Location Research - Done!

I have finally finished the location research! :) Once I've uploaded the script, Research and Planning is complete. :D

Location, Location!

I have almost finished the location research now; I did my final bit of location scouting earlier this week. It'll all be uploaded by tomorrow and then I can relax. :)

Polls Update

I was SUPPOSED to be doing the polls. However, we had some issues with our storyboards that I needed to fix, so Sophie kindly took over them for me. So go vote on them please! :D

Polls - Please Answer!

Today I finished getting the first poll up on my groups' blogs. :) More will follow soon hopefully.

Now I just have to hope people vote. :S

Blog Sorted - Phew!

Finally I have managed to get my blog sorted. :D

Now I have to finish the location research for my main task. Great.

Opening Sequence Analysis - Re-uploaded

This is my opening sequence analysis re-uploaded on a different channel to make it easier for my navigation.

Opening Sequence Analysis

Coursework Update and More Storyboarding

This week, we've been working on our coursework (as opposed to last week's exam prep) and we have chosen an idea for our opening sequence. Our opening sequence had to be a psychological horror and at least two minutes in length. We decided on Sophie's idea as we believe it's unique and that we can create a thrilling opening sequence with the idea.

We've assigned ourselves roles within our coursework groups that we alone are responsible for. I'm in charge of storyboarding and the music/sound in our opening sequence. Basically, I have to make sure our storyboard is complete with all the correct information (I am the one writing on it to make it easier for me to keep track of it) and I have to find a piece of music we can use. It has to have the right atmosphere about it to correspond with our opening sequence. Details of the plot itself will come soon, once we've finished storyboarding (so I have a much better idea of what's happening).

Also, we have one role which we all share which is location scouting. We need a remote, dilapidated, grey building, which is actually proving quite difficult to find. I'm sure one of us will find one though. ;)

Mock Exam...

On Friday, we did a half a mock exam on Q1. Our sequence was a clip from Monarch of the Glen on the representation of age. I'm not sure how I did :S but I think I did okay. Hopefully I'll get my results soon :)

!!!UPDATE!!!

I got a C! :D I'm happy with it! My teacher said she'd expect anyone getting a C at the moment to get a B/A by the end of the year so it's looking good for me. :)

Todorov's Narrative Theory and My Basic Idea

Today we have learnt about Todorov's Narrative Theory. This theory basically states the majority of narratives mostly follow these five stages:

Stage 1 - Equilibrium = the setting is established, key characters are introduced, storyline is set up.

Stage 2 - Disruption = Oppositional characters appear, story takes a particular direction.

Stage 3 - Recognition of disruption = lives of characters and events interweave, tension builds.

Stage 4 - Attempt to repair disruption = highest point of tension, change in dynamic follows.

Stage 5 - Reinstatement of equilibrium = matters sorted out, problems solved, questions answered.

We also individually planned out a narrative that complies with Todorov's Theory. Mine has a slight difference at the beginning as it launches almost immediately into the action. It goes something like this:

Stage 1 = Protagonist witnesses gang beating individual to death and gang sees protagonist watching. Gang decides to hunt them down.

Stage 2 = Protagonist goes on the run to escape gang hunting protagonist down. Police gets involved and protagonist leaves subtle clues to the police.

Stage 3 = Protagonist gets captured by gang and held to ransom. Police hunts down gang from evidence collected by protagonist and from ransom video.

Stage 4 = Time has run out. Police burst in as protagonist is shot (using shot reverse shot to build tension). Everything goes dark and silent as the protagonist is shot.

Stage 5 = The beep of a life support machine. Protagonist wakes up in hospital and finds out gang is caught and everything is okay now.

So yeah, that's basically what my idea. I am now going to confer with my group to choose a final idea for our opening sequence. :)

Opening Sequence Analysis - The Black Swan

I have analysed the opening sequence to The Black Swan to demonstrate my understanding of the effect different aspects of filming, mise en scene and editing have on the viewer, why the director uses these aspects and to show my knowledge of media terminology. Click the link below to watch my analysis. Enjoy :)

Analysis - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvla07ajMTA

Preliminary Task - Report

At last, I will present to you our prelim task. Here is our short - The Quest:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxiqfqQFe9Q&list=HL1380572113

Now for my personal report:

For my preliminary task, I had to create a short film in a group according that followed a set of guidelines laid down for us by the exam board. These guidelines were:
- Establish location
- Introduce character 1
- Character 1 opens door
- Character 1 crosses room
- Character 1 sits down opposite character 2
- Characters exchange at least 4 lines of dialogue.
And it didn't have to be concluded.

We also had to include multiple shot types, follow the 180 degree rule and include these shot techniques:
- Match-on-action: Match-on-action is cutting from one shot to another to create a visual bridge that distracts the viewer from noticing any slight continuity errors between the shots. It is used when a character opens a door then walks through etc.
- Shot reverse shot: Shot reverse shot is showing a conversation from one character's perspective then switching the camera angle to show the other character's perspective before switching back to the first character's perspective. It follows the 180 degree rule.
- Eyeline match - Eyeline match is when a character looks off camera at something the audience cannot see, then the camera cuts to whatever the character was looking at. For example, a character could be walking along a path before glancing to their left, then the camera cuts to a sign on a wall.

The other members in my group are:
Sophie-Louise Courtney
Dominic Edwards
Lester Loat

We aimed to create a piece that would be adventurous and comical while demonstrating all the techniques we've learnt so far. Together, we brainstormed and storyboarded (our storyboards can be found below) our ideas to create the final piece we produced. The general plot is that a boy is peacefully reading a book when he is summoned by a mystical guru (by a gong sound) and then runs thousands of miles to rush to the guru's aid, only to find his guru is simply a little bit peckish. The boy was played by Lester and the guru was played by Dom. We chose this plot as it demonstrated our ability to produce a piece containing two quite different genres and we could use a wide range of shot types.

My main role in the project was director which I thoroughly enjoyed, though at first it seemed like a lot of pressure. I had to ensure we were all in the correct places during filming, suitable locations were chosen and planning the camera shots, lightning etc. It was great fun though a bit a difficult at times because I not only had to make sure I was doing my job right, but making sure everyone else was able to demonstrate their full potential as well. I also got to boss everyone around a bit, which I really like doing. It is definitely a role I would take on again.

I also contributed equally to the editing, which we did in iMovie on an Apple Mac. With Sophie's help, we got the clips in chronological order. We then trimmed them so the piece ran smoothly and removed the diegetic sound on the clips where we only wanted non-diegetic sound to avoid unwanted ambient sounds (footsteps etc.) Next, we added the non-diegetic sound, using sounds from iMovie to avoid copyright infringement. We used a dramatic piece of music to accompany the boy's running to play on the idea of an action/adventure film, to make it more dramatic and to build suspense. This also helped build sympathy for the character and the comical effect because the audience is under the impression it's building to something really exciting before realising the guru is only hungry and the boy has run all that way just to be the guru's manservant. We also used a gong-like sound near the beginning to summon the boy to the guru.

Our film also featured a friend of ours, Sam Harkness, who sadly only made the credits. We decided to use the clip of him doing the Macarena over our credits to make them more amusing (as credits are usually pretty boring). Unfortunately, we couldn't use the actual Macarena music due to copyright issues, but instead found a piece on iMovie we deemed suitably entertaining to accompany Sam.

After a long process, we finally uploaded the finished product to YouTube. I'd say our prelim task was a success and we have a good short film to show for it. I think we all contributed equally to the project and worked very well as a team. I learnt it is important to plan and storyboard well as if you don't, it makes filming a lot more difficult. For us, we had a good storyboard so filming was not too bad. Our script was a little poor, so most of it was improvised during filming. This taught me scripting is just as important as the storyboard. Also, we did not manage our time as effectively as we could have done, meaning our editing was a little rushed as we spent too long on filming. Next time, I know to manage the allocated time more effectively to ensure plenty of time for each stage of the production process.

I have learnt a lot from my preliminary task and I can carry these skills forward to my next project.

Preliminary Task - Storyboard

So, here's the storyboard for out prelim task:

Just ignore the double lines, we had to go over them in pen and I'm pretty useless at tracing XD

That aside, I'm pretty excited for the final piece :) The link will be coming in the report shortly...

Preliminary Task

Over the last 3 lessons, we have found out about and started our Preliminary Task. I've been put in a group with Sophie, Dom and Lester which I'm very happy about :D

Our Preliminary Task must have this as a general plot:
- Establish location
- Introduce character 1
- Character 1 opens door
- Character 1 crosses room
- Character 1 sits down opposite character 2
- Characters exchange 4 lines of dialogue
And it doesn't have to be concluded.

This task doesn't get marked by a grade, just a pass or a fail. So far my group have almost finished storyboarding our scene.

We think it's going to be EPIC! :D

Rundown

As I've only just started my blog and I've been doing the course for two weeks, I thought I'd better get you all up to date on what I've done so far.

Firstly, I learnt about different shot types. I knew quite a few before I started the course from my English GCSEs but learnt new ones such as:

Over the shoulder (OTS):


And...
Establishing shot (EST):


I also learnt about different types of sound. I discovered that diegetic sound is sound that comes from within the story and non-diegetic sound is sound that is added in editing. Did you know that? That can be fact of the day for you.

That's basically my course so far and it's looking good :)

Welcome to the madness...

Ummm... hello?

This is my AS Media Studies blog, where I will keep track of my progress over the course. The posts will be all about my progress (if I make any), ideas (if I have any) and general media stuff. I hope you find my constant failing entertaining. Feel free to laugh at my expense. XD

So... welcome, I guess?