Shotlist

First Shot- High Angle Extreme Long Shot (protagonist in centre of shot) Using DSLR Camera. This shot will zoom in gradually turning into a close up shot of the protagonists hand

Second Shot- Close up high shot of the protagonist using DSLR Camera. This shot will gradually turn into a long shot as the protagonist spins and runs away from the camera

Third Shot- Long Shot (full body) of protagonist running away from antagonist using DSLR Camera.

Fourth Shot- Low angle long shot of protagonist running towards the camera, which will gradually                          turn into a close up shot as the protagonist gets closer. Using DSLR Camera.

Fifth Shot- Low angle close up of protagonist running away from camera, which will gradually turn                     into a long shot as they get further away. Using DSLR Camera.

Sixth Shot- First Person shot from the protagonists view. Using GoPro.

Seventh Shot- Close up low shot of characters feet running past the camera (shallow depth of field)                            Using DSLR Camera.

Eighth Shot- Close up shot of the protagonist pulling himself up a wall. Using DSLR Camera.

Ninth Shot- This shot is a match cut of the previous shot but just in a different location. Using DSLR                     Camera

Tenth Shot- Over the shoulder shot behind the antagonist looking towards the protagonist. Using                             DSLR Camera

Eleventh Shot- Extreme shot of hand holding bag and then hand dropping bag. Using DSLR

Twelfth Shot- Camera is set inside bag looking up and out of the bag. Bag is closed and then opens                            turning the shot from being black to a Extreme Close up shot of the antagonist looking                        into the bag. Using DSLR.

Thirteenth Shot- First Person shot from the antagonists point of view looking up from the bag. Using                            GoPro

Fourteenth Shot- Medium Close up of protagonist walking away then turns to look back and shot zooms to a Close up of protagonists face. Using DSLR Camera


Fifteenth Shot- Long Shot of protagonist running away from camera. Using DSLR Camera

Key Terms

Anchorage – how meaning is fixed, as in how a caption fixes the meaning of a picture

Archetype – A universal type or model of character that is found in many different texts, e.g. ingenue, anti-hero, wise old woman, hero-as-lover, hero-as-warrior, shadow trickster, mentor, loyal friend, temptress

Audience – viewers, listeners and readers of a media text. A lot of media studies is concerned with how audience use texts and the effects a text may have on them. Also identified in demographic  socio-economic categories.

Binary Opposites – the way opposites are used to create interest in media texts, such as good/bad, coward/hero, youth/age, black/white. By Barthes and Levi-Strauss who also noticed another important feature of these ‘binary opposites’: that one side of the binary pair is always seen by a particular society or culture as more valued over the other.

Catharsis – the idea that violent and and sexual content in media texts serves the function of releasing ‘pent up’ tension aggression/desire in audiences.

Censorship – Control over the content of a media text – sometimes by the government, but usually by a regulatory body like the British Board of Film censors.

CGI – Computer Generated Imagery, Refers to the (usually) 3-D effects that enhance all kinds of still and moving images, from text effects, to digital snow or fire, to the generation of entire landscapes

Code – a sign or convention through which the media communicates meaning to us because we have learned to read it. Technical codes – all to do with the way a text is technically constructed – camera angles, framing, typography, lighting etc. Visual codes – codes that are decoded on a mainly con-notational level – things that draw on our experience and understanding of other media texts, this includes Iconography – which is concerned with the use of visual images and how they trigger the audiences expectations of a particular genre, such as a knife in slasher horror films.

Consumer – purchaser, listener, viewer or reader of media products.

Context – time, place or mindset in which we consume media products.

Conventions – the widely recognised way of doing things in particular genre.

Convergence – The way in which technologies and institutions come together in order to create something new. Cinema is the result of the convergence of photography, moving pictures (the kinetoscope, zoetrope etc), and sound. The iPad represents the convergence of books, TV, maps, the internet and the mobile phone.

Demographics – Factual characteristics of a population sample, e.g. age, gender, race, nationality, income, disability, education

Denotation – the everyday or common sense meaning of a sign. Connotation – the secondary meaning that a sign carries in addition to it’s everyday meaning.

