Final filming session.

           On Sunday 20th of November Charlie Chalkley and Amy Wootten re-filmed scenes 3 and 15 as me and Ellie duckles were unavailable and we felt the first takes of those shots filmed on the 13th of November didn't turn out as we had hoped. We viewed the new takes as a group and were happy with the new results.
           Following the re-filming of those two shots we decided we would film the remaining night shots of our opening after school on the 21st of November. We ran in to a few difficulties when filming as we didn't allow for the camera not being able to adjust to the poor light conditions. We resolved this problem by using torch's (which charlie chalkley managed to get from his house) and the torch's on our phones, the light conditions significantly improved from then on. We also filmed some extra footage that we felt would work in our opening; we shot Ellie kicking off her shoe as she was running from the villain at a low angle shot and we also shot Ellie running past the stationary camera.
             On the following Tuesday we managed to get into the 'mac' room at school with intentions to watch through all our footage and begin editing. Although, we realised that the majority of our footage was filmed in the wrong format for we are now in the process of attempting to convert our files into a format that 'final cut' will accept.

See below a revised filming schedule:

Filming

           Today we had our first day of filming for our main task. We had planned to begin filming yesterday but couldn't as a few people were not available so we now plan to complete the rest of the filming next Saturday on the 19th. We made very good progress today completing shots 7, 11, 15, 17, 19, 24, 25, 27 and 28. We also filmed some extra footage of a saw in the shed covered in blood etc. Here are some images taken of two characters and the locations we filmed in.

Our victim.

Our killer.

 Inside the shed(not able to rotate this one).

                                                                  Inside the shed.

                                                     A shot of the crime scene and crucifix.

Our forensic officer.

The evidence bag.

Film concept in 25 words.

A religious extremist serial killer begins to re-write the bible by keeping a scrap book of the 'sinning' young girls he brutally crucifies and murders.

Preliminary task completed

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23IhJD4JRXo&feature=youtu.be

Shooting schedule for main task.

• We plan to complete most of our filming this weekend in Baldock.
• I'm trying to get some sheets of wood to construct the crucifix for this weekend so that we have the opportunity to complete the filming.
• We also need to make the book complete with text of 'The Crucifixion' for which we are going to use a tippex pen on my old art book.
• Charlie is going to order the film to create the flashes of the Polaroid camera. 
• We also need to clear out Amy's shed so it can be suitable for filming.
• We also need to label a plastic bag for evidence and buy some police tape.
• Ellie already has some clothes that can be used for her original 'prostitute outfit' and we are going to use a bed sheet to cover in fake blood and wrap her in for the shot of her on the cross.
• We will use Ellie's old extensions for the lock of hair in the evidence bag. 
• We've decided that the actress we are going to ask to do the voice over of the news report is Hannah Reynolds, we intend to record it during the next two weeks and add it in during editing.

Preliminary task.

The brief we were given for our preliminary task was to create:
           A continuity task involving filming and edited 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 must demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and 180 degree rule.


           We decided to link our preliminary task theme to our main task theme in some way. the storyline we looked to create for our preliminary task is as follows:

• A religious extremist (charlie) kidnaps a young girl (Ellie) who is 'not pure' and attempts to make her pure by torture and murder.
• He recites a passage from the bible regarding sin:

Charlie: Isaiah 64:6 We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind.


Ellie: (distressed) Where am i?!


Charlie: (calm) You're in a good place.

Ellie: What are you doing to me?!

Charlie: I'm going to make you pure.


(The religious man stabs the girl and the scene ends with a black screen and a high pitched scream)

           Our next decision was to make the film appear in black and white in order to give a darker theme and create a more eerie atmosphere. We used one of the schools' 'flip cam's' to film our preliminary task as it is small and compact and simple but effective to use. Here is a plan of the shots used:

• We pan in (using a tripod) to Ellie tied to a chair struggling in a white dress (White because it is seen as a pure colour). A flash of light (created by the movement of a curtain) is used to make her visible in the dark room where we filmed.
• We then use shot/reverse shot to show her hands (tied up) behind the chair. the shot switches back to a close up of her face for more dramatic effect.
• The next shot pans up to a low angle shot of charlie entering the room through a door slowly.
• The next is a mid shot of charlie reciting the passage from the bible, The dialogue exchanged here is where we use the 180 degree rule through alternate over the shoulder shots of each character. 

• Between the lines "What are you doing to me?!" and "I'm going to make you pure." is where the match on action shot is used in charlie slamming down the bible on a table next to Ellie which are both mid shots.

• The next shot is an over the shoulder shot of Ellie with the line "I'm going to make you pure".
• The final shot is a mid, over the shoulder shot of Charlie pulling the knife out of his pocket and leaning forward. The screen now fades to black.
• On the black screen, a scream is heard.

            Throughout the whole 1:01 minute sequence a slow drone is hear which we added during editing and the sound of the door opening was also added during editing. We edited out shots using imovie on the mac computers in school. We found the sound effects in imovie and the precision editor extremely useful. We filmed our preliminary task in the drama studio and the drama studio annex, turned all the lights off and closed the blinds to create the eerie atmosphere of an old abandoned warehouse.

Media conference in London on the 4th of November

           On the 4th of November most media students in sixth form attended a media conference at the institute of education in London which included guest speakers from all area's of the media. I found the trip an extremely inspirational experience and it opened my mind to all different occupations within the media and in film production. The theme of the day was media representation of the London riots and how big a part they played in them. We were encouraged to take notes on the speakers so below i have shown what I took note on during the day:

David Buckingham of the institute of education

Media representation of young people focusing on the summer riots

• The types of negative language used creates a very negative image of the youth of today "Flaming morons", "Yob rule", "Hoodies" and "Ferrel youth".
• The riots are said to have been caused by the police shooting of a young man in Tottenham and a peaceful protest escalating  into people demanding answers.
• 40% of articles on young people are related to crime.
• 71% of articles are negative.

"Women in journalism - 2008" look into youth representation in the media:

• 72% or articles regarding young people were negative.
• Only 3.4% were positive.
• The majority of positive youth representation was regarding young people who had been killed or come to an untimely death.

Barnardo's discovered 50% of adults believe that children are out of control.

The role of the media in the Summer riots 

• Social networking was apparently used to organise the riots (blackberry messenger etc.)
• The media put a lot of blame on aggressive and violent themes in rap music and video games.
• How different issues are 'framed' plays a big part in the public's impression of the issues. If only half of the story is told then this can completely manipulate the public's opinions of it. The same manipulation can be brought about by broadcast and print journalists expressing their own opinions in a very persuasive way.
• People who have authority speak about issues which they are by no means experts on.
• The Bankers and politicians issues with expenses etc. is an issue raised with regards to someone to blame for the riots. They are said to be setting a bad example for the general public, all of the expense 'fiddling' is also an element which causes the public to lose respect for those authority figures which, in turn, causes rebellion.

Christine Bell - examiner for WJEC
Research into Doctor who - one of the BBCs longest running text's. What makes it so successful?

• Complex and appealing narrative.
• The appeal of 'The doctors' character "I'm not a hero, i'm just a mad man with a box."
• Strong representation of women in 'Amy Pond' and 'River Song'.
• High production values.
• Audience involvement via the website.
• Respected script writers.
• Popular spin off's such as 'Tourchwood' and 'The Sarah Jane adventures'.
• Broad target audience.
• Re-invents itself for new generations, always improving.
• Loyal fans.
• Escapism.
• Expectations which carry it through not so spectacular episodes.
• Social interactions via the website and social networking websites such as facebook.

Steph Henry - examiner for AQA
A look into cross-platform media focusing on Being Human
            Steph Henry looked at the popular TV series 'Being Human' based around young people experiencing human life in a supernatural body. She explained how the series has an extremely strong online presence with constant updates on newly running series' for keen viewers. She went into depth about how interactive and Internet access for viewers of the TV show is very important in promoting it. There are some clips from the show, character profiles and voicemails from the show which are only available on the Internet which encourages the audience to become more involved with the programme.
           She also mentioned briefly a spin off from 'Being human' called 'Becoming human' following the life of a character (adam) who only had a brief appearance in the main show. This spin off is also only available on the Internet and so encourages the audience again to be more involved in the series.

Pete Fraser - examiner for OCR who was unable to make the conference however his presentation was still shown 
Top tips for making your production better:

• Look at lots of examples!
• Focus on audio and its effectiveness.
• Make sure titles look professional.
• Keep camerawork professional and eliminate continuity errors.
• Make sure setting and costumes are well organised and realistic.
• Ensure actors are well rehearsed and given good direction.
• Editing should take a considerably long time and be done well.
• Make sure the narrative is effective but not overly complicated.

9 Key words to focus on:

• Research - Look into other horror films and keep evidence of all research.
• Planning - Record everything, organise yourself and show your journey.
• Evidence - Show storyboards, photo's of your locations etc.
• Ideas - Keep ideas and plans simple and realistic, make it simple enough to fit into a 25 word pitch.
• Get feedback - From peers and teachers, take notice and respond accordingly.
• Logistics - Share contact details and be prepared with; people, props and costume. Rehearse all scenes. 
• Equipment - Use the equipment to the best of its ability, practise and prepare.
• Production - Always shoot extra material, its better to have too much than not enough!
• Reflection - Reflect on all work throughout, look to your teacher for advice.

http://www.petesmediablog.blogspot.com/

Garth Jennings - On his life as a director

Examples of his work:

• Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy.
• Son of Rambo - which he wrote and directed.
• Fatboy slim - right here right now.
• Blur - Coffee and TV.
• The PG Tipps 'monkey and Al' adverts.
• Ali G title sequence.
• How to train your dragon.
• Vampire weekend - cousins.

           Jennings started out making short films as a child and then went on to do and art foundation course and then a production course at university. He explained to us how he still works with the people he met at university today. His lifestyle and story was extremely inspirational and i feel now that direction and production are areas of the media which i may well like to go into in the future.

Babita Sharma (Broadcast journalist for BBC World) and Paul lewis (Print journalist for the Guardian).

Babita Sharma

• Attended cardiff university.
• Applied for a postgraduate degree but didn't get accepted.
• Took a gap year and moved to Dubai where she "experienced life a bit more".
• Started at her BBC local radio station.
• Now has a permanent slot on BBC World from 1am to 4am.

Paul Lewis

• Attended Cambridge university studying social and political science.
• Started as a free-lance journalist.
• Got a trainee-ship at The Guardian.
• Moved up and is now a very well respected print journalist.

Both Babita and Paul were really inspirational, it made me realise that to move forward in journalism you just have to be committed and hard working, and with that commitment almost anything it possible.

All in all, a good day.