Initially, we had to decide what storyline would be used as the basis for our short films and at first we came up with the idea that it should be based around the theft of an apple - of which we decided isn't really realistic and wouldn't be taken seriously. After some more discussion we decided to use all the same ideas but instead base the plot around the theft of a phone.
As a cinematographer, the first stages of the planning were getting an idea of which shots we were going to use and at which points they would be used in the film in order to ensure continuity throughout.
We initially chose a room in the school study hall for our shooting location but it wasn't deemed suitable as there was too much happening in the background of our shots and we were worried about it causing too much of a disturbance to the others around us - eventually we decided a computer room would be the most suitable location for our film as it was a more realistic place for the confrontation to be happen and didn't have many people nearby which made it easier to get the shots that we needed.
Q2: 180 Degree Rule: The 180 degree rule is used to ensure that the camera is always positioned on the same side of the action in order to avoid confusing the audience. Sometimes the rule is broken deliberately in thriller films to disorient the viewers (such as in Stanley Kubricks 'The Shining') but in circumstances such as football where following it is absolutely crucial to the viewers understanding, the rule is never broken.
Q3: Camera Shots:
A wide range of shots were used in our film and were all used to achieve different outcomes. For example, in the opening shot we feature a birds eye tracking shot (with a black and white filter applied later) of our main character to create a sense that he is being watched - perhaps by a CCTV camera. During the shooting process we experimented with a similar shot which was slightly inspired by the opening sequence by the film 'Halloween' and to have the camera shooting through the window, but unfortunately there were too many reflections on the windows for it to achieve it's desired effect.
One of the most notable shots we used was a 'Vertigo shot' or 'Dolly zoom' which was implemented to create a sense of distortion and anger with a character. We were aware of this shot and had seen it being used before but didn't initially know how it was done but that was overcome quickly by experimenting with the zoom and focus of the camera.
Towards the end of our sequence we used a selection of Spaghetti Western inspired close ups on the eyes to show how the characters were looking eachother. This technique is easily recognizable and was most famously used in the final duel sequence of Sergio Leone's 'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly". The way this was achieved in the Sergio Leone western was by slowly cutting between close-ups of the characters eyes - so we decided to implement a similar technique (The images below demonstrate this)
Q4:
I feel much more confident in using a digital camera now and learnt some crucial techniques during filming. Adobe Premiere is extremely user friendly but I feel creating the thriller film will be a much smoother process now we are more acquainted with the equipment that will be used in future.
In the following I am going to discuss the similarities and differences between the opening/title sequences of LA Noire, a 2011 video game published by Rockstar games and LA Confidential a 1997 crime drama.
Themes:
Both of these clips contain voice-overs which are presented as being very similar to traveling ads. Despite having been released on different forms of media, these scenes appear to be very similar. Firstly, they both start off with a idealistic view of 40s/50s LA and have strong emphasis on promoting the American Dream. Both the clips place strong emphasis on freedom as being a defining aspect of LA. One of the clear differences is that LA Confidential is more interested in showing the more natural scenes such as orange groves, beaches and gardens and uses the phrase "the orange groves stretch as far as the eye can see" whereas, LA Noire is more interested in presenting the city's urban features and interestingly uses the phrase "A city that has no boundaries, that stretches as far as the eye can see".
LA Confidential gardens
LA Confidential Apple groves
In the opening of the LA Noire sequence it places strong emphasis on the car as a symbol of freedom "A city, based not on the man but on the automobile".
Both of the clips place strong emphasis on productivity and movement throughout to promote the idea that LA is a lively city with lots jobs and productive output.
Mise en scene:
In terms of mise en scene, both of the clips are extremely similar in what is shown in the shots. Firstly, The buildings and scenery generally feature warm and natural tones whereas the colors of cars, clothing and other man-made objects are in typical 50s style and comprise of bold and vivid which creates a contrast between the two. Some of the included scenes in LA confidential are black and white to give it a sort of found footage feel throughout.
The clothing the characters wear in the sequences are very similar and they are mostly showing wealthier citizens in formal attire and what at the time would have been fashionable new fashion to which suggests that LA's citizens are generally very affluent and modern people.
Physics: B
Biology
Chemistry: C
History: C
Maths: C
English Lit: C
English: C
Music: C
Hobbies:
My hobbies include playing guitar, producing music, listening to records
Print Media:
If I had the time I'd probably read printed newspapers but instead I tend to read the news very often online at home, or on my phone when I'm out (usually BBC News, Dailymail, Guardian) - if it's a story that I'm particularly interested in or dubious of I'll spend some time reading other news sources and their views on the story to get a clearer understanding of it.
I enjoy reading the views of people online (independent bloggers, commenters, etc.) in particular as it can show you different perspectives on a story.
When it comes to magazines and other print media I don't generally read them that much but I'll read anything if I'm in a waiting room or can't find anything to do. If I'm on a long car journey and end up at a service station I might just buy one to take up some time - magazines such as What-Hifi? and music review magazines are what I go for but it can be interesting to go for something absolutely random
Radio Media:
In the car I'll usually listen to whatever radio station is on (probably radio norwich) and generally quite enjoy listening to absolutely anything other than kiss - my favorite stations are planet rock and absolute radio (80s,90s, rock etc.)
Music Industry:
I listen to a large variety of music with my favorite genres generally being psychedelic rock, blues and prog rock. - all genres can have good and bad artists and I can usually appreciate songs from any genre or time period. However, I find alot of chart music to be uncreative and annoying to the extent I wonder who buys those songs but there are many exceptions so it's still worth keeping updated with.
I'm a huge fan of listening to music on spotify as you can easily find new bands and stream in high quality, it's good because this sort of streaming is available for free and offers premium accounts for monthly fee so it can hopefully prevent people from pirating. My favorite way of listening to music however is with vinyl records and I have a pretty large collection now - it's a completely different experience when compared to other forms of listening to music and with older albums in particular you can be sure what you hear is exactly how they were intended to be.
My favorite artists include Pink Floyd, Jefferson Airplane, Steve Miller Band, Frank Zappa, The clash, Bob Dylan, Jimmy Cliff, The Specials, Fuzz, Eagles, Parquet courts etc.
I don't agree with illegally downloading music (especially with less-known bands or smaller labels) as there are better alternatives such as spotify and paying for music you enjoy is simply the right thing to do. Piracy is a huge danger to the music industry but the problem with purchasing music digitally is that you aren't actually getting anything different to people who illegally download so perhaps there should be some more incentives to people who do purchase music online.
Video Games:
I do sometimes like to play games in my free time and can enjoy just about any type or genre. I don't really have a favorite but I enjoy games such as fallout and grand theft auto which are open world so they don't restrict you that much in terms of what you're able to do.
I use twitter and facebook (only for messaging) and I like it how you're able to connect with people online and see what they're up to - which is especially good if they live far away or you don't see them on a regular basis. I don't find them that innovating as ways of communicating however as I only really talk to people that I know and would generally rather use a phone or just talk to people in person. I use twitter the most as there's a sense of being connected to a world-wide community as it allows you to see what people all over the world are talking about most.
Television:
I watch a fair amount of television and I usually tend to watch BBC, ITV and Comedy Central and Dave as they cover everything I usually want to watch. I also sometimes end up accidentally leaving sky news on for ages until I work out I've probably heard every headline about 7 times. When I watch TV, unlike with film, I'm not always actively engaged with it so sometimes I'll be listening/watching it passively whilst preoccupied with doing other things.
My favorite scene from Madmen
We have sky so it can be quite good to take advantage of the hundreds of channels available by having a browse through the channels I haven't watched before - so it's not rare for me to end up watching something I've never heard of at all. I enjoy quite a range of shows but I'd have to say my favorites would be QI, Madmen, Only Fools and Horses, Mock the Week, Peep Show and far too many to list. I almost always watch BBC News before I leave for school so I guess I must also enjoy that.
Feature Films:
I like pretty much every genre but I mostly watch action, comedy and westerns.
Below are some films I've particularly enjoyed recently.