Diegetic Sound – Sound whose source is visible on the screen Non Diegetic sound –Sound effects, music or narration which is added afterwards

Enigma – A question in a text that is not immediately answered and creates interest for the audience – a puzzle that the audience has to solve.

Feminism – the struggle by women to obtain equal rights in society

Gaze – the idea that the way we look at something, and the way somebody looks at you, is structured by the way we view the world. Feminist Laura Mulvey suggests that looking involves power, specifically the look of men at women, implying that men have power over women.

Genre – the type or category of a media text, according to its form, style and content.

Hegemony – Traditionally this describes the predominance of one social class over another, in media terms this is how the controllers of the media may on the one hand use the media to pursue their own political interest, but on the other hand the media is a place where people who are critical of the establishment can air their views.

Hypodermic Needle Theory – the idea that the media can ‘inject’ ideas and messages straight into the passive audience. This passive audience is immediately affected by these messages. Used in advertising and propaganda, led to moral panics about effect of violent video and computer games.

Ideology – A set of ideas or beliefs which are held to be acceptable by the creators of the media text, maybe in line with those of the dominant ruling social groups in society, or alternative ideologies such as feminist ideology.

Indexical sign – a sign which has a direct relationship with something it signifies, such as smoke signifies fire.

Image – a visual representation of something.

Institutions – The organisations which produce and control media texts such as the BBC, AOL Time Warner, News International.

Intertextuality – the idea that within popular culture producers borrow other texts to create interest to the audience who like to share the ‘in’ joke. Used a lot in the Simpsons.

Media language – the means by which the media communicates to us and the forms and conventions by which it does so.

Media Platform – nothing to do with trains, this refers to the different ways that media content is delivered, mainly via TV, laptop, tablet, smartphone, cinema, video/computer game, printed page etc. for instance the BBC delivers content via TV, laptop and mobile device, and also through printed publications. Most media organisations deliver  their content via a multitude of platforms.

Media product – a text that has been designed to be consumed by an audience. E.G a film, radio show, newspaper etc.

Media text – see above. N.B Text usually means a piece of writing

Mise en Scene – literally ‘what’s in the shot’ everything that appears on the screen in a single frame and how this helps the audience to decode what’s going on.

Mode of Address – The way a media product ‘speaks’ to it’s audience. In order to communicate, a producer of any text must make some assumptions about an intended audience; reflections of such assumptions may be discerned in the text (advertisements offer particularly clear examples of this).

Montage – putting together of visual images to form a sequence. Made famous by Russian film maker Eisenstein in his famous film Battleship Potemkin.

Moral Panic – is the intensity of feeling stirred up by the media  about an issue that appears to threaten the social order, such as against Muslims after 9/11, or against immigrants, or against ‘video nasties’  following the Jamie Bulger murder.

Multi-media – computer technology that allows text, sound, graphic and video images to be combined into one programme.

Myth – a complex idea by Roland Barthes that myth is a second order signifying system ie when a sign becomes the signifier of a new sign (2nd years only this one!)

Narrative code – The way a story is put together within a text, traditionally equilibrium- disequilibrium, new equilibrium, but some text are fractured or non liner, eg Pulp Fiction.

News values – factors that influence whether a story will be picked for coverage.

Non-verbal communication – communication between people other than by speech.

Ownership – who produces and distributes the media texts – and whose interest it is.

Patriarchy – The structural, systematic and historical domination and exploitation of women.

Popular Culture – the study of cultural artefacts of the mass media such as cinema, TV, advertising.

Post Modernism – Anything that challenges the traditional way of doing things, rejecting boundaries between high and low forms of art, rejecting rigid genre distinctions, emphasizing pastiche, parody, intertextuality, irony, and playfulness. Post-modernism favours reflexivity and self-consciousness, fragmentation and discontinuity (especially in narrative structures), ambiguity, simultaneity, and an emphasis on the de-structured, decentered, dehumanized subjects!

Preferred Reading – the interpretation of a media product that was intended by the maker or which is dictated by the ideology of the society in which it is viewed.Oppositional Reading – an interpretation of a text by a reader whose social position puts them into direct conflict with its preferred reading. Negotiated Reading – the ‘compromise’ that is reached between the preferred reading offered by a text and the reader’s own assumptions and interpretations

Propaganda – the way ruling classes use the mass media to control or alter the attitudes of others.

Reader – a member of the audience, someone who is actively responding to the text.

Regulation – bodies whose job it is to see that media texts are not seen by the wrong audience (eg British Board of Film Censors) or are fair and honest (EG Advertising Standards Association)

Representation – The way in which the media ‘re-presents’ the world around us in the form of signs and codes for audiences to read.

SFX – special effects or devices to create visual illusions.

Shot – single image taken by a camera.

Sign – a word or image that is used to represent an object or idea.

Signifier/Signified – the ‘thing’ that conveys the meaning, and the meaning conveyed. EG a red rose is a signifier, the signified is love (or the Labour Party!)

Sound Effects – additional sounds other than dialogue or music, designed to add realism or atmosphere.

Stereotype – representation of people or groups of people by a few characteristics eg hoodies, blondes

Still – static image.

Sub-genre – a genre within a genre.

Two Step Flow theory – the idea that ideas flow from mass media to opinion leaders, and from them to a wider population.

Uses and Gratifications – ideas about how people use the media and what gratification they get from it. It assumes that members of the audience are not passive but take an active role in interpreting and integrating media into their own lives.

Sourced from: https://brianair.wordpress.com/film-theory/glossary-of-media-terminology/

Locations for our opening scene

At first idea was to be based in Leeds to capture and urban feel. As we were able to gain a sense of crowds a city. At the same times as giving it a short film feel.
But recently my group and I have taken the decision to shoot it in Ilkley as it is more local and there are still locations which help us with the feel we are trying to get.

Spooners in overcast weather

 For example the site next to Spooners which gives the appearance of an urban wasteland. Which you can see in the image on the right.












Again on the right you can see an image of Spooners but in winter.







There are also several alley ways which also achieve the look we want.

Pitch QnA

This is a video of me giving my pitch presentation to the class, i had a video in the background of my presentation and conducted my pitch according the what was being shown in the video. After my presentation i was asked questions by the teacher and pupils. I think the pitch went well, i had a good background video and knew what to say so it would fit in time with the video.

I believe that my pitch was successful as i got my idea across to the teacher and class and they understood what my idea was. My group like my idea and we have incorporated some of my ideas into our final idea. Overall i am happy with how the pitch went and looking forward to seeing how all our ideas joined together works out.

Prelim Tasks 1 and 2

Basic Prelim

Prelim breaking 180 degree rule

Prelim with titles and sound effects

What i learnt from the prelim task

For the prelim task we had to edit on Final Cut pro, i had never used final cut at this point, i had experience with other editing softwares such as song vegas and premier pro but not final cut so it was a bit difficult at first finding where all the tools were but once you spend a bit of  time on the program i found that it was fairly similar to the other softwares i have used and from there on didnt have mch difficulty editing.

Tyrannosaur Swede Final Video

Tyrannosaur Swede Plan

For this shoot there were three scenes that needed to be completed. For each shoot we all had different roles and the roles were switched around for each scene. The roles were a director, producer, 2 cinematographers and actors. Before we started filming we had to make call sheets, screenplays and storyboards doing this would make the process of filming more efficient and earlier because we would know what we had to do for each section.

For the all scenes we followed the screenplay and then adapted it to the situation.  The filming was successful and we got a lot of different shots so that when it comes down to the edit we have lots to choose from and if some of the shots did not work out then there are alternatives to choose from.

Our first screen was to imagine a man shouting while walking out of a bookies , he then proceeds to walk down an alley and kill his dog. We copied this by having Will ( William ) walk out of a door near the gym that had an alley type pathway running down the side , we showed him walking out then talking to his butler and then kicking his dog killing it. 

The second shoot was the funeral of the dog. We filmed this on the front lawn of our school by an ache of willow that looked appropriate for the situation. We had 2 rows of 3 actors with will and his butler ( Thomas ) and a girl to his left and the priest was in front of him. As the priest said his peach will laughed which contrast with the real film as he was crying. 

The third scene showed will running into an app stores and diving under the table , the girl ( Niamh ) tries to help him and convinces him to come up from under the table , he then invited her out for dinner and she accepts his offer. 

When we first shot the scenes we had difficulties with filming because the areas we choose had limited lighting and it was noisy making the audio hard to hear. We solved these problems in the second attempt by making all the scenes in open out side areas that wouldn't be too loud.

Tyrannosaur Reshoot

This is the screen play for scene 3

Tyrannosaur: Swede (Screenplay) from ngalvin99

Pitch Video

This is a video i edited to be played in the background when i am presenting my idea. It includes some brief information that i will expand on in person such as locations, camera shots and sound. It also features screenshots from possible locations that will be used in my film opening.

York Film Festival

I made the following notes at york film festival

Crossing creative platforms

• This is england started as a feature film, it made 1.8m. It won best british film and other awards.
• Warp are not moving away from film to tv. They have always done TV. This is enlgand went onto DVD. Warp have done more films than tv. 
• Up to 2010 the majority of their work was in film. 2.2m people watched the first this is england episode. This indicates that there is demand for tv. People didn't used to cross over from TV to film so when directors who used to work on tv changed to film people were sceptical if they could be a success.
• The technical elements of shooting between TV and Film are very similar. TV is often lower paid than Film work.

Cinematography

• The BBC have started to use film again. Lots of film is shot on 16mm. Lucas uses Digital and Spielberg  uses film. BBC didn't show films shot in 35mm. 
• Equipment isnt important, films are about the story. On a typical set there will be one wide, one medium and one small camera. Scripts important to make a smooth good film. 
• Film making is a collaboration, everyone has a job. 
• Breaking the code - generally you never film a woman on a 16mm because they will look distorted, always a 35mm.
• Film as much as you can - experience is key Ianthe industry
• The cinema is still important - want to feel the reaction of others around you, better than on netflix on your own, need to keep people coming to the cinema.
• Fuji film is good - ran technicolour out of business,

Downloading Youtube Videos

You can download a youtube video so you have the video clip and it can be used in other programs.

To do this you can go onto a website called savefrom this website allows you to download the video.

To download the video you have to copy the video link from youtube.

Then you have to paste that link that you just copied into the bar on the saveform website.

The website will convert the link into a mp4 file which can then be downloaded onto the computer by just clicking the download button.

Opening First Idea

The genre of the movie is going to be action. The opening is going to consist of a intense fast paced chase scene. It will have either two or three characters. Either one character chasing the other or two characters chasing one. The chase will take place on foot. It will through different locations throughout leeds such as car park roofs and small back alleys to change the setting up therefore the viewer will not get bored of seeing the same type of background over and over.

It will begin with the protagonist unknown of the upcoming event bu they are being watched by either one or two enemies. The protagonist will be acting casual and normal. This will result in them being shocked when they start to get chased. There will be a variety of shot types throughout the opening such as close up shots of feet running and close up of each character to show their emotions throughout the chase. Other shots could be extreme long shots of both characters and long shots of one character to show all their movements. It will consist of quick shot changed to keep up the intense and dramatic effect because if there was just one shot for two long it wouldn't keep up the fast paced effect. It may also have some POV shots. It will consist of close calls between the protagonist and the chasers this create suspense. It would include shaky camera movement to match the movement and feel of the characters.

The music in the opening scene would be dramatic music which is very fast paced, this type of music would fit to to the shots because they would also be quick shot changes. The music would be d
non-diegetic. The opening scene would also include diegetic sounds such as the foot steps of the characters and background sounds.

Location: 

The location for the opening scene will take place all in leeds city centre and also leeds train station.

It will be filmed in the back streets and on building roofs, this will mean while filming we can avoid big crowds and not have people getting in the way of filming. It may be hard to avoid crowds in the train station but we can choose the right time when the station is not that busy.

Some inspiration that i have for this opening scene is the opening of casino royal, quantum of solace and point break.

Pretty in Pink Film Analysis

Pretty in Pink Film Analysis 

Opening EGs: Pretty in Pink (Deutch, 1986) 

Image from clothing shop promo, 2013

Pretty in Pink 
Howard Deutch, 1986
Paramount Pictures (prod. AND distrib.)

Budget: $9m; US box office: $40.5m

Opening duration: 2:30/4:41*
RottenTomatoes.com 81%; IMDB 6.6 ; Roger Ebert 4*.

*Scene in house up to 2:57; title theme comes in and out 'til 4:41

SUMMARY/IDEAS I MIGHT USE:
[its useful to pick out ideas/elements you might use] An opening of contrasts: grim mise-en-scene, but straight into the rom-com love triangle narrative. Surprisingly plain sans-serif titles and downbeat title theme song. Front-loaded with titles. Interesting gender representation: is Ringwald stereotype, countertype or a complex mix of both?



SYNOPSIS:
Classic teen rom-com penned by 80s master John Hughes, with a love triangle centred on class identity; the female lead (Ringwald) is from a poor (in US cinema terms!!!) single parent household. Fiercely independent, she makes her own clothes, but is mocked by richer cheerleader types. Low budget but a sizeable hit, and continues to sell well today (long tail theory?!).

A vertically integrated conglomerate

IDENTS/TITLES:
[I use this example in the titles/idents vodcast] 
Just 1 ident: this was an example of partial vertical integration, with 'big 6' conglomerate Paramount handling production and distribution.
The titles begin with (1) Paramount Pictures presents (2) a John Hughes Production. Hughes had already made his name, and was a big draw worth emphasizing; while the auteur theory typically credits the director with authorship, this was a Hughes film, not the rather anonymous Deutch.

Hughes is the real big name here

The title might suggest a feminine, swirly (handwriting style) serif font ... but instead we get this fairly plain, sans-serif font. We can also denote the white on black background. Taken together, these choices signify realism ... which the gritty, (sub)urban mise-en-scene of the opening shots further reinforces, or anchors. However ... the font style is similar to that associated with 1920s era glamour (see Corbert font screenshot below); these conflicting connotationsarguably reflect the hybrid nature of rom-com well.

We only get these two title frames before the action begins. Further titles appear over action shots, in this order and (generally upper) case; they each fade out after about 3secs:

PRETTY IN PINK [centred]
STARRING MOLLY RINGWALD [we cut on screen to shot of her putting on tights]
HARRY DEAN STANTON [these 2 are centred; the lesser 'stars' below are bottom-right]

Roles are in reduced font size; 2 names split over 2 lines

JON CRYER 
ANNIE POTT
JAMES SPADER
AND ANDREW McCARTHY ['and' smaller font, as with DVD/poster billing block] 
CO-STARRING JIM HAYNIE
ALEXA KENIN 
KATE VERNON [its noticeable that these names fade out quicker] 
MUSIC SCORE COMPOSED BYMICHAEL GORE
CASTING BY PAULA HEROD AND MARCI LIROFF [split over 2 lines]

I googled '1920s font'; this is 1 eg: sim to titles?

COSTUME DESIGNER MARILYN VANCE
EDITED BY RICHARD MARKS
PRODUCTION DESIGNER JOHN W. CORSO
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY TAK FUJIMOTO
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS JOHN HUGHES AND MICHAEL CINICH [again, split over 2 lines]
WRITTEN BY JOHN HUGHES
PRODUCED BY LAUREN SHULER
DIRECTED BY HOWARD DEUTCH [film time: 2:57]

'Crossing the tracks': class conflict is central

If this was released today would we see quite so many credits front-loaded? Equally, we expect today to see more company credits and idents!
As the title theme fades in and out but doesn't actually end until 4:41, when we cut to a classroom, its arguable whether the end of the titles or the end of the title music denotes the end of the opening sequence.

MISE-EN-SCENE:

Not the opening image the title leads us to expect?!

Finally some colour! Mise-en-scene binary/juxtaposition 

The opening shot is surprising, given the title: a road-sweeping vehicle, tracked along a cracked road where weeds grow along the edge of the paving, the gardens are overgrown, and the cars that eventually come into view are old (even for the time of release), all providing connotations of this as a working-class neighbourhood. This reading is backed up by the 2nd shot (which we cross-fade into): opening on a chain-link fence around a tarmac backlot (again overgrown with weeds, also barb-wire topped), we cross tracks (a common cliche itself for class divides, as we'll see in this narrative).
The one dash of colour we get is the pink car, finally revealed as the roadsweeper trundles out of frame.
The girl's bedroom is signified by a series of abstracted shots of clothing, jewellry etc.
The father's bedroom is untidy, and we enter this with the curtains closed, both successfully connoting his frame of mind. His unruly hair and not-quite clean-shaven reinforce this impression. A particular nice touch is what appears to be a framed photo of the absent mother on the bedside drawers.
Once we cut to the high school, we get simple but crucial props for verismilitude: the high school sign itself is visible; we see both the classic yellow school bus and scooters denoting older students parked up outside; we track Ringwald as she approaches her school locker, another classic signifier of school.
Clothing codes quickly emerge as important plot points: Ringwald is set up in binary opposition to welathier cheerleader types who explicitly mock her clothing, while Ducky's outrageous ensemble also forms a binary with his suave, 'posh' love rival who wears more mature 'country club' clothing. 

