P1. Post production - After effects and shooting

What went wrong? 

We had to film each effect a couple of times and bit by bit because people kept forgetting their lines now and then. Also people laughed a lot.

What did you struggle with in after effects?

In after effects I've had trouble doing the drag up effect. I have been having trouble because when I do the mask everything goes black or when I play it back it is just a freeze frame. 

What do you need to learn? 

How to do the drag effect without it freezing and looking realistic. Also for the character to be in the shot then be dragged up rather than just appearing and being dragged up quickly. 

What "assets" do you need? 

Possibly a wig to show the the male main character. We also might need something for Jay to fall on when he gets flung from the tree. Another thing we might need is black make up for the creatures face. 

P1. Drag up effect using after effects

- First import your clips. You need 2 to make this effect. One of just the background and one with the person in it.
- Duplicate (cmd,D) the clip with the person

- Go to the point where you are slightly jumping 

- Right click on the first figure layer. Click on time, freeze frame.

- Click on the other figure layer and cut it 

- Click on the first figure layer and do the same 

- Then delete one of each cut 

- Click on the first figure (smaller clip) and use the pen tool to go around the person 

- Click P (position) on the keyboard and press the stopwatch 

- Move 3 frames and drag the person of the screen 

- Click S (scale) Go back 1 or 2 frames 

- Click on the scales stopwatch move the figure up again and use the scale to shrink it 

- Click motion blur and put it on the first layer 

- Click on the background layer and cut it 

- Click on the first cut layer and go effect,blur and sharpen, radial blur 

My attempt 

My 3rd attempt was the best so far. However I'm still not that happy with the outcome. Even though the person does get up the beginning bit is frozen. To improve it I'm going to try and find another tutorial or attempted it a couple more times.

P1. Script assessment

Entertainment 

Narrative: 

My script has a lot of dialogue. Could add a voice over or more detailed speech. 

Characters: 

Jay, Joe and Adam. 

Dialogue:

Dialogue is good but could make it more interesting. 

Feasibility 

Casting: 

Casting would be easy to do. A teenage girl and 2 teenage boys. 

Time:

Wouldn't take long to film but effects may take a while. Would last about 2 minutes all together. 

Location:

Long Road Sixth Form 

Effect

Range of VFX:

- Sketch book flys across the room 

- Drawings come to life 

Impressiveness:

I think my effects would look impressive. However my script might be better with more effects. 

Achievability: 

High achievability. Would be easy to achieve. 

P1. Point break

For the point break project we were given a scene from the film. The clip involved two people running through streets and alleyways. The clip had no sound so we added sound effects to the video. We did this using Premier. There was a folder which had relevant sounds that could be added to our clips. The clip was longer than the sound effects so we had to shorten the clip length when exporting it. To export the video you click on file, export, media then shorten the clip length when the box appears. You then click export, this now makes your video ready for YouTube.

P1. Effect sheets

P1. Research

Blair witch project 
We looked for a film that has some aspects of ours. We found Blair witch project which is set in the woods and is filmed with a handheld camera like we are doing. We watched the film to see how they used handheld cameras effectively. 

Useful Camera angles
- They make it obvious its handheld 
- 29:50 used off screen talking 
- 30:52 how they track the woods 
- 42:37 wide shot of the woods 
- 45:30 OS running
- 51:06 close up of persons face frontwards
- 1:10:13 extreme close up, eyes 
- 1:16:45 camera dropping to the floor 
- 1:16:56 camera dropping to the floor, tv lines effect 


Tutorials 
 Lightning hitting the ground: 

Person being dragged up in the air: 

Red eyes: 

White lines projecting from eyes: 

P1. Final Script - Without shot types

Script 2 no shots from DanaLH

P1. The Woods - With shots

The woods from DanaLH

P1. Production meeting notes

Date

20th November 2013

Who was present

Me ( Dana) and Amber 

Agenda

Shot types 

Script 

New script? 

