Film Pitch

This is our film pitch we did. In this video you will see our film pitch we delivered and the feedback we received at the end of it.

Identified Target Audience

In this post I will be looking at how our film compares to the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC for short). I will explain about our target audience and will give an example of a person who represents our target audience. I will also talk more in depth about target audience which can also be called Target Audience Profile or TAP for short.

Themes and the Main Elements

So before I explain to you about our target audience and what a target audience is, I shall tell you the keywords that are the themes and elements of this film, not just in the first two minutes, but the whole film. These are the themes and elements I've identified.

• Thriller
• Action
• Computer Science
• Political
• Secretive
• Serious Drama
• Banks
• Crime
• Journey
• Spook

British Board of Film Classification (BBFC)

British Board of Film Classification (also BBFC) is a classification given to your film based on what age people is only to view the film. Basically on films, they say what such things is in a film such as Violence, Strong Language, Sexual References and will say an age after, which is the age people only aloud to see this content in this film. (so which age is this appropriate for). Here are all the British Board of Film Classifications



U-Universal

The first Classification is a U which is Universal. This basically means that films with this are suitable for people aged four and over. But sometimes, it is impossible to predict what might upset a particular child, especially at this lower end of the category range.

So some examples of films that may be rated U are "102 Dalmations", and "Rio"

 At U there are only mild bad language and may use words such as "dam" or "hell".  Occasionally bad language such as "Bloody" or "Bugger" may be included where justified by the context. Characters may be seen kissing or cuddling and there may be references to sexual behaviour (i.e. making love). However there will be no overt focus on sexual behaviour, language or innuendo.

At all categories heterosexual and homosexual behaviour and activities are treated the same. So there could be occasional very mild references to gay or straight sex at U.

Some brief fight scenes or moments ma be included in a U film where characters are placed in danger. There are normally no references to illegal drugs or drugs misuse.

  PG-Parental Guidance

This classification is PG which stands for parental guidance. This means a film is suitable for general viewing, but some scenes may be unsuitable for a younger children. A PG should not disturb a child aged around eight or older. Parents should consider whether the content might upset younger or more sensitive children. Not all PG films are made for a younger audience.

No theme is prohibited at PG as long as it is treated in a manner appropriate to the category. PG works can explore challenging issues such as domestic violence, bereavement or racism.

There may be mild bad language, but the context and delivery are always important. So for example if  the language is used aggressively or if there is too much bad language, a work may be passed at the next category.

References to sex are acceptable if the activity talked about or shown is implied and lacking in detail. Heterosexual and homosexual sex and sex references are treated the same. There should be no detail of violence in a PG work, so while there might be some blood, we would not see how the injury was inflicted in strong detail.

                12A/12

12A means anyone who 12 years of age or over will be able to go and see the film unaccompanied. The 'A' stands for 'accompanied' and 'advisory'. Children younger than 12 may see the film
if they are accompanied by an adult (e.g. someone over the age of 18), who must watch the film with them.

The difference between 12A and 12 is that the 12 certificate is just for videos, DVDs and Blu-rays. 12A is for films at the cinema only.

There are uses of Strong Language at 12 or 12A but it must be infrequent. The context of the strong language is important. Aggressive uses of strong language may result in a film or DVD being placed at this category. There is some allowance for puns on strong language at this category.


Sex may be briefly and discreetly portrayed at 12 or 12A. Verbal sex references should not go beyond what is suitable for young teenagers. At 12A, moderate violence is allowed but it should not dwell on detail. There should be no emphasis
or injuries on blood, but occasional gory moments may be permitted if they can be justified by their context.

 15

None under 15 is allowed to see a 15 film at the cinema or buy/rent a 15 rated DVD. 15 rated works are not suitable for children under the age of 15. No themes are prohibited provided the treatment is appropriate for 15 year olds.

15 films include strong violence, frequent strong language, portrays of sexual activity, strong verbal references to sex, sexual nudity, brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal references to sexual violence, discriminatory language or behaviour, drug taking.

Strong violence in a 15 film should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury, however and the strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable, Strong sadistic or sexualised violence is also unlikely to be acceptable.

There could be a potentially great deal of strong language in a 15 film. At 15 there is no upper limit on the number of uses of strong language

18

Films rated 18 are for adults. No-one under 18 is allowed to see an 18 film at the cinema or buy/rent an 18 rated DVD. No 18 rated works are suitable for children. No theme is prohibited at 18.

18 works are for adults and contain strong issues such as very strong violence, frequent strong language and/or very strong language, strong portrayals of sexual activity, scenes of sexual violence, strong horror, strong blood and gore, real sex (in some circumstances), discriminatory language and behaviour.

There is no limit on the number of uses of strong or even very strong language which can be passed at 18. Uses could be aggressive, directed, frequent or accompanied by strong violence.

Strong and detailed portrayals of sex at 18, including nudity can be seen in 18 films. There are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual or educational context. Very strong, crude and explicit sex references are permitted at 18.

At 18 violence can be strong and be portrayed with strong detail. There may even be dwelling on the infliction of pain or injury or scenes of strong sadistic or sexual violence.

The strongest gory images are permitted at this category.

Target Audience

A target audience is an audience at which a film may be based and aimed at. Target audiences can differ in many varieties from young children, toddlers, teenagers to young adults or old adults. The elements in the film and pacific facts in it are what match and represents a certain audience so for example our film which called "Hacked" represents an audience of age from 16 to 21 year olds. The gender target is predominantly male and the ethnicity would be white British. The income level would be that of a student (Band E) so no more than a few thousand pounds a year through part-time jobs whilst studying. Early A-level years to mid to late (depending on course) University years would be the education of our target audience. To gain the attention of our target audience adverts on popular websites used by our target audience would be our main point of distributing of advertising.

From here since our target audience uses social media to inform friends of what they are up to, it is hoped that after seeing the film they will share their thoughts about the film which could raise the profile of the film and as a result could spread across social networks to further increase the awareness of our film. An example would be a video on youtube which is viewed by people and is then shared on social websites such as facebook and twitter, it then raises more awareness as more people would be interested in seeing this film. The more likes and compliments the video then gets on youtube and other social media networks makes it more popular and raises its profile.

Our Typical Target Audience Member

Our typical target audience member is John Smith. He is a white British male and he has a band income of £3000 a year through his year as a part time store assistant in a supermarket while he studies in his final year at Birmingham Sixth Form before moving on to University. His favourite films include Wall Street: Money never sleeps and Die Hard 4.0 both of these being thrillers which is their favourite genre.    He is aged 18, so therefore he would re-present our target audience. His hobbies include going to the cinema to watch films with other people similar age to him. He may stream films on the internet through websites such as Netflix and Love Film. His other hobbies include playing football and interacting on social media. He currently lives at his Mum and Dad's house before he may move away to go to University. He likes listening to a mixture of different types of music such as rock and pop.                                                                 

The Role of the Sound Editor

The role of the sound editor is to select and assemble sound recordings in preparation for the final sound mixing or mastering of a television program, motion picture, video game, or any production involving recorded or synthetic sound.

 Sound editing developed out of the need to fix the incomplete, undramatic, or technically inferior sound recordings of early talkies, and over the decades has become a respected filmmaking craft, with sound editors implementing the aesthetic goals of motion picture sound design.

Foley sounds is sounds that you record on a boom Mic to match up with the action that will be happening in your film and also maybe some dialogue from your film script. So for example, you may record the sound of you foot stepping which you can then put in your film to match up with the foot stepping action in your film.

Here are some examples of some Foley sounds that we completed in groups.

Film Title Design

Film title design is where the titles at the start of a film have been designed effectively so that they look interesting. The purpose of having these titles is to intoroduce the auidence to what this film is about. It also effectivly makes them interested in watching the film. For example the opeing titles to the James Bond film "Skyfall" has a really long opening title sequence. In these titles they always have the same style. Whatever is happening in the titles always happens in the film. It captures the audience because they see what is going to happen in the film.



Now here is an example of a James Bond title sequence from one of the films in the 1970s





Here is an example of a deconstructed film title sequence from the film "Halloween".

"Halloween" Opening Title Sequence Deconstruction from JoshuaBowness

Early Consideration of Evaluation Questions

In this Post I am going to be discussing about the early consideration of evaluation questions in which we as a group also discussed.

 1) How does our product use, develop or challenge and conventions of real life media products? Our conventions in our film is two men who play the antagonist and the protagonist, this is a convention because the two characters are men. Our challenge convention is having a "chav" who is a hacker. This is a challenging convention because you don't expect a hacker to be this kind of chav person, you would expect them to be a science "geekey" kind of person.

 2) How does our media products represent particular social groups? The social groups that we are going to be representing in our film are a "chav" group, "intelligent" people, Business people. The age range were going to also represent in our film are people in their late teens and young professionals.

 3) What kind of media institution would distribute your media product and why? The institutions we would distribute our product through would be cinemas. We would advertise the film in cinemas. We would also distribute it on DVD release after it is shown at the cinemas over a course of time. It would also be distributed on TV, and TV Companies such as Sky, Virgin Media, BT, a few months after it is released.

 4) Who would the audience be for our media product? The audience for our film would be people who are in their teens and people who are young adults, because the actors in our film are young, so the audience will be able to understand specific elements of these people in the film that older people may not.

 5) How did we atract/address our audience? We're all planning in our film for there to be a cliffhanger so this will make the audience want to carry on
watching the film.

 6) What have we learnt about technolgies from the process of constructing our product? I have learnt about a few technologies in the process of constructing our product as we have learnt how to use a camera and have also learnt about the different shot types and movements we can use with it. Focus pulling is another technology factor in which we have learnt about in the use of cameras.

 7) Looking back at our preliminary tasks that we did what do we feel that we have learnt in the progression from it to the full product? We've learnt alot since we did our preliminary tasks, because when we first started off doing these preliminary tasks we only the knew the basics, but now know alot more since then. The preliminary tasks have helped us to understand more about the different elements of filming and shot types and movements that we should have in our final film.

Initial ideas for our thriller, pros and cons

After initial discussion between the group we have come up with our first narrative draft. Our daft follows... The film opens to see a person rushing to unlock a door with a key drawn from their pocket. They unlock the door and half close it behind them leaving it slightly ajar. They rush through the hall way into the kitchen and hurriedly wash their hands. They take a bag from the side and fill it with items pre placed on the side.

 The shot switches to feet walking down the drive, the camera moving to the back of the head as they reach the door. The person looks left and right but not showing their face to the camera and push the ajar door open. They walk in to find no sign of the first person. They take out their phone and speak into it. "They're not here" The shot switches back to the first person who is now running, glancing all around as they run. They run around the corner and come face to face with the second person and the first person steps back in shock, eyes wide open.

The pros for our thriller film opening were that the audience will be able to understand the opening of the film. The budget will be quite low for our film as we will not be needing to buy high cost products. Also the location is not an issue as we are using one of our production member's house to film the  opening.

The con is that it is difficult to achieve in 2 minutes.

Production Team Name

For our production team name we came up with the word "Limelight". We as a team came up with the name limelight, as the definiton is that it is centre of attention and always in the spotlight. Therfore the film that we will produce in this production will be in the spotlight making it a great quality film.

Draft ideas for our Limelight can be seen below:

Opening of Films Research

For our homework our task was to watch the openings of at least two films minimum and then deconstruct them by writing about the different techniques used in them. When we had done this research, we had to then present in an interesting way whether it would be presentation, a voice over etc. So to present my research I decided to do it in Microsoft Word by print screening captions of the film and pasting them into word. By these print screens I annotated them by saying what this particular print screen was representing in the film.

Opening of Film - “Leon”

In the first 23 seconds of the film, there is the Gaumont film ident.

Screen Shot 1

Screen Shot 2

Screen Shot 3

Screen Shot 4

Screen Shot 5

Screen Shot 6

Screen Shot 7

Screen Shot 8

Screen Shots 1 & 2 : At 0.23 the titles begin starting with “Gaumont presents”.

Screen Shot 3 : The next shot is an establishing shot which starts at 0.37. But this particular capture is at 0.53, the establishing shot is moving, with the actors names also appearing on it. This shot reveals the location and setting of the film. The title of the film also appears in this establishing shot.

Screen Shot 4 : At 1.15 into the film, the establishing shot finishes, and there is now a tracking long shot being used, in which more of the actor’s names appear. This shot is used to introduce a more insight into the setting and location of the city and its surroundings.

 Screen Shot 5 : At 1.25 into the film the same shot is being used but taken from opposite sides to the shot just before. In this shot more of the credits/titles are shown when at 1.26 we see the “music by Eric Seera” title/credit.

Screen Shot 6 : At 1.34 into the film we see the same shot, but this time taken from another place from another road. More of the titles/credits appear with the first on this being “written and directed by Luc Besson”. The reason the same shot is used but from different directions and angles is so that it doesn’t bore the audience rather than just using one shot. As the shot is used from different angles and different directions it keeps the audience interested as it is a new direction and place of the shot that shows the audience more of the setting, from different angles and directions.

Screen Shots 7 & 8 : This shot at 1.40 is a mid-long/wide shot so we can see more little detail of the setting and location. This is a tracking shot as it moves straight forward into this shop, but goes into complete pitch black darkness which effectively ends this shot. The music changes as the shot goes further towards the shop as it becomes mysterious and creepy music. Also by seeing this shot move forward and into complete darkness this gives the audience an eerie feel that this film has a dark, scary and an interesting story in it. This sets the mood of the film.

Opening of Film - Dream House

In the first 38 seconds of the film there are the Warner Bros pictures, and Morgan Creek film idents. Also Music sets in with choir voices, to set the mood, which makes us think that this is a dark, mysterious and interesting film.

Screen Shot 1

Screen Shot 2

Screen Shot 3

Screen Shot 4

Screen Shot 5

Screen Shot 6

Screen Shot 7

Screen Shot 8

Screen Shot 1 and 2: At 0.38 seconds into the film the titles begin with the first one being “Morgan Creek Presents”.

Screen Shot 3: At 0.51 into the film there is an establishing shot of a very tall building. A low angle shot is used for this as it is looking at the building to show that this building has a strong business and that it has power. We also know that it is during the winter and we can tell this by the weather as it is clearly snowing.

Screen Shot 4: At 0.54 into the film, a close up shot is used of one of the main characters. The close up shows us his emotions, and his features (what he looks like). In this shot it also shows us how he is feeling and gives us an insight into how this film is going to play about, and what the emotional feelings of this film are. By looking at his facial expressions, we know this is an intro to an emotional and interesting story.

Screen Shot 5: At 0.58 a Mid Long/Wide Shot is used to reveal a view of the outside setting from inside the building. But this shot also shows a desk, and some working space, and some photos. It gives us more of a view and an insight as to where this main character works, it also shows us his skills. At 1.02 the first word of dialogue is spoken. The first word is “Will”, so we now know one of the character’s main names.

 

Screen Shot 6: At 1.54 there are long mid shots used to show more people in this business. We also now begin to understand why Will is leaving his job as he can spend more time with his kids.

At 2.20 we see that Will had great working colleagues who are all going to miss him and have champagne to wish him best of luck.

Screen Shot 7: At 3.02, in this mid-close up shot, he is leaving and is outside with one of his working colleagues. His working colleague hugs him and wishes him the best of luck.

Screen Shot 8: At 3.16, it shows another establishing shot of the place he is leaving.

Sixth Sense Deconstruction Completed As A Class

Here is another example we completed as a group in class:

Sixth Sense Deconstruction

And here is a video of the Sixth Sense opening:

22 Stories Research

This is our 22 stories research to show what kind of genres films tend to follow. It will help us as it will make it easier for our group to try and come up with a great story for our film, by following these conventions.

Choosing a Film genre to work with research

As a group many of us discussed the pros, cons and conventions of different genres because we're all making a film and we have to meet all the correct points like costs, editing and storylines. The reason for this is that we need to make a film that is appropiate to the audience and that will benefit our marks on our course.

As well as doing this individually we also discussed this in a group and wrote our conclusions on the white board. At least every one of us had to say an example of a film based on their certain genre they researched. We all chose thriller to base our film on, to see why we all came to a decision to do thriller, see our pros, cons and conventions work below.

AS Genre Construction Pros & Cons

Advanced Camera Techniques-Crane Shots

You will notice that in quite a few films or TV programmes they might involve a shot of where it might be going from way above and descending right down at a certain pace. This may be used as establishing shots or even to introduce a scene with some scenery in the background to add more interest. So basically how a crane shot is done is by having a camera placed on the end of a crane (making sure it's on safe) and lifting the crane up at the other end up or down or you could even more it anywhere (depends how creative you want to be with the shot).

Here is an example of a Crane Shot being used.
Now here is an example of our crane shot that we attempted:

I think that the crane shot was a bit wobbly and a bit bouncy at the start. So therefore practice is need over doing the crane shot so we can get a better shot of it.

Advanced Camera Techniques-Manual Focusing and Depth in Field

Manual Focusing is the adjusting of the focus of the lens by hand. This is mostly done when someone is taking photos and may need to adjust the focus of the lens by hand to make the photo seem more clearer and in focus. It is beneficial as it controls the strength of the focus.

Depth in Field is basically just the distance between two objects, the closest and the furthest objects in the shot.

In film making manual focusing is an important element when making a film. Manual focusing could be used reveal someone or any object more clearly in detail. This technique is really effective in a film and is mainly used in horrors and thrillers. The technique may be used to show the reader which character is important and should be paid more attention to. An example of it being used may be someone in the distance and then someone quite close. Then the camera will be manually focused and adjusted to the person in the distance behind a character, to show suspense. The camera can be manually focused again to show the character closer to the camera in more detail than the one in the far distance.

As well as films manual focusing can also be used in TV Drama.

Here is our video demonstrating manual focus pulling.

Here is an explanation of Depth of Field

UK Film Distribution

The role of film distributors is is to distribute films in many kind of ways. Here is a link to a video showing you about what things distributors do to distribute distribute films. Click Here.  The reason we are looking at examples of how films are distributed as it will help us to think about ways in which we can distribute our films. 

Here is some descriptions of examples of films of how they are distributed in the terms of format. 

Here are the ways in which this film for example are distributed. 

The name of this film example is called "Rise Of An Empire".








Here is another example of a film and the ways in which it is distributed.

Here is another example of another film being distributed.

The name of this film is called "Grand Budapest Hotel, The (15) 

Film Idents

At the start of films, well even before the start of the film itself, it usually has a film ident which is basically as short few seconds worth of a computer animated version of the film company that was used to make the film and that was involved in it. All film idents have their own ident and no matter what film they will be put on they will have the same ident. It's very important that film idents are put at the start of films as it gives out out a message of what the film is going to be like and how it associates with the intersting theme and look of the film ident.

Here are a few examples of some film indents:

Walt Disney Ident Analysis

Here is a summary of an example of the Walt Disney film ident as to why it is important as in relation with why film idents are so important to have at the start of films and an example of why all film companies should have their own ident. 

For example the Walt Disney film ident has a very happy, magical and exciting feel to it. Firstly the writing of the Walt Disney logo is handwritten as if it was drawn by a young child. This gives us the impression that Disney films are to entertain mainly kids as it associates with all magical and great stuff that are done and improved for child audience. So when we see this hand writing logo we straight away think there is going to be magical and exciting child-related stuff in Disney films. Also the music has an orchestral being played and gives us that feeling that its going to be great and a worth watching film. When you hear that instrument being played in the ident you feel that there's loads of exciting and magical stuff yet to be revealed and to come.

