Film Poster: All Done!

I used the software program photoshop to craft a conventional film poster:

 With my picture being save directly from this software, the blog is unable to upload the image of my final product on here. Although it an issue has been given to my teacher.

Film Poster: First Draft

Research: Film posters

I have some idea on what film posters should look like, however not much on what they should include. I want to follow the traditional codes and conventions so my film poster does not look out of place. To achieve this I looked at many film posters, this is one I particularly like and is a good example of using all the codes and conventions.

 

After watching the film ‘FROM HELL’, the first thing I immediately recognise is how well the mood of the film fits the poster. Like on a lot of film poster the background is blacked out and blended into the image. If this is not the case a setting reflecting the actual movie is placed in the background. Furthermore, the image is evidently airbrushed, giving it a sharp elegant finish. This could be a good idea for my poster. Also the two people in the image are the most important characters in the film. This is another common convention used in film posters. As well as showing images of the main actors, to emphasise them even more, their names are shown in the text. One reason why they do this is a high profile actor is not always spotted when in character. It is also not uncommon to see a slogan or tagline of the film placed somewhere on the poster. This frequently put under the name of the film, but as the slogan is so effective it is placed above the title, in the top left hand corner. Tag line help when promoting the film, as these are the things which sticks in people heads, and intrigues them to go and see it. Underneath the bold title, it includes the name of the production and distribution companies. Then comes the names of all the important actors shown in the film. Finally the date of when it is to be shown is placed somewhere, normally at the bottom. However instead of a date, the words ‘coming soon’ are sometimes used.

THATS THAT!!!

My film is complete!
I have done the filming and all of the editing. All that is needed to do now are my two ancillary texts. I better crack on!!!

Sam: Editing!!

The Editing software I will be using for my film will be Magix Movie Edit Pro 21:

 

With effectively being my own boss in this project, I can edit the film how I want. This can be both an advantage and disadvantage to me. As if I am the only one editing, I have the last and only work so this will prevent arguments. However, I might edit the film to how I would like it to be and neglect my target audience. I will overcome this by taking a step back when looking at thing and being open minded. Also I will show my film to audiences around the school to see what feedback I get. As I filmed both my men and women scenes separately, a lot of edit cuts will be needed to make these two different stories come together and look clever. Furthermore to blend these two stories together the use of fades will be important, this is achieved by over lapping one shot over another on the shot screen. After watching the films ending, I feel a lot of work will have to be put it to give it the impact I think is needed. Finally I will have to be clever when editing to make my soundtrack work along side what is going on in the film.

Sam: Decision on soundtrack

As I am having no dialogue in my film, it is paramount I choose a soundtrack which fits the mood of the film. Using a soundtrack is also useful as it can cover up any unwanted noise picked up from the camera when shooting. The soundtrack I am going with is sweet disposition by temper trap. It took me a long time to choose a soundtrack as I wanted an upbeat song but not right from the beginning, as this would give the story away. This song in particular starts of rather eerie then turns pleasant so it fitted the bill perfectly. Just a little bit of tweaking is needed in the right places and I think I have found the perfect soundtrack!!!

Sam: End of the filming process

After filming and fine tuning my film, It is finally ready for editing. The main problem I had to deal with was getting the continuity correct and picking up where we left off. For example, the weather was slightly different from the monday to the wednesday (it was much brighter on the wednesday). But thats just me being over critical. Also we I had to make sure the actors were wearing the exact same thing. After a full edit, I will definetly watch the film over and again to see if I can spot any of these continuity problems.

Sam: The filming !!!

The filming so far is going swimmingly, with only the toilet scene and cash point scene to go. However there has been one problem, and that was finding a beggar. It was over looked by me, as I thought you could use any old beggar from the street to film. However this is morally wrong, so I have had to draft in another actor. Hopefully when I look back on the scenes tommorrow, there wont be too much to change.

Sam: Lights, Camera, Action !

Its time to put all that intense research and planning into practice, as I will now attempt to start filming. However, Something I have learnt from my AS project is that organisation is key. Last year I Spontaneous improvised my filming, and this lead to me not meeting deadlines. On that not I have made a full week filming schedule :

DAY 1- MONDAY 8TH MARCH
• Go to Ipswich shopping centre and ask permission for filming rights in all areas.
• Film the ending, between man 2 and women 2 (after reading about different directors, it seems they all filmed the ending first).
• Film the opening bus station scene for man 1.

DAY 2- TUESDAY 9TH MARCH
• Film rest of men scenes (the drinking scene etc.), with exception of the actual toilet scene.
• Start the filming of the opening town centre scene of women 1.

DAY 3- WEDNESDAY 10TH MARCH
• Film rest of women 1 scenes (beggars scene and cigarette scene), with exception of the actual cash point scene.

DAY 4- THURSDAY 11TH MARCH
• Film toilet and cash point scenes.
• Watch back all scenes.

DAY 5- FRIDAY 12TH MARCH
• Re-do any shots or scenes which are not up to standard.

I must note that this is a general template which I intend to keep towards, but I am well aware things can go wrong and I may have to re-schedule.

Sam: Full Shot list- Part 1

Script

1st shot: Establishing shot of bus station.

2nd shot: Establishing shot of town.

3rd shot: Medium shot of man in the queue sideways.

