Film Flow Chart

Flow Chart

Avatar (2009)

The main stars found in Avatar are Sam Worthington- who has stared is other films such as Terminator Salvation and The Clash of the Titans, Zoe Saldana who has been in Pirates of the Carribean, Michelle Rodriguez; she played a part in TV series Lost and film Resident Evil, Giovanni Ribisib- who was in hit TV comedy Friends and played a part in Saving Private Ryan and Sigourney Weaver who's famous for her Alien films. As well as these, other less well known actors in the film include Stephen Lang, Joel Moore and CCH Pounder.

The genres Avatar is classed under is action, adventure and fantasy.

The films estimated production budget was a stagering $310,000,000. Avatars gross budget was roughly $2,778,527,559. $760,505,847 of the money being from the USA and $4,007,750 from just it's opening week in the USA when it was showed in 812 screens.

The production companies of the film were Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (who have been behind the production of many major films such as The Simpsons Movie, The Last King Of Scotland and Fantastic four), Dune Entertainment, Ingenious Film Partners and Lightstorm Entertainment.

The film had various distribution companies, some of these being Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, Home Box Office (HBO), and FX Network.

Examples of above the line advertsing were promotional posters, interviews with the actors on television, in magazine, and on websites, as well as film premieres. There were also examples of below the line advertising, these included: Avatar dolls being created, merchandise such as t-shirts, bags and hats and a game for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, Nintendo DS, Sony PSP and PC.

An Example of Ethnicity- Gavin and Stacey

The ethnic group represented by Uncle Bryn in this Gavin and Stacey clip is Welsh. Peoples typical view on Welsh people is that they live in 'the valley', speak with quite a dim accent, and are huge fans of agriculture. Quite a few aspects of this clip from Gavin and Stacey reinforce these ideas.

When watching the clip you immediately become aware of the mise en scene. The clip is set in Uncle Bryns house, who is a Welsh man in his early 50's and stays very true to his roots. Being in the 21st Century we have quite high tech technology, and from looking at his computer you can tell he's defiantely not 'up to date'. The furnature in the room is also very old looking, and you'd imagine it to be in a much older persons house. This is very similar when it comes to looking at the wallpaper too. All of these features in the room help to back up the idea of the Welsh living in 'the valley' and being quite seperated from the rest of us.

There are only a few various camera angles used. One being a close up of their faces when mid conversation- it was a good choice to use one on Gavins face because it shows you his expressions clearly when being 'taught' how to use the Internet. The other one is a basic mid shot capturing Bryn, Gavin and the computer in the center. This could imply that the computer is the center of Bryns life or the main focus point at this moment in time. This also showing that the Welsh have only just been introduced to the Internet; which could infact be the reason because they've only just been able to gain a connection because of living so far away from civilisation.

The sound you can hear is only their conversation, so it's quite a quiet scene. However, this helps you to listen to his accent and hear the itelligence in his voice. When Bryn is describing to Gavin how to use the Internet he speaks his words quite slowly, and what he's describing is a very simple task to us. Speaking in a Welsh accent and being quite slow with his words also reinforces the fact that people have the idea of some Welsh people being quite dim and not very bright- this is also backed up by the topic of conversation.

Film Preliminary

The following film is of our final preliminary film. Please excuse the poor acting on my behalf!

Ethnicity

Ethnicity refers to ethnic traits, background, allegiance, or association of cultures. People who belong to ethnic groups are indentified by characteristics. The words 'ethnicity' and 'ethnic group' originates from the Greek wod 'ethnos' which means 'nation'. The term 'ethnic' in the UK often means 'race', whereas in North America 'race' tends to mean colour.

Examples of ethnic groups include: Mexicans, Spanish, Scottish, Catholic, coloured people, Muslims and Hutus. A stereotypical example of describing an ethnic group is Spanish people eat tapas or paella, they're Catholic and enjoy bull fighting.

Kick Ass

The production of the film took 14 weeks and the people behind the film were working 14 hour days. It included drafting the script, the costumes, the sets and the filming. It was prouced by Mark Miller who had previously been the executive director of 'Wanted' and directed by Matthew Vaughan.
Kick Ass is based on an American Marvel Comic written by Mark Miller called Kick Ass. However, the ending in the film is different to the ending in the comic because lead gets the girl, whereas in the film he's 'blown off'.

They encountered a couple of problems when making the film- the script being one of them. Miller was used to being in control of films so when he was told he must make accomodations he was shocked. As previously stated about the ending to the film being changed, Miller wasn't very for this idea. He was quoted to say "I don't really do happy endings" so for him having to change the ending to a happy one was quite a difficult choice.

He believes the UK  to be "world class leaders" when it comes to making films; however, he does not think we actually have a UK film indusrty. He uses James Bond and Harry Potter as good examples of British films but goes on to state that even though we've produced these films, we still can't manage to "get films off the ground in England". He would like the UK to build an indusrty with "the best writers, the best directors, the best crew, actors"

One of the ways they tried to keep the budget down was to film in London, even though it is set in Manhattan, New York- but Vaughan prefers to shoot there so it wasn't too much trouble. They made it look like Manhattan by building a studio, and using a huge green screen with images of Manhattan on and then using Media Composer to make it incredibly realistic. However, even though they had a low budget not all of the technology was cheap.

The film was rated 15 by the BBFC, which meant it's younger audience who are into superheros wouldn't have been able to go to the cinema to watch it. However, it was rated PG in France which was a shock to Vaughn.

The main controversy surrounding the film was the use of violence and swearing by young actress Chloë Moretz. For example, the line "Okay you cunts, let's see what you can do now" was highly compained about by family advocacy groups, claiming "the language [was] offensive".

The film was promoted in various ways, with the comic being one of them- another, newer comic was written at the same time as the fiolm was being produced. There was also a soundtrack for the film, and costumes of the characters too. As well as this there was a video game based on the movie for iPhones and iPod Touches, which later on went to be released on PlayStation.

The soundtrack was released on 29th March 2010 in the UK, and a day after in the United States. The title song is called 'Kick As'' By Mika, and was released as a single on 2nd May 2010. The rest of the songs found on the soundtrack are as follows:
1. "Stand Up" The Prodigy
2. "Kick Ass (Radio Edit)" Mika vs. RedOne
3. "Can't Go Back" Primal Scream
4. "There's a Pot a Brewin'" The Little Ones
5. "Omen" The Prodigy
6. "Make Me Wanna Die" The Pretty Reckless
7. "Banana Splits (Kick-Ass Film Version)" The Dickies 
8. "