Friday, 6 November 2009
Music and editing, 5th Nov
We have finished making the music for the film. Although it sounds good as a standalone song, it is only loosely related to the film intro at the moment. Similar to the opening, it is quirky and lively, meaning it fits with the atmosphere to our opening and the atmosphere of childrens' films in general. However, it doesn't tesolate with our film directly yet. With some smart editing, however, this will soon change. We have more than enough time to successfully edit both the film and song so they work perfectly together.
We did a fair amount of editing today. However, Michael, our main editor, wasn't in college today. This means that, due to our relative lack of skill in the editing department compared to him, we lost a bit of time. Despite this, we still did enough editing so that the first fifteen seconds or so of our film is now complete, including every necessary camera angle and the first few credits. We managed to make the credits not look out-of-place and also ensure that they looked smart/'clean'. This makes the whole introduction look far more professional and interesting to watch, as the credits won't take a viewer out of the moment or detract from the overall experience. If they looked out-of-place, they would put a viewer off watching as they would be focusing more on the unsightly credits than the film itself.
All-in-all, a good start and a thorough day's work. We are sure that in our last two lessons we have available, we can both finish the song completely and edit the intro completely, and make sure they go together.
We did a fair amount of editing today. However, Michael, our main editor, wasn't in college today. This means that, due to our relative lack of skill in the editing department compared to him, we lost a bit of time. Despite this, we still did enough editing so that the first fifteen seconds or so of our film is now complete, including every necessary camera angle and the first few credits. We managed to make the credits not look out-of-place and also ensure that they looked smart/'clean'. This makes the whole introduction look far more professional and interesting to watch, as the credits won't take a viewer out of the moment or detract from the overall experience. If they looked out-of-place, they would put a viewer off watching as they would be focusing more on the unsightly credits than the film itself.
All-in-all, a good start and a thorough day's work. We are sure that in our last two lessons we have available, we can both finish the song completely and edit the intro completely, and make sure they go together.
Tuesday, 20 October 2009
Today's Filming
Today, the 20th of October, was one in which we recorded a lot of quality footage. 2 lessons ahead of schedule, we feel that we are 80-90% through our filming.
There are only one or 2 scenes left to record and we certainly feel we can record these well in the time we have left.
The benefit of leaving so much time for our editing is that we will have enough time to edit in a way that echoes the quality of our filming.
There are only one or 2 scenes left to record and we certainly feel we can record these well in the time we have left.
The benefit of leaving so much time for our editing is that we will have enough time to edit in a way that echoes the quality of our filming.
Thursday, 15 October 2009
R2-48 Feedback
they have 8 posts, one of which is pointless. we feel that there are enough posts at this moment in time. also nothing is missing as far as we know.
the initial idea is good and doesn't really need to be developed any more but the assumption that '(because kids like slapstick humor)' we feel is not correct 'young children understand slapstick comedy' not always? and don't adults understand to? the genre is clear which is good to see already. we feel that there is to much happening in the opening, the story is being given away. everything can be done in college. maybe make the opening more vague to keep the audience guessing.
their analysis of the real opening sequence so ok, they make good points about the music but that seems to be what they concentrated on the most.
x
the initial idea is good and doesn't really need to be developed any more but the assumption that '(because kids like slapstick humor)' we feel is not correct 'young children understand slapstick comedy' not always? and don't adults understand to? the genre is clear which is good to see already. we feel that there is to much happening in the opening, the story is being given away. everything can be done in college. maybe make the opening more vague to keep the audience guessing.
their analysis of the real opening sequence so ok, they make good points about the music but that seems to be what they concentrated on the most.
x
Storyboard
Here are the pictures of our first storyboard. While some minor details may change, most of the scenes referenced in these pictures will remain the same; probably in the same order.
(zoom in to see details)
(zoom in to see details)
Tuesday, 13 October 2009
Childrens Film: Initial Ideas
So we have an idea to make a children's film based on a boy, 16 years of age, who has spent all his life using the resources of the woodland to survive. He is a feral child born at Long Road (in the small forest next to the pond), with no idea of what lies outside the boundaries of his small woodland 'patch'.
Patrick will be playing the titular character in "Nedrick: Child of the woods.". In the first few shots we will try to show the distance between Nedrick and the real world through the introduction of a second, 'normal' character.
