Thursday, 10 May 2012
Drama - Idea Two (Chosen Idea)
So, our second idea is all about a guy called Martin. He is a single 24 year old man who worked part time in a supermarket and voulteers one day a week at an old peoples home. He is very into his comouter games, Playstation games, crosswords, comics, sci-fi films etc. Martin is very happy and content with his life apart from one thing is missing, a lovely lady to join him.
this five minute drama piece involves Martin signing up to an online dating website in the hope of looking for love. It will show him around his house and showing the viewers what he gets up to on a daily basis as to what he is putting into his dating video.
There will be various shots if him around the house completing various "nerdy" activites such as painitng his action figures, playing playstation and computer games, completing crosswords, reading comics etc. It will include several point of view sdhots of him typing on teh screen to make the audience believe that the story is real. Also it will show a response in his emails which the audeince will also get to see.
this five minute drama piece involves Martin signing up to an online dating website in the hope of looking for love. It will show him around his house and showing the viewers what he gets up to on a daily basis as to what he is putting into his dating video.
There will be various shots if him around the house completing various "nerdy" activites such as painitng his action figures, playing playstation and computer games, completing crosswords, reading comics etc. It will include several point of view sdhots of him typing on teh screen to make the audience believe that the story is real. Also it will show a response in his emails which the audeince will also get to see.
So, our second idea is all about a guy called Martin. He is a single 24 year old man who worked part time in a supermarket and volunteers one day a week at an old peoples home. He is very into his computer games, PlayStation games, crosswords, comics, sci-fi films etc. Martin is very happy and content with his life apart from one thing is missing, a lovely lady to join him.
this five minute drama piece involves Martin signing up to an on line dating website in the hope of looking for love. It will show him around his house and showing the viewers what he gets up to on a daily basis as to what he is putting into his dating video.
There will be various shots if him around the house completing various "nerdy" activities such as painting his action figures, playing PlayStation and computer games, completing crosswords, reading comics etc. It will include several point of view shots of him typing on the screen to make the audience believe that the story is real. Also it will show a response in his emails which the audience will also get to see.
Although this is idea is very simple, with a variety of different shots including point of view to focus pulls, I think technically wise it will shine. I prefer it to idea one as well as it only depends on one actor not three and as a group we were finding it severely hard to find actors to suit the part correctly, however the boy we have found to play this part is perfect! I look forward to the production forming!
this five minute drama piece involves Martin signing up to an on line dating website in the hope of looking for love. It will show him around his house and showing the viewers what he gets up to on a daily basis as to what he is putting into his dating video.
There will be various shots if him around the house completing various "nerdy" activities such as painting his action figures, playing PlayStation and computer games, completing crosswords, reading comics etc. It will include several point of view shots of him typing on the screen to make the audience believe that the story is real. Also it will show a response in his emails which the audience will also get to see.
Although this is idea is very simple, with a variety of different shots including point of view to focus pulls, I think technically wise it will shine. I prefer it to idea one as well as it only depends on one actor not three and as a group we were finding it severely hard to find actors to suit the part correctly, however the boy we have found to play this part is perfect! I look forward to the production forming!
Drama - Idea One
Our first idea as a group consisted of three best friends who are currently living the typical "student lifestyle" at University. They all share the same house, which involves topping up the electricity metre when it runs out. It will start with the three of them chilling/relaxing in the living room until suddenly the power cuts out.
From here, the three off them then decide on who has to go to the shop to top up the metre by sensibly playing "rock paper scissors" - again this is something typically that only students would do! So, then the guy who goes chosen makes his way to the shop, but somehow on the way gets distracted/lost by something (this hasn't been confirmed yet) whilst the other two wait patiently back at the house in the dark.
It will flick back between the two at the house and the boy on the "journey" (as the brief stated their had to be a journey) and their will also be a minor comedy element to it for example, the couple who are sat in the dark will light candles and start to play chess to pass the time, then they realise some of the pieces are missing and so they decide to use bits of food like sweets/crisps as the remaining pieces, yet one of the players eats the others etc.
The ending will eventually be the character who went for the metre coming back to the house with something completely different such as a pint of milk and so the problem hasn't been solved at all and then it will suddenly end with one of the characters swearing at the other.
From here, the three off them then decide on who has to go to the shop to top up the metre by sensibly playing "rock paper scissors" - again this is something typically that only students would do! So, then the guy who goes chosen makes his way to the shop, but somehow on the way gets distracted/lost by something (this hasn't been confirmed yet) whilst the other two wait patiently back at the house in the dark.
It will flick back between the two at the house and the boy on the "journey" (as the brief stated their had to be a journey) and their will also be a minor comedy element to it for example, the couple who are sat in the dark will light candles and start to play chess to pass the time, then they realise some of the pieces are missing and so they decide to use bits of food like sweets/crisps as the remaining pieces, yet one of the players eats the others etc.
The ending will eventually be the character who went for the metre coming back to the house with something completely different such as a pint of milk and so the problem hasn't been solved at all and then it will suddenly end with one of the characters swearing at the other.
