felt quite nervous about speaking to an audience. The presentation was under 10 minutes long which was what they had asked of us.

05/03/10

In this lesson we planned how to present our film. We were told our presentation had to be 10 minutes long pitching our film to he company Suited and Booted. We decided separate roles for everyone in the group and tried to think of different ways to present our film. We decided than making a small documentary style film was a good idea, an idea I had was to involve this with a powerpoint presentation. Jadine and Jake took the job of making a film to show how we chose our locations and why, Jake also took the role of talking about what problems occured and how we overcame them. I took the role of showing how I edited the film and Tom took the role of making a presentation showing how we stuck to the brief and our initial ideas and creating of the film. To start I put some stills together into a presentation but didn't include any writing as it wouldall be spoken. I showed how I edited the important parts of the film and wrote down some bullet points to talk about during the presentation. These were how I tried to create a spooky atmosphere throughout the film and some of the techniques I used.

26/02/10

We weren't at college the previous week.
In this lesson we had a form to fill out including details of our group meeting the previous lesson. We mainly discussed thou soundtrack and most of the ideas from the group were to use a song as a soundtrack. Jake volunteered to try and find musicians to create a soundtrack which would fit the atmosphere of our film or to get his band to make a song if they could find some recording equipment.

We then learned about diegetic and non diegetic sounds and how they enhanced films. We then chose a gothic film scene to analyse.


Sweeney Todd- Film Sound Track Review

This film is a musical so there is a song in this clip, the music is upbeat and quick and relates to the action of the actors and the sounds they make are included in the beat of the song, for example the sharpening of the blades acts as a beat and the actor sings along. It is a humorous and mocking beat at first but slows in tempo to create tension.

The dialogue in the clip is mostly sung at the start but there is spoken dialogue nearer the end. Spoken dialogue is very suggestive and dark towards the end accompanied by music to suggest a hidden meaning behind what is spoken, it creates a tense atmosphere where the audience are let in almost on a secret which makes them want to see what happens.

The audio in the clip is mostly musical with some sound from the audience and general hustle and bustle noises from a crowd which shows the location is very busy and public.

The soundtrack is mostly diagetic with spoken dialogue and crowd noise but there is also non-diagetic sounds like the music which they are singing to. The diagetic noises such as the crowd are used to create excitement amongst the audience, but also used for the opposite effect; for example when the crowd hushes it creates tension as the audience knows something exiting is happening. The diagetic sounds have been combined with non-diagetic sounds to create an imaginative illusion of music as the actors are singing unpredictably to music which may not be there and sounds scripted. For example there are actions the actors do which combine with the beat and melody of the soundtrack to create an overall soundtrack in the form of a song, the spoken dialogue of the young boy flinching is in time with the music and the mixing of the shaving cream. This is a very clever way of audience participation when their attention is caught throughout, the way the music corresponds to the diagetic sounds enhances emotions. The diagetic sound of the young boy being beaten is used to shock the audience as it cannot be seen happening in the clip, only heard. It has been put in to show the nature of 'Pirelli' and the result of a humorous somewhat light-hearted event which happened before, it is quite a shock as the audience was feeling good about the outcome but then feels quilt because of the consequences.

The audio helps to explain the plot in the scene by announcing certain points the audience may not have noticed. For example, where it is said "fastest closest shave, is the winner!" this explains it is a race. The way the music starts just after the whistle is blown is a good way of grabbing interest and capturing the audience's attention and as the music is played throughout the race it and ends when the race ends it corresponds with the spoken dialogue to the start and end of the event, I believe this is done to provoke the emotions of the audience.

'Pirelli's" dialogue is very mocking and cocky and the use of music enhances this and involves the audience even more to want him to fail. This means that when he does actually fail the audience is relieved, so that when the sound of the young boy is being beaten it controls the emotions of the audience to create hate for 'Pirelli'.

The music is designed to follow the plot and correspond with the dialogue enhancing the emotions felt by the audience.

12/02/10

I decided to use this lesson adding sound to the film. If I had more time and freedom with this project I would have tried to find a way to use a song as the soundtrack as I think the use of a song as a soundtrack would have been really effective but for copyright reasons this was not allowed. I started by thinking about what sounds I needed, I already had some good sound in the film which I wanted to keep for example running water, but some parts of the film had the director shouting 'cut', 'rolling on' etc. To get rid of this I had to select the line which represented line on the sound part and move it down which reduces the volume, I found I could also use the sound tool to make the sound reduce or increase gradually. When I had chosen the sounds I wanted I moved them all into a folder and saved them so they would not get lost, I then chose the part of the sound I wanted by using the same shortcuts as I used to select film and dragging it down to where I wanted it. I then played around with the volume and whether I wanted the ambient noise played behind it or not.



We also had a group meeting in this lesson to decide on the title for our film. We came up with a lot of ideas. Till death do us part, Death of a lady and red water. We chose to go with Death of a Lady as this was most relevant to our film and intruiging to an audience.

05/02/10

I used this lesson to finish off editing my film, I wanted to show a difference in the film of what was present and what was past. I made the parts which represented flashbacks look different by decreasing the saturation of the shot which took some of the colour out. I think this helped the audience understand the plot more.

22/01/10

In this lesson I added some extra techniques to my film to emphasise the passing of time. I did this by using one long clip and cutting it into small sections, I then put all these together into a different order which I think effectively showed the passing of time. This also came in handy when I found I didn't have enough footage, for instance the overdose scene, I found I could use the same footage in a rearranged order to make it longer.

15/01/10

In this lesson I played around with slowing or speeding up clips. I slowed down the graveyard clip and the overdose scene at the end of the film, I think this made the clip more powerful. I also did some manipulation of the footage we shot. The best part of our film I thought was the Gothic stairwell scene. It had to be edited on Final Cut Pro to achieve the desired affect. I did this by first using the clip where the girl is stood against the wall up until the boy completely cuts her body out of camera shot when he is running past, I then found the same point on the second version where the girl is not there and joined them together to give the impression she disappears into thin air, this is very effective and my favorite part of the film.

14/01/10

Underworld Film Review.

This review is of a film with Gothic themes throughout. Aspects that make this film Gothic are location, costume, weather, dialect, theme, atmosphere, soundtrack, storyline and even time of day in the majority of the film. Firstly, the majority of the film is shot in very underground dark locations, such as the castle with use of bricks, slime and darkness. This helps to create an atmosphere in the film and back up the Gothic themes running through the film, overall the film is very dark and secretive with an ultra Gothic storyline about the war between Werewolves and Vampires. This is a very Gothic storyline used in many Gothic films like Van Helsing and Dracula. I think Underworld however creates a modern version of Gothic with clever use of costume and soundtrack. By using a modern soundtrack and up-to-date costumes this film was given a believable modern twist to what could have been left as a conventional Gothic film. This makes the film appeal to younger audiences with use of weapons, sex and violence, it makes Gothic fashionable.

Throughout the film the weather is dark, rainy and sometimes stormy this creates a tension in the film which grows with the elevating feud between the vampires and werewolves. This clever use of pathetic fallacy adds to the atmosphere of the film and overall build up to the end. The dialect in the film is not entirely modern to keep the Gothic theme alive "your in the war which has been raging for the better part of a thousand years". The costume is very vintage in this film using Gothic extravagant dresses portraying a luxury Gothic lifestyle for the vampires in contrast to rags that the werewolves are wearing. The time of day in the majority of the film is night and in the dark, this was to enhance the Gothic theme also because vampires cannot come out in daylight.

Overall I greatly enjoyed the film, I thought it combined Gothic themes and locations to create a brilliant Gothic film with a modern twist.

08/01/10

By now I had a rough cut of my film. Sara showed us some techniques like transitions you could use in your film but advised not to use to many as it extracts from the quality of the film and draws your attention away from important detail in the shots. I found this very sound advice as when we were trying out different transitions they did tend to look very amateur. Within my shots I used the transition channel map to show going from one scene to the next I think this was the best out of all I tried and showed a smooth transition.




Now that I had a tidy version of my film in the order I wanted I tried to think about the theme in relation to the footage we had. As an overall theme we had wanted a tragic love story, to enhance this we decided to use flashbacks and memories. To portray this using editing I had to edit parts of different footage together. This was quite easy as I just selected the area of footage i wanted and dragged it down, to move footage forward to create space for more I used the cut tool to create a space then shifted it across, I didn't use any transitions on the flashbacks as I wanted the transition of the flashback to be sudden and shock the audience.