Short Film First Draft

Today we came together and managed to produce the first draft for our film. We received a lot of feedback and this will hep us in deciding what shots will be needed and what improvements need to be made for out second draft. Below is the first draft of the film. we were slightly experimental as we knew that even if it didn't work out, we could do a second draft.

Untitled from connor barclay on Vimeo.

Editing First Draft

Today we started editing our film and putting it together. it doesn't have a soundtrack yet but will eventually get one when we both begin using garage band. Below are some Photographs of us editing the film in class.

Photographs on Set

Today we went and began the filming for our short film. As we know what shots we are going to do and have sorted the story board we had little problems with the the actual ideas behind the filming. Below are some pictures of Me, Connor and the actors we have chosen for the roles within our film. 

Shooting Plan

Today we have planned the shooting plan for our film. we have set out a short shot list and looked at the  different camera angles that can be used. This will help us a lot as we both feel that we will be able to practice a variety of camera angles and shots.  

Group Meeting - Short film Production

Today, Me and Connor had another meeting and we were able to express some ideas as to what our story line would be for the final film. We were also able to properly plan the story line and also the shot list for the filming. Below are the notes that me and Connor took during our meeting today.

Analysis of Feedback from Pitch

Today we received the feedback from our classmates regarding our film. The feedback that I recieved from my pitch was very critical but in a positive way. I was able to look at others sample scene and give feedback to them as well as recieve feedback from the other members of my class. Below is a picture of two people writing feedback on our film. they were again very critical but we can use this the benefit our production of the film.

Video of Pitch

I think that the feedback that I received with regards to the sample scene was fair and eye opening. I was able to hear different ideas, and some positive criticism about the different aspects of my work. The class was able to give to new and improved ideas for my film and I was then able to incorporate some of these ideas into the final product. Firstly, I was told that I may need to have more of a soundtrack to play as my film was not solely focused on dialogue. I was then able to incorporate this into my work by adding more intensified and relevant soundtracks.

I was also a lot of fair and helpful criticism. I was told that the background noises of cars and buses would need to be altered, as the volume of the vehicles differed between cuts. One other main piece of feedback I got was very positive. I was told that the lighting was very good because it looked very natural and was able to successfully add to the tension and eeriness in the scene. Other than this, I believe that the feedback I got was very helpful and if I am to take notice of the feedback, it will help me to achieve the final product I am hoping for.

Untitled from Damien Johnson on Vimeo

Group Meeting: Planning the Pitch

Today we began our planning for the pitch. We came up with many different as to how to produce the pitch and wrote all of our ideas down on paper. We have now arranged our pitch and the order in which it will be presented to the class. Below are the notes that Me and Connor took in class today.

Sample Scene

Today we finished editing our sample scene and used Vimeo to upload it to the blog.
Below is the sample scene that we have composed. This was done to help give us the ideas of what we needed to do and how we could of done it. The main idea for this sample scene was to give us a feel for the camera and let us to experiment with the different ideas we had. The scene isn't the best and could've been a lot better. We had numerous problems with the lighting. Firstly, the lighting wasn't the best as we had to use the street lamps. This made it very difficult as the scene was very pixelated and at times it was very hard to see what was going on. The lighting was also better in some places and worse in others. this made it difficult as the film was centered around one character and his facial expressions.

Editing the footage

Today we began editing the sample scene of our film. We are using final cut express for the editing and we are also adding a slight soundtrack using garage band. below is images of both Me and Connor editing the footage that we have taken. We found that garage band and final cut express were very hard to use at first, but once we had had a few minutes of trial and error, we began editing our film with very little problems arising.

On shoot Photographs

Today we went out and shot our sample scene. we were able to complete the 30 second sequence and will now wait until we are back in school to begin editing the sample scene. this was definitely a success as we were both able to try out our new ideas and see whether they worked or not. There were a few ideas that didn't work too well, but we were able to change these ideas as we progressed through the shooting of our sample scene. 

Group Meeting - Sample Scene

Today we had a group meeting that was going to decide the setting, actors and style for our sample scene that we are going to shoot. We created a mind map to display our ideas and how they developed. Below is the Mind map that we created. this was a good idea as we were both able to set out our own ideas separately and then come together and analyse both of the mind maps and incorporate both our ideas into one. 

10 Shot Photo Storyboard

Today we went out and we shot a ten shot photo storyboard for our film. Eventually we will present this as part of our Pitch to the rest of the class, so it is important that me and Connor do this to the best of our ability. Below is the 10 shot story board. we also analysed the shots which therefore shows the audience the meaning behind the photos we had taken.

View more PowerPoint from DamienJ93

Storyboard Photo shoot

Today We went out and created a 10 shot photo storyboard for our film. This was done using a VSLR digital camera and we were forced into using the the flash option on the camera due to bad lighting. overall, i feel as though the photoshoot was a success as i was able to get the shots i needed and incorporate those into the storyboard.

Studying Mise en Scene - Six shot Analysis

Today we were asked to expand on the previous work we had done and compose a six shot analysis of About A Girl. This would be slight practice for out Photo storyboard that we will soon do. Below is the image of the six shot analysis. This was also useful as we could both see the mise en scene in different still shots. This has also given both me and Connor new and developed ideas on the mise-en-scene of our product. 

View more documents from DamienJ93

Studying Mise-en-scene

Today we watched the short film 'About A Girl' in class. We had a class discussion about this short film and were assigned some work to do for homework. We had to take a still from About A Girl and annotate and analyse it using the mise en scene. Below is the Annotation of the One still that I produced. I think that this was a very effective way of identifying mise-en-scene as we were able to go into more detail and look at the surroundings of the girl. 

View more documents from DamienJ93

Treatment

Today we were asked to compose a treatment that we can use we we eventually pitch our idea in the near future. Below is an image of the Treatment. Our first draft of the treatment was good, however we were told it was to short. we then expanded on our ideas and handed our Treatment back in. below is the first draft of the treatment followed by the final draft. I think that by doing the treatment before as a way of planing the product was a very good idea. We were both able to look at all the different aspects of film and was as a result, we were able to pitch some ideas to each other. 

View more documents from DamienJ93

Group Meeting

Today we had a group meeting and discussed the various issues that have risen over the past few weeks. the Main issue is what genre are we going to focus our film on. We have now chosen to do a "psychological Thriller" and have also chosen a rough story line and plot. We have chosen the actors and they are: Damien, Connor, Charlie, Martyn and James.

Genre and Media Language essay - The Insane

Today we were again given the task of writing a 1500 words essay. This time it will be on the short film 'The Insane'. We were asked to write this essay to gain at further understanding of media language and Genre. for this particular essay I originally got a C. I decided to redraft the essay and i gained myself a B. i believe that my understanding of media language has improved and this was evident in the comparison of my first draft of both the essays.

View more documents from DamienJ93

Media Language and Genre Essay - Smashed

Today we were given the task of writing a 1500 word essay for the short film 'Smashed'. We have watched smashed as a class numerous times and now have to write the essay. This was given to us in order for us to broaden our knowledge of media language and genre and to practice slightly for our exam in June. Originally got an E for this essay and was asked to redraft it. I believe this was because I hadn't really understood the question that was being asked. I redrafted the essay and got a B.

View more documents from DamienJ93

Studying Short Films

Today we have learnt that will will be studying a variety of short films throughout the next couple of weeks. in today's lesson we were asked to look at different types of short films using the links that the teacher had given to us. We were asked to go onto Virgin shorts and BBC shorts websites and look at different films in our chosen genre. However, as Me and Connor hadn't chosen our genre yet, we used this time to look at different films and pick our genre via them. Below are print screens of the two websites that we used with their links underneath them.

There are many different reasons why people would make short films. The first of these reasons could be for advertising or promoting a particular product. Short films could also be produced for showcasing a certain directors abilities and skills as well as giving out a message to its viewers. One final reason why people make short films is just for fun. some people may just simply enjoy making films and putting them together. However, these films must be funded in some way. Some short films are directed via local councils or police services if they are promoting a message, whereas They could also be funded by organisations that want a product to be advertised during the film. Another way of funding the short films, is self funding. This is particularly frequent when a director is working towards making a film for fun or to showcase his/her own talents as a director.

For these films to be successful, they must be distributed throughout the film industry in some way. The first way that it is distributed is via social networking sites. The films could be posted on 'Facebook' or 'Twitter' to help be shared to a wider community. They could also be given to a film festival or certain companies that promote short films. One final way that short films could be distributed is by the director entering the film into a film competition. It will then be seen by many other people and distributed in that way.

One example of the way films are produced is 'Smashed'. Smashed is a film that I am going to study, so i have researched the short in order to gain information on it. Smashed was produced and funded by both the local council and the somerset police service. It was then distributed by the director entering the film in the BBC film network competition. Lastly the film was also produced to promote a message. The message was about alcohol and the consequences of excessive alcohol us in all types and classes of people.

www.BBC.co.uk/filmnetwork/

www.virginmediashorts.com/

Initial Team Meeting

Today I have found out who I will be working with in regards to the production of the short film. i will be working with Connor Barclay because i feel as though we can work well together. below is a picture of both Me and Connor.

The first thing we have decided to do is draft a mind map of different ideas relating to the short film we have to create. Below is that particular mind map and as you can see we just wrote down random ideas for short films and are going to pick our favorite genre out of those and create a short film using that Genre.

Welcome

Welcome to my A2 blog. Thank you for taking the time to view my blog. You will find all of my finished work over the course of the year. this will range from the research and planning to the final product. I hope you enjoy my blog.

Damien Johnson. Candidate Number: 2353