Research: Flashbacks

To add detail and make our film opening more interesting we want to include a flashback of our protagonist with her mum, having an argument. We want to include this to show a feature that has happened to cause the girls life to change.

Flashbacks are used in films to illustrate something that has happened in the past but illustrates something which has impacted the current state, to see how we could make an effective flashback I have researched in to others and how they are formed so that they are clearly separate from the main footage.

1. Change in sound, usually echoes.
2. Change in colour, faint or black and white.
3. Difference in speed, generally slower but sometimes faster.

Research: Social Realism Iconography

Moodboard

We decided to do a mood board as its an useful way to bring our ideas together, show what topics we could explore and what films we could look to in inspiration. Above is a photo of our finished mood board. 

SUMMARY:

• We can look into the topics of drugs, violence, alcohol, and smoking
• We may look at films like 'this is england' 'london to brighton' 'kes' etc

Research: Film Opening Timeline Analysis- Billy Elliot

 

Research: Social Realism Genre

Production Company Image

To decide upon a production title, we looked at a thesaurus and researched different words which had clear relevance to our genre of social realism. We wanted a synonym which did not have a straight clear definition but sounded effective and when researched added to support our key ideas.

However we struggled to find a word which we felt appropriate through this method. We tried again, this time looking for a simple one word with the meaning of 'real life' or portraying this. We found verisimilitude. A word which is not regular in conversation, but does have a clear meaning.

Therefore we decided to name our production company Verisimedia, by combining a key word with a word that has a clear a distinct meaning. We also feel that this is memorable and interesting as a combination and will work well, not only in complimenting our genre but also in supporting the storyline of our film and its opening.

Preliminary Task (Chloe, Immi, Bella, Emily)

This is our prelim.

Preliminary task Evaluation (Hannah, Grace, Rose, Holly)

Before starting our coursework we had to complete a preliminary task in order to make sure that we understood how to film and edit. The short scene had to include the the following:

• Match on action (when the same action is shown from a variety of shots)
• Shot-reverse-shot (when a conversation between people is shown through a shot of one person, then the shot of the other, and then back to the first)
• Contingency editing (where everything is in real time eg.no jump cuts or fades to portray time passing)

Storyboard

 

 

 
Evaluation

 



Research: Typical features of a film opening

As our coursework is to shoot an opening for a film, we researched what makes a good filming opening, to find the essential things we needed to include in ours.

1. Film titles- there is usually a separate cut of the film title by itself to establish what it's called.
2. Establishing shot- this is important as it is an easy way to tell the audience where the film is set.
3. Voice overs- these are present as it is an effective way to inform the viewer of the situation, without characters having to say it.
4. Lots of cuts- this could be continuous editing or non-continuous and could be because a lot of information is needed to be put across to the audience.
5. Establishing location, era and character- this is important as it avoids confusion later on in the film.
6. Motif- this is where an aspect of the film title or film theme is featured. For example, in 'Back to the Future' the first shot is of a clock.
7.Credits- This can be of actors, the technical team etc. Only the main people as the full list appears. in the credits at the end of a film.
8. Clear finish- there is often a clear finish to the film opening, eg. a fade to black, or showing the film title. This allows the viewer to see that the film has now fully begun, and sets the opening aside from the rest of the film.
9. Music- Often there is minimal dialogue in the film opening, instead there is music, usually that reflects the genre of film.

The Brief

Preliminary exercise: Continuity task involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule.

Main task: the titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes.

All video and audio material must be original, produced by the candidate(s), with the exception of music or audio effects from a copyright-free source. Both preliminary and main tasks may be done individually or as a group. Maximum four members to a group.

Introduction to Verisimedia Proctuctions

Today we were put into our groups for our AS Media Studies coursework and we began by discussing our strengths and advantages that we could bring to the group.


Hannah:- Photography ability and equipment
             - Acting ability ( A level theatre studies)
             - Artistic abilities (GCSE Art)
             - Creative and original


Chloe:-Creative and imaginative thinking
           -Good IT skills
          -Artistic abilities (GCSE Art)
          
         
Grace:- Acting abilities (A level theatre studies)
           - Experience in front of a camera
           - Good organisation skills
           - Creative mind
We also made a flow map outlining the steps our group would need to take in order for us to begin filming.