4th shot: Zoom in on 5 pound note

5th shot: Medium shot of women looking at a stool with five pound note.

6th shot: dominant shot of him looking and walking towards
five pound note.

7th shot: pan of him picking it up

8th shot: Pan of women walking through town looking stressed

9th shot: over the shoulder of him looking at the shop

10th shot: close up of his smiling face

11th shot: tracking shot of him going into shop

12th shot: Long shot of women walking towards beggar
CU Shot of women putting change in beggar’s hat

13th shot: change in his hands

14th shot: CU of him downing drink and needing a wee

15th shot: walking towards inside of tower ramparts

16th shot: long shot of lady walking round the corner

17th shot: medium shot of man smoking a cigarette

18th shot: medium pan shot of man and women walking past eachother

19th shot: Close up of women’s face (pan down)
Close up of cigarette packet being empty (pan up)
Close up of empty purse

20th shot: medium shot of lady looking around and spotting a cash point

21st shot: Close up of cash point.

Sam: Full Shot list- Part 2

22nd shot: long shot two men walking into W.C simultaneously

23rd shot: close up of W.C sign.

24th shot: pan of lady 1 beating lady 2 to the cash point

25th shot: pan of man 1 beating man 2 to the toilet

26th shot: medium shot of lady 2 looking restless

27th shot: over the shoulder shot of lady 1 putting her card into cash point.

28th shot: medium shot of man 2 looking restless

29th shot: medium shot of man 2 looking into a mirror
Pan down to his watch

30th shot: close up of lady 2 watch
Zoom out and show lady 1 walking away and lady 2 walking towards cash point.

31st shot: medium shot of man 1 coming out of toilet and man 2 walking towards toilet.

32nd shot: long shot pan of lady walking up the street towards bus stop.

33rd: long shot pan of man going through shopping centre

34th shot: Long shot pan of lady getting closer to bus stop.

35th shot: long shot of man getting closer to bus stop.

Props and Transport : The Finer Details

After constructing my shot list,I can now pin point the props which will be needed to make my film look that much better. Firstly the most important thing is the five pound note which is found and picked up. Also a drink is needed for when the man comes out from the shop, which leads him to needing the toilet. For both the woman and the man, money change is needed for when the lady gives the money to the beggar and when the man comes out of the shop. Furthermore in regards to the beggar, a money hat will be needed. After this comes the scene where the women discovers she has no ciggarettes, so a ciggarette packet is essential.
In regards to transport , it is really handyu one of my actors can drive, so I can get taken easily to the destintion needed to film my project.

Costumes : What to wear !!!

With the length of time given to make short films,the right costumes helps to get across a characters personality instantly. The message I want to get across is one where the characters look good hearted human beings, whilst not being too extravagant. On this basis I have opted to choose smart casual clothing so the characters look rather normal and not too threatening. However the first two characters will be wearing a bit more than the last two. The reason for this is as the longer the story goes on, the more it reveals itself, so I want the characters to co inside with this.

First man clothing                                                                                                        First woman clothing

Well covered up jacket, meaning none of the

plot is given away.

First woman clothing

                                                         

Again she is well covered up, almost giving a sense of mystery.

Second Man clothing 

                                                                      

Now the clothing is much more lighter and warm. The cardigan could even be undone so his personality looks open and vunerable to a romantic ending!!!

Second woman clothing

A picture could not be taken of this clothing as this is still to be though about. However it will be something on the same wave length of the second man clothing. Maybe something quite cute, like a fluffy coat.

Sam: Actors

I need to consider my target audience when selecting my actors. As my target audience will be for every above the age of 15, I feel I would need young adult actors to attract the younger part of the spectrem. On the other hand they must look mature, if this is not the case it will draw away the adults.

Sam: Possible locations

A decision was made earlier in the project that my film had to be located where there were a lot of people, but also somewhere a broad audience could relate to. After looking into various locations, these seem to be the most suitable places:

A busy indoor shopping mall in the centre of Ipswich?

Ipswich train station on the edge of the town centre?

A peaceful public park in the centre of Ipswich?

                                           A busy Bus Station, bang in the middle of the Town?

The main shopping street in the town?

I feel the shopping centre, bus station and the actual town centre will be the most appropriate for my film. The reason for my choice is because there is guranteed people at both of these places. Also they are all placed right next to eachother, so this will increase the chance of good continuity

Sam: Crunch Time!!!

After checking over and making some minor adjustments to my story board, it is now time to make some very important decisions on the production of my film. I now need to look carefully at possible locations, actors, costumes and props. Furthermore, this should lead me on to making a full shot list and that is where the project really starts to take place.

Sam: Final Ideas on my Storyboard

It has taken me a few days to make my final story board as you can see from my blog, however I now feel the pictures summarise my film very well.

Sam: Initial ideas on storyboard

As you can see I have made a storyboard template. It consists of the proposed narrative based on the film 'spin'. Also the planned dual narrative and romantic ending.
Basically, I have an idea where many different things happen to a man and women which eventually means them meeting in the end.


PICTURE OF TEMPLATE

Sam: Additional research: Film Festivals

“A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality” - Wikipedia .....................

Please note password has been reset - you will be able to blog again after half-term. Have a nice holiday, you have deserved it! Mr Mapp