Nice hats...their binary opposites wear 'mature' clothing.

REPRESENTATIONS:
The absences are fairly routine, but still worth highlighting: homosexual or disabled characters, with the main cast all caucasian. Remember, the constant repetition of 'able-bodied', caucasian, heterosexual etc creates a normative effect, though we do get an interesting mix of stereotypes and countertypes here, not least with the unusual single-parent family.
Representations of age, gender and social class are all notable.

Like his female counterpart, preppy/country club style

AGE: Ducky is a classic stereotype of teens: loud and brash in manner as well as in clothing. However, his love rival dresses in a mature, even 'fogeyish' style. Ducky's rolled-up sleeves and badges could be read as a deconstruction of this, so perhaps not such a basic steretype after all? Similarly Ringwald and her cheerleader-type social rival form a binary, with Ringwald's costume bright and garish, flower-patterned black waistcoat over a pink blouse with a thick woolly pink cardigan while the tokenistic wealthy blonde rival has a smart lemon dress (and big 80s hairsprayed hair!).

Cynical male gaze?

Who the adult is in the Ringwald/father relationship is questionable: its she that tries to get him up and motivated in the morning! 

SOCIAL CLASS: Ducky and Ringwald are from one side of the tracks, while we got the wealthy opposites. Clothing codes, with the working-class characters more easily associated with youth, are key, but the opening quickly established that the working-class characters are outsiders.

GENDER: Again we see basic stereotypes which are revealed as a little more nuanced upon examination. Ringwald is revealed in a series of abstracted shots revealing body parts and her picking out clothing and jewellry - male gaze, right? This is no bimbo, however; fiercely independent and intelligent, her clothes are self-made, and her intelligence is signified by the simple prop of specs (which she puts on in the classroom)! 
Would this movie pass the Bechdel test?!

NARRATIVE, GENRE, EXPOSITION:

An unexpected role reversal (BUT gender stereotype?)

We find out about Ringwald's single-parent, working-class family background, her close relationship with Ducky - and their mutual low standing in the high school social circles. Their older-teen age is well 

Ducky gets handbagged + ends up ridiculed on the floor

established. We learn little about the two wealthier characters who will emerge as central, bar their fakeness and high social standing. McCarthy's lingering look after Ringwald (we get an eyeline match) clearly connotes the central disruption of the narrative, their on-off romance, disrupting the equilibrium of her/Ducky's relationship, with a 4th character (the sarky blonde) signified as an additional element to this love triangle.

Rom-coms typically feature a humiliated, emasculated male as part of a love triangle, and Ducky fits that role, ending up on the floor having been handbagged. As is most commonly the case, the character we literally follow and thus are encouraged to identify with is female.
The gritty mise-en-scene and the downbeat title track are countertypical, however, signalling that this might be a cut above the standard rom-com.
In the space of 4mins the basis of the film is well established.

SOUNDTRACK:

To funk: Enter the Ducky...who ain't gonna get lucky!

A little bit unsual: the title theme comes in from the 1st shot, but fades in and out, eventually ending nearly 5mins later. The initial fade out is nicely edited to emphasize Ringwald's diegetic calling out for her father - her voice rising as she tries for a response.
When Ducky 1st appears we get a short burst of an 80s funk track, with a low bass sound ... swiftly fading out as the response to him hardly anchors a reading of Ducky as cool, macho man!


Source: http://asmediafilmopening.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/opening-egs-pretty-in-pink-deutch-1986.html

If you want to see for yourself, here's a montage someone put together:

A ropey VHS transfer of the 1st 40secs:

The trailer: