Progress Updates

Progress Updates

Week 1

The initial week was very much about having an understanding of the direction our film opening would take. We began by getting into out groups and simply brainstorming potential ideas. This was a very productive exercise because it enabled myself and my other group members to gain an insight into the type of film that we had in my mind. It was immediately clear that we intended to create a film of the thriller/drama genre. We thought incorporating a sense of mystery through a “death” being established in the opening would make for a more compelling narrative. However, we also had the idea of perhaps including a more musical theme and including a “mystery man”, since we didn’t want too much revealed because it is only an opening.

After soon establishing that we would have the narrative focus on a husband and a Father whose brother was murdered, we typed out our pitch. This was very thorough and detailed, outlining various elements such as the camera work (for example, an establishing shot at the end for the title to appear), our influential films and setting of the film opening. When presenting our pitch to the class, it was very well received. We made it clear that our film was more original to other films because it wouldn’t have a typical story line of the main character seeking vengeance. Instead, we intended to create a more grounded story, focusing on the psychological affect the death has on the main character. Therefore, our film would also consist of a fairly dark tone, elevated by our idea of composing piano music to reflect the main character’s state of mind.

Week 2

This week was more independent because we researched our influential films and created a 9 frame analysis of the opening. This was very useful because it provided us with a sense of the conventions, specifically the style and positioning of titles. We could also take some inspiration from the opening. For example, my influential film (‘A Bronx Tale’) had a sudden change in music to lead the story in a different direction. We particularly liked this concept, so we thought that our music could begin at a key moment, signalling a change in story to the audience.

Also, apart from our individual 9 frame analysis on an influential film, we did one during class on ‘Definitely Maybe’. This was good to do first, since we had a clear understanding of how to approach the evaluation task. We separated the different sections of the timeline into four: Camerawork, Mise-En-Scene, Titles and Editing. I think this film was very interesting because it involved various different techniques, such as sound bridging, many match on actions and a lot of tracking, combined with arch shots.

Furthermore, we began writing more of our evaluation answers, such as institutions of our influential films. It became clear that we needed to remain efficient with regards to time, otherwise we could easily fall behind. So, we needed to follow the weekly schedules.

Week 3

This week we continued to posting more onto our blog, focusing on our planning. So, for example, I wrote the script in the correct format and also needed to write the budget. I needed to discuss this with my group, considering travel arrangements and any props or costumes, which needed to be bought.  Additionally, our location scout needed to take photos of the locations. So, after we agreed upon the settings, they would actually head out to the locations, taking photographs of every area we would be filming in – this included both interior and exterior locations.

Another important task was to create a story board animatic. The purpose behind this was to create a basic outline of our film and show it to the class for feedback. In order to do this, we had to gather all of our cast members together (who we previously chose) and essentially act out the different scenes, but take still photographs, instead of video recordings. This was beneficial in several ways: it firstly enabled us to have a real indication of how we would perform each scene. This didn’t only mean what would happen in each scene, but also the types of different camera angles, whether that was a medium close up, long shot or a series of close up shots. After taking the photographs, I edited them to be in chronological order of events, using Sony Vegas. We then showcased our animatic to the class, who believed it was a solid story. They thought there was clear continuity with several useful narrative devices, as well as a good use of camerawork. This was also an opportunity to play the music and sound effects within the story board, which we composed (music) and downloaded (police sirens sound effects). The class particularly liked the music, as it sounded like genuine movie music in the genre we chose. 

Week 4

This week we ensured that we were up to date with the various posts for our blog. So, we completed the shot list, shot schedule, the risk assessment, the budget, the call sheet, the risk assessment, equipment and costume/props list. These were all important planning tasks, which enabled us to proceed with how we should approach filming. Each member of the group were therefore well informed of their roles and knew exactly each step for the film, or at least had a sufficient grasp on what we actually intended to do.

We also answered the second evaluation question (social groups).

Unfortunately, we were unable to begin filming because several other cast members weren’t available or the director/cinematographer wasn’t available.

Week 5

 We were unable to begin filming because many were unavailable again for the provisional days set. So, this week we focused upon answering or improving our evaluations questions (Q1-4).

We also had another look over any previous posts which needed improvement. I personally ensured our labels and titles were accurate. This was important because then our blog would remain organised. I also posted and wrote the action plans for our animatic feedback.

Week 6

Again, we weren’t able to begin filming for the same reason: the required people needed were unavailable.

However, we instead focused more on our influential films. So, I bought the DVD of my influential film, ‘A Bronx Tale’. I then showed the first 3 minutes of the film’s opening and explained the main influences from it. So, firstly there was an element of crime which we took and developed into the murder of the main character’s brother. This then was associated to a family with the focus being on how they cope, as a result of the death (primarily the main character). Also, we intended to incorporate the voice overs from the opening into ours, fulfilling the same purpose of using them as narrative devices. Another element which I particularly liked was the sudden change in music, pointing out the change in the direction of story. Our idea was to use piano music to convey the main character’s crumbling psyche and indicate to the audience that there’s an important shift in story, leading to the main character heading out to the murder scene.

Following this, I uploaded the influential film feedback and wrote about the audience response to our questions.

Week 7

We began filming this week. As this was straight after school, however, we were only able to film our interior scenes because it was too dark outside. We followed our shot list and script, whilst we filmed. This ensured that we could maintain the continuity we had hoped to instil. I ensured that there were many takes of each scene, in order to provide us with many different versions, enabling us to use the best iteration. We also ensured that we spent sufficient time filming each scene, so we would watch each piece of footage before filming more of the same scene or deciding to move to the next scene. Remaining dedicated was crucial to ensuring that every camera angle, every sound etc. was accurate and executed correctly.

Week 8

This week we finished all of our filming. As we had previously filmed all interior footage, we then focused upon the exterior shots. Before we began, we needed to set up the “murder scene”. We did our best to represent a realistic version by acquiring some police tape, pillows, several sheets and a plastic arm. The pillows would act as the “body” because the environment wasn’t necessarily clean or safe (hidden objects could have caused a person harm). We then used white sheets, which were dirty to appear as old blood stains.

This was set up in an area open to the public. Although we had made local residents aware that this was staged and was entirely fake, many on lookers appeared visibly uncomfortable or suspicious of what we had been doing. Consequently, we decided not to use the exposed arm, as we were worried that it could potentially cause people more concern if they had seen it. However, I think in hindsight, the exposed arm wasn’t necessary, as there was a good sense of Mise-En-Scene, especially because there was also a police officer on the scene.

The day itself was very cold and at times it would rain, so I felt that we may have rushed filming, but it was difficult to deal with such mitigating factors, ultimately. However, after looking over the footage, I think we did execute it well.

Week 9

Now that we had completed the filming, the onus was now on me, as the editor, to assemble the footage into a coherent and solid opening.

This week I was able to produce a rough cut. This took a few sessions after school, as I tried to precise when editing by going through every clip to see which one was best. I also had to time the sound effects and music in the right moments, so that they would be suitable and effective for the audience. I also needed to learn more about some of the editing features of Sony Vegas. So, I researched how to crop a video. This was a necessity because I felt that there was a particularly good, but needed some adjusting because of background interference. I was able to remove the disturbance, in the end, so I was able to utilise the tool well. Additionally, I added the titles, following a conventional approach and leaving a four second gap between each title when the sequence began.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to show my class, but I did upload the rough cut onto YouTube, so showed many other students. This was beneficial because they provided feedback, such as the issue with the sound levels, and a slight misunderstanding of the narrative. This was because of the lack of the voice overs, but I already anticipated this criticism. Reason being was that we had already recorded several voice overs, but the software wouldn’t allow me to upload them. The initial response was very good though, especially because of the intriguing narrative.

Week 10

Following the feedback, it was important to quickly rectify the mistakes and complete another cut on the film. So, I added more voice overs to provide the audience with a clearer narrative. Also, I shortened the scene with the news reporter, muted the sound and replaced the dialogue with a voice over version because initially it was too quick and was unclear. I also muted the unnecessary sound from the kitchen scene.

Furthermore, I ensured that my group completed more blog posts. For example, our research into editing and camera work. As well as this, we needed to do more work on marketing.