Tuesday, 20 March 2012
Editing Process
Rather then all five of us sitting in front of a screen an not all being able to contribute, we decided to take turns in editing. Myself and Clarice went in one afternoon and did around 2 hours worth of editing, which resulted in around 1 and half minutes worth of footage! we edited the two interviews that took place in the Cavern Club as these seemed the most complex and we wanted to start with the "hard" stuff.
The next day we met as a group and looked at what Jen Alex and Hannah had done and now it was just a case of putting it all together. The biggest problem we had when editing was to try and get the video in sync with the recording from our marantz, especially when it was one of the performers! So after playing around with it for a while we manged to get it as synced up as possible!
Another problem we had was mostly with the sound levels as perhaps sometimes the Boom pole was held to close to the person we were interviewing and so went a tad fuzzy and muffled. However, we soon got this sorted.
After 3 days work between the team we have finally finished editing our five minute documentary and I am very happy with our final result!
The next day we met as a group and looked at what Jen Alex and Hannah had done and now it was just a case of putting it all together. The biggest problem we had when editing was to try and get the video in sync with the recording from our marantz, especially when it was one of the performers! So after playing around with it for a while we manged to get it as synced up as possible!
Another problem we had was mostly with the sound levels as perhaps sometimes the Boom pole was held to close to the person we were interviewing and so went a tad fuzzy and muffled. However, we soon got this sorted.
After 3 days work between the team we have finally finished editing our five minute documentary and I am very happy with our final result!
Overall Oppinion
Overall, it's been a great experience getting to produce a documentary and to my surprise, I have enjoyed it a LOT more then i thought i would! I have learnt a lot about Liverpool itself, its a beautiful City full of culture and fun. I also have gained a great interest into the Beatles (which i never thought I would) so that's a plus!
Although I was signed "editor" I do think I would have achieved more if i got given director. But sometimes you have to go with what you get and I managed to get help from the rest of my group to produce, what I think, is an educating and enjoyable documentary on The Beatles.
Although I was signed "editor" I do think I would have achieved more if i got given director. But sometimes you have to go with what you get and I managed to get help from the rest of my group to produce, what I think, is an educating and enjoyable documentary on The Beatles.
Sound Log
Sound Log – Beatles Documentary (The Liverpool Legends)
Here is a list of all the sounds that were recorded whilst on our trip to Liverpool. Most were recorded either with a Marantz or a Boom pole, or in some cases, both. Again, I will use subheadings of locations so it will be easier to group the different sounds together.
Albert Docks
- sound of the water by the docks (Marantz)
- background noise of people walking around (Boom)
The Liverpool Museum (Beatles section)
- Male voice of Brian Thomas was recorded for the interview (both Marantz and Boom)
- Background noise of the Museum and people walking into the entrance to create ambience noise to play whilst the man isn’t talking (both Marantz and Boom)
The Cavern Club
- Various sound recordings of performers (Jon Keats and Tony McCanon) (Boom)
- Interviews with both performers (both Marantz and Boom)
The Beatles music Store
- Similar to most of the otherlocations
- Interview with Steve (both Marantzand Boom)
Here is a list of all the sounds that were recorded whilst on our trip to Liverpool. Most were recorded either with a Marantz or a Boom pole, or in some cases, both. Again, I will use subheadings of locations so it will be easier to group the different sounds together.
Albert Docks
- sound of the water by the docks (Marantz)
- background noise of people walking around (Boom)
The Liverpool Museum (Beatles section)
- Male voice of Brian Thomas was recorded for the interview (both Marantz and Boom)
- Background noise of the Museum and people walking into the entrance to create ambience noise to play whilst the man isn’t talking (both Marantz and Boom)
The Cavern Club
- Various sound recordings of performers (Jon Keats and Tony McCanon) (Boom)
- Interviews with both performers (both Marantz and Boom)
The Beatles music Store
- Similar to most of the otherlocations
- Interview with Steve (both Marantzand Boom)
Camera Log
Camera Log – Beatles Documentary (The Liverpool Legends)
Ok so here is a rough list of all the camera shots that were recorded whilst being in Liverpool. To make it easier, I will put them under subheadings by their locations.
Ok so here is a rough list of all the camera shots that were recorded whilst being in Liverpool. To make it easier, I will put them under subheadings by their locations.
Albert Docks
- various pans of the sea front
- establishing shots
- close ups of interesting statues that were situated here to use as cut-aways
- various pans of the sea front
- establishing shots
- close ups of interesting statues that were situated here to use as cut-aways
The Liverpool Museum (Beatles Section)
- main interview with the man who worked there
- various cutaways of memorabilia such as posters/pictures/artefacts
- establishing shot of entrance to the museum
- random set up shot outside of museum to capture people walking in/out
The Cavern Club
-Establishing shot of entrance both to show the venue and people walking in it
- hand held shot of walking down the stairs and opening the door of the Cavern to create a “personal” effect to our documentary
- various long shots of the two performers (Tony and Jon)
- close ups of the two performers
- random focus pulls of candles on shelves, peoples messages on the walls etc.