Easy Rider:
Easy rider is a great counterculture film which gives the audience an insight into the hippie movement - drug use, communal lifestyles etc. and the social issue which arises with it. It has a fairly simple plot which consists of two 'hippie' motorcyclists riding across the country in time for Mardi gras, and all the events that happen inbetween. This film not only is a great watch but also has great cultural relevance as it was shot during the peak of the movement (it was filmed in 1968 and released two months before woodstock). The soundtrack is incredible and consists of Steppenwolf, The band and Jimi Hendrix.
The Good, The Bad and the Ugly:
A film that probably everybody has heard of and rightly so - It's the story of three men who set off to find $200,000 in buried coins. Blondie (The Good) and Tuco (The Ugly) come across a dying man who tell them about a large amount of treasure that is buried but by chance he only tells one of them where the cemetary is and the other which gravestone it is. Meanwhile, Angel eyes (The bad) hears of this and also goes to find the gold.
Are you a media producer?
I've produced some short films in the past and I have also started A2 Film Studies so I have some experience of what it is like to produce media.
Why I chose Media Studies:
I chose Media Studies as an option because I had to decide to choose another subject and Media was something which really caught my eye as being an option I'd like to pursue. I'm also doing Film Studies and Music tech and would like to hopefully pursue a career involving the music industry - so I'd like to think that all the subjects I'm studying all relate and will be complementary of eachother.
Conclusion:
I don't think I've really ever been offended that much by any media texts as I don't particularly get offended very easily and can take things I read lightly and have a laugh. Infact, If I was watching the news and my name literally flashed up along with a load of insults (that'd be strange) I probably wouldn't be too phased. I can understand why people may get offended by media and rightly so but it also seems that people claim to be offended far too much - although that doesn't at all make it right to intentionally offend people.
The most exciting media I've seen is probably Pink Floyds 'The Wall' film - it is a live action/animated musical film which uses highly symbolic sequences with little dialogue and it is mostly driven by the music of pink floyd itself (from the album of course) - being one of my favourite albums of all time it's great in that aspect but it's also interesting to see a film being driven by the music as opposed to the other way around.
Sorry if I got any of this wrong or wrote too much as I lost the sheet and had to refer to other peoples/ last years blogs in order to find out what the questions were - it might also include some incorrect grammar or spelling mistakes as this somehow took absolutely ages to write
Rush (2013) is a very exciting film centered around the historic rivalries of James Hunt and Nikki Lauda during the 1976 Formula One season.
Rush (2013) Film Poster
James Hunt - Basically an advertisement for Phillip Morris
Working Title: Working title was founded in 1983 is co-chaired by Eric Fellner and Tim Bevan - they started off making relatively low budget films in collaboration with Channel 4 Films with releases such as 'My Beautiful Laundrette' and in 1989 released 'For Queen and Country' - an Anglo-American production which performed well on both sides of the atlantic and gave them the foundations for a buisiness model they began to exploit in film such as 'Four Weddings and A Funeral' which reached box office sales of $245,700,832, which is incredible for a film with only a $4.4 million budget.
How Rush was packaged:
Rush was designed to appeal to a wide range of audiences and does this in several ways.
Uses stereotypical british characters such as Chris Hemsworth as the aristocratic James Hunt
Employs working title's signature technique of using well-established American stars (such as Olivia Wilde) which works extremely well to draw in international audiences.
Is centered around the historic rivalry of James Hunt and Nikki Lauda which will appeal to fans of history and F1 racing alike.
Does extremely well to create a convincing interpretation of the rockstar lifestyles which F1 drivers lived
Uses simple, internationally recognized themes which can be easily understood by the worldwide audience
Creates a realistic portrayal of the mid 70s
Special Effects:
Rush uses highly detailed and glossy special effects which give it a high production value and puts the visuals on par with most hollywood movies.
Apologies for not doing this task earlier - I lost my bag on friday with all the homework details inside and have only had it returned this afternoon.
I will need to add more to this as I'm not really sure on what a prezi is and embedding a slideshow from another website doesn't seem to be working - will update.