Also the castle in the background is massive and gives the audience the impression that Disney films are massive and very interesting and fun to watch with lots of great and magical stuff involved in these Disney films. The audience think this due to the massive size of the castle. You definitely know there is magic and great stuff involved as well with the fireworks in the skies which makes us feel wow and gobsmacked as to how big and amazing Disney films actually are. Also some of the colors in it are bright which is used to make Disney films seem bright, magical and exciting. The relationship between the sound and images in this ident is important to contrast well with each other and to get right as some sound may be related to the images being shown in the ident.

This relationship is important to get right as it makes the ident easier to understand and more interesting to watch. For example in the Walt Disney film ident there is orchestral music being played at the same time as the shot of the massive castle and fireworks in the background. This contrast in this realtionship works well as they both give us impressions that special relationships are shared within these Disney films and how successful and magical they are.

Universal Ident Analysis

Here is a summary of an example of the Universal film ident as to why it is important as in relation with why film idents are so important to have at the start of films and an example of why all film companies should have their own ident.

For example the Universal film ident has a very happy, and exciting feel to it. The title "Universal" is very big and it stands out with big, bold letters. So this emphasises the fact that universal films are massively great. The title also comes across the Earth with bright lights shining off it. The fact that the title comes across an Earth in the ident makes the audience think that Universal films are the best in the world. Even the music stands as it is in major key and it is quite loud and has an exciting feel to it, which shows that Universal films are very good and hugely exciting to watch.

Conclusion

All Film companies should have their own ident to show what their great ability and effort that will and have gone into films. The idents show just how great these companies are and advertise exactly the amount of standard their films will be at. So straight away when the audience is about to watch a film and they see the film ident at the start they're familiar with and remember, they immediately think how good the film is going to be and are more excited by watching the film. Therefore they are encouraged to watch their film.

Film Title Conventions

For homework everyone of us had to watch the opening of some films, and we had to write down all the titles that appeared at the start of the film. We had to include the Production Company names for the film, the actors' names, and etc. We all had to write this down on a piece of paper or present our research any other way we wanted to do. So this is how we all did with our homework.

Opening Title Research

In conclusion I think that the most common order for film titles is firstly beginning with the title of the film, then the cast (actors and actresses names), then the writer, the director, the script editors, producers, and then following on in order etc.



Here is the opening of Paycheck, the film I analysed:

Basic Lighting: 3 Point Lighting and using reflectors

There are three point lighting used in visual media whether it would be used in films, photography, etc. They are Key Lighting, Fill Lighting and Back Lighting. So to understand what the definitions of these are and how effective they are I have explained and described each Lighting here with a clip showing how the 3-Point Lighting work and their effects.

1) Key Light - This light shines upon the subject and serves as its principal illuminator. More than anything else the colour, strength and angle of the key determines the shot's overall lighting design. This light is the strongest and the more important light.

2) Fill Light - This light also shines on the subject but from a side angle relative to the key and is often placed at a lower position than the key (about at the level of the subject's face). It balances the key by illuminating shaded surfaces, and lessoning or eliminating chiaroscuro effects, such as the shadow cast by a person's nose upon the rest of the face. This light is less stronger than the key light.

3) Back Light -  This light shines on the subject but from behind, often to one side or the other. It gives the subject a rim of light, serving to separate the subject from the background and highlighting colours.

Here is our video demonstrating 3-point-lighting.

Advanced Camera Techniques: Tracking Shot/How to use a dolly

Tracking Shot

A tracking shot is a shot used in which a camera follows a subject within the frame such as moving actor or moving vehicle.

Tracking shot can include smooth movements forward, backwards, along side with the subject or on a curve.  

The equipment needed for a tracking shot are a camera dolly, a wheeled platform that is pushed on rails. It is pushed whilst filming. Sometimes a crane may also be used for a tracking shot.

Here is an example of a long tracking shot being used in the opening of the film "Touch Of Evil".

Here is an example of the tracking shot that we produced in our media class
. 

Preliminary Task

For our Preliminary task we were split up into groups of threes and fours, and we had to make up four lines or more of dialogue for a script. We were joined with another group, as we had to have some actors to perform our script with action and by speaking the lines we had written down on the script for them to say. So our main task was to shoot the scene using camera techniques focusing on Match On Action, the 180 Degree Rule, Shot/Reverse Shot. We also had to have a person walking across a room.

Evaluation of the task

Overall I think we did really well, as we used the camera techniques in the correct and appropriate way and were successful in achieving the effects of these camera techniques. The particular thing that stood out in our short 1-minute film i think we did the Match On Action really well. For our Match On Action we had an actor (Cameron) walking through a room to go for his interview. So we had to film him entering the room from one room (the room he was walking out of) and we had to film from the room he was walking in (the interview room). To be able to make the action in the different shots look matchable, we had to make sure that when we shot it from different rooms that we had continuity. So to do this we saw that as he pushes the door, he pushes it with his right hand and had some paper work in his left hand.

We also saw that he pushed the door with quite a strong force. To consider all this in this shot we had to make sure all this action was in a continuous sequence and that it matched up in the next shot straight after. So to do this we filmed him walking into the room again but this time we filmed from the room he walking into. In this shot we had to make sure that the walking was the same pace and same speed, and that he appears to be pushing the door with the same hand (his right hand) and that he had some paperwork in his left hand. We never broke the 180 degree rule. The film was edited really well on the software. The only thing I think that could of gone better was the acting. Apart from that it was a successful task. Here is a video of our preliminary task film.

Script Formatting Research

A script is a written work by screen writers for a film, video game, or tv programme. Involved in scripts are the dialogue, movements, actions, expressions of the characters. These are all formatted and structured out onto a script in a certain and appropriate way.

Whoever is writing a script whether it be you or even any film or tv scriptwriters, they always have to make sure that the size of their font is 12 and that the style of the text is set to courier. So the font will be 12-point courier font.
Here is a video demonstrating how you should format and structure your script with the dialogue, actions, expressions and movements of the characters. The script in this video is being done using a screenplay programme called celts.

Here is an example from The Bourne Supremacy:

Basic Filming Rules: 180 Degree Rule

When making a film, particularly when you're filming it, it's very important that you film in a correct way so when the audience is watching it back, it will make sense as to what they're viewing. One of the very important rules you have to follow when filming is the 180 degree rule.

The 180 degree rule is a basic guideline regarding the onscreen spatial relationship between a character and another character or object within a scene. An imaginary line called the axis connects two characters together. When they are facing each other so they are opposite each other, the axis (imaginary line is drawn straight through them). As filming this scene like when they are talking to each other for example, the camera will only be on one side of the imaginary line. So in one shot character 1 will appear on the left side of the screen and in a different shot, character 2 will appear on the right side of the screen. If the camera passes over the axis, this is called jumping the line or crossing the line. 

The one way to allow for crossing the line is to have several shots with the camera arching from one side of the line to the other during that scene. That shot can be used to orient the audience to the fact that we are looking at the scene from another angle. 

Here is a video demonstrating how cameras are used to film a scene using the 180 degree rule

 

Basic Filming Rules: Continuity Mistakes

Continuity mistakes is when some thing in a film may go wrong that the audience may not see. They are a type of movie mistakes. It could be to do with following:

1) Weather may suddenly change

2) Clothes may suddenly change so for example colour of clothes

3) Props in scene may suddenly change, so for example may be in another position all of a sudden

4) Facts at start of film may change later on in films. So for example codes, passwords etc.

When the audience watch films they don't notice any continuity mistakes that may have been made in the film. The meaning of continuity is that the films continues with no confusion or mistakes and so that it makes sense and makes it more realistic to the audience.

Above I have described some examples of things that can go wrong in the film which the audience don't even notice because they're so focused as to what is happening in the film, they don't notice the continuity mistakes.

Here is a video showing some examples of continuity mistakes from the Star Trek franchise that the audience have not even noticed.

   

And here are some other continuity errors from other famous feature films:

Basic Filming Rules: Rule Of Thirds

The Rule Of Thirds is a guideline which applies to the process of composing visual images such as designs, films, paintings and photographs. To follow this rule you have to imagine an image that is divided into nine equal parts by two equally-spaced horizontal lines and two equally-spaced vertical lines, and that important compositional elements should be placed along these lines or their intersections.

By using this technique it creates more energy, tension, and interest in the composition than simply centering the subject would.

Here is a video demonstrating how the Rule Of Thirds is used.

Basic Editing: Straight Cuts and L-Cuts

A film transition is a technique used in the post-production process of film editing and video editing by which scenes or shots are combined. Most commonly this is through a normal cut to the next scene. Most films will include more different types of cuts, usually to suggest the passage of time, to convey a tone of mood, or to separate parts of the story. Other transitions may include other cut types such as dissolves, L-cuts, fades (usually to black), wipes, and match cuts.

Here are some information about Straight Cuts and L-cuts:

1) Straight Cuts-these are the most common cuts used in a film. It is a basic cut from one shot to another so Shot A abruptly ends and then Shot B abruptly begins. It is also in time with audio as well. Here is an example of straight cut:

 2) L-cut-An L Cut is an editing technique that results in a cut occurring at a different time for audio than for video. For example, you may hear a character's voice before seconds before they appear in  the next shot of the film. Above is an example of how an L-Cut is used.

Basic Editing: Match On Action

Match on action is where an editor cuts from one shot to another view that matches the first shot's action. Even though the different shots may have been shot hours apart from each other the match on action gives the impression of continuous time when watching the edited film.

For example if there was a shot of a person going into a room and they push the door with their left hand, them in another shot viewed from inside the room that they are entering, it would appear that the person is pushing the door still to get into the room but with the same hand and same amount of force. So if from one shot the door was to be pushed fast, then straight away in the next shot, you would still see the door being pushed fast. 

Here is a video demonstrating Match On Action 

Basic Camerawork: Shot Types

In filmmaking or video production, a shot is a series of frames that runs for an uninterrupted period of time. Shots are an important part in films especially when it comes to transitions, cuts and angles. These of which are used to further express emotion, ideas and movement.

There are different types of shots used in films, and to know why these shots are being used depends on the mood, emotion, atmosphere, and action in a part of the film. It also depends on the stories. Certain shots are used for key moments of a film.

Here are some of the different types of shots used in films, tv, photography etc.

1) Long Shot-this is often used for establishing shots, and typically shows the entire object or human figure and is usually intended to place it in some relation to its surroundings.

2) Medium Shot-this shot is used to show a human subject from above the waist up.

3) Close Up Shot-this shot is used to tightly frame a person or an object. It is an important shot to use in any film or tv programme or photography, as it shows more detail of the human face. The expressions, and emotions will also be clear to see. There are many different types of close ups, including extreme close ups, medium close ups etc.

4) Establishing Shot-this shot is similar to a long shot, but however this shot is used in tv programmes and films to show the setting of a particular scene of where some action, or where the story takes place. So for example you may have an establishing shot of a shop, then in the next shot, there may be a person shopping with a trolley in the shop.

Here is a video showing different shot types:

Basic Camerawork: Camera Movements

A director may choose to move action by telling the story as a series of cuts going from one shot to another or they may choose to move the camera with the action. Moving the camera often takes a great deal of time, and makes the action seem slower. These are all the different types of camera movements:

1) Pans

2) Tilts

3) Dolly shots

4) Hand held shots

5) Crane Shots

6) Sled and Vest

Here is a video demonstrating some of these camera movements

Expected Production Of Workflow

Here is our expected production of work flow. So for this we were given some cards which had different points on of what has to be done during filming production.

This would help us as we would be able to stick to an order of preparations we would have to take during the production process in order to create our film.

Welcome

Hello everyone and welcome to my new AS Media Blog. Throughout this course I will be focusing on loads of techniques involved in media. This blog is going to follow me throughout the course, and will regularly be updated with new techniques we will be taught throughout the course. Here are some of the techniques we will be focusing on and what I will be posting on my blog.

• Camera Movements/Angles
• Cut Types
• Match-On-Action
• 180 Degree Rule 
• Rule Of Thirds
• Continuity
• Script Writing