We have decided on shot types for our script. We then read through the script that we have a couple of times and thought about how interesting it would actually be and decided that it didn't have much drama and effects. So we thought of coming up with a new script that would have a lot of action in and shows more powers and compare them. 

Ideas for new script: 

Set in the woods. 3 teenagers hang out and have a little party/get together and try to figure out all their powers. They hear a noise which ends up being someone that can turn into a creature. They all end up dying/ disappear apart from one which ends on a cliffhanger. 

P1. 180 Degree rule

                                        

                                        180 degree rule

The 180 degree rule is if you are filming you can't cross a line so you can only use camera angles that are in a 180 degree area. If you did wan't to cross the line the people would swap sides. You couldn't just cut to the other side of the line because it would confuse the viewer so you would have to move the camera round and show that you are moving sides. 

P1. Character Bios

Name: Joe, Sketch r' rise

Born: 1996

Parents: Her mum is dead and her dad is a alcoholic that is never home.

Born (Place): Cambridgeshire

Hobbies: Drawing, doesn't do anything else

Friends: Has no friends. Prefers being alone.

Looks: Brown haired, glasses, cardigan (nerdy clothes)

Major moments: Mum died giving birth. Dad has been in and out of jail for the past 15 years.

Joe's goal is to stop Jay. This is because Jay is trying to control everyone at the college with his power. Joe's flaw is that she is an outsider. She can't talk to people that well and doesn't have any confidence.

Name: Jay

Born: 1996

Parents: Rich parents, always working.

Born (Place): London

Hobbies: Horror films,Computer games.

Friends: New to the college so has no friends

Looks: Long black hair, black clothes

Major moments: Parent's kept leaving him everywhere when he was a kid.

Jay's goal is to become popular for once. He has discovered his power and uses it to do so. Jay's flaw is that he has anger problems. Which means he sometimes uses his power when he doesn't mean to. He's also not very confident.

Name: Adam

Born: 1996

Parents: Normal, middle class family.

Born (place): Cambridgeshire

Hobbies: Sports

Friends: Popular, average jock.

Looks: Tall, Dark haired, Dresses on sports ware.

Major moments: Wins all the championships.

Adams goal is to be the most popular guy in the college. He want's to win every game he plays. His flaws is that he's so cocky and confident it annoys people. He want's to be popular and successful in sports to please his family.

P1. Script - edited

Script edited from DanaLH

P1. Script - Sketch r' rise

Script - Sketch r' rise from DanaLH

P1. Research into recording foley sound and sound effects

Foley artists is someone who creates sounds to go with the action using objects. For example creating the noise for horses galloping. Foley artists are needed because when filming they mainly use the microphones for dialogue. If they did use the mic's then the dialogue wouldn't be as clear and would need to be re-recorded and added in. Foley artists record in 3 sections: 1. Footsteps for the characters 2. Background footsteps 3. Prop pass - anything moving on the screen e.g sword pull. To be a foley artist you need to be very creative and imaginative as you will have to create the sounds using objects that you think would work. Also you would need the energy to put into the recording and have good timing. The advantages of using objects to create sound fx instead of digital production or sound libraries is that you can try making the sound multiple times and see which fits best, which means you don't have to settle on whatever is close in the library. For example in star wars the lazergun was created by bumping against the wires on a radio tower and used the noise from a factory machine that cuts metal for the imperial walkers. 

Information taken from: 

P1. Research into Recording Ambient Sounds and Dialogue

Ambient sound is recording the background noise of the location you are filming. It is used to make the audience feel involved and as they are there. This makes it more realistic. For example for the jungle location in Hunger Games - Catching fire Jeremy Peirson physically went out and recording sounds of a jungle,ocean and bamboos."Hard cuts" are also used in the Hunger Games. It isn't very good for ambient sound but is useful for guiding you from scene to scene. For example it is used in the city scene, the jungle noise starts 6 seconds before the scene is shown. The advantage of recording on location rather than relying on the sound library is that you get the right "room tone" to suit your scene. For example the library may have a sound that would go however filming on location would give a more realistic atmosphere and would make the audience feel like they are there with the characters. Another advantage of recording on location is that if you don't have weird silences. For example in James bond one minute you can her talking in a Caribbean hotel with the ocean, fans whirling and drinks clinking in the background to a one word dialogue that has no background noise.The software that is used in the Hunger Games is called Atmos by Dolby. Atmos brings high definition and makes it feel like they're surrounded by all angles. 

There are many ways you can film the dialogue and background noise at the location without the dialogue being affected.For example:

1. Having the right microphone and placing it in the right position helps keep the balance of ambient sound and dialogue. 
2. Placing the microphone as close to the actor/s as you can so the dialogue would be louder than the background. 
3. Re-shoot the scene multiple times. 
4. Use an external mic rather than the microphone on the camera.
5. Looping - actors re-record lines while watching their original performances in looped playback.
6. Slowly bring up the room tone volume.
7. Make sure you can't hear the cameraman moving. 
8. Recording in forest - record clean dialogue in the studio then superimpose ambient sound recorded in the forest.

These tips would help a lot with my film I just created. The recording in forest tip relates well as mine was set in the woods, which we found difficult because of the location noise e.g wind. Also maybe using an external microphone instead of camera's microphone. Another thing we could of done is record 30 seconds of room tone/ambient noise. 


Notes

Hunger games-catching fire:
- Background noise added to the scene 
- More realistic 
- Sonic feel
- Dense,busy,exotic,claustrophobia 
- Jungle,ocean,bamboos 
- 70ft away from each other 
- With characters - always surrounded 
- Jungle ambience comes in 6 seconds before shown
- Guides you in to the next scene 
- Feel like you are surrounded
- Dolby Atmos 
http://www.askaudiomag.com/articles/tips-recoding-sound-location :
- Room tone - 30 seconds of "room tone" which is the ambient noise 
- James Bond - Talking in Caribbean hotel,ocean in background,fans whirling,drinks clinking at the bar to word with no background 
- Loud room tone under warm audio - dialogue sounds the same 
- Slowly bring up room tone volume 
- EQ filter settings to footage with dialogue, reduce the loud hum
- Doesn't cut the sound of peoples speech
- External mic , physical microphone of the camera 
- Hear cameraman 
http://www.lavideofilmmaker.com/location-sound-recording/location-sound-recording-shotgun-microphone-placement.html
- Right microphone - ultra-directional for external locations, directional (shorter) for interiors 
- Place microphone close to actor/s
- Louder than background 
- Shoot scenes multiple times 
- 30 seconds ambient noise - every location 
- Never record without sound 
- Recording in forest - clean dialogue in studio,superimpose ambient sound recorded in the forest 
http://library.creativecow.net/cowdog/ADR/1
- Looping - actors re-record lines while watching their original performances in looped playback

P1. X-men Sound analysis

Music                                                                                                    Dialogue 

0:00 - 1:32 Music throughout the whole clip                        0:04-0:05 "What is this place"
1:26-28 Music peaks                                          0:13-0:14 "Hey, no powers" (dialogue of screen)
                                                                                          1:05-1:06 "John"
Voice-over                                                                        1:06-1:07 "Sorry"
0:08-0:12 Voice over about the place                                  1:12-1:13 "I'm Bobby"
0:15-0:53 More voice over about the place and students      1:14-1:16 "What your name?"
1:18-1:28 Voice over about Rouge                                      1:16-1:17 "Rouge"
                                                                                   1:28-1:29 "Welcome to mutant high"
Sound effects 

0:06-0:15 kids foot steps and basketball bouncing 

0:57-1:01 freezing sound effects 

1:03-1:04 Frozen object smashing on floor



Analysis

Music is played the whole way through the clip. This helps the flow of the tour of the college. The music also changes loudness when certain things happen. For example the music gets louder when sound effects are used and quieter with dialogue and voice over. Dialogue and voice overs are used a lot throughout the clip. However they are never used at the same time. This is because if it was then you couldn't hear/understand what is going on because it would just be a confusing sound. Sound effects are another key sound in this clip. It is used when the music and voice over/dialogue is used but it doesn't overlap or effect each of the things and aren't as loud as the music or dialogue/voice over so you can still understand what people are saying. 

P1. Distortion Composition

P1. Music analysis notes + Submarine analysis

LO1 Use of music in film

- Creates an atmosphere 
- Creates mood 
- Triggers emotions/creates emotional cues for audience
- Establishes location,culture and time (motifs) 
- Emphasises action
- Helps the narrative 
- Hints to the emotional state of the characters 
- Establishes characters (themes and motive) 

Terminology

- Diegetic - Characters can hear 
- Non diegetic - Characters cant hear (Post production)
- Sound bridge - Leads into next scene 
- Contrapuntal sound - Opposite (Horrible action but happy music)
- Sonic wallpaper - Creates setting with just the sound 

Submarine analysis 

Purpose: 
The purpose of the music in submarine is to create the sonic wallpaper for the montage and flashbacks. It also helps the narrative flow and gives the audience clues about the character/s. 

Elements: 
The instrumentation is a flute and strings (orchestral). The tone is neither major nor minor but neutral. It also is "thinking music" and is busy,romantic and whimsical. Submarine has a dreamy tempo but has a bit of energy and is andante. The genre is the music used is classical. 

Meaning:
The meaning of the sequence is Oliver's thought process. It is subjective and shows the audience how he sees the world. Therefore the music is sincere and considerate, even when describing comical memories. The music has a "busy" quality to it. This is shown by it never resting into a set of melody. This reflects Oliver's thought process s he jumps from thought to thought to make sense of it. It is Oliver's internal soundtrack and reflects his character. His character is dreamy,reflective and romantic. The music has a classical timeless quality which gives a little indication of location and/or time. This suggests timelessness in terms of the films themes, combing of age and love. 

P1. Film idea - Sketch a' rise

Name: 

Joe
Superhero name: Sketch a' rise 

Power: 

The power to make her drawings come to life. For example draw a door and you would be able to go through it. Another thing they could draw is things that would save peoples lives or stop wars by drawing the leaders of countries shaking hands. Joe doesn't use her powers that much as she is to scared to use it because someone might see and she might get carried away or angry and use them for evil. 

Personality: 

Quiet, spends most of her time in the art rooms drawing and keeps herself to herself. She doesn't seem to have any friends and has a very high IQ. She seems to be very caring and a slight activist. Joe has created a super hero identity, Sketch a' rise. She spends her time drawing and thinking of ideas she could do with her power but never acts on them. 

Setting: 

A typical sixth form. It seems that no one else has any powers. However a new student starts the college and acts just as strange as she does. Joe finds out that the new student, Jay also has a unusual gift. She finds out that he doesn't use his powers for good. Jay's power is that he can control peoples thoughts and make them do what he wants. Joe has to confront Jay and get him to leave before he controls her mind. Joe manages to do this by drawing herself a mind shield so Jay can't control her then draws a door that leads to a unknown place. When she does this some of the other students see and discover her secret. 


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P1. Sound effects analysis - Drive

This clip from the film Drive shows a getaway driver, played by Ryan Gosling waiting for 2 criminals that are committing a burglary. The getaway driver has a rule - he gives anyone who hires him 5 minutes to commit their crime and get back to the car or otherwise he will drive of without them.

The purpose of the diegetic (sound,voice or piece of music that comes from within the world of the narrative) in this clip is to make the viewer feel how intense the situation is and in a way make them feel like they are going through it to. The sound also suggests what type of genre the film is. By the police sirens and alarm of the place they broke into you can tell that the movie is a crime, thriller. 

Ticking watch:

The ticking of the watch is one of the main sounds you hear. It is very load and helps create suspense for the viewer. The effects the watch creates is very important for the tension that they are trying to create so the viewer is draw to their screens and are sitting at the edge of their seats.

The radio:

After setting the watch Ryan Gosling turns up the basketball game on the radio. This is a bit confusing to the viewer because the watch sets a serious atmosphere whereas the basketball came sets a casual and calm atmosphere. This suggests that the getaway driver, Ryan Gosling is calm about the situation and if familiar with it and what to do. 

Police radio scanner: 

The police radio scanner also adds to the tension for the viewer. It does this by drawing the viewer in by reporting to the police what has been heard and what the police are saying back. This adds to the tension because you know that the police are on their way but you're unsure how far away they are and whether the burglars will make it out before they arrive. 

Environmental sounds: 

The environmental sounds don't really catch the viewers attention that much. However they're louder than what they actually are. The environmental sounds such as the police sirens still cause a suspense especially when they start because only one of the burglars are back in the car which makes the viewer wonder if the other one will get in the car in time or the police will catch him. Also when the sirens start all of the other sounds mix together and become increasingly louder. By having all the noises mixed together creates a lot of suspense for the viewer and makes the situation that is happening more intense. 

P1. Dialogue - Misfits opening

In the opening of the first episode of Misfits the tone of the programme is set by the dialogue used. The genre of the programme is also established. The genre of Misfits so far seems to be Comedy. Another thing that happens in the opening dialogue is you get a glimpse of the main characters and their personalities and backgrounds. You find out which one is the quiet one and which is the confident loud one. These types of dialogue is used to entertain/amuse the viewer so they would carry on watching the programme.

Main characters dialogues: 

Alisha

Alisha doesn't actually talk to any of the others however she does talk but it's to someone on the phone. She does this while the probation officer is still talking. This suggests that she might be rude and won't listen to you that much. She also swears while she's on the phone and makes a witty comment towards the probation officer. "I thought you'd finished" when he asks her to get off the phone. This shows that she is also argumentative. Alishia's accent is cocky and clear. She doesn't seem to be from a higher class background. However you can't really tell much about her background as all she does in the opening 2 minutes is a small talk on the phone.She also laughs a lot at Nathan when he is being sarcastic and mocks people. This might suggest that she enjoys seeing it or likes doing it herself to. However unlike Nathan her sarcastic vocabulary is pretty rude. 

Nathan

From the begging 2 minutes you can tell that Nathan is very sarcastic and mocks people a lot but his mocking is playful. For example he says to Simon "you all right there weird kid". Which starts of friendly then ends kind of harsh. However he does seem to be the only one that notices Simon and actually communicates with him even though it is mocking. You can't really tell what class he would be and all you can really tell about his background is that his family or one of his parents must be Irish. His Irish accent is soft and has a rhythmical tone in a way. This makes him sound not very aggressive when he tries to be. Nathan's tone is also clear and laid back. This shows that as well as being sarcastic he is also not a very serious person all together. 

Nathan speaks the most in the opening 2 minutes. You can tell a lot about his vocabulary because of this. He has a vulgar vocabulary. This means that he pushes the boundaries with his words. Nathan also uses witty and argumentative words, but doesn't really act on his words. He uses his vocabulary cleverly which shows some intelligence. His volume is very clear and loud. He talks a lot and is loud so he is centre of attention. He also dominates the conversation's by doing this.

Curtis 

Curtis doesn't really speak much. However when he does talk you can tell that he thinks he is better than the others and doesn't belong there. "I shouldn't be here" and "Can I be in a different group this isn't gonna work for me". This gives you a idea that he might be from a different type of background to the others and might be in a higher class than them. However this might also suggest that he is full of himself. Curtis also joins in with Nathan when he mocks Kelly's accent. He also laughs when she speaks and asks if her accent "Is for real?". His vocabulary seems to be laid back as he isn't as argumentative or sarcastic as the others. Curtis also doesn't seem to be interested in the others as he doesn't really make communication with them. 

Kelly 

Kelly doesn't talk till near the end of the opening. When she does she gets mocked because of her accent. Her accent and volume is very strong and loud. She seems to have a chav like accent form Nottingham. Her tone isn't laid back like the others and seems very aggressive. The only reason Kelly talked is because Curtis said he shouldn't be there. "What makes you think you're better than us" by the way she says this it shows that she's not afraid to speak her mind and doesn't care if it starts a argument. However instead of getting a answer she gets mocked and laughed at because of her accent. Kelly reacts in a aggressive way towards them. He vocabulary isn't that aggressive but her tone makes it seem that way. You can tell straight away by her accent that she isn't in a high class group and has move of a lower or middle class background. 

Simon

Simon doesn't talk at all in the opening 2 minutes. You can't really tell what tone,accent or background he might have. All you really find out about him is he is very quiet and keeps to himself. Simon also doesn't seem to be aggressive. You can tell this by the way he reacts when Nathan calls him a weird kid and he doesn't seem to react to it at all. This might suggest that he is used to being mocked and called names so he has learn't how to ignore them and shrug them of. Simon not talking also gives a sense of mystery to his character and makes the viewer interested in what he is actually like and weather you actually find out what he's like.

Gary

Gary also has a chav like accent like Kelly. This suggests that they might have a similar background. When Gary talks he is very aggressive for example he says to Nathan "you looking to get stabbed" and threatens to rip out his throat. He also starts a fight with Nathan. This gives the viewer the idea that he might be moved groups or there will be a lot more fights and aggressive language from him. Gary's vocabulary is also very aggressive and he acts on his words unlike the others. All together Gary seems like a very aggressive person who isn't afraid to say things and will react if you mock him.

P1. Misfits first episode analysis - Visual effects

1:27 close up on person, background blurred. All the audiences attention on the person rather than the background

4:37 Thunder clouds 

4:39 Car being smashed 

5:03 Water splashing on them 

5:08 Thunder clouds increasing in size 

5:11 Videoing a rock type thing fall through persons (Simon's) phone 

5:13 Garbage bin and flies over 

5:18 Rocks smashing on the ground 

5:27 Rock smashes telephone box

5:32 Water splashing over them as they run

5:36 Dust falling from roof 

5:41 Rocks smashing on the ground around them 

6:12 Lightning strikes teenagers, Fly back in slow motion, Blacked out background. 

6:19 Blackout background with lightning strikes and single slow motion of each character

6:32 Close up of eye, lighting reflecting in eye

12:01 Skipping through stages of the bridge phone conversation's

13:50 Sun light showing different times 

17:42 Guy's (Simon's) face deforming (Head shaking side to side)

18:26 Guy (Simon) standing in front of mirror but has no reflection 

19:16 Guy's (Simon) face deforms again (Head shakes side to side) 

19:17 Reflection appears in mirror 

P1. Moving picture

Moving Picture - http://www.moving-picture.com

History of the company: 

Moving pictures company is one of the global leaders in VFX for over 25 years. It's London office opened on Wardour Street,Soho in the 1990's. It has industry leading offices in London,Vancouver,Los Angeles,New York,Amsterdam and Bangalore. Moving Pictures is famous for their visual wonder and creative expertise to the advertising and entertainment industries. Some of their most famous work include Harry Potter franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean:On Stranger Tides, Prometheus and the Life of Pi. They have also got famous advertisement with Samsung,Cadbury,Sony,Coca Cola and John Lewis. 

What kind of work they do: 

Moving Pictures does a range of films and advertisement, from Man of steel film (http://www.moving-picture.com/film/filmography/man-of-steel) to hotel bookings (http://www.moving-picture.com/work/bookingcom-haunted-hotel). Their work has won many awards from critic's choice award (film) to The British arrows craft award. 

Some Films they have done:                  Some advertisement they have done: 

                                                           

                                                       

Technology they use:

Moving Picture have the latest projection technology for 35mm and digital projection with full Dolby Digital 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound. In addition to this they have DCP,Blu-ray,HDCAMSR,3D Stereoscopic projection using XPAND and 3D active shuttered glasses. Moving Picture also partner with hardware and software vendors who understand the unique requirement of large scale VFX production so they can produce the best work they can for their clients. They also have http://www.technicolor.com which is a worldwide technology leader in the media and entertainment sector.

Here is some of the work they have used technology to create: