FMP DEVELOPMENT AND PROBLEM SOLVING JOURNAL

26TH FEBRUARY 2018- ACTORS (DEVELOPMENT)

For this project I aim to create a short film under the working name of ‘Transfer’ with the sole purpose to entertain an audience of the ages 15 and over. I aim to make the total running time between five to ten minutes and to edit the production with Premiere Pro CC. The concept of the video is that Scott is your traditional everyday human but has a secret power that only comes to life when he falls asleep. He says resolute in his opinion but his friend, Marshall, says otherwise when Scott gets dragged into over the top scenarios when he is in a dream state, putting him in more danger than before.

A few weeks before this production was announced, Leah Burgess messaged me saying that her daughter does GCSE Drama and would want to act for one of my films. With this as an opportunity, I offered them to be able to act in this production although informed them that I would have to examine their acting beforehand to be able to categorize them into certain characters or to see if they were capable of acting.

Gathering actors is the hardest part of the pre-production and this is why I am planning ahead, being able to gather actors before getting to the stage of being able to film the final production. This will allow me to evaluate the actors, being able to get other actors if I feel they aren't good enough or won't be reliable, but also will allow me time to get to know the actors personally and practice the script through with them. This will help ease stress of finding actors in the future of the project and will allow me to alter the script or production to fit around the actors to which they can play the characters to a more professional standard in comparison to a few weeks before the filming date.

27TH FEBRUARY 2018- MIND MAPPING (DEVELOPMENT)

I carried out a mind map of my idea to help me understand the characters, location, inspirations and the narrative in better detail. This was important to complete as it will help me to determine my original ideas and use this to reflect back upon, being able to see what changes I have made from the original idea and for which reasons I did such. This was to gather basic knowledge on my ideas and to understand which topics I needed to research or develop, such as making the characters more believable and realistic and doing more research into the location that I wish to film at. I feel like this mind map is detailed enough that I can use it in future reference when it comes to developing my characters, location, narrative and researching into my inspirations. I captures the idea that I have and I feel that I will be able to develop my idea from this mind map to influence an audience.

Reference

Bubbl.us. (2018). brainstorm and mind map online. [online] Available at: https://bubbl.us/ [Accessed 7 Mar. 2018].

5TH MARCH 2018- TO DO LIST AND NARRATIVE (DEVELOPMENT)

I produced a to do list to understand what I have to complete and what I have already completed throughout the project. It will be an easy way to look at the pre-production that needs to be completed throughout this project and what may need to be changed in the future. This was important to me as I can use it as a reference when checking off which paperwork that I've completed and what needs to be done, keeping me up to date with the paperwork throughout the production. This will keep me organised and to understand what needs to be completed before going out to film.

I feel like this was a good piece of paperwork to do for the reasons listed above and will help me execute my ideas properly and effectively to the audience. It will allow me to understand what I have completed and help relieve any stress in the future on wondering what other paperwork I would need to complete, planning ahead and allowing me to use this in a positive light in the future. I completed this piece of paperwork for these reasons and will use it as reference where necessary.

Along with a to do list I put down my story line to help write the script. Although I have already wrote two drafts of this script I will be re-editing it to make it feel more realistic and this paperwork will help to do so as I can use it as reference once writing. I completed this as narrative structure is important as it allows the audience to understand the story and to give reason behind the story that you are trying to convey to them. I completed this as it will help me to present my ideas to the audience in completion and to make sure that it is well understood and thought out.

Narrative structure is important as it allows the audience to understand the characters and the reactions that they have to different situations, being able to link up the events throughout to make sense no matter what narrative structure you follow. It also allows the audience to understand the details that are in the film, allowing them to take the information to understand the story and meaning behind the film in better detail.

6TH MARCH 2018- RESEARCH INTO APPLYING CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT (DEVELOPMENT)

I researched into how to apply character development and why it is important. I learnt that character development is important because if characters don't feel believable or realistic they won't fit into the World or story you have created, making it hard for the audience to connect with the characters that you have presented to them. If the characters seem disconnected and their personality jumps over the place they wont be believable and will become obvious to the audience that there is little depth behind the character. This is commonly picked up on by audiences and has been shown through many reviews and discussions of other films such as the Marvel or D.C. films, most complained about recently being Suicide Squad for the exact reason of character development; story development was also an issue.

I created a list of traits for each of my characters, being able to understand them in better detail and include this into the script, making the characters feel more realistic to the audience. I also wrote down the meaning of their names, something that I include in my own films being the importance of their names to the story. Scott means 'wanderer' which conveys to him transferring between people's lives when he is asleep, wandering around as other people. Marshall means 'keeper of the horses' which I took the word 'keeper' as the main meaning as he watches over Scott, making sure that he is safe throughout the film. I chose the name Toby for the dream version of Scott as his name means 'Twelfth night', relaying back to the script where this is the twelfth dream he has and Sofi means 'wise' which relates to her character as a whole.

I also designed a tattoo which will be on Scott's forearm as it will be an indicator to the audience when Scott has taken over other people's lives in his dreams, the tattoo being visible on the people he takes over. The tattoo I want to design will be recognizable and memorable to the audience, such as the two triangles, which the audience will be able to point out throughout the film. This will be an important element as it will allow the audience to understand the story line and what is happening between the different characters during the dream sequence.

7TH MARCH 2018- CHARACTER RESEARCH AND INSPIRATION (DEVELOPMENT)

Depth to individual characters is important to understand and represent to the audience as the characters can feel disconnected or misplaced, linking back to why character development is important. For individual characters you need to think about their positives, flaws, habits, motives, speech and past. Having dimension in characters allows the audience to be more drawn to getting to know the characters and listening to them to try and understand them. Depth can be implemented by the list mentioned beforehand as the audience will all have their own, unique qualities, and seeing a character who is unique is interesting to the audience.

The character's positives are always good for the audience to know but if they are perfect they can become boring as everybody has flaws. Understanding a character's flaws and presenting it to the audience can teach the audience why they may act in a certain way or why they may be struggling in a certain situation. Another important element is why the characters act the way they do, having to understand their natural habits, their past and their motives in the story. Understanding this will make it easier to develop the character throughout the story and make them more realistic to the audience, allowing them to understand the character in better detail in comparison to the story line. Speech patterns can also be important as it makes the character unique and if they fall out of their speech pattern they can become strange and misplaced to the audience, making them lose their personality altogether. The way a character talks can influence the audience and help them differentiate the characters from each other. 'Dialogue is a topic unto itself but for the most part people speak differently.' (Diamond K, 2018)

I produced a mind map to show the inspirations behind my characters and to help understand what characteristics my characters may share with them, some characters of influence being from Shaun of The Dead, Scorpion and Thomas Sander's Sander Sides. Doing this will help me to understand the exact nature I want my characters to have and what they may have different, this also allowing me to analyse other characters to help develop my own to a better understanding. This was to gather basic knowledge on my inspiration for my characters and to understand which topics I needed to research or develop, such as making the characters more believable and realistic and searching into existing characters to do so.

Reference

Bubbl.us. (2018). brainstorm and mind map online. [online] Available at: https://bubbl.us/ [Accessed 7 Mar. 2018].

8TH MARCH 2018- JOURNAL ENTRY PRESENTATION (PROBLEM SOLVING)

Today I gave a presentation to the first years of the course to help them to understand how to write a journal entry and what should be included, allowing them to use this information to help write their entries and to get higher grades from their writing. This was important for the first years to understand for their second year as journal entries become more important in your projects. I feel that it went well and that everyone listened, seeing improvements in their writing straight away and consitent use of the reflective cycle throughout their writing, showing that I managed to teach the topic in an understandable way to the first year students.

This was also important to me as I was able to gain some more confidence, teaching them a topic that also allows me to refresh my mind on journal entries and what should be included. This also gave me to interact with the first years in a different way and for them to ask me questions, still having the colleague level which made it more comfortable and useful to them, being able to listen and not afraid to ask questions.

13TH MARCH 2018- RESEARCH INTO CHARACTER INSPIRATION (DEVELOPMENT)

Today I researched into my character inspirations to understand what elements have influenced my characters and what techniques I could possibly use to be able to present my characters in the same way to the audience that these characters inspirations are.

Logan and Patton have influenced my character, Marshall, who has logical thinking but blown up emotions and care towards his friends. He has intelligence and is also labelled as the 'smart guy' like Logan but also can be spontaneous and cheerful like Patton. Marshall can be seen having traits of both characters but also some characteristics of his own that these characters might not have, allowing my character to be unique but influenced by these characters.Virgil and Roman have influenced my character, Scott, who is sarcastic, rude and grouchy but also self-centred and energetic. Scott is a lot more complicated than these two characters but I have taken influence of some of their personality traits in how Scott may act when interacting with others such as Marshall.

This research can be implemented into my own work as the characters in my short film will be one of the main aspects to the short film, their interactions being unique in how they treat each other and how they change throughout the film; an example of this being the two best friends, Scott always being mean or sarcastic to Marshall but becomes nicer and more protective over his friend throughout. This research will allow me to help the audience to understand the characters more clearly and their motives behind their actions, giving the audience reason and knowledge of their personalities.

14TH MARCH 2018- CONTEXT ESSAY (DEVELOPMENT)

This was important to understand what context is behind creating a short film and what may be expected whilst creating one, knowing what to think about and what can create the difference between a good and bad film. This was also important to see how I could use these contextual techniques and use them in my own idea, referring back to my original idea at the beginning of this essay. I wanted to understand what elements can go into a film and how they can affect the audience, these being the more noticeable and important parts to creating an effective film. With this knowledge, I will be able to use these contextual techniques and use them in my own idea to help set the story and the tone of my film, allowing myself to be able to provoke emotions in the audience and to understand the context behind films.

20TH MARCH 2018- QUESTIONNAIRE (DEVELOPMENT)

I carried out a questionnaire to understand my audience and their thoughts on my overall idea to gather data on the target audience and being ale to aim my project at the audience through better understanding and statistical analysis. By asking different question I can alter my production to suit the audience better and to appeal to them more, allowing them to enjoy the video overall. For this project I originally was aiming to create a short film under the working name of 'Transfer' with the sole purpose to entertain an audience of the ages 15 and over, but can now see that my best suited target audience is between the ages of 16 and 19.

This questionnaire was important as it allows me to understand my target audience and what ideas they like or dislike about my idea, allowing me to alter some of my plan to best suit the audience. Many said that they thought it would be difficult to follow and would have to have a clear distinction between the dreams and real life, which I was aware of, but allows me to work on this to make it clearer and easily noticeable to the audience.

21ST MARCH 2018- COSTUMES AND MISE-EN-SCENE (DEVELOPMENT)

Costume and make-up is the clothing and attire of the characters or lack thereof depending on how the director wants to present the characters to the audience. Many films are known to follow the expectation of a handsome and exceptional character such as James Bond but some auteurs have broken this mould. Tim Burton is known to create characters that don’t fit in with society, making their costume and make-up be different from those around them to make them feel different, a perfect example being ‘Edward Scissor Hands.’ The costume can say to the audience what this person may have been through or could give hints to what may happen to them in the future, the make-up making them recognizable to the audience. This seems to stand out better in villains as their make-up is memorable to the audience, being creepier or more interesting to them.

Mise En Scene is important as it can set the overall mood and sense to the audience, being able to provoke emotions in the audience that cannot be provoked through storytelling or character techniques. The setting is unique to the audience and can create different senses to form in the audience, being able to tell your story or ideas to the audience without having to make characters verbally speak it out loud to the audience. Mise en scene can be extremely powerful in evoking the audience's emotions if planned and used correctly. By being able to understand Mise en scene, I will be able to make the audience provoke emotions that I want them to feel and to make them more invested into the story line.

22ND MARCH 2018- MUSIC CHOICES (DEVELOPMENT)

I looked into the music that I wanted to use throughout my film to understand where it could be used and what it's purpose is throughout. Many of the songs I chose are to provoke emotion in the audience, planning to use the songs to grip the audience and to gain their attention, drawing them into the film from the beginning. The songs flow nicely off of each other, being how I want it to work and the order that I will use them, this allowing me to use the songs in the correct order to make sure that they don't feel out of place to the scene on screen.

Music is important as it can manipulate the audience's emotions to make them feel a certain way, being a powerful tool in story telling techniques or impactful scenes. 'Where a score sets the tone, a good soundtrack gives a movie personality.' Mitchell-Baker, D. (2018)

Reference

Mitchell-Baker, D. (2018). The importance of a soundtrack to a film. [online] The Edge. Available at: https://www.theedgesusu.co.uk/features/2017/03/12/the-importance-of-a-soundtrack-to-a-film/ [Accessed 20 Mar. 2018].

23RD MARCH 2018- COMMUNICATION (DEVELOPMENT/PROBLEM SOLVING)

Throughout the project I have been communicating with my actors/actresses and making sure that they were aware of the project and what stage it was currently at, allowing them to understand how long they had to practice through the script and when they should be needed to film. Keeping communication with my actors also allows me to understand them better and to get to know them before meeting with them to film. Throughout communication they were co-operative and wanting to film this production, not wanting to cancel out and seeing it as an opportunity for them to practice their acting for future reference.

It is important to communicate with my actors and actresses throughout the production so they were up to date and aware of where the project is at, allowing them to understand how far into the project I am. Communication allowed the actors to know my exact thoughts on the project and not to get any information confused in the process, some of the notes on the script being confirmed through constant communication with them.

4TH APRIL 2018- SCRIPT READING (DEVELOPMENT/PROBLEM SOLVING)

We planned to meet on the 4th to read through the script but didn't go to plan. Three of my actors weren't able to attend, two told in advance, but we decided to cancel the meeting. I had a discussion with the actors, two of the girls having concerns with one of the actors and his commitment. I had a discussion with this actor and he didn't want to continue doing the acting for this film. With this, I allowed them to cancel and for Jaimie to find another actor. With this not going to plan, I spent the day messaging the actors to understand how they are feeling and to keep them up to date with the project.

With this problem I have started to plan filming dates with the actors and another possible script reading with them to understand how they act and that they understand the script. This meeting was an issue as we had one actor who wasn't fully committed and two others were not able to attend, myself getting the feeling that this meeting wasn't going to plan beforehand but continuing in case it did run smoothly. This doesn't plan to stop the other actors from committing to the film as the others are enthusiastic and interested in the project.

With the issue of the script reading and my actor for Marshall wasn't committed, Jaimie came back and mentioned another actor called Ryan Edwards and vouched for his commitment. It is important to communicate with my actors and actresses throughout the production so they were up to date and aware of where the project is at, allowing them to understand how far into the project I am. With her connection with this other actor, I have accepted Ryan into being the new actor, him being excited to do so.

11TH APRIL 2018- STORY BOARDING (DEVELOPMENT)

I completed a basic version of my storyboard of the main shots that I want to implement into my short film, not drawing every shot as many of the shots are repeated as they have a conversation. I drew out the main establishing shots and the shots of importance to the story line. Although this storyboard is simplistic it has helped by allowing me to look at the storyboard as a visual and using the shot list and column script to understand where the conversations end and what shots are important to use throughout.

16th APRIL 2018- L AND J CUTS (DEVELOPMENT)

L and J cuts are an audio bridge effect used in editing, allowing audio to be heard from another clip whilst the visual of another is in frame. L cuts are shaped to show the audio from a previous clip whilst the visual of the following clip is being shown and has been used in action films, moving from one shot and allowing the audience to continue hearing the audio but seeing how the action ends. J cuts are the opposite to L cuts, allowing the audience to hear the audio from the second clip whilst still watching the second. J cuts are mostly used to create suspense for the audience to what is about to happen next.

With being able to perform and understand J and L cuts, the editing between two shots can become a lot more natural and smoother to the audience, becoming almost discrete to the audience that the audio is from the previous clip as they blend together well. This means I will be able to perform them in my video with better knowledge and understanding than before.

17TH APRIL 2018- IMPORTANCE OF ACTORS IN FILM (DEVELOPMENT)

Actors and actresses can bring a different tone to your film, actors being able to become the characters and present them to the audience in the way their selves and the director envisions the character and how they act, bringing emotion and depth to the characters.

Depth to individual characters is important to understand and represent to the audience as the characters can feel disconnected or misplaced, the actor being able to present this to the audience. For individual characters you need to think about their positives, flaws, habits, motives, speech and past. Having dimension in characters allows the audience to be more drawn to getting to know the characters and listening to them to try and understand them. This helps the audience understand the characters and how they effect what is happening in the scene around them, the strange, sarcastic laughter of the Joker making sense to the audience when he arrives but still sending a shiver down their spine.

Actors are good observers and listeners, being able to take into account all of the flaws and habits of a character in the story line and how they fit into it, being able to perform a character in a certain situation. If an actor can become familiar with the character and how they would move, the character becomes more realistic and understandable to the audience, allowing the audience to open up to feeling emotions over this character; positive and negative. Bringing emotion and depth to a character is important to make the character feel as if they fit with the World around them or purposefully stand out from those around them if needed; example being Edward Scissorhands by Tim Burton.

18TH APRIL 2018- IMPORTANCE OF MUSIC IN FILM (DEVELOPMENT)

From the soundtrack to use of foreshadowing, music is an important element of film making, being able to develop the story and to manipulate the audience's emotions, making the film that much more memorable to the audience.

Music is important in a film as it can manipulate the audience's emotions to make them feel a certain way, being a powerful tool in story telling techniques or impactful scenes. 'Music can also be used to portray character's emotions to the audience, provoking the same emotion in the audience as the character. Being able to make the audience feel a certain way about a character or scenario allows much more creative control to the film maker if the music is effective, making what would be boring without music that much more intense.

I researched into the importance of music as I want to be able to use music throughout the film that flows well and also is able to tell the story to the audience along with the visuals. By understanding the importance of music I am able to take the information I learnt and adapt the music I have found to make it flow well and to present the correct atmosphere to the audience.

21ST APRIL 2018- CHANGE IN ACTOR (PROBLEM SOLVING)

Charlie messaged Jaimie saying that he was no longer able to act in the short film as his parents wanted him to revise for his exams and his grades were dropping. With this in mind, I asked if Jaimie would take up the role of 'Scott' as Toby and Scott are the same character but I wanted them to appear differently to each other. This was an easy problem to fix as it may be clearer to the audience that these characters and the same person rather than getting them confused and believe that they are two different people.

The issue with working with students is that they have academic commitments and can only film at the weekends, this proving to be the issue with Charlie but was the decision of his parents so I shall not argue. They want the best for Charlie and so do I so I would rather him focus on his exams and myself having to organise around it. Luckily this was an easy issue to solve, Jaimie happy with taking on both of the roles and learning the lines quickly.

22ND APRIL 2018- SCRIPT READING (DEVELOPMENT)

The four actors arrived at 1pm and stayed until 2pm, practicing their lines and giving me time to explain their roles and the story in better detail. This video shows 10 minutes of the script reading and the skills of the four actors, this being important for me to understand the tones in their voices and how they act. This was also important as it allowed me to get to know the actors and to understand them better, myself seeing that they have skills in acting but they were all nervous on the day.

This was experimenting with the lines for the actors, allowing them to get used to my writing and the style of how their characters talk. This worked well for them as they could all practice in the same room and gain feedback from myself if they messed up or allowed me to explain certain lines or changes in scenes. One issue with this video is that it was out of focus, not focusing on the faces but can still be seen and understood, the audio being clear.

23RD APRIL 2018- CREDIT SEQUENCE (DEVELOPMENT/ PROBLEM SOLVING)

I also experimented with the credits, wondering how they would look and whether it would be long enough to do rolling credits. With writing down all of the names and the music I plan to use, I was able to see how the credits looked and to understand the length of it, adding in the logos at the beginning and the end. With this I know how it looks and can continue to alter the credits when I edit if more is added or taken off, this giving me an oversight to understand that these credits work but could still be improved throughout the post-production of my project.

With the change in the actors and music having been chosen, I went back and added the music along with spacing out the logos and text better throughout the credit sequence, making it feel and roll more naturally without being too close together or disheveled. With the music the length of the credits make sense and work well for the amount of time that I plan to make the film for, being able to see this working well being helpful in the editing process. The music also fits with the credits, fitting well with what I want the audience to feel at the end of the short film and I also shown the music used beforehand to show how well the music flows between each other.

I went back to the credits, changing up the actors as Charlie can no longer act in the short film and I spaced the words accordingly, making the spacing more acceptable and easy to read for the audience. I also added people to the Special thanks to show those that have helped me with the project and have influence in the film. I listed all of the songs and changed the way that my logo comes in, fading in rather than scrolling up afterwards with the text. This felt more professional and worked better overall, making the credits feel more like a professional production team.

'Wow that is so cool! I love the music! It looks incredible.'- Jaimie Rossiter, Actress

24TH APRIL 2018- POSTER DESIGN (DEVELOPMENT)

I produced a poster to help promote my short film to a wider audience by studying professional posters and the different styles. I kept mine with a simple black and white theme, adding both renditions of the logo to show the name and the main logo to the audience. I added the actors and actresses names at the top, making their first names smaller as that is what most of the posters I looked at did and makes the audience focus on their last names. I put the release date and small print explaining the producer and the director along with listing the actors, copying the small print on professional film posters to make it as professional and realistic as possible.

The posters I looked at included silhouettes and simplistic designs, the ones I took the most inspiration from being Leon and Shaun of The Dead, both of their posters being simplistic and visually interesting. Both of the posters include one or two colours that stand out against each other, making the poster vibrant and easy to recognize. For my poster I used the two colours of black and white, the logo being the largest to stand out to the audience and to gain their attention, the logo being interesting and unique. These three posters were my main inspirations when designing the poster to suit the style of my film.

Feedback

'I think the design is top notch! It's very eye catching. Literally the only thing I'd change if it were a real poster is perhaps adding a log line? Because as someone who doesn't know what the film is about it doesn't say very much about the genre or theme.'- Sarah Cooke

'I really like that. It's classic with the black and white and the design is simple but it looks complex at the same time.'- Ana Teixeira

'It leaves a lot for you to think about makes you wonder what the idea is. A bit like a teaser poster, it’ll make you want to look the film up to know more.'- Nick Howlett

25TH APRIL 2018- PLANNING FILMING DATES (DEVELOPMENT)

With the change in the actor for Scott, I had to adapt and change the character's name. I wanted to keep a similar name, finding the Latin word for Scotland that I thought fitted for a female character and kept close to the main idea; Scotia. After deciding this, I decided I would contact my actors about filming dates and confirm this information with the actors.

We discussed possible filming dates and the other that would suit best, myself suggesting these dates:

Scott and Marshall- Home (possibly park) on 6th May 2018
Scott and Marshall- Park (if needed after the first week) on 13th May 2018
Mafia scene- Sofi, Tobi and Mafioso on 20th May 2018

After speaking about this to the other actors, they came back saying that these dates were good as they were free and lined up with my own schedule as well as their own. This shows the dedication of the actors and how quickly they are able to decide on the dates I give them, allowing me more time to alter the schedule to meet the deadline and to give them enough time to alter their plans. This shows good communication with the actors and myself, showing that we are working together to make this the best as possible. With this noted, this allows me to start planning the filming date to gather props and finalize the paperwork before the first recording date.

Planned filming dates are:

Scott and Marshall- 6th May 2018

Location: Home/ Park Actors needed: Jaimie Rossiter, Ryan Edwards

Scott and Marshall- (if needed after the first week) 13th May 2018 Location: Park Actors needed: Jaimie Rossiter, Ryan Edwards
Mafia scene- 20th May 2018 Location: N/A Actors needed: Jaimie Rossiter, Ryan Edwards

26TH APRIL 2O18- NEWS SCENE AFTER AFFECTS (DEVELOPMENT)

I spent the day developing a news scene introduction, researching the music and trying to make it look as realistic as possible to that of a real news report. I followed a tutorial to complete the scene overall, using after effects to create the visuals before the actual news scene which is to be recorded. I found music that I believed matched the tone that I wanted to create and used this with the visuals, allowing it to match to a similar style to what I wanted to create. This will drag in the audiences attention and will be an easy transitional tool for the scene I wish to use this in, showing this experimentation was important to understand the tone I was creating for the short film.

References

Kerrieslopermedia (2018). News Scene Timelapse. [online] Available at: https://youtu.be/SbAyxoijQUo [Accessed 30 Apr. 2018].
WordPressTutorials (2018). How to create youtube News Intro video with adobe after effect 2017. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mat3Nkj0wZY&index=6&t=0s&list=WL [Accessed 30 Apr. 2018].
NordreMedia (2018). Background music for news intro Breaking News news sound news music royalty free music track 1. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tkzfZMRWUA [Accessed 30 Apr. 2018]

1ST MAY 2018- UPDATE (DEVELOPMENT)

This was important as it allowed me to discuss my ideas out loud and to discuss what I am planning to achieve, revealing some of the bumps or difficulties of the project. It also allowed me to present my ideas in a different way than writing, being able to discuss the ideas and gain a second opinion on the project.

I explain that I have been experimenting with editing techniques and have held a script reading, showing where I am in the production. Along with this I also discuss the filming dates we have planned and the amount of time on my schedule before the deadline. This allows me to use this as something to reflect back on in the future to understand where I am in the project and the next few steps that I need to take. With this, my next steps are to film and edit the short film, trying to hit the deadline of the 7th June but wanting to release the video on the 11th June.

2ND MAY 2018- NEWSPAPERS AND MOOD BOARDS (DEVELOPMENT)

For a scene in my short film, one of my characters gets out a newspaper article on the laptop to show to the main character, using it as a way to prove his point to his friend. To create a fake newspaper I used jaguarpaw.com and entered my own information and image, blending in my entry along with other fake stories to make it feel real to the audience. This was important as it will play as a prop in my short film and will need to be used in the short film a couple of times as Marshall tries to convince his friend that what they are experiencing is real, this being a good way of doing so and allowing the audience to understand the world around them.

Today I also focused on creating mood boards to represent how I see my two main characters to help explain their characteristics through their looks. The main character, Scotia, shows their aesthetic and colour palette through this mood board. Scotia wears a black hoodie, has a tattoo on the inside of his forearm and is fairly confident but mysterious from their counterpart. Easily irritated, snarky, intelligent but with a heart of gold is the best way to explain Scotia, being able to influence how they dress across to their personality. This becomes more evident to the audience when they stand next to their friend, Marshall.

Marshall is best described as intelligent, understanding, can be over the top but cares about others deeply. The dynamic between Marshall and the main character is evident through what they are wearing and their personalities, showing an interesting and unique dynamic to the audience. The two friends have a very sarcastic friendship but have their differences which makes the main character not listen to Marshall properly when they know that he is right. His personality and intelligence is shown in the outfit that he wears, presenting his self and his personality to the audience.

I also created a mood board to show the difference in the characters and the scenarios I wish to place them into, this being a good visual representation of what I want the overall feel of my film to be. The concept of the video is made clear through this mood board and shows the differences of the characters that I wish to use and what scenarios they belong to, showing that this is an action-comedy to the audience.

Mood boards are important as it helps you visualise the characters, story line and scenarios, gathering pictures to help show the mood, colour tones and settings that you wish to create. It allows you to imagine the scenarios and situations that will be on screen along with the story line and colours being used.

References

Newspaper.jaguarpaw.co.uk. (2018). Newspaper generator. [online] Available at: https://newspaper.jaguarpaw.co.uk/ [Accessed 1 May 2018].

6TH MAY 2018- FILMING DATE (PROBLEM SOLVING)

Today I was supposed to film Ryan and Jaimie's scenes but Ryan fell ill so we had to put back the filming date. I also got an extensive message from Jaimie about the filming and I have cancelled the original filming dates to make sure they are able to continue to act and when they are free to do so.

New filming dates are:

27th May 2018- Ellie, Jaimie and Lucy
29th May 2018- Jaimie and Ryan

An issue that I have faced from the beginning is the actors and making sure that they are all available on the same dates as each other whilst also being committed to the project overall. It takes a lot of time and effort to arrange these dates but they seem committed enough to want to arrange other dates to record the film.

7TH MAY 2018- TATTOO (DEVELOPMENT)

I wanted my main actor to have a tattoo on their arm, myself buying decal paper and adhesive sheets to put over the print of the tattoo. Once doing this, I peeled off the adhesive layer and placed it. onto my. arm. It worked like a normal transfer tattoo and peeled off well, the print being clear and noticeable. I cut large around the image as I just wanted to test that it would work but for the proper one I shall cut around it properly to make it look real to the audience. With this it will allow me quick application for the actor and washes off easily afterwards.

The steps are:

Print out the design on a normal piece of paper for dimensions
Set printing for photo quality paper
Print out the design with an inkjet printer onto the tattoo paper (decal)
Wait for it to dry
Put an adhesive sheet over the tattoo paper
Peel back the adhesive sheet and place it onto arm
Wet with a cloth and peel off of arm

8TH MAY 2018- TRAILER WEBSITES AND ANALYSIS (PROMOTIONAL/DEVELOPMENT)

https://kerriejack1.wixsite.com/transfer

I also designed a trailer website for this short film to promote it even further, this allowing people to watch the trailer beforehand. Unlike the Facebook page which gives updates on the project and hints to the story, this website is made to create hype to the audience about the short film. This allows them to find the website and watch the trailer before the short film is released. To help design this website I looked at the Avengers/Marvel website to see a professional version before creating my own, making the website fit to a professional standard from better knowledge and understanding from looking at other websites and taking inspiration.

With the new Avengers: Infinity War film being released, I decided that I would analyse a popular and well beloved series to see how they decided to promote their film to the audience. They have centered the main image of the characters and put the text to the side, the colours and contrasts in the image and of the characters automatically gaining the audience's attention. Right beside it is the logo and name of the film, this being the second thing people see to help them understand the universe the characters are from and the film name. This placement is well planned, being easily noticeable from the well contrasted colours that attract the human eye as soon as they appear, this allowing the audience to understand the attraction and want to learn more.

Along the side of the website they have different tabs, the first being a trailer which can be used to promote to the audience. Putting this as the first tab is cleverly planned as people will start from the top, allowing them to see the trailer and to bring more traffic to the website so others can also watch the trailer for this film. The next two are galleries and posters, allowing the audience to continue analysing the characters and the story line before getting to the story tab where they can understand the main basis of the film. This allows the audience to gain interest in the audience before they even understand the story line, managing to make the audience like the characters from visuals of them. They have put the tickets in yellow, managing to attract the audience's eyes again and allows them to see where they can buy tickets to see the movie in the theaters.

Promotional websites are important as they are used to gain traffic about the film and to gain interest, widening your viewing audience and overall interest. To understand how they gain this traffic I will be analysing other websites that promote the film and trailer to the audience. This will help me determine the audience that is interested in the genre of this short film and to gather their attention, allowing them to gain hype and share this page to promote the film to their friends and family. With this it allows traffic towards the short film and to gain more interest than those of just the target audience, managing to branch out to secondary audiences that may enjoy your film.

From analysing other websites I am able to understand the differentiation of how much information the audience gets par to the visuals of the website. This allows me to take inspiration from different websites to create my own professional version that I believe promotes my film well and keeps the audience guessing about the story line of the short film.

References

Avengers: Infinity War. (2018). Avengers: Infinity War. [online] Available at: http://www.marvel.com/avengers [Accessed 8 May 2018].
Inception - Official UK Movie Site. (2018). Inception. [online] Available at: http://wwws.warnerbros.co.uk/inception/mainsite/ [Accessed 8 May 2018].
Jurassic World. (2018). Jurassic World | Official website for Jurassic World, with trailers, movie details and cast bios. The Jurassic World sequel is coming to cinemas June 6.. [online] Available at: http://www.jurassicworld.com/ [Accessed 8 May 2018].
The Balance. (2018). What is Website Promotion? Here's info and tips!. [online] Available at: https://www.thebalance.com/what-is-website-promotion-1794442 [Accessed 17 Apr. 2018].
transfer. (2018). Transfer. [online] Available at: https://kerriejack1.wixsite.com/transfer [Accessed 8 May 2018].

9TH MAY 2018- AUDIO DUBBING (DEVELOPMENT/RESEARCH)

Audio dubbing is where in film they replace certain dialogue or noises to the scenes that have already been shot beforehand. 'When a foreign language is dubbed, the translation of the original dialogue is carefully matched to the lip movements of the actors in the film.' as said by Britannica (2018) shows that this is the most known occurrence of this technique in comparison to some of the others. Other instances of audio dubbing can be to add a sound effect that wasn't there in the footage or they couldn't gather whilst filming, a good example of this being a roar of a lion as they can't get close enough to record such a noise.

Foley is also another version of audio dubbing but focuses on the sound effects, linking back to the different instances of audio dubbing. Foley artists record the noises with various objects to make the correct noises, such as walking to space ships. Good Foley should never be able to be noticed by the audience as they will feel natural with the visual scenario that the audience is watching.

Sound effects are important to use when the music is lower to enhance the scenario or can work alongside the music. Sound effects can be used in many different kinds of films with many different meanings, the most common genres to use sound effects frequently being action and horror; the third notably being comedy. A lack of sound effects in a scene, such as a fight scene, makes it feel awkward to the audience, not hearing the natural noises that they would with a fight in real life, this making the audience not enjoy the fight scene and feel like there was lack of effort no matter how good the choreography is. Sound effects can also enhance the audience's emotions, making the audience feel tension or suspense around a certain character or scene. This technique is most common in horror movies, making the audience feel uncomfortable with ambient sound effects that are natural sounding but hard for the audience to ignore.

Audio dubbing is important as it makes the scenario more natural to the audience rather than being able to pinpoint something strange about it, this either being no sound where there should be or the sound affect not fitting properly. The audience will notice when something is out of place to them as sound effects can affect the audiences emotions and when they know that they should be feeling a certain way, they recognise when there's no audio to make them feel the emotions they believe they should be feeling.

References

Arcane Royale. (2018). Star Wars without sound effects | Episode I. [online] Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Pfr4kwho6w [Accessed 9 May 2018}.
Encyclopedia Britannica. (2018). Dubbing | cinema. [online] Available at: https://www.britannica.com/technology/dubbing-cinema [Accessed 9 May 2018].
Great Big Story. (2018). The Magic of Making Sound | That's Amazing. [online] Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UO3N_PRIgX0 [Accessed 9 May 2018].
Raindancecanada (2018). Audio Quality vs. Video Quality. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PLMiA18tBc [Accessed 9 May 2018].
Sound Ideas. (2018). What is Foley?. [online] Available at: https://www.sound-ideas.com/Page/what-is-foley.aspx [Accessed 9 May 2018].
The Beat: A Blog by PremiumBeat. (2018). Recording Foley and Sound Effects: The Fundamentals. [online] Available at: https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/recording-foley-and-sound-effects-the-fundamentals/ [Accessed 9 May 2018].

14TH MAY 2018- LOCATION HUNTING (ISSUES AND DEVELOPMENT)

Hamilton Park

Easy vehicle access to this location with car park nearby.
Very short walk to pathway beside lake that gives easy access to a long stretch of lakeside.
Paved area and easy access would make this a good location for tracking shots.
Use of natural lighting can change depending on whether and daylight.
The proximity of the road could be a problem – cars arriving/leaving the car park and visitors can be heard when on the lakeside footpath.

Home

Bus stop only a couple of minutes away from location.
Easy access and parking near location.
Could be darker than usual depending on whether outside.
Small location and area to work with.
This is a quiet location with no potential disruption.

One issue I am facing is finding a location for the Mafioso scene, ringing up All Saints Church which I used in my short film, 'Born To Die' but are not available for the dates I required. This makes it more difficult to find a location but I shall continuing searching and to come up with a back up plan if I cannot find a location like I wanted for the original idea. An idea for a backup location could be in an alleyway, altering how they enter the scene and stand but could still work in the right tone. This may be easier to complete and alter if something goes wrong, this being easier for the actors for re-shoots if needed. I believe that I will end up filming in an alleyway as the scene can still be provoked in the same way to the audience but wasn't what I initially intended though would still make the scene feel the same as it is a small space with the enemy, causing the audience to feel off put by the close proximity.

15TH MAY 2018- CRITICAL FILM ANALYSIS OF THE AVENGERS, 2012 (RESEARCH)

The importance of this analysis is to understand how a large franchise like Marvel is able to present a story line and the characters to the audience and what techniques that they use to do this. This can be applied to my production as I have researched into the character development and importance of character development, this being a good example of my understanding of that research by being able to deconstruct the characters and story line to understand how they are presented to the audience. By being a large franchise it explains that the characters and the story line are able to connect to the audience in different ways and is something that I want applicable in my own short film. I wanted the audience to understand my characters and be able to relate to some of their personality traits, wanting the audience to be able to deconstruct my own characters like I have for this film.

Character development is important because if characters don't feel believable or realistic they won't fit into the World or story you have created, making it hard for the audience to connect with the characters that you have presented to them. If the characters seem disconnected and their personality jumps over the place they won’t be believable and will become obvious to the audience that there is little depth behind the character. This is commonly picked up on by audiences and has been shown through many reviews and discussions of other films such as the Marvel or D.C. films, most complained about recently being Suicide Squad for the exact reason of character development; story development was also an issue. This is why I wanted to analyse a Marvel produced movie to show that the audience is able to deconstruct the characters and understand them.

Narrative structure is important as it allows the audience to understand the story and to give reason behind the story that you are trying to convey to them. It allows the audience to understand the characters and the reactions that they have to different situations, being able to link up the events throughout to make sense no matter what narrative structure you follow. It also allows the audience to understand the details that are in the film, allowing them to take the information to understand the story and meaning behind the film in better detail.

Reference

YouTube. (2018). Avengers vs Chitauri / Avengers Assemble Scene | The Avengers (2012) Movie Clip. [online] Available at: https://youtu.be/SVjgyI-R4w0 [Accessed 15 May 2018].

16TH MAY 2018- CRITICAL FILM ANALYSIS OF AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON, 2015 (RESEARCH)

The importance of this analysis is to understand how a large franchise like Marvel is able to present a story line and the characters to the audience and how they continue the development from the first film, The Avengers, to the new film, Age of Ultron. This can be applied to my production as I have researched into the character development and importance of character development, this being a good example of my understanding of that research by being able to deconstruct the characters and story line to understand how they are presented to the audience. By being a large franchise it explains that the characters and the story line are able to connect to the audience in different ways and is something that I want applicable in my own short film. I wanted the audience to understand my characters and be able to relate to some of their personality traits, wanting the audience to be able to deconstruct my own characters like I have for this film.

By being able to have characters develop so fluently but also being able to understand the characters without having to watch the first film also being an important element which they are able to pull off. I wanted to research into the development without the audience knowing their pasts as if they have watched this film only and how they are still able to understand the story and characters as that’s how I wish to start my own short film. I want my characters to have already developed off screen but is able to be picked up on by the audience through their personality and their conversations, my example of this being that the main character has had dreams like this before the film has even started, this being told to the audience to help them understand that the characters have developed off screen.

For my project I aim to create a short film under the working name of ‘Transfer’ with the sole purpose to entertain an audience of the ages 15 and over. I aim to make the total running time between five to ten minutes and to edit the production with Premiere Pro CC. The concept of the video is that Scotia is your traditional everyday human but has a secret power that only comes to life when she falls asleep. She stays resolute in his opinion but her friend, Marshall, says otherwise when Scotia gets dragged into over the top scenarios when she is in a dream state, putting them in more danger than before.

I wanted to continue the analysis of The Avengers (2012) with this analysis to understand how a large franchise like Marvel is able to present a story line and the characters to the audience and how they continue the development from the first film, The Avengers, to the new film, Age of Ultron. By being able to have characters develop so fluently but also being able to understand the characters without having to watch the first film also being an important element which they are able to pull off. I wanted to research into the development without the audience knowing their pasts as if they have watched this film only and how they are still able to understand the story and characters as that’s how I wish to start my own short film. I want my characters to have already developed off screen but is able to be picked up on by the audience through their personality and their conversations, my example of this being that the main character has had dreams like this before the film has even started, this being told to the audience to help them understand that the characters have developed off screen.

Reference

YouTube. (2018). Avengers vs HYDRA / Opening Scene | Avengers Age of Ultron (2015) Movie Clip. [online] Available at: https://youtu.be/UG7Q0X4DuzM [Accessed 16 May 2018].

21ST MAY 2018- BOOKING EQUIPMENT AND PREPARATION (DEVELOPMENT)

Equipment:

Cameras (Booked x2)
Tripods (Booked x2)
Camera (Own)
Tripod (Own)

I have booked out two cameras, making the total three cameras as I have three actors to focus on, being able to use one camera for movement but also still having focus on all three actors. This makes it easier to get the same take for each actor rather than putting together different takes of the same scene from different angles which could come across as clearly different to each other for the audience.

Props Needed:

Mug
Fake Gun
Fake Blood
Playing Cards
Fake Tattoo
Paperwork
Laptop
Backpack
Phone

By creating a list of the props, sets, locations and actors for each day of filming is important as it helps me stay up to date with what I still need to get or what props I already have, helping me work along with the notes that I have made to stay on track. It allows me to use it as a reference to know where I am located in the project and what is left to be completed before the filming dates and to help keep my actors up to date of where I stand in the project process.

23RD MAY 2018- CRITICAL FILM ANALYSIS OF MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: GHOST PROTOCOL, 2011 (RESEARCH)

The importance of this analysis is to understand how a large franchise is able to present a story line and the characters to the audience and how they continue the development from the first film to the new ones in the franchise; being the fourth installment of the franchise. This can be applied to my production as I have researched into the character development and importance of character development, this being a good example of my understanding of that research by being able to deconstruct the characters and story line to understand how they are presented to the audience. By being a large franchise it explains that the characters and the story line are able to connect to the audience in different ways and is something that I want applicable in my own short film. I wanted the audience to understand my characters and be able to relate to some of their personality traits, wanting the audience to be able to deconstruct my own characters like I have for this film.

Reference

YouTube. (2018). Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol Official Trailer #1 - Tom Cruise Movie (2011) HD. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDGYVFZxsXQ&feature=youtu.be [Accessed 23 May 2018].

27TH MAY 2018- FILMING DAY #1 (DEVELOPMENT)

The first day of filming was focused solely on the Mafioso scene to make sure that I got all of the right elements for this scene and would have enough time during the week to gather pick up shots. Filming went smoothly, the actors turning up on time and knowing their words off by heart, performing them differently each time to give me a variation of emotions and reactions to what the others were saying. This shoot was the most complicated out of the two as I had to make a conference room in my own home, having brought up a table and making the scene around it look more like a conference room. Of course there was some issues with this location, not being what I had in mind, but it worked well and provided myself with the space to stand in with my actresses and direct them in their actions and how to deliver the lines. I used three cameras, one each focused on one actress to gather the reactions that they had to the words as cutaway footage, being able to use this to make scenes longer or more impactful to the audience.

2TH MAY 2018- FILMING DAY #2 (DEVELOPMENT)

The second day of filming was with the two main actors, Jaimie Rossiter and Ryan Edwards to gather the rest of the conversational footage that they were in to complete the project. With three different locations, we started outside at Hamilton Park when the sun was out, one of our worries that it was going to rain from the weather reports. Luckily it didn't rain and we shot when the sun was out under shaded trees as the actors were starting to get hot out in the sun. This led to some issues with the lighting, some of the shots on the bench being darker than others that I tried to fix in editing but wasn't possible to get them to the same level. This was one of the few issues visually that I had and I wasn't able to fix it completely in editing as it would become to exposed, this being one of the visual issues throughout the project. For the other two scenes and the acting, everything went smoothly although I had to read lines out to Ryan as he had the long, exponential lines that were difficult to remember.

FMP DEVELOPMENT AND PROBLEM SOLVING JOURNAL

References

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