The Jelly Baby Challenge- Ghost Film Opening Storyboard

As a group, we decided to choose the Ghost Story for our jelly baby film opening storyboard. We chose this because after researching horror films, we believed that we all had sufficient knowledge of this genre that would allow us to make a successful storyboard. We used 5 shots to get our idea across. If we were to actually make our plot into a video, we would use camera shots such as close ups, whip pan and handheld shots within our scenes.

Plot

4 friends (the jelly babies) go camping in a field by some woods. In the night, one of the characters hears a noise and goes to investigate, only to be murdered by an evil ghost spirit. This is the opening of the film, and would later lead into a more developed plot where similar events happen to other people.

I think that we planned our task well and put a lot of effort into props and scenery of our jelly baby film opening. Our group worked well together and there were no disagreements. We all contributed to the planning and production of our film opening storyboard, and I think that making backgrounds for our film really made it stand out.

I think that our film would have been better if we kept more within the guidelines of a PG film, as we were supposed to. I also think that we took too long to create our shots, and that they were inconsistent (the surface is different in the last photo).

The end of our opening scene allows room for the story to continue and develop as the evil ghost is still on the loose, and nobody knows that it exists

Typical Actors, Directors and Music of Horror Films

I have researched some of the typical actors, directors and music used in Horror Films to give me a better idea of how they are made and what is involved.

Horror Film Target Audience

Age

The average age of people who watch horror films is around 15-25 years old. People of this age tend to be more open to trying and experiencing new things, and therefore are more likely to enjoy the thrills of watching a horror film. Younger people are less offended by violence and gore, as horror films have become more accepted and less outrageous in the past few years, so older generations may still not approve of them.

Gender

Stereotypically, men watch more horror films than women. This is because generally men tend to enjoy (and engage in) violence more than women.

Horror Film Production Techniques

 I researched some production techniques that are typically used in Horror films, such as lighting styles and sound effects used.

Conventions of a Horror Film

We have chosen Horror as our film genre as we think that this will be the most fun to film. After researching, we learned that there is lots of variety within the genre, including sub genres such as Gothic Horror. It will be interesting to see what we can do with our film to make it unique.

Evaluation of Preliminary Task

I think that, overall, our preliminary task video demonstrated the specific shots that we had to use well. Our finished product ran smoothly and looked effective. The plot was clear, and the camera shots included really helped to get the tense atmosphere across.  I think that if we were to change anything, we would add music in the background to increase the drama in the scene and to make it seem more professional and put together.

I am happy with the actors, dialogue and shots we chose, as I think they all worked well together to make the finished video good. Our actors (Caoimhe and Rainbow) did a great job, and played their parts convincingly which helped to make our scene seem more realistic. We wrote our own dialogue, which I think helped to make our video more original, however, I think it would have been good to have chosen a more individual and unique storyline. Overall, the shots we used looked professional and were clear. However, there were people in the background who weren’t supposed to be in a couple of shots, so I think next time we need to check this before editing our video together.

The planning of our project took longer than it did to actually make the video. It took us a while to write a script, and to find people who wanted to act in the video. Once we’d filmed everything, it didn’t take Ellie very long to edit it into something we were all happy with.

We did not complete a risk assessment as our filming took place in a classroom and a hallway, and none of our actors were doing anything that would put them at risk.

I think that the techniques we used were adequate and I would not use a different range. We used the compulsory techniques (180-degree rule, shot reverse shot, and match on action) and I think that if we had included any more, the editing of our video would have been unnecessarily difficult.

We showed the video to our friends (since our audience was mainly teenagers) and they enjoyed it. I think this is because they found it easy to relate to as the actors were also teenagers. The video was also quite realistic, which I think made the viewers engage with it well.

Overall, there are no significant changes that I would make to our video, other than the points I have mentioned already. One change we had to make was adding the logo at the start of the video, which we initially forgot to do.

  

Preliminary Task- Choosing a Logo

There are three people in my group, myself, Bailey, and Ellie. We all made a logo for our company, so in order to decide which one to use, we all put across our opinions on each others (and our own) logos. Our final decision was based on this discussion.

Bailey's Logo

 



Ellie's Logo

 



 

My Logo

 

 

In the end, we decided to use my logo for our production company. We all said that as my logo has a plain black background, it would be easier to transition from this to the film, as it would look more clean cut fading into black. We also decided that my logo was the most professional, and would appeal to a wider audience, as well as being able to be used in a wide variety of genres of film. 

Preliminary Task- Planning

Setting Details-

When we were planning our preliminary task, we thought of several possible locations for the setting of our video. In the end we narrowed it down to an outdoor picnic bench, a hallway and an empty classroom. We chose to film in an empty classroom as it had the best sound quality, and the least chance of being interrupted. It also enabled us to use the space in and around the classroom, including the corridor, the door to the classroom and the desks.

Character List-                   

There were only two characters in our video. Caoimhe played the bully, who aggressively collects money from Rainbow. Rainbow played the innocent victim of Caoimhe’s cruel ways. While there were no other on camera roles, we all were involved in the film making process somehow.

Equipment List-

The only equipment we used to create our video was a camcorder and an SD card. Originally, we were going to use Bailey’s camera because it has High Definition recording, however, we decided it was more convenient to just use a school camcorder. The quality was a lot better than we’d thought it would be, and our videos turned out really well. The camcorder didn’t have an SD card, so we used the one Bailey had for her camera.

We only used one prop for our video, which was the money. We printed out £240 worth of notes, which helped to make our scene look more realistic and effective.

 

 

Preliminary Task- Duologue

 

Preliminary Task Storyboard

Preliminary Task Video

Film Title Sequence Timeline- 'The Nightmare Before Christmas'

The final film title timeline I have chosen to do it 'The Nightmare Before Christmas'. I like this opening sequence because it is animated, and quite unusual. While not much happens in this opening, it gives a pretty good idea of what kind of film this is. I also like that there are not many credentials in this sequence- it prevents it from being boring and prevents the viewer from losing interest.

 

Film Title Sequence Timeline- 'Breakfast at Tiffany's'

 The fourth film timeline I chose to do is 'Breakfast at Tiffany's'. I don't like this opening sequence as much as the others I've looked at because while you can tell they are trying to set the scene through this clip, not a lot happens and it doesn't give you a clear idea of what the story is about. The credits also appear to drag on for a long time because there isn't much happening in the background.

 

Film Title Sequence Timeline- '10 Things I Hate About You'

 My third film timeline is for the film '10 Things I Hate About You'. This opening sequence is quite long compared to most, because there are long pauses between credits- this allows the viewer to focus on the scene that is playing as the credits roll. Two songs have been used in this title sequence, which is also unusual, however, it helps to set the tone of the story and changes the atmosphere as different events occur.

 

Film Title Sequence Timeline- 'Dirty Dancing'

For my second film timeline, I chose the film 'Dirty Dancing'. I like this opening sequence because it's quite minimalistic- the credentials are written in a hot pink font, and played over clips of couples dancing with a black and white effect. This could have also been a money saving technique- both the simplicity of this opening sequence, and the clips being in black and white (colour film is more expensive).

 

Film Title Sequence Timeline- 'School of Rock'

 

This is my first film timeline. I chose to do the 'School of Rock' because the opening sequence sets the scene for the rest of the movie, which I think is a clever way to save production costs and also makes the opening credits more interesting.

 

The Hunger Games- Storyboard and Analysis

This scene opens with a close-up shot of the protagonist of this film, Katniss Everdeen. The only audio in this shot is a sort of drilling sound, which is uncomfortable to listen to. Opening the scene with a close-up of the main character lets the audience know that they will be a focal point of the scene. The intensity of this shot combined with the audio help to set the atmosphere for the rest of the scene, and give the audience an idea of what’s to come.

The next shot is a slow pan of the setting, showing the characters’ surroundings. This shot shows the enormity and scale of not only the place that the characters are in, but of the scene itself. It creates more drama, as the characters appear to be small and insignificant compared to their surroundings.

The third shot shows a series of Medium Close-Ups of the various characters in the scene. The characters all look either quite solemn or threatening, which helps to get the seriousness of this scene across. This also allows the viewer to get a good idea of how many characters are in the scene, and the MCU allows us to detect how each one is feeling by judging their facial expressions. This also helps to set the mood for the scene.

The next four shots demonstrate the varying reactions of different groups of people in their society. Shot 4 shows people dressed in bright, colourful clothes, looking excited and cheering. This contrasts with shot 5, which shows people dressed in dull, plain clothes looking slightly distressed, and clearly unhappy with the situation. Shot 4 is a Medium Long Shot, while shot five is a High Angle shot. Shot 4 shows the people more closely, which makes the people in shot 5 seem unimportant as they are filmed from further away. It also creates a sense that the people in shot four are in control. The characters in shots 6 and 7 relate to those in shot 5, as they too look concerned and upset, and their clothes are similar. Focusing more on these characters than the people in shot 4 shows the viewer their suffering is more important than the celebratory aspect of the story.

In shot 8, we see Katniss, the protagonist, engage with another character in a non-threatening way. This shows that the other character is an ally for Katniss, and reassures the audience that she is not completely alone in what she is about to do. An Extreme Long Shot is used for shot 9, again to show the scale on which the events are taking place.

Shot 10 is a ‘Worm’s Eye View’ shot. This is a very intense shot, as it is filmed from the point of view of a character being stabbed. It gives the character doing the stabbing dominance over not only the victim, but the audience as well. This shot is used to have a direct effect on the audience, and to showcase the brutality and savagery of what is happening in the scene. Shot 11 is an Over the Shoulder shot, which also gives the audience an idea of what the main character is experiencing. The final shot is a Long Shot, used when Katniss is running away from the clearing in order to show where she is going.

Recreated scene from The Hunger Games- Evaluation Essay

In my scene from The Hunger Games, my main goal was to match the tense atmosphere that is shown in the actual film. To increase my chances of doing this, I made sure to pay close attention to the actual scene so I could understand what made it so tense.

I think that one of the key features that made it so dramatic is the type (and lack of) sound effects used in the background. The only sounds are a countdown, the beat of a drum, and a type of irritating buzzing/ringing noise to make the audience feel uncomfortable. During the fighting, there is music which reaches a dramatic crescendo.  There is no dialogue in the scene, so the sound effects and camera angles are heavily relied on to explain what is happening in the scene. For this reason, we used the same sound effects as used in the actual film, as we felt this was the only way to capture the feeling of unease that the film scene gives off.

The types of camera shots used in this scene also contributed a lot to creating a sense of fear and intensity. Our opening shot was a close up of Rainbow, who was playing Katniss- the main character of the film. Beginning the scene with a close up of one particular character shows that they are important to the plot, and also allows the audience to see how the character appears to be feeling by getting a clear shot of their facial expression. This can help to set the tone for the whole scene, and allows the audience to begin to make an opinion on the character.

The next technique we used was ‘whip pan’. We used this to pan from one character to the next. This technique worked really well, as in this scene it’s important that the audience sees every character and is able to make judgements on them before following their actions through the scene and deciding what their final opinion on the character is.

We also used ‘extreme long shot’ in our scene. This allowed us to show the setting of the scene, and the scale of the area in which it is set. It also enabled us to fit all of the characters into one shot. I think this helped to make the scene seem more dramatic and powerful as it shows the vastness of the scenery around the characters, and how it almost engulfs them- they are surrounded by forest.

Another technique we used was the ‘worm’s eye view’. We used this camera angle for a particularly brutal scene in which one character is stabbing another. The scene was meant to look as if you were watching it from the point of view of the person being stabbed- the character you could see was clearly in control, which makes the scene look even more threatening.

Overall, I think that the filming techniques combined with the sound effects we used in our scene really helped to make it as dramatic and tension-filled as we were hoping for, and I am happy with how it all turned out in the end.

Media Studies Summer Work- Recreating a Scene from 'The Hunger Games'

This is the scene from The Hunger Games that I recreated for my summer work.

My Production Company Logo

The logo can say a lot about a company, so it has to be unique and also look professional. This analysis provides an insight into why I used certain colours, shapes, etc. in my logo.

The symbols I have used in my logo are stars and swirls. I used these images to give my logo a magical feel, which could appeal to people of all ages and of both genders (e.g. like the Harry Potter series appeals to a wide audience).

 I haven’t used any colours in my logo as I think keeping it simple and black and white makes it seem more professional. I also looked at the logos of successful production companies, and the majority of them had a black background with a white font. I used the same concept for my logo as I think it makes the design stand out more. Black and white are gender and age neutral colours which means that this logo could be used in a wide range of film genres.

 The logos of production companies don’t typically have a slogan included, so with that in mind, I also did not include a slogan. Generally, the logos of production companies tend to appear on the screen for a few seconds before a film begins, so people probably don’t pay much attention to them. Therefore, they wouldn’t be likely to read a slogan even if there was one. I simply put the name of my production company, so that if people were interested in finding out more about it, they could easily search the name.

I have used an artistic, sketchy style font. I think this will appeal to people as it is eye-catching and different to the traditional font styles used. The font is neither stereotypically masculine nor feminine, so therefore it is gender neutral and will appeal to both men and women. I wrote in capital letters to make the words stand out more. Capitalized letters generally mean that something is important, so therefore it will make my logo seem more important.

I have used stars and swirly style patterns in my logo design. The word ‘aleatory’ means ‘relying on chance or an uncontrolled element in the details of life or the creation of art’ and I wanted to get this across in my logo. I think the swirls represent the uncontrolled aspect of the definition, and with the stars and the style of font, I think that the logo looks quite artistic.

I think that only using two colours as simple as black and white makes my logo clear to see and quite bold. This means it would stand out on advertisements, etc.

I think that my logo is quite creative because there aren’t any out there like it. I was inspired by the magical element of the Dreamworks logo which is one of the reasons why I used swirls and stars.

Filming Techniques

This is the Prezi I made on various filming techniques. It includes descriptions of Match on Action, the 180-degree rule, and shot reverse shot, along with example videos.

Introduction (Statement of Intent)

INTRODUCTION (statement of intent)

My name is Nicole Brady, and I am currently studying AS Level Media Studies in addition to Photography, and English.

I achieved a grade B in GCSE level Media, and the first thing we looked at during the course was DVDs. We had to analyse two covers of different genres, then make our own with the title 'Imagine'. Next, we studied the music industry- a topic I particularly enjoyed looking at. For this part of our coursework, I created a storyboard for a music video for a song by Demi Lovato. Our final coursework piece was to create 4 pages of a print magazine- the cover, contents page, an article and an advert. This was my favourite thing about the course, and I think it was my best piece of work as it allowed me to showcase my ideas and creativity.

I am looking forward to learning more about film making and various editing techniques over the next few months, and am planning to continue studying Media next year. In the future I would like to go into the Music Journalism business, through either photography or writing. I think studying Media has helped me to realise this and taught me a lot about the industry.