Week 11
This week I was able to show the next rough cut of my film opening. Unfortunately, the file didn't render correctly on Sony Vegas. As a result, there were obvious issues with sound - from the point at which the main character decides to leave the house and there is a close up of him, the appropriate sound was removed. This included the non-diegetic music and the voice over from the main character. So, some criticism was related directly to that.

I then began editing the film to ensure such problems were removed.

Week 12
Following the feedback I received the previous week, I changed the positioning of the title, removed some unwanted noises from the camera and "muffled" the voice overs in the house to create a more believable illusion that they were being projected from a TV.

I then rendered and uploaded the final cut of our film. 

Group Roles
Written and uploaded by Ismail Khwaja

Research into Software and Editing

Cinema 4D

This is the link which I used for my research: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipkoDGkLzrM

In order to create my animation, which would be implemented at the beginning of the opening, I decided to use ‘Cinema 4D’. This was because it had the capacity to create professional logos and animations and because students had previously been successful with it.

So, from the link above for ‘YouTube’, I watched a basic tutorial. This was very easy to understand because of its clear guide. Although the overall technical aspects were fairly simple, it enabled a professional logo to be formed, which would act as one of our film’s institutions. I firstly learnt how to format some basic text – I was able to increase or decrease the depth of the lettering, as well as control the size and font style. This was important because the institution had to be clear and the final product is very bold for the audience, emphasising its significance and obvious attachment to the film. Additionally, I was able to select the colours of the title. I chose a darker tone with a navy/silver shade because I felt it was important for the titles to reflect the overall theme of the film. The film itself alludes to darker tones, so it gave an indication to the types of films our institution commonly produces.

After establishing the appearance of the title, I began learning about how to manipulate the positioning. From the video, I learnt that I have to pick two different points on the grid in which the title is placed. The first point would signify where the title would initially move from and the second would be where the title would move to. So, from the first point (or coordinate), I dragged the arrow down from the top to bottom. When I clicked the play button, it showed that the title dropped down with a slight bounce. I was satisfied and believed that this was a suitable movement for the title. It is very simple, but I thought too many movements would be unnecessary and would lack professionalism. Following this, I decided to add further darkness, but this time through the background of the title and lighting. I chose the lighting source option and increased the amount of light that would be focused upon the title. The light would be slightly high and appear as if it shining down upon the title. I also changed the background to appear black, again focusing the audience on the title.

Finally, I converted the file, so it would run on Windows Media Player. The file became an ‘.avi’ file, which allowed me to import it onto Sony Vegas, where it be accurately executed.

Sony Vegas

Research from: ‘Show me how’ tutorials on Sony Vegas.

Sony Vegas was where all of our editing occurred. I chose this because it was advanced and could enable professional editing.

When I first accessed the software, I had never used it before, so I went through the introduction sections.  Firstly, I learnt where the different tools and options were located on the programme. So, for example, I learnt that ‘Tracks’ was the side panel and each level represented the different aspects of editing. Some were for sound mixing, whilst others for video footage. I then quickly realised that in order to add the different clips or sounds, I would need to select ‘Import Media’ and choose the necessary files. I then simply dragged the required ones onto the ‘Timeline’. Within each ‘Track’, I could control the sound levels by dragging the icon to increase or decrease the sound on the individual ‘Track’.

Furthermore, I learnt simple techniques such as how to ‘split’ a video or sound clip. I simply went from the beginning of the clip and then clicked on the point I intended to split. I then clicked the ‘Split’ option from the ‘Edit’ tab. This was very useful because after splitting a clip, I could delete the section that wasn't needed.

Sony Vegas
This is the link I used to learn how to crop a video in Sony Vegas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmOTAgFvFxs

When editing my film, I discovered a particularly good clip of footage which we had recorded, but within the clip, there was some background interference - a person could be seen in the background, which would affect the professionalism of the film. Initially, I searched for another take of that particular scene with the main character leaving the murder scene, but there wasn't a better version. Therefore, I decided to find out how to crop the video.

In order to crop a video, I firstly needed to clip onto the crop icon from the clip, which had been placed on the timeline bar. Upon doing so, an editing window appeared on the left hand corner for the specific clip. I also needed to ensure that the I had selected that same clip to play in the preview window, so that I could see the changes I was making, instantly. Then, in the editing window, I simply dragged the icon's to left, right or up and down, depending on what area of the clip I needed to be removed. The person was on the left hand side, so I moved the icon from the left towards the right, until the individual couldn't be seen and there was no affect on the footage.

Group Roles:

Written and uploaded by Ismail Khwaja

First Rough Cut - Action Plan

Action Plan

• Based on the feedback, it's clear where the main issues lie - sound mixing levels. This is very important, especially at the very beginning with the news reporter because she is an immediate narrative device, essential to the understanding of the narrative. To combat this, I shall mute the clip, which will completely remove any disruptive sounds (such as the win) and re-record a voice over that is much slower and clearer, 
• Along with this, to manage the issue with syncing the dialogue for the reporter, I shall record the entire voice over, but match only a brief moment from it, instead of all of the dialogue. To elaborate, the reporter will have a very brief shot, where the dialogue matches up to her mouth movement, and then the remainder of the dialogue will continue as a sound bridge onto a black screen with a title. 
• For the unnecessary background noise in the kitchen, I will similarly mute the clip and add voice overs of the reporter speaking from the TV, as narrative devices. 
• To handle the issue with the narrative, I will record several voice overs with the same voice as the news reporter and place them during the kitchen scene. The voice overs are actually coming from the TV, because it is a live broadcast from the scene of the murder. This will explain why the main character's wife leaves the kitchen and appears horrified by something she has seen. She is in fact watching the live broadcast on TV and discovers that her brother in law has been murdered (the main character's brother, Stephen).

Group Roles:

Written and uploaded by Ismail Khwaja

Main Task:First Rough Cut Feedback

Initially, I showed a group of 10 students. These were their thoughts:

• The vast majority enjoyed the opening, particularly because the narrative seemed interesting and established a clear beginning to a story. 
• However, the general consensus was that although they enjoyed it, there was some confusion and misjudgment of the narrative. The audience were aware of a potential murder or death, but didn't necessarily understand how that tied with the main character and his family. So, ultimately, the narrative wasn't clearly established. 
• Some people pointed out that the performances, primarily the lead character were strong and enabled the audience to become emotionally entrenched with the character. Therefore, this clearly indicated to them that the death is significant for the main character. 
• Another issue was that in the opening half, there was a lot of background noise, which required some removal. This was mainly noticeable during the scene with the news reporter outside (due to the wind) and the scene in the kitchen (due to the droning noise, which is from an electric kettle). 
• Additionally, another issue with sound was that the news reporter spoke very quickly and it was difficult to understand. 
• Furthermore, the titles implemented seemed to follow conventions, but may need some tweaking. 

Group Roles:

Written and uploaded by Ismail Khwaja

Main Task: Second Rough Cut

Click on the link below for the second rough cut of our main task:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tuEImtq7HI

Group Roles:
Edited and uploaded by Ismail Khwaja

Main Task: Rough Cut

Click on the link below to watch the rough cut for our main task:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwwX9lKUbHg

Group Roles:
Edited and uploaded by Ismail Khwaja

Planning - Initial Ideas

Idea:Drama

Initially, I thought of creating some sort of drama based on a musical protege. The story would open with the main character singing to a crowd of music executives. However, the musical protege has a secret which wants to come out from her past. When a man appears peering from behind a door frame brings more trouble than happiness.

• I thought that the opening could begin with the singing of the  main character over some of the opening credits. The opening credits would appear from a black screen referring back to a tracking tilt-up shot of a man walking with emphasis on his foot steps still being able to hear the sing in the background.
• As the reveal of the character is about to be seen we cut to the crowd of executives then to the girls' aunt who looks completely pleased. The main character is yet to be revealed.
• The main character is then revealed to close to the end of the song. When she ends she smiles from the emotional song. She walks off the stage to be greeted by her aunt she looks up to see the man in the back who then disappears she then walks through the door to follow him whilst her aunt is talking about record deals with music executives.
• The scene will then cut to an OS shot of the girl running towards the man she catches up to him and turns him around. Where the embrace each other and talk which goes from positive to negative where she throws a lockets on the floor,steps on it and walks but into the building. 

However as a group we decided not to go with this idea.

Written & Uploaded by Bibianna Fasogbon