Blog Finished

Evaluation 7

 

Looking back at your preliminary task, what have you learnt in the progression from that to the final product?

 

 

Evaluation 7.prproj from Elleah Stanton on Vimeo.

Evaluation 6

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing your product?

Hardware

I used a Nikon D3200 Camera to film my piece, which proved to be quite easy and simple. After a lot of hassle trying to get a camera from school, there were none available in the time I needed it, so I used my friend Laura's.
The camera its self was light and there were clear directions and buttons on the screen and the body of the camera. The quality of the shots were extremely good, they were not grainy and they presented the colours in a true light. The only problem I had when using it was trying to focus on certain areas. For example the close up shot of Kieran washing has face is slightly blurry:

 



I also used a tri-pod for the non close up shots. I found that the tri pod was incredibly small and did not leave much room for different types of shots. When I needed to film from higher than 1m I had to do hand held shots as the tri pod would not reach. If I was to do this project again I would make sure that I get a large tripod, preferably from the school. So this lead to  a few shots being slightly wobbly, however I think that I managed quite well giving the situation. The shots are not obviously wobbly, the only problem that came from this was that I had to cut down some of the shots that were too wobbly, so that these parts were cut out.

Another problem I encountered with the tripod was the fact that the panning lever was stiff, leading to pan shots being wobbly and jerky. To counter act this problem when it arose, I decided to pan myself without the help of the lever, this give me slightly less jerky shots, however they are still rather wobbly. For example the first shot of the piece where he is sat on the bed looking out the window had to be cut down on either ends so that it looked fluid. It was also slightly tricky filming the shots in the walk in wardrobe as it was quite tight attempting use a tripod and to fit me and Kieran in the door way. This was especially tricky when I needed Kieran to leave the room past me so I could then pan down to the corpse on the floor. We had to do this take quite a few times as he kept knocking the tripod as he left, or he was walking out of the way of the tripod which obviously meant loss of verisimilitude. However, we managed in the end and it resulted in a shot that I am quite proud of.

 

Software

As for software that I used, I used Adobe Premier Pro CS6 to edit my piece. I found this quite easy due to the fact I have used to edit all of my other tasks, including my preliminary task. I learnt how to change the colours, contrast and brightness of the shots which came in handy as I need to make all my shots look bleaker, yet more defined. Other than this I was quite accustomed to this software and encountered minimal problems.

Despite all the effects that are available on the software, I didn't really use many of them. This is because I wanted the mise en scene to be as ordinary and normal as at it could, so that the abnormal murder weapons and corpses would stand out as the real feature of appeal.
On the majority of the clips I made the contrast 17.0 and kept the brightness as 00.0 so that the picture didn't look too faded and edited. This was quite time consuming as I had to change each of the clips individually. I also made the saturation 70.0 as this made the colours look grim, matching the tones of the narrative. I made two versions of my final piece, one where the saturation wasn't changed and the colours were more vibrant, and the one that I used for my final piece where the colours are darker. I asked a few people what looked better and I came to the decision that the one with the changed saturation looked more effective. It was subtle enough so that it didn't look like the saturation had been changed, but that it was just set in an extremely grim atmosphere.


I did not realise how much work and editing went into making title sequences, which makes me admire the people who manage to make entire films, never mind just the beginning three minutes.
I also realise how important it I for professional producers to have a team of people who each have a specific role to play. I would imagine shooting and planning a whole film would be incredibly hard, probably impossible, for one person to do on their own. Saying that, throughout the planning, filming and editing processes I felt very much in control of my work and I believe that I managed my time well in order to produce the best final piece I could produce.

As for the shots that I am particularly proud of, I really like the long shot of my character walking through to he bathroom. I feel that it looked completely symmetrical which enabled the strange character to stand out and it also created irony, as the perfectly shaped shot and setting held brutal murders and twisted experiments. The shot also symbolises the materialistic lifestyle that I wanted to portray in my piece.

 

 Another shot I was particularly proud of was the second slightly low angle shot of my character sinisterly staring out of the window. I really like how this shot looks as he looks quite ominous and powerful.

 

This shot is another one of my favourites, I love the colour of the juice and how is connotes blood and symbolises how he craves and needs to murder to sustain himself, just like a human needs to eat and drink. Also, the shot is tilted slightly which enters the audience into his twisted world and suggests that the character is unstable. The lighting is also satisfying here.

 

 

What would I do differently?



I would make sure that  had a larger tripod in order to get steady shots. I  also wish I made sure that when I asked around of actors to portray the corpses I told them the exact date and time, as all but one had to cancel on me, leaving me with Ellie Nixon and my mum. However I did improvise and I had Ellie play two different girls by changing her hair and costume.

I wish I had considered the music before shooting, as the music I chose in the end is quite slow and it would have been effective to match the black gaps with the sound of the music.

 

Limitations

The biggest limitation was travel, and living so far away from my main actor. This meant that I only had one chance to film and any bad shots would have to be edited or cut out. However this was not much of a problem in the end as most of the shots were fine and any bad ones were either salvageable or unnecessary.

Time was another limitation as it meant that if I wanted to film another small scene after finishing editing my main piece, I couldn't, meaning that I did not display my ability to use the 180 degree rule. It was suggested to me to shot a short 30 second conversation between my character and another so that I could use this technique. However I was unable to do this as I needed to have my final cut uploaded. Another thing stopping me from having this small add on was the time limit for my sequence. The recommended time scale was 2 minutes, and mine was already 3 minutes long so I couldn't afford to extend this time.

I would have liked to put more blood on the floor and on surfaces around the bathroom however this would have stained the surfaces so I was unable to do this.

The lack of people to portray the corpses was also a limitation as I had planned to have various girls lying around the house. For example in the shot of him walking down the stairs I wanted a corpse hanging down the top of the steps.



Evaluation 5

How did you attract/address your audience?

This soundcloud talks about what was in my media product that appealed to my audience.

Evaluation 4

Question 4 - Who would be the audience for your media product? from elleahmedia

Evaluation 3

Visit this page for my evaluation 3:

http://elleahmedia.blogspot.co.uk/p/evaluation-3.html

Evaluation 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

I decided to present this question through Prezi.com.

You can read my response through the link below:

http://prezi.com/jpfazba0-ifc/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

Evaluation 1

Sequence 01 from Elleah Stanton on Vimeo.

Evaluation : Q1

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

I have now started my evaluation, looking at how I used my research into genre and other existing title sequences and used this information to create my own.

Inspired by artofthetitle.com I have created a 9 image storyboard of my title sequence that sums up all the most significant parts.

I am currently working on producing a video/ commentary that compares my sequence to the ones I researched. This hopefully wont take long!

Until then, 

Elleah

Evalutation Station

First feedback from a few members of my target audience through social media:

"it's cool! damn right i'd watch it it's like the north east version of american psycho
the soundtrack and lighting were great, your shots were sound and it's edited really nicely"

 "I thought I looked quite interesting and i would have liked to have seen more"

 "ahh that was mint!!! really like the bleak, grey tone of it all, it felt really cold and the music accentuated that. a bit dark plus no shia lebouef. tut tut. BUT OVERALL IT'S 1,000,000/10 SO YEAH"

" I was really into it. I really loved the connotations of the colour white; it usually represents something pure or innocent, which alongside the guy getting dressed for a normal day, brushing his teeth etc, contrasted with the bodies being found. The cinematography looked professional, especially during the point where he opens the cupboard and the body falls out, leaving only the upper part of her visible. We clearly see him step around it, showing that this guy is obviously unphased by the bodies and the murders he may have committed. The minimalistic style of the opening scene presents to me as the audience numerous enigmas, as to why he is so unphased by the bodies and how he manages to get away with them being in his house when he seemingly has a normal life? It definitely engages me as a fan of the thriller/mystery genre, and I would have loved to have watched on."

" It's very good, I genuinely want to see more of it, looks great😁 well edited and the camera work is really effective - I like the way the angles kind of give the impression Kieran's character is a bit insane despite the fact he looks so calm and collected. The music works well too👌 I also like that it's starring Shia LaBeouf hahaha"

The Art of Madness - Final Cut

The Art of Madness Final Cut from Elleah Stanton on Vimeo.

Rough Cut 5

After changing all saturation of all the shots, I decided I wanted to upload two videos, one showing the saturation changed and one without.

Here is the cut without a saturation change...

Rough Cut 5 - Saturation Normal from Elleah Stanton on Vimeo.

I realised after uploading this video to Vimeo that this cut doesn't contain the improvements that rough cut 4 contains. If I decide to use this then I will need to make those improvements to this version.

Rougn Cut 4

This is my cut where I have changed the saturation to be lower, creating a more washed out look. I have also addressed the improvements from my previous post.

The lower saturation helps create a more mundane and gloomy atmosphere to the shots, matching with the narrative.

I had intended to film another scene lasting 30 seconds with Kieran having a dull but significant conversation with another character, to show his normal life as a business man that acts as a front against his darker, more sinister tendencies. However due to time constraints with both me and Kieran wont have time to do this. It would also add time onto my title sequence which I can't afford as I am already very close to the time limit. Mr. Earl has said my work is already at a level 4 so there is not much need for another scene.

Anyway, here is it!

Rough Cut 4 - Saturation Lower from Elleah Stanton on Vimeo.

Improvements for Rough Cut 4

Just a little update...

For my next rough cut I need to:
-Put Shia Labeouf's credit last, and as 'and Shia Labeouf'
-Insert another credit so that the directors credit is the last thing to be shown

Today I will book a camera out so that I can record my target audience answering my question that I blogged about a while ago.

That's all for now!

Elleah

Rough Cut Three!

Here is my third rough cut that I talked about in my previous post. It is a lot more slick and professional than my previous rough cuts as all of the timings are the same and all the fonts/credits are the same.

I am extremely pleased with all of my shots and the duration of each of them. I feel they are all now in the correct order and tell my narrative perfectly.

I am also confident that the continuity level is high as I cannot spot anywhere where something doesn't match, This is a large improvement to my previous films as the continuity in those were extremely amateur. 

Enjoy!

Rough Cut 3 from Elleah Stanton on Vimeo.

Recording Audience

I have decided that I am going to ask people their opinions after I have finished my third rough cut as it will have changed significantly to the first rough cuts. This way I will be able to get a truer picture of the response from the audience.

I have just finished making all the black gaps in my sequence the same length, and all of the credits are present and changed to a better font.

I am very excited for rough cut 3 to be finished!

Next I will be looking at changing the contrast and colours of the shots as they look quite washed out.

Until next time,

Elleah

Artist & Filmmaker Development Day

Today me and Laura attended a media workshop in Newcastle's Great North Museum, run as part of Painting in Perpetual Motion program run by http://northernmedia.org/.

We listened to three speakers, all knowledgeable in the world of film.  The first was Gustavo Costantini which is an Argentinean Sound Designer, Musician and Editor. We looked at opening sequences of famous films and he talked about how the sound is so important to each of them. I feel this will really help my knowledge of sound in my own media, in both practical and exam media lessons.

Th second was Martin Testar who is a Director of Photography  ad Producer. He showed us various adverts and artistic films he has produced which opened my mind to various different filming techniques.
www.martintestar.com

The last was Sally Hodgson who works at Pipoca Pictures. She talked about marketing and how to get your film out into the public domain, She really inspired me to make my own films in the future and even gave me a few ideas for the evaluation of my title sequence.
www.orionthemovie.com
www.sounditoutdoc.com
www.pipocapictures.com

Recording Target Audience

I plan to show my rough cut to at least 5 different people around my age and ask them to answer:

What do you like about this title sequence? What don't you like about it?

I will do this so I can get an idea of whether I am on track for appealing to my target audience of young adults of both sexes.
I plan to film each of them, then make a compilation of them on an editing software, then upload it to my blog.

Deleting Shots and General Update

I have deleted a couple of shots that seemed irrelevant to the narrative in order for the story to flow smoother and so that my time is shortened as I am very close to the limit.

It is now the half-term holidays, which means that the rough cut deadline is over. I finished and submitted my first rough cut a couple of weeks ago and uploaded a second so I am on track with the deadlines. It also means that I wont be able to edit for a whole week as I don't have the editing software at home.

I will not be active for a couple of days as I am going on a school trip to Poland, however I will be blogging within no time when I return.

The things that I can be doing while on holiday are:

-Plan another shoot to film 30 seconds of dialogue to show my skills with the 180degree rule.

-Filming people my age (target audience) responding to the question 'Would you go and see this film if it was to be made into a full length film?'

Changes To Credits

Titles

I have had to create more titles for my title sequence due to the fact that I am having titles in between each shot, meaning I need around 25 credits. I have added more actor credits along with more crew credits.

The updated credit list:

Lionsgate presents

In association with New Line cinema

Kieran Gray

The Art of Madness

Ellie Nixon

Debra Stanton

Ben White

Laura Greenley

Rhiann Quinn

Shia laBeof

Rebecca Connor

Abbi Laidler

Casting by Ellen Chenoweth

Costume Design by Eiko Ishioka

Music by Josh Richards

Set Design by Bo Welsch

Make-up Design by Rick Baker

Edited by Elleah Stanton

Director of Photography Tim Burton

Co-produced by Quentin Tarintino and Michael Mann

Executive Producer George Lucas

Produced by John Landis

Written by Stanley Kuberick

Directed by Elleah Stanton

I had to make sure that the directors credit was the last credit to be shown. I also changed 'costume by' to 'Costume Design by'.

Typeface

We decided that the font of my text was too extravagant so I have decided to change it to a more simple and clinical looking font to match the look of the plain look of the setting.

My next steps are to make sure that all of my black gaps are the same length.

I also need to play around with the contrast to make the shots look less washed-out.

Improvements

I have created a mind map to explore the different improvements I need to make.

Rough Cut 2

Rough Cut 2 - Blue Feather Soudtrack from Elleah Stanton on Vimeo.

My God! There's Rough Cuts Everywhere!

I am now currently exporting the second rough cut with a different soundtrack called Blue Feather which I also got from incompetech.com.

First Rough Cut!

Here it is!

Your first look at what my final piece will look like.

There is still many issues with editing and titles, but they are things I plan to improve in each rough cut.

I will be producing a series of rough cuts (most of which will only change slightly), with different music tracks in order to test which music track works best.

For now, enjoy!

Rough Cut 1 - Snowdrop Soundtrack from Elleah Stanton on Vimeo.

Missing A Lesson

After missing my media studies lesson today due to being out of school I have not had the chance to update my rough cut.
I will be using one of my free periods this week to catch up. I plan to test different soundtracks to see which one fits best. Also I want to insert the titles into the sequence and figure out where to put them.

Until then,
Elleah

Editing Techniques

I have been researching the various different editing techniques.

Graphic Match -

 A cut between two objects or situations that are a similar in action to each other, suggesting a link or strong connection between the two.
I have not filmed with this technique in mind, however if I was going to use this in my title sequence, I would film maybe a shot of a knife sawing backwards and forwards and a shot of my protagonist brushing their teeth in the same motion.

Action Match - 

 When two shots are used to show the same action, creating a fluid cut.
I will be using this throughout my title sequence in order to have high continuity.

Motivated Cut -

When a cut from one shot to another is motivated by events or dialogue in the first shot.
This is not something I will be using in my title sequence because my character is meant to be completely unaffected (unmotivated) by the corpses and torture tools around him.

Jump Cut - 

Two sequential shots of the same subject are taken using shots that vary very little. It gives the effect of skipping through a short period of time.
I didn't intend to use this in the first place however after looking through my footage, some of the shots are quite long, so I will cut them once or twice to shorted the action. 

Cross Cut - 

When drama is happening in two different shots that are obviously happening at the same time. This is used to show a link between the two embedded narratives.
I will not be using this in my title sequence as I am focusing on the life of one character and putting another narrative alongside the original one could divert from the focus of his life.
If I was going to use this then I would probably take close up shots of blood dripping and weave them into the original footage.

Superimpose - 

When another shot is layered over the top of the original shot. Commonly used to suggest previous events linking to the main shot or even thoughts of the character.
I will not be using this technique as I think it looks tacky, and lightly unprofessional.

Piecing the Puzzle

I have finished inserting my shots into the timeline on Premier Pro. They are all in order and all the shots I need are there so I will not need to re-shoot any of them. This is a large bonus as it would of been a lot to ask of my actors to come to re-shoot, and it would take a long time to create the setting again just for a few shots. So I am very pleased!

The soundtrack (Snowdrop) is also inserted, however I have not decided yet that this is my final choice on music.

Between each shot I have inserted a short black space for approx. 2 seconds. I did not anticipate this however when I tried it I really liked how it looked. I am thinking of putting the titles in these gaps so that they can be seen clearly.

That's all for now!

Uploading and Selecting

So, today I uploaded all of my footage onto the media server! (how exciting).

I have been sifting through them and sorting them into bloopers/bad shots and then shots that actually work. So far all of the shots that I need are present however I am only half way through looking at them. I was worried that they would be wobbly; some of them are slightly wobbly but this is only due to the fact that I was holding the camera. I was unable to use the tripod in a lot of the shots due to restrictions in the location. Despite filming them hand held, they are surprisingly not too wobbly if I do say so myself...

Revisiting Music

I have found a couple of tracks on incompetech.com which are possibilities for the soundtrack to my sequence:
Gymnopedie No.3
Snowdrop

Blue Feather

Brandenburg Concerto No.4

FILMING DONE

Corpse, Director, Serial Murderous Psychopath

Well, today has been a long day, getting up at the crack of dawn so that we could shoot whilst it was still light and spending all day shooting every shot.
I filmed each shot more than once even if I thought it was okay so that I have some to choose from when I am in the editing stages.
Overall I am very pleased with the outcome, I have looked over all the shots on the camera and they all seem to be present/not wobbly. However, I will need to take another hard look at them when I have uploaded them onto the media server in sixth form and choose which shot works best.

Preparations For Tomorrow

I have prepared a hollywood-style snack bar for my actors!

Also, here are the tools that I will be covering with blood tomorrow.

Savior Laura, Blood, Location and Props

Laura Saves the Day

The person who was supposed to be bringing in the camera for me to use today didn't turn up, which left me in a very difficult decision as there was no more cameras. However Laura has given me her camera and tripod for me to use for my shooting tomorrow. I was going to have to reschedule the shoot which would of been a disaster as my actors have to travel a long way and its been planned for a while. So, thank you Laura! 

Blood in the Making

I don't have have any fake blood! So I have resorted to making my own. With corn flour and food colouring generously provided by Rhiann, I managed to mix together a liquid that resembles blood. I am aware my blood does not look completely blood-like however it is the best I can do with the resources I have.

This will be used to put on DIY tools and in various places around my setting.

Location Cleaning!

Today, I have also prepared my location by tidying and cleaning the surfaces of the room. I have also taken out all the homely objects (sorry dad) to make it look professional and slick.

Props Everywhere

I have now got my blood-resembling juice and will soon be getting my tools from my garage.

Preliminary Testing

I have completed a very short preliminary task I set myself. I decided to put my institution logos, titles with their transition effects and music together in Premier Pro to get an idea of the mood and tone, and how my final product may look. Obviously my final video will look completely different as it will have actual footage in. But for now, this has given me a good insight into my possibilities with the software and music.

Preliminary Titles from Elleah Stanton on Vimeo.

Prop Collecting

I have begun my hunt for my props. So far I have collected blood stained cloth, a work bag, toothbrush, mobile phone and sleep mask.

I hope to find some blood-coloured juice very soon.

Disaster!

Three of my original 'dead women' have dropped out due to circumstances out of my control. I still have one remaining actor, Ellie, who can still do it. My mum is going to be my back up plan if I cant find anyone else to do it. If I can't then I am going to need to use Ellie as two different people. Since for some shots I only need one leg hanging out of the shower, I will use Ellie twice.

Action Match!

More Early Starts

I have now started creating the titles that will appear on my title sequence. I have typed them up in a large Birch Std Regular font as they look sophisticated and dramatic.

After filming and putting together the shots I may find that I need to change the colour, size and position on them to make sure they look right against the shot. For example if the shot has quite bright lighting then the font needs to be darker, or if the title is obscuring a vital object in the mise en scene of the shot then it will need to be moved.

Location Scouting

Location 3

This is where I will film the shots of him leaving the house.

 Again, I will be tidying and removing all family-orientated objects to make the setting as professional and perfect as possible.

Early Starts

Due to the fact that I have not got much work left to do in my lessons, I have decided to start some of my editing to fill in the time period between planning and shooting.
Today I have imported the logos for Lions gate and New Line Cinema on Premier Pro CS6.

Preliminary Footage

Using my iPhone, I recorded the shots that I have planned out in my storyboard, just without my actors in them. I did this to get a proper feel for what my final product might look like.

I used a free editing website called wevideo.com as I did this at home and didn't have any professional software. I also added in a soundtrack that I am considering using, along with the title and the institutions.

The Title of My Film

After many hours of deliberation, I have decided on a name for my film!

The Art of Madness

I feel like this suits the tone of my film as it expresses the crazy, psychopathic nature of my character and his life. It also displays how the character has a certain passion for killing, as if it was a type of art form of which he expresses repeatedly.



Location Scouting

Location 2

This is another location I am using for my title sequence.

  This is the kitchen that I will use for the scene where he is getting juice, then for the shots of him walking off out  of the room, leading to the shots of him leaving his house.

  This will be the fridge that I will be using for the shots where he is getting blood-red orange juice, which is placed next to a severed human part.
To increase verisimilitude, I need to remove all homely objects due to the fact that my character doesn't have a family and is very modern.

 I took this picture to show what one of my shots will look like, as I am shooting him walking out of the kitchen to the door.

Breakdown of Titles

After looking at the title sequences I researched, I have devised an average pattern of the titles of cast and crew members.

This post will also show the names of my cast and crew for my project:

Production Studio - Lionsgate Logo

Distributed by - New Line Cinema

Main Actor - Kieran Gray

Supporting Actors - Abbi Laidler, Ellie Nixon, Rebecca Connor

Casting  - Tyler Durden

Costume - Abigail Brown

Music - John Cale

Editor - Elleah Stanton

Co Producers - Quentin Tarantino and Michael Mann

Executive Producer - George Lucas

Producer - John Landis

Written by - Stanley Kubrick

Director - Elleah Stanton

Side Note:

I have decided to use New Line Cinema as my distributor as they distributed Se7en which contains the a large amount of gore, just like my film will.

Location Scouting

Back to Location 1

I have taken some videos on my iPhone to test the lighting and the setting.

IMG 6599 from Elleah Stanton on Vimeo.


IMG 6595 from Elleah Stanton on Vimeo.


IMG 6594 from Elleah Stanton on Vimeo.


IMG 6600 from Elleah Stanton on Vimeo.

Production Schedule

Here is a short run through of the dates for when each stage must be completed. This is the same for all the media students. The only day that I have added is the day that I plan to shoot the entire title sequence. This could be tricky however it must be done as getting my actors to the location is very hard. Also, it needs to be at the weekend due to the fact that the days get dark very quickly and I need it to be bright and morning. This makes it hard if I forget to shoot one shot or if one shot does not look very good. To prevent this from happening I will use a shot log to make sure I shoot all the right things. I will also film each shot at least 3 times so that I have a range of shots to choose from. This was something that I did not do in my previous project which left me with 'gnarly' shots that didn't quite look right.

By 5th January - All planning complete including call sheets, storyboards and scenario
6th - 31st January  - All shooting complete and uploaded onto the media server ready for editing.
17th January-Shooting Day
3rd - 14th Febuary - First draft edit complete and uploaded onto vimeo for teacher/peer feedback.
15th Feb - 7th March - Final cut complete, feedback logged and reviewed.

Props!

Hello again!

Over the Christmas holidays I have been very busy at work researching and planning my title sequence. I have now compiled an almost complete list of the props that I need.
These include:
Socks
Toothbrush
Red Orange Juice (This is going to resemble blood)
Fake Blood
Some kind of severed body part
Sleep mask
Towel
Mobile Phone
Wallet
Knife
Briefcase
Large black Coat
Tools, (saw and scalpel)
Designer aftershave
Yoga book/ books on self improvement

The purpose of half of these props is to create the idea that my protagonist is a wealthy, handsome perfectionist. The other half are to display his psychotic tendencies.