- panning shots of both performance rooms
- far away shots of people dancing to the performers
- close up shots of various artifacts in glass cupboards
The Beatles Music Shop
- various pans of the inside of the shop to show the all the different things that they sell etc
- The main interview with the shop worked (Steve)
- Establishing shot of outside the store
- Handheld pan from outside walking down the stairs to the desk where Steve is standing
Liverpool - Day 2
Filming has finally arrived and we can crack on with getting the footage we need for our documentary on The Beatles (or The Liverpool Legends!) as were calling it. So, up for breakfast nice and early and met as a group at 945 to set off for our 10am schedule. Whilst filming we will be splitting up at points, but want to stay together as much as possible because it will help and save time when setting up for an interview etc.
So, first things first, we went to the Albert Docks and myself and Clarice took the "Beatles experience tour" in order to collect some still images that we could include in our documentary when someone is talking in an interview to use as an overlay. Whilst we were doing this, Alex Jen and Hannah went to the Liverpool Museum and went to the Beatles Section to interview a guy called Jon Francis who had worked there for just over a year. Once we had both completed this, we met back up and walked around town and grabbed some lunch and had a group discussion about what we had got so far and what the rest of the day had to hold for us.
After a half an hour or so lunch break, we stayed together as a group and walked to Matthew Street where The Cavern Club and Pub are situated. We went inside The Cavern club and found a man called Tony who said he would be happy for us to film him performing and to interview about his time at The Cavern and what his favourite Beatles song is etc. After this, as set up the day before, we met up with Jon Keats (the events organiser at The Cavern) and had a interview with him about what The Cavern are doing for the Beatles 50th Anniversary and also Paul McCartney's 70th Birthday. Once we had enough footage of performance and interviews, we filmed a few random shots of the interior and exterior, people dancing and drinking to get the great atmosphere etc.
So, first things first, we went to the Albert Docks and myself and Clarice took the "Beatles experience tour" in order to collect some still images that we could include in our documentary when someone is talking in an interview to use as an overlay. Whilst we were doing this, Alex Jen and Hannah went to the Liverpool Museum and went to the Beatles Section to interview a guy called Jon Francis who had worked there for just over a year. Once we had both completed this, we met back up and walked around town and grabbed some lunch and had a group discussion about what we had got so far and what the rest of the day had to hold for us.
After a half an hour or so lunch break, we stayed together as a group and walked to Matthew Street where The Cavern Club and Pub are situated. We went inside The Cavern club and found a man called Tony who said he would be happy for us to film him performing and to interview about his time at The Cavern and what his favourite Beatles song is etc. After this, as set up the day before, we met up with Jon Keats (the events organiser at The Cavern) and had a interview with him about what The Cavern are doing for the Beatles 50th Anniversary and also Paul McCartney's 70th Birthday. Once we had enough footage of performance and interviews, we filmed a few random shots of the interior and exterior, people dancing and drinking to get the great atmosphere etc.
Cavern club DONE! now off to the Cavern Pub to grab a couple of vox pox's for our opening. We interviewed a lovely lady called Sharon who worked behind the bar and asked her about her favourite Beatle and Beatles song etc. Unfortunately we were running slightly behind schedule and din;t have time to get any exterior shots, but not to worry, we had already 30 minutes of footage for a five minute documentary!
After this, we needed more vox pox's so we searched the Liverpool high street to get a handful of people who were willing to be filmed and interviewed and dint mind answering a few questions! We didn't get as many as we would have hoped for, however we did get around 5 or 6, and with all our previous footage, we now had 80 minutes worth which is more then enough to edit! speaking of editing, this is what we have got to do next after a very successful day of filming in Liverpool. Bring on final cut pro!
Contact List
Sophie McNamara - Editor - 07956148242
Jen Francis - Director - 07947935485
Clarice Flack - post production - 07875752471
Hannah Bushnell - Sound - 07972306258
Alex Rhule-Martin - Camera - N/A
Jen Francis - Director - 07947935485
Clarice Flack - post production - 07875752471
Hannah Bushnell - Sound - 07972306258
Alex Rhule-Martin - Camera - N/A
Liverpool - Day 1
So, once we had arrived at the hostel and were all unpacked and settled in, myself and my group had a meeting about confirming our chosen locations. Once we had finished our discussion, we split into two groups: Myself and Clarice were to go and explore the Albert Docks and to see if The Beatles Museum would allow us to film inside and Alex, Jen and Hannah went to check out The Cavern Club, The Beatles Music Store and any other music shops we would come across.
After a couple hours of exploring Liverpool in the glorious sunshine, time had soon passed and it was time to get back together at the hostel and discuss what we had found out from today. It turns out to our disappointment that The Beatles Museum tour need at least two weeks notice permission for any filming/interviews to occur, even though we had emailed them a week before, it still wasn't enough time. However, on the plus side, although the museum was hitting by the time we got there, they did say that you are allowed to film so at least we had this secured for filming! Meanwhile Jen Alex and Hannah had visited the Cavern club and set us up an Interview with Jon Keats (the events manager) and is prepared to be interviewed at any time tomorrow so this is very exciting to know! Also, the Beatles Music store also didn't have a problem with filming, althoughdue to its size the worked in their (Steve) said to try and come as early as possible in the day as it gets very busy around lunchtime/early afternoon.
So, although we had a downer on us with the Beatles Museum, everything else was a high success and are all ready and excited to film! :)
After a couple hours of exploring Liverpool in the glorious sunshine, time had soon passed and it was time to get back together at the hostel and discuss what we had found out from today. It turns out to our disappointment that The Beatles Museum tour need at least two weeks notice permission for any filming/interviews to occur, even though we had emailed them a week before, it still wasn't enough time. However, on the plus side, although the museum was hitting by the time we got there, they did say that you are allowed to film so at least we had this secured for filming! Meanwhile Jen Alex and Hannah had visited the Cavern club and set us up an Interview with Jon Keats (the events manager) and is prepared to be interviewed at any time tomorrow so this is very exciting to know! Also, the Beatles Music store also didn't have a problem with filming, althoughdue to its size the worked in their (Steve) said to try and come as early as possible in the day as it gets very busy around lunchtime/early afternoon.
So, although we had a downer on us with the Beatles Museum, everything else was a high success and are all ready and excited to film! :)
Schedule
For the two days whilst we are in Liverpool we have made a brief schedule that we are going to try and stick to:
Monday
-12-2pm: Travel to Liverpool
- 2-230pm: Check into rooms
- 230-3pm: Get into our groups and plan our ideas
- 3-445pm: Visit our various locations such as Beatles museum, Liverpool Museum, Cavern Club, Albert Docks and see if we were granted any further permissions we hadn't heard from up until now
- 5-6pm: Re-meet back at the hostel to discuss what we have found out from our chosen locations after actually visiting them.
- 6-7pm: Tutorial with Esther to discuss our findings and what we plain on achieving tomorrow when actually out on filming and receive any positive/negative feedback to see if there is anything we can improve or change.
Tuesday
- 945am: meet as a group and have a final discussion before we go out and film
- 10-12am: Albert Docks, Beatles Museum Tour and Liverpool Museum to film various interviews with staff, panning/scenery shots of the Docks which can be used for cutaways and also to take stills from the Beatles tour to use as close to archive footage as possible.
- 12-1pm: Lunch break and meet back as a full group to discuss how our mornings filming had gone.
- 1-3pm: Cavern Club to include interviews with nay possible performers who are there, any owners or staff events managers etc and also to film both the interior and exterior to get some great establishing shots.
- 3-4pm: The Beatles Store in interviewing a member of staff to see how long they have been working there and whats their take on The Beatles.
- 4-530pm: "Vox-pops" in Liverpool Town Centre to get people to sing/quote any Beatles songs and lyrics and also to comment on their favourite band member and why.
- 545pm: Arrive back at hostel and have a 15 minute break to rest our poor legs!
- 6-630pm: group discussion on how we thought the day has gone
- 630-7pm: final word with Esther and then off back to Sheffield!
Now to actually get this all completed calmly and without any distractions or unwanted interruptions!
Monday
-12-2pm: Travel to Liverpool
- 2-230pm: Check into rooms
- 230-3pm: Get into our groups and plan our ideas
- 3-445pm: Visit our various locations such as Beatles museum, Liverpool Museum, Cavern Club, Albert Docks and see if we were granted any further permissions we hadn't heard from up until now
- 5-6pm: Re-meet back at the hostel to discuss what we have found out from our chosen locations after actually visiting them.
- 6-7pm: Tutorial with Esther to discuss our findings and what we plain on achieving tomorrow when actually out on filming and receive any positive/negative feedback to see if there is anything we can improve or change.
Tuesday
- 945am: meet as a group and have a final discussion before we go out and film
- 10-12am: Albert Docks, Beatles Museum Tour and Liverpool Museum to film various interviews with staff, panning/scenery shots of the Docks which can be used for cutaways and also to take stills from the Beatles tour to use as close to archive footage as possible.
- 12-1pm: Lunch break and meet back as a full group to discuss how our mornings filming had gone.
- 1-3pm: Cavern Club to include interviews with nay possible performers who are there, any owners or staff events managers etc and also to film both the interior and exterior to get some great establishing shots.
- 3-4pm: The Beatles Store in interviewing a member of staff to see how long they have been working there and whats their take on The Beatles.
- 4-530pm: "Vox-pops" in Liverpool Town Centre to get people to sing/quote any Beatles songs and lyrics and also to comment on their favourite band member and why.
- 545pm: Arrive back at hostel and have a 15 minute break to rest our poor legs!
- 6-630pm: group discussion on how we thought the day has gone
- 630-7pm: final word with Esther and then off back to Sheffield!
Now to actually get this all completed calmly and without any distractions or unwanted interruptions!
Presentation of Treatment
After presenting both of our ideas to Esther and the rest of our class, we found that the Beatles idea held much more density and we had researched into it more and so this is the idea we are deciding to go with. BRING ON THE BEATLES :)
Locations of Shooting
Now that we have decided to go for The Beatles Documentary instead, are following chosen locations are:
- The Cavern Club
- The Beatles Museum Tour
- The Liverpool Museum
- The Albert Docks
- Any possible music stores
- The Beatles Music store
- Liverpool high street/shopping centre
King of Laughter
This is again, similar to pockets, a "3 minute wonder" taken from Channel 4. Its made by Nick Hillel and to quote he says "I don't quite know how and why I came up with this idea, I just wanted to put laughter and fun into peoples lives..." (4docs website).
Its based on a recent poll that claimed "Walsall" to be the most unhappiest place to live in the whole of Britain and so Belachew Girma, the man who holds the current world record for the longest continuous laugh has come to try and change this. It shows him in various different locations such as the pub, a supermarket, the local market etc with a variety of people in trying to make them laugh and supposedly "cheer them up".
In terms of the technical side to it, I really enjoyed this piece. I like how for the opening and ending its Belachew looking around and the camera is moving with him and it almost takes you as a viewer on a journey with him. At times however it does get a little distracting and at a couple of points in the documentary, although its very short, I did almost forget what I was watching. I also really liked the random shots of things in the Supermarket with the voice over of the women in the shop saying "good afternoon shoppers, we've got some very exciting offers for you in store today..." and then it goes straight to a clip of Belachew laughing and the title "King of Laughter" coming up underneath him. This introduction frames the documentary well and just from this, is made me want to watch the rest immediately.
In contrast to the mostly "funny" theme to this documentary, the music that is played at the beginning and throughout is much more serious and I almost feel like it doesn't quite "fit". if you are going to make a documentary on a "king of laughter" surely the music should fit with this and also be rather comical?
Overall I really liked this piece of comical documentary and I will be taking some of the camera angles and editing techniques into consideration when it comes to filming our own documentary in Liverpool!
Pockets
Pockets - Short Film (Channel 4) from James Lees on Vimeo.
Pockets was a "3 minute wonder" first broad casted on Channel 4 in July 2008. It's a very simple and short documentary and has the "does exactly what it says on the tin" concept in which it simply is a group of people who have randomly been asked on the street and to show and explain what they have in they pockets and whether it holds a significant meaning or no.
I like the extreme close ups on the hands to enhance the significance of the object(s) in the male/females pocket. Also, I like the way you hear the voice and see the hands before you actually see the characters face. I think this is a good idea as it made me realise that different things are significantly important to others.
The music is very light hearted which fits the theme of this documentary very well. It blends well as the shots fade one in to another also which makes it a lot easier to watch. I like the use of fades because it almost links all the people together as if they know each other, when in fact they are complete strangers.
Overall this documentary is a simple idea, but has been constructed very well in a way that makes it light hearted, enjoyable by a wide ranged audience and very easy to watch. Top work James Lees!
Treatment - Idea two
Treatment for Documentary Film
Hook: The idea for our documentary isto get a response out of the Liverpool public about their views on how their city is being represented due to the reality TV series Desperate Scousewives.
If it a true or false likeness? We also aim to look into the style and fashionof Liverpool, stemmed from the Desperate Scousewives angle.
Narrative Development: Beginning: We aim to start the piece by having a narration over establishing shots of Liverpool talking a bit about the show and how it developed. (After the success of TOWIE and Gordie Shore) Mentioning that the show has not been picked up for a second season and asking questions as to why this may be. Leading into the one of the main strands of the documentary. The effects the show has had on the people that live there and asking them if they agree or disagree with the way they were portrayed in terms of style and
attitude.
Middle: Hopefully going into Nail salons/ Hairdressers and talking to the people that work there and asking them how business had flared since the show came around and if locals are copying the over-exaggerated style or if things were already like that and the influx of people who are starting to embrace it. Then we would switch over and look at people who disagree with the stereotype based on their own personal look. From this going into vintage shops and talking to shop assistants and asking them what kind of style consumers are buying in to.
End: To close we would then look at the pros and cons of the shows effect on the people living in the city and come to a conclusion based on If Liverpool is anything like the portrayal we are shown on the television.
Style: We want to go for a style that doesn’t scream documentary; we are considering using a presenter type (Direct Cinema) to make it a lot more casual someone who we either see or hear interacting with people on camera we also feel that this will help make them feel more comfortable. We also want to keep the camera moving as much as possible, sweeping shots of locations we intend to use, keep. Music to be fast paced and modern as the mood we are trying to create is a light and if possible comedic, with an informal tone, nothing serious or laden with too many facts.
Audience: The target audience is 17 to 27 year olds, roughly around the same age as the audience range for DSW, as well as this because of the second strand of fashion and style around Liverpool
it would be more ideal to focus on a younger age range. The documentary we feel will be seen on Channel 4 as one of their lighter documentaries, perhaps shown on between 7pm and 9pm any day from Monday to Thursday.
• How well the idea meets the brief
• How well the idea is demonstrated and explained
• How well the idea is approached creatively and imaginatively
• How realisable the project is within time and resources constraints
• Imaginative presentation of your pitch
• How effectively your group will work together as a team and what your roles
will be
Hook: The idea for our documentary isto get a response out of the Liverpool public about their views on how their city is being represented due to the reality TV series Desperate Scousewives.
If it a true or false likeness? We also aim to look into the style and fashionof Liverpool, stemmed from the Desperate Scousewives angle.
Narrative Development: Beginning: We aim to start the piece by having a narration over establishing shots of Liverpool talking a bit about the show and how it developed. (After the success of TOWIE and Gordie Shore) Mentioning that the show has not been picked up for a second season and asking questions as to why this may be. Leading into the one of the main strands of the documentary. The effects the show has had on the people that live there and asking them if they agree or disagree with the way they were portrayed in terms of style and
attitude.
Middle: Hopefully going into Nail salons/ Hairdressers and talking to the people that work there and asking them how business had flared since the show came around and if locals are copying the over-exaggerated style or if things were already like that and the influx of people who are starting to embrace it. Then we would switch over and look at people who disagree with the stereotype based on their own personal look. From this going into vintage shops and talking to shop assistants and asking them what kind of style consumers are buying in to.
End: To close we would then look at the pros and cons of the shows effect on the people living in the city and come to a conclusion based on If Liverpool is anything like the portrayal we are shown on the television.
Style: We want to go for a style that doesn’t scream documentary; we are considering using a presenter type (Direct Cinema) to make it a lot more casual someone who we either see or hear interacting with people on camera we also feel that this will help make them feel more comfortable. We also want to keep the camera moving as much as possible, sweeping shots of locations we intend to use, keep. Music to be fast paced and modern as the mood we are trying to create is a light and if possible comedic, with an informal tone, nothing serious or laden with too many facts.
Audience: The target audience is 17 to 27 year olds, roughly around the same age as the audience range for DSW, as well as this because of the second strand of fashion and style around Liverpool
it would be more ideal to focus on a younger age range. The documentary we feel will be seen on Channel 4 as one of their lighter documentaries, perhaps shown on between 7pm and 9pm any day from Monday to Thursday.
• How well the idea meets the brief
• How well the idea is demonstrated and explained
• How well the idea is approached creatively and imaginatively
• How realisable the project is within time and resources constraints
• Imaginative presentation of your pitch
• How effectively your group will work together as a team and what your roles
will be
Treatment - Idea one
Treatment
Target audience: The
target audience will be aimed at Beatle fans and the local Liverpool community.
The tone of the documentary will be balanced with the pace speeding up and
slowing down when needed to add extra effect and emphasis on our points being
raised, with an engaging and more relaxed and contemporary feel. We want the
documentary to target a wide audience; this is because the band made a massive
impact on world music inspiring people from Michael Jackson to Lady Gaga.
Purpose: To inform
people of the build up to the Beatles 50th Anniversary in August and
to remind them of what the band brought to the city of Liverpool.
Style: Artistic
cut-aways with a voice over.
Working title:
Celebrating The Beatles
Main message of the
package: The build-up to the
Beatles
Details of specific
content (plot/angle, discussion topics/facts/stats/interviews etc: We
will be visiting the Beatles museum showing some of their famous moments in
history. The main topic will be about what will be happening towards the
anniversary. A topic we will also be discussing of what change to band made to
the city and the music industry with their music. We will also me asking how
important The Beatles history is to the different generations and is it
appreciated enough by the community. We will also want to exhibit different
ways people shall be paying homage to the legends
Music/Actuality: http://www.istockphoto.com/search/text/The%20Beatles/filetype/audio/source/basic#11dc24a8
Archive Sources &
research: http://stock.mrfootage.com/mrfootage_contact.php
http://www.beatlesstory.com/media-room/filming-resources.html
Who will I interview –
suggest names that you have researched: Museum staff and Public
Locations – where will I
go for my content: The Beatles Story
Britannia Vaults, Albert Dock,
Liverpool L3 4AD
0151 709 1963
Mersyside Highstreet
Wednesday, 15 February 2012
Overall Oppinion
All in all, I have thoroughly enjoyed working on this Experimental project. It was something exciting, fun and interesting to do and I have learnt a lot from it. My camera and creative skills have certainly improved as a lot more work had to go in to each shot because we always had to keep the audience's oppinion in mind. Also, the basic idea itself had to be very carefully thought out in order to not be too narrative, so this has helped my creative skills.
Most of all however my editing skill have developed the most as a lot of thought had to go into each shot such as if we wanted split screens, overlapping shots, picture in picture etc. WE did have some problems with the editing and sometimes it wasn't going as to how we wanted it and we were worried we weren't going to have five minutes of material. However, in Experimental film a lot or repetition is used so eventually we solved the problems and managed to produce a final well thought out edited piece.
Most of all however my editing skill have developed the most as a lot of thought had to go into each shot such as if we wanted split screens, overlapping shots, picture in picture etc. WE did have some problems with the editing and sometimes it wasn't going as to how we wanted it and we were worried we weren't going to have five minutes of material. However, in Experimental film a lot or repetition is used so eventually we solved the problems and managed to produce a final well thought out edited piece.
Meshes of the Afternoon - split screen idea
Here is a screenshot taken from "Meshes of the Afternoon". I particularly chose this as I really liked the whole "split screen"/"double identity" that this shot portrays and I think it will come in useful when editing our footage in order to try and achieve both the "normal" and "dark side" to the characters personality.Equipment list
Here is a list of everything we used whilst making our Experimental piece of film work. It was essential that we had everything booked out for the correct days in the stores so that we would be able to stick to our scheduling as much as possible!
More Inspiration...
Once we had decided on the whole "dark side" of the girls personality, I remembered watching a video when doing research for my music video in 6th for A level media and I came across this really clever video (shown above). The majority of it is in black and white, which I think is what we were aiming for due to most Experimental films being this way. But, the main reason I chose to show Hannah and Natalie this video is due to the dark eye make up used on the girl in the video and how she is portrayed as "dark" in the close up shots.
Also, along with the close ups of her dark eye make up, their are several shots of her consum
ing alcohol, smoking and taking drugs which also ass to the elements of this "rebellious" character along with our character in her film and her "dark side".
So, we thought of an idea of overlapping a shot of the "dark" side drinking and smoking in comparison to her normal self to reflect and show the change in her identity.
Now that I have all these ideas I cant wait to put them into the editing sessions!
Inspiration
In this following music video that was made within my same 6th form group when completing A level media, I remembered a couple of really good shots that were quite 'out there' and I think if we incorporated them somehow into our Experimental film and putting our own twist on them it would look really effective.
The first shot we really liked was the one of her smearing out words on her chest almost to 'make them go away':
So, we used a similar shot but had me looking directly straight down at the camera (in order to make a better connection with the audience and that's one of the main points in Experimental film making - to get the audience connected with the footage in order for them to make/create their own interpretation of it). Also, we wrote the word "IDENTITY" across my chest in a bold pink lipstick to contrast with the dark eye make up used to portray the "dark" side of her personality. We surrounded this with question marks to add to her confusion.
Another shot i really liked and showed to Hannah and Natalie is where the girl in this music video is lying down on the floor upside down to the camera and is surrounded by news paper cuttings of various things (music themed as this was for a music video). It shows her picking some up and placing them down, but also screwing and ripping some up too.
So, we then took inspiration from this and decided to have me lying upside down facing the camera and again looking directly towards it. We filmed it in a number of different combinations, both with the "dark" character and both with the girl in her "normal" state. WE then filmed it with just the words, just the images and then both together. Also taking it in turns to pick up, drop, screw up and rip a few. I think this really looks effective and we are unsure whether to put it in colour or keep it in black and white, but when it comes to editing I'm sure we will make the correct decision in order to fit the Experimental brief to the best we can.
I'm glad I found this video when doing some research as it has given us many ideas to put into our project that by making them unique to these original shots, we can really make a good Experimental piece of work.
Scheduling!
With not much time to film and edit we agreed to film on Thursday 2nd February and Saturday the 4th as these were the most appropriate days that we were able to attend. With bad weather (4 inches of snow!) this didn't stop us as we were determined to stick to our schedule as much as possible. Also, to our great excitement, a lot of spontaneous filming was completed too, mostly on the Saturday as we had had a chance to "get the feel" for what we were trying to achieve when it came to actually "putting pen to paper" and filming for real. Here are our schedules:
Tutorial Feedback
Esther was unable to attend this session so we told and explained our basic idea to Dom instead which was a great help as he pointed us in the right direction in terms of camera angles etc. Overall I think he did like our idea, however he was in strong agreement with us that we were scared that our idea was going to be too "narrative" and not experimental enough.
So, in order to achieve the "Experimental" look as much as possible he said to try and be spontaneous with the filming rather than having a really strict storyboard to follow as sometimes, the more spontaneous the shot ideas are on set when filming, the more likely they are to steer away from narrative and more to achieving Experimental correctly.
We also realised much more research is needed then what is just shown in the session itself so we all agreed as a group to research into Experimental film as much as possible, whether it be in the library, online or watching films. This way, hopefully we will have grasped the concept much better then we are at the moment.
So, in order to achieve the "Experimental" look as much as possible he said to try and be spontaneous with the filming rather than having a really strict storyboard to follow as sometimes, the more spontaneous the shot ideas are on set when filming, the more likely they are to steer away from narrative and more to achieving Experimental correctly.
We also realised much more research is needed then what is just shown in the session itself so we all agreed as a group to research into Experimental film as much as possible, whether it be in the library, online or watching films. This way, hopefully we will have grasped the concept much better then we are at the moment.
Shot Ideas/Story board
Here area few rough ideas as to what type of shots we want and how they are going to be achieved:
Monday, 13 February 2012
Our Idea
After watching the various different Experimental pieces and researching into it in my own time online, I felt ready enough to come together with Hannah and Natalie (my other group members) to discuss ideas. We had a brainstorm and after reading the brief we realised that our piece had to be based on either a single word, object or poem. So, we originally picked a "mirror" as the object and we had a vague idea of a girl who was living in 'two worlds' and had an 'uncertain identity' or was confused as to who she was. However, we then realised this wouldn't work as we wouldn't be focusing on the chosen object enough as the brief had said.
So, after a little more discussion we then decided to use the word "identity" or in short "I.D" which was taken from the original idea of the object of the mirror. Our idea then expanded into the idea of 'schizophrenia'. She doesn't know who she is, she doesn't know her identity. The video is about exploring, conflicting and realisation what her identity is. She clashes with her other personalities, her 'darker sides', 'her fears and pains', to in the end, realise that the fight may never end, even though she thinks it's already over.
Sound wise we haven't thought of an exact idea as to what we want to achieve. Also, it will be much easier to fit the sound effects/music to the images once its fully edited as they will appear at the correct points we need them too. On that note however we do know that we want some form of creepy/weird sound effects to contrast the shots of the 'darker' side to the character (who will be played by me may i add!).
Myself, Natalie and Hannah are all really looking forward to filming and editing our Experimental piece and I hope we achieve what we have set out to!
Meshes of the Afternoon
Film maker: Maya Deren
Experimental Film: Meshes of the Afternoon
Year: 1943
Experimental Film: Meshes of the Afternoon
Year: 1943
This was my second favourite piece out the six or seven we watched. This had the most 'narrative' approach, even though ti still doesn't have a set one. It included repetition, but rather then showing specific objects or words like the other pieces did, it was focuses on this woman who was following the figure in a black cloak and kept cutting back to various parts of her journey. Again it was all in black and white and had a piece or eerie music to accompany the footage. This has shown me that I will most definitely have my piece in black and white, unless my idea changes this and I also think it is essential that I need to include good accompanying music and sound effects.
These shots above were one of my favourites used in the Experimental piece. I love the close up and slightly low angled shot of the eye and the way you can see the light glinting in her eye and this is something I would like it to be interpreted into my own piece by possible doing a close up on a certain part of the characters body. However, due to our ideas being 100% uncertain yet, we will have to wait and see until it comes down to filming and editing our own Experimental piece.
I really enjoyed looking at the majority of the different Experimental pieces, but this was one was definitely my favourite.
Ballet Mechanique
Filmmaker: Fernand Léger
Experimental Film: Ballet Mechanique
Year: 1924
The main purpose of this Experimental film by Fernand Léger was to show his passion for ballet, by not demonstrated by humans, but rather various mechanical objects juxtaposed with different sounds. He supported this with various related ballet visuals such as pianos, propellers and various other objects rotating in a circular motion to represent a ballerina turning around.
The colour of the piece plays around with different shades of black and white and some shots are more over exposed than others. Particular in a few shots of a face which is shown from left, right and centered.
The colour of the piece plays around with different shades of black and white and some shots are more over exposed than others. Particular in a few shots of a face which is shown from left, right and centered.
The piece as a whole continues this "spinning theme" all the objects that we are shown are moving in a circular motion, or backwards and forwards like the woman on the swing, again these can all be linked into the movements within ballet, hence the name "ballet mechanqiue". The mechanic bit is shown when various pieces of metal piping/instruments etc are shown, again moving in a motion which links the title of the piece together.
Overall, I did enjoy the piece and I really liked the repetition. My favourite part however wasn't the images shown, but it was the music that accompanied them. It was a cross between out of tune pianos along with high pitch violins, which to me are usually associated with horrorand thriller soundtracks, but having not seen any Experimental work before, I didn't have any idea what to expect.
After watching this it has given myself and my group a few ideas as to what we would like to achieve in our piece: Creepy/weird music (but not scary) along with a black and white piece of footage which is repeated in various ways, whether be the angle of the camera, the exposure of the shot or the motion it can be rotated in.
Experimental film
Our new topic for this semester is "Experimental Film" which i am really looking forward to as I haven't really touched upon this in nay previous work I have made. I hope that with the correct research and enough planning I will be able to achieve a unique and individual piece of experimental work which is different from anything else that has been made yet, along with my two other group members, Natalie and Hannah.
The term "Experimental film" itself describes a range of different film making styles that are mostly different opposed to more typical "mainstream" film making which most commonly follow a direct narrative, where as Experimental does not. This is the part I think as an individual I am going to find most difficult as I have never made nay piece of film before that hasn't followed a basic narrative.
By not having a set narrative to an Experimental piece, it tends to mostly follow a "linear narrative" which involves a lot of repetition of similar images/movements along with various 'abstract' techniques such as out of focus shots, non diagetic sound or even the absence of any sound at all. The main 'goal' or 'achievement' of Experimental film is to engage and involve the audience as much as possible and for them to almost come up with their own view on what they have just watched. This part I am looking forward to as I think it will be interesting to see what different feedback I receive from my fellow peers as hopefully everyone will make their own interpretation of it.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)