As we move into the scene the focus will slowly fade from the real world being distant from Nedrick's, to bringing the two worlds together. Hopefully, using the catalyst of a second main character to befriend Nedrick, will show how different the world is that he lives in compared to everyone else's.
Through doing this we also hope to include some slapstick comedy to accommodate the adventure (because kids like slapstick humor). we feel this style of humour would work for two reasons:
1. as mentioned above, young children understamd slapstick comedy
2. we feel that this style of comedy fits in with the rest of the story; a boy born into his own world would naturally do a lot of things that others may find odd and thus funny.
Here are some shots of the scene we are hoping to shoot this project in:
.
These shots, while all very different, are all in the same small vicinity. This means that we will not need to use camera tricks to change between scenes. This will make scene transitions more natural.
Patrick will be playing the titular character in "Nedrick: Child of the woods.". In the first few shots we will try to show the distance between Nedrick and the real world through the introduction of a second, 'normal' character.
As we move into the scene the focus will slowly fade from the real world being distant from Nedrick's, to bringing the two worlds together. Hopefully, using the catalyst of a second main character to befriend Nedrick, will show how different the world is that he lives in compared to everyone else's.
Through doing this we also hope to include some slapstick comedy to accommodate the adventure (because kids like slapstick humor). we feel this style of humour would work for two reasons:
1. as mentioned above, young children understamd slapstick comedy
2. we feel that this style of comedy fits in with the rest of the story; a boy born into his own world would naturally do a lot of things that others may find odd and thus funny.
Here are some shots of the scene we are hoping to shoot this project in:
.
These shots, while all very different, are all in the same small vicinity. This means that we will not need to use camera tricks to change between scenes. This will make scene transitions more natural.
Thursday, 8 October 2009
Analysis of Toy Story Introduction
The introduction to the film Toy Story (1995) contains nearly everything needed. The music in the background introduces the film as a 'Buddy' movie. "You've got a friend in me," happily sings throughout. The music is upbeat and jolly; a tone that brings a heartwarming feel to the film. This tone is kept throughout the story, which is ideal for a film aimed at younger children.
Aside from the non-diegetic music, performed by Randy Newman, the only two characters who speak are the boy and his mum. The conversation is perky and upbeat- the mother calling happily off-set to the boy to come through and them him cheering happily after he goes through. As the music also suggested, this cheerful tone is kept throughout the film.
The very beginning of the film has Andy, the child, playing with Woody, his toy. The mood is happy. The lighting in the room is also very bright and, when coupled with the music, this implies that the scene will be an extremely happy one.
Aside from the non-diegetic music, performed by Randy Newman, the only two characters who speak are the boy and his mum. The conversation is perky and upbeat- the mother calling happily off-set to the boy to come through and them him cheering happily after he goes through. As the music also suggested, this cheerful tone is kept throughout the film.
The very beginning of the film has Andy, the child, playing with Woody, his toy. The mood is happy. The lighting in the room is also very bright and, when coupled with the music, this implies that the scene will be an extremely happy one.
Planning
Children's films consist of many elements. There are many of these elements; ranging from a happy ending to a jolly sing-song. Obviously, a film aimed solely at children under the age of about 7 won't be particularly plot heavy for fear of confusing a small child - if its target audience doesn't even understand what's going on, the film will not appeal to anyone.
The opening of a film, it could be argued, is the most important part. Many people can decide whether they want to watch a whole movie or not within the first five minutes of watching. As with children's films in general, an opening has many elements to it that are usually all included. These are:
The opening of a film, it could be argued, is the most important part. Many people can decide whether they want to watch a whole movie or not within the first five minutes of watching. As with children's films in general, an opening has many elements to it that are usually all included. These are:
- introduce the plot without revealing an ending
- introduce the main characters
- establish the genre
- introduce production companies/main crew
- introduce the names of headline or lead actors
- reveal the name of the film
- set the tone of the film
- often includes music which helps to set the tone
Tuesday, 29 September 2009
Preliminary Task - Shot List
Establishing shot
Close up
Match - on - action
Extreme closeup
POV shot
POV again shot
Reaction shot
Long shot
Over the Shoulder
Filming conversation
Extreme close up
Long shot
Close up
Match - on - action
Extreme closeup
POV shot
POV again shot
Reaction shot
Long shot
Over the Shoulder
Filming conversation
Extreme close up
Long shot