Our film 'Burning Aces' was a thriller genre, that was created with no sort of budget whatsoever. This overall made it hard to make a very good thriller film that had much suspense, drama and high pulse action. Despite these obstacles, I believe our film fulfilled its potential in that we tried our hardest to create a decent film on no budget. Our film challenged many of the generic conventions that a thriller film should possess, with our poker match being typically thriller with our main protagonist meeting our main antagonist in a one-on-one do or die grudge match. Also, our media product tried to copy other thriller films that already exist, but added it's own twist. Unfotunately, thanks to the budget that we were on, we were unable to live up to Hollywood standards, but nevertheless, our film was good for its catergory.
Our film pretty much relates to any person as it is easy going and not to complicated but I would say that for a catergory of people, I could see many young males adapting to this better than the older generation as the generic conventions of thriller are easy for the younger generation to understand and many of the films that our film is similar to are watched by the younger generation and from the male sex. Possibly, the poker game makes it very adaptable to young males as the game of poker is played majoritly by men. Not only this but the characters are both young males and have a goal to beat the other, which gives the plot a manly characteristic.
I believe that the target audience for our film would definitely be young adult males and teenagers; however, the film is adaptable for any sort of person, no matter what their age or sex due to its simple plot. But due to it being based around a poker game, a game that many young males play and the antagonist and protagonist being both male, this film would have a target audience of young males. If there was a certificate to be placed on our film, it would probably be suited to 15; however, depending on how our chase scene went, the certificate could be lowered to 12a, leading to a much wider range of audience.
With our target audience being large, a cinema chain should be able to show our film and should be successful with the correct marketing and advertising. A trailer would possibly boost our advertising ratings and will get the film out there. Also, a trailer will give a good insight into what our film would be like and whether the audience want to come and see the film at the cinema. Another possible method of advertising is through adverts in magazines and newspapers and also on billboards, so that the general public will have a better chance to see that our film is out there and will also be given details about where to see it, the certificate and who is starring in it. Finally, a possible technique is to give the film an unique selling point, such as we could relate the protagonist to the normal, everyday person which would be relatively easy as our protagonist as he lives in the city and leads an everyday life, but is highly qualified in conning typical antagonists.
I have learnt that producing a film is more difficult than I thought as problems easily come about and that on no budget, the film making process is extremely difficult, much more difficult than it would be if we were given a budget of some sort. What stuck out as harder than I thought was keeping to the 180 degree rule, which meant that the structure of the shots had to be careful as one shot with the 180 degree rule broken may ruin the whole film.
Compared to our preliminary task, we were able to have more freedom in what we could do. When our final piece was shown to a group of unbias people, they said that the amount of freedom that we were allowed meant that we were able to tick as many boxes that we originally set out to achieve. Most of the people liked our plot and story idea which we drew many positives from, but we did encounter some problems. such as breaking the 180 degree rule in one of our shots and the camera wire being visible in the bottom right-hand corner of one of our shots.
Thursday, 6 May 2010
Unit 3 - Construction
After a discussion, me and my group decided that the genre that we were to undertake was a thriller. We did this genre because it was something that we all enjoy and believed that we could make a good film. As a group, we decided that we would base our film around a poker game, with a clear protagonist and an antagonist. After, getting all the appropriate equipment, we filmed the poker match with each character arriving. The editing was done by Matt Game who put all of our good shots together and cut out the out-takes. There was not much standing in the way of our filming as we had the correct crops, setting and script in order to make our film simple but effective. We did endure one problem in that when we put the film together in the editing as we noticed that some of our shots were inadequate, such as in one, the camera wire was showing in the bottom corner of the shot. Also, another problem is that we all needed to be free in order to film the film, which meant that we only had one opportunity to complete all the filming.
I was nominated as cameraman for the filming but by the end of the film, I included myself as a minor character in the film. My role was simple and I believe that I carried well but could of done much better, such as when the camera wire was in the bottom of the screen, that could of been avoided.
As for our actual shots, we didn't really encounter any major problems, other than wrong camera-shots, bad acting and a increasingly low battery, which meant that our filming time had to be cut short, as we could not film outside due to there being no electrical mains being outside.
With our soundtrack, we were originally going to make our music ourselves with Sheridan knowing how to play the piano. However, due to the amount of time that we had left by this stage, we decided that we were to do this on the computer, using GarageBand. We went for a jazz type music which sounded great, but when we edited it into our film, it didn't mix well with our dialogue, which spoilt it slightly. I believe that it was too fast for our dialogue, and slightly too loud.
Overall, our construction of our film was OK but could have been better. But for the budget that we had which was virtually nothing, wen coped well.
I was nominated as cameraman for the filming but by the end of the film, I included myself as a minor character in the film. My role was simple and I believe that I carried well but could of done much better, such as when the camera wire was in the bottom of the screen, that could of been avoided.
As for our actual shots, we didn't really encounter any major problems, other than wrong camera-shots, bad acting and a increasingly low battery, which meant that our filming time had to be cut short, as we could not film outside due to there being no electrical mains being outside.
With our soundtrack, we were originally going to make our music ourselves with Sheridan knowing how to play the piano. However, due to the amount of time that we had left by this stage, we decided that we were to do this on the computer, using GarageBand. We went for a jazz type music which sounded great, but when we edited it into our film, it didn't mix well with our dialogue, which spoilt it slightly. I believe that it was too fast for our dialogue, and slightly too loud.
Overall, our construction of our film was OK but could have been better. But for the budget that we had which was virtually nothing, wen coped well.
Unit 2.7 - Storyboard
EVALUATION OF FILM STUDIES STORYBOARD
Overall, I am relatively happy with my film studies storyboard that did have.....
Unit 2.6 - Single Sequence Analysis
Comedy - Johnny English
For this task, I have decided to look at the genre 'comedy'. Within this, I have chosen to analyse the film 'Johnny English' as it is a simple British comedy. Firstly, 'Johnny English' tries to copy a more serious film/genre and adds a comedy sense to it, similar to what 'Austin Powers' did with 'James Bond', but in this case 'Johnny English' imitates James Bond. This is a typical generic convention of comedy in that the main character tries to be serious or tries to achieve some sort of goal. In 'Johnny English', English tries to achieve typical Agent characteristics and to rescue the 'crown jewels' from an antagonist.
This is easily distinguish in the opening sequence as English breaks into a mansion but using comical techniques such as getting past the guard dogs by throwing toys for them to chase, which is typical because of the mise-en-scene of the genre. This appeals to all kind of audiences as it is typically funny and easy to relate to, but everyone realises that this technique would not work in a real life situation.
Next, the comical aspect of the main character, who throughout the film is the protagonist. He goes from being portrayed as a James Bond type of character to just working in an office as he was merely dreaming of the moment that was the opening scene. He is then embarrassed deliberately as he continued to dream but the audience could see his actions outside of his dream. In many comedies, the portrayal of the main protagonist is often that he looks pathetic and clumsy at the start but by the end of the film achieves his goal that developed within the problematic.
Also in comedy, the main protagonist goes through stages of problems or events that lead him to set out on his journey. The film follows the protagonists plot throughout the film whilst indulging into the exploits of the antagonist. This is similar to an action/adventure but obviously in comedy, it adds comical dialogue and actions to the narrative. In Johnny English, to back up that he is clumsy and pathetic at the start of the film and to introduce a problem, all the current agents are blown up at a funeral, despite English saying that the area was 'the most secure place in England'. With all the agents being blown up, English is given the task to resolve the plot.
I believe that these conventions have been approached well in the production of 'Johnny English'. They have taken a serious situation but added a comical side to the plot but with an altogether happy ending.
The film meets the typical generic conventions of comedy with the main protagonist being pathetic and inadequate to the task at hand but in the end, becomes a hero of some sort. Also, this film follows the main character, who is a protagonist, through which he experiences many problems, including one that the audience must feel sorry for the character.
For this task, I have decided to look at the genre 'comedy'. Within this, I have chosen to analyse the film 'Johnny English' as it is a simple British comedy. Firstly, 'Johnny English' tries to copy a more serious film/genre and adds a comedy sense to it, similar to what 'Austin Powers' did with 'James Bond', but in this case 'Johnny English' imitates James Bond. This is a typical generic convention of comedy in that the main character tries to be serious or tries to achieve some sort of goal. In 'Johnny English', English tries to achieve typical Agent characteristics and to rescue the 'crown jewels' from an antagonist.
This is easily distinguish in the opening sequence as English breaks into a mansion but using comical techniques such as getting past the guard dogs by throwing toys for them to chase, which is typical because of the mise-en-scene of the genre. This appeals to all kind of audiences as it is typically funny and easy to relate to, but everyone realises that this technique would not work in a real life situation.
Next, the comical aspect of the main character, who throughout the film is the protagonist. He goes from being portrayed as a James Bond type of character to just working in an office as he was merely dreaming of the moment that was the opening scene. He is then embarrassed deliberately as he continued to dream but the audience could see his actions outside of his dream. In many comedies, the portrayal of the main protagonist is often that he looks pathetic and clumsy at the start but by the end of the film achieves his goal that developed within the problematic.
Also in comedy, the main protagonist goes through stages of problems or events that lead him to set out on his journey. The film follows the protagonists plot throughout the film whilst indulging into the exploits of the antagonist. This is similar to an action/adventure but obviously in comedy, it adds comical dialogue and actions to the narrative. In Johnny English, to back up that he is clumsy and pathetic at the start of the film and to introduce a problem, all the current agents are blown up at a funeral, despite English saying that the area was 'the most secure place in England'. With all the agents being blown up, English is given the task to resolve the plot.
I believe that these conventions have been approached well in the production of 'Johnny English'. They have taken a serious situation but added a comical side to the plot but with an altogether happy ending.
The film meets the typical generic conventions of comedy with the main protagonist being pathetic and inadequate to the task at hand but in the end, becomes a hero of some sort. Also, this film follows the main character, who is a protagonist, through which he experiences many problems, including one that the audience must feel sorry for the character.
Wednesday, 5 May 2010
Unit 2.5 - Comparison of Sequences
For this task, I decided to compare two horrors genre film openings. These films are 'Dog Soldiers' and '28 Days Later'. I chose these two films because they have similarities and differences in their opening sequence.
Firstly, both of the sequences are set in an isolated place which adds to the vulnerability of the horror with 'Dog Soldiers' being set in a Scottish forest with the couple being the only two in the forest and in '28 Days Later', the main character Jim wakes up in a deserted hospital and finds that the whole of London is deserted. This backs up the generic convention of Horror that an attack would take place in an isolated place. This is a major theme of the opening sequences of both films as they give a good setting and tone to start the film on. What also adds to the vulnerable theme in '28 Days Later' is that Jim wakes up in a hospital and is in some sort of medical trouble. This means he is not in full health and could be vulnerable to attack. This doesn't happen in 'Dog Soldiers' as the couple don't expose any vulnerablity other than that they are in a lonely forest at night.
'28 Days Later' goes straight into a very obvious plot. It is obvious that a supernatural antagonist is killing innocent people in 'Dog Soldiers' whereas it is hard to find what has happened in '28 Days Later'. This is not uncommon in horror as different films have different types of plot. What is similar is the setting as both films have common British setting which do not seem to be unusual. '28 Days Later' is set in Central London with all the typical London icons such as Big Ben and London buses and 'Dog Soldiers' is set in the Scottish Higlands where there are many forests.
Firstly, both of the sequences are set in an isolated place which adds to the vulnerability of the horror with 'Dog Soldiers' being set in a Scottish forest with the couple being the only two in the forest and in '28 Days Later', the main character Jim wakes up in a deserted hospital and finds that the whole of London is deserted. This backs up the generic convention of Horror that an attack would take place in an isolated place. This is a major theme of the opening sequences of both films as they give a good setting and tone to start the film on. What also adds to the vulnerable theme in '28 Days Later' is that Jim wakes up in a hospital and is in some sort of medical trouble. This means he is not in full health and could be vulnerable to attack. This doesn't happen in 'Dog Soldiers' as the couple don't expose any vulnerablity other than that they are in a lonely forest at night.
'28 Days Later' goes straight into a very obvious plot. It is obvious that a supernatural antagonist is killing innocent people in 'Dog Soldiers' whereas it is hard to find what has happened in '28 Days Later'. This is not uncommon in horror as different films have different types of plot. What is similar is the setting as both films have common British setting which do not seem to be unusual. '28 Days Later' is set in Central London with all the typical London icons such as Big Ben and London buses and 'Dog Soldiers' is set in the Scottish Higlands where there are many forests.
Unit 2.4 - Generic Conventions
For this task, I have decided to focus on four different genres which are Horror, War, Sci-fi and Adventure. I will look at how the different genres have different generic conventions and the iconography that is expected by the audience.
Generic convetions - Things that make up that particular genre of which the audience is expected to see.
Iconography - Crops, icons or visual imagery that the audience is to see in a typical film. For
example, in a Horror, the audience would be expected to see a weapon of some sort (axe, supernatual gun etc.).
Horror - Dog Soldiers
The generic conventions and iconography of a Horror singles it out from other genres. Within this scene of 'Dog Soldiers', many of the generic conventions of a Horror are met. Firstly, there is a main antagonist which decides to attack innocent human beings, who are in a vulnerable situation being alone in a Scottish forest. Here, the antagonist are 'the dogs' that are supernatural and to meet another generic convention, they are unseen when they attack the innocent couple, who were about to experience a sexual activity. Not only this, but this scene is rich in iconography with the silver knife that can be the only weapon to kill werewolves and the 'blood and guts' that are seen when the innocent woman is killed by the supernatual character.
War - Platoon
A war film is relatively easy to recognise as they are usually based on previous happenings in real life but for audience enjoyment, are made more dramatic with a specific storyline such as Platoon, based on the Vietnam War but the dramatised happenings within the platoon.
There are many generic conventions summed up within this sequence. There is a main antagonist once again who is very regimental and hardcore military and a killing that isn't straight-forward as in Platoon, where an American kills an American purposely. Also, there is normally a near death experience involving one of the protagonists that adds drama and vulnerability to the narrative.
The iconography of war is typical military equipment, such as weapons, uniforms and helicopters which in Platoon, makes them stand out from their enemy, who are not as well equiped.
Science-fiction - Star Wars: Phantom Menace (Episode 1)
A science-fiction (Sci-fi) film is usually set in the future, which is a typical generic convention of sci-fi. Similar to horror, Sci-fi will have characters that are supernatural due to the expectation that the audience has about futuristic people and places. These people could possibly be aliens.
Also, sci-fi may a plot linked in some way to a love relationship between two protagonists. Iconography in sci-fi usually revolves around a special weapon or futuristic technology which in this case is the Lightsabre (which typically in Sci-fi generic convention, the antagonist has the better, more powerful weapon), a spaceship and other science related icons such as planets or the Sun.
Adventure - Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Adventure is mainly driven by the action within the plot rather than the dialogue. For the audience, this could be due to the high-tempo plot that isn't very complicated. The generic conventions normally include an obvious protagonist that tries to save vulnerable people or in this case, tries to obtain a mystery item that is of major importance. The plot is based completely around the progatonist and would at some time involve a chase between the protagonist and the antagonist, with the protagonist usually coming out on top.
The iconography of Indiana Jones and other adventures are usually Indiana's rope and other crops that help the protagonist.
Generic convetions - Things that make up that particular genre of which the audience is expected to see.
Iconography - Crops, icons or visual imagery that the audience is to see in a typical film. For
example, in a Horror, the audience would be expected to see a weapon of some sort (axe, supernatual gun etc.).
Horror - Dog Soldiers
The generic conventions and iconography of a Horror singles it out from other genres. Within this scene of 'Dog Soldiers', many of the generic conventions of a Horror are met. Firstly, there is a main antagonist which decides to attack innocent human beings, who are in a vulnerable situation being alone in a Scottish forest. Here, the antagonist are 'the dogs' that are supernatural and to meet another generic convention, they are unseen when they attack the innocent couple, who were about to experience a sexual activity. Not only this, but this scene is rich in iconography with the silver knife that can be the only weapon to kill werewolves and the 'blood and guts' that are seen when the innocent woman is killed by the supernatual character.
War - Platoon
A war film is relatively easy to recognise as they are usually based on previous happenings in real life but for audience enjoyment, are made more dramatic with a specific storyline such as Platoon, based on the Vietnam War but the dramatised happenings within the platoon.
There are many generic conventions summed up within this sequence. There is a main antagonist once again who is very regimental and hardcore military and a killing that isn't straight-forward as in Platoon, where an American kills an American purposely. Also, there is normally a near death experience involving one of the protagonists that adds drama and vulnerability to the narrative.
The iconography of war is typical military equipment, such as weapons, uniforms and helicopters which in Platoon, makes them stand out from their enemy, who are not as well equiped.
Science-fiction - Star Wars: Phantom Menace (Episode 1)
A science-fiction (Sci-fi) film is usually set in the future, which is a typical generic convention of sci-fi. Similar to horror, Sci-fi will have characters that are supernatural due to the expectation that the audience has about futuristic people and places. These people could possibly be aliens.
Also, sci-fi may a plot linked in some way to a love relationship between two protagonists. Iconography in sci-fi usually revolves around a special weapon or futuristic technology which in this case is the Lightsabre (which typically in Sci-fi generic convention, the antagonist has the better, more powerful weapon), a spaceship and other science related icons such as planets or the Sun.
Adventure - Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Adventure is mainly driven by the action within the plot rather than the dialogue. For the audience, this could be due to the high-tempo plot that isn't very complicated. The generic conventions normally include an obvious protagonist that tries to save vulnerable people or in this case, tries to obtain a mystery item that is of major importance. The plot is based completely around the progatonist and would at some time involve a chase between the protagonist and the antagonist, with the protagonist usually coming out on top.
The iconography of Indiana Jones and other adventures are usually Indiana's rope and other crops that help the protagonist.
Tuesday, 20 April 2010
Unit 2.2 - Production Company Background
I decided that the production companies that I should look at are Paramount and MGM. As these two companies have been operating since the early decades of the 20th century, the two companies logos have changed quite a lot.
Paramount Pictures logos have not really changed that much in that the original basis of the design is still there. Obviously, Paramount started with a black and white logo that lasted for 38 years but with changing times, Paramount updated six more times but kept to the mountain and stars in a semi-circle. To keep up with rival production companies, it is good and correct that Paramount update their logo every so often, instead of keeping with the same logo for their entire existence.
In 1987, for their 75th year anniversary, Paramount brought out a computer generated logo to represent the landmark. For their latest logo, brought out in 2002, something similar happened to represent their 90th anniversary with a more modern, so possibly in 2012, Paramount will update their logo once more to represent their 100th year anniversary.
In 1987, for their 75th year anniversary, Paramount brought out a computer generated logo to represent the landmark. For their latest logo, brought out in 2002, something similar happened to represent their 90th anniversary with a more modern, so possibly in 2012, Paramount will update their logo once more to represent their 100th year anniversary.
Paramount have gone onto make some very famous films, with many being the highest-grossing films of the year. In 1919, their film 'The Miracle Man' was the highest-grossed film of the year and recently, in 1989, 'Indiana Jones: The Last Crusade' approved highest-grossed film of the year due to the successful nature of the Indiana Jones sequel and most recently in 2000 'Mission Impossible II' gained highest-grossed film of the year status.
Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM), similar to Paramount, have been operating since the early parts of the twentieth century and have tinkered with the design of their logo, but only a little. Similar to the Paramount mountains and the semi-circle of stars, MGM have kept the Lion and the emblem transferring Metro Goldwyn Mayer written below in gold to above. Before a film, the lion will do a 'roar' when MGM introduce itself with the appearance of the logo, which has been ever present. MGM have been doing major films since their existence in April 1924. It was put together by Marcus Loew, who brought the already established Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B.Mayer Pictures creating the Metro Goldwyn Mayer. MGM released their first film 'Mademoiselle Midnight' in the same month of being established and have gone on to create many major films, most noticeably the James Bond films after purchasing their rights after buying United Artists in 1981.
Tuesday, 30 March 2010
Unit 2.3 - Production Company Logo
This is our logo for our production company. The initials SMC stand for each person in our production company.
Short-list of Logos
I decided that I wanted a logo and the words 'SMC Productions' as that is the name of my production team. I wanted the logo to be relatively simple but very catchy and outstanding. After making four different logos, I opted to chose the top logo as it was the most eye-catching.
Team 2 - Evaluation of Final Piece
Our evaluation didn't go without some errors that were picked up on by my class. The errors didn't really effect the overall enjoyment of the film; however, were visible to the audience. The first error was that we did break the 180 degree rule in one of our shots, with the characters switching sides on the screen. We had to do this in order to put the third character into the shot and keep to our script.
The second error we encountered was the non-diegetic music to our film which was slightly out of sync with the actual footage. At the start, it isn't really noticeable but as the film develops, the audience can identify the error. There is a time where the non-diegetic music overshadows the speech from one of the characters, making the characters speech only just audible.
In all, these errors could have been avoided but due to the matter of time, we were unable to correct these errors.
The second error we encountered was the non-diegetic music to our film which was slightly out of sync with the actual footage. At the start, it isn't really noticeable but as the film develops, the audience can identify the error. There is a time where the non-diegetic music overshadows the speech from one of the characters, making the characters speech only just audible.
In all, these errors could have been avoided but due to the matter of time, we were unable to correct these errors.
Tuesday, 12 January 2010
Team 2 - Script
Characters
Kenneth (Sheridan Martin)
A notorious criminal from East End of London who is the antagonist of the story. A stereotypical gangster and villain, he plans to win the poker match in a untruthful manner with his years of experience winning poker matches in this way. Obviously, he is a bad loser and wont take losing.
Jerry (Matt Game)
The protagonist of the story who has made a living out of conning people. He started with just pick-pocketing strangers on the street then moved to more intelligent scams. This is his biggest scam and comes along when Kenneth sets up the poker game.
Callum (Connor Speed)
A working class man who is the referee of the game. He seems to be experienced at what he does though doesn't seem to realise that Jerry is conning Kenneth. He is only a minor character.
Story
A black screen fades in the title 'Burnin Aces' and fades back out to black to a dramatic song choice, all non diegetic sound goes to silence and a phone rings by the bedside of a sleeping Jerry. He answers the phone.
Jerry
Hello, who is this?
Kenneth
It's time.
JERRY
OK, ill meet you there.
Jerry hangs up the phone and a montage of his awakening and Kenneth's walking to the meet begins. The montage continues until the meet at the 'meeting place.' Where Kenneth will be waiting for Jerry at the poker table as he walks in, as well as the dealer Callum. Jerry walks in.
Kenneth
Your late, I was starting to think you wasn't coming. I have no time for your shenanigans.
JERRY
Enough is enough i've brought what you want.
KENNETH
Lets get started then.
Jerry takes out a brown envelope and puts it in front of him.
Callum
Right then gentlemen you know the rules, two card Texas Hold'em poker best cards win...Clear?
Both characters nod and Callum commences dealing.
CALLUM
Good luck.
Both Jerry and Kenneth look at their cards (Kenneth two kings & Jerry two aces.) Kenneth the puts all his brown envelope into the centre of the table closely followed by Jerry and his brown envelope. Callum then turns over the flop,river and turn one card at a time, revealing Jerry as the winner.
JERRY
It seems your not so lucky.
Jerry reveals two aces to go with the two on the table and picks up both envelopes and leaves. Kenneth then screams in anger.(exaggerated)
Kenneth in his anger speaks to dealer Callum.
KENNETH
No questions, i want him dead and dead fast...Their is a lot of money in this for you.
CALLUM
If thats the case then we have a dead man on our hands. Consider it done.
Callum then stands up and leaves Kenneth alone and a chase begins between Callum and Jerry. Jerry manages to evade Callum and once safe smiles and reveals a handful of aces to himself and walks into the distance.
THE END
Tuesday, 5 January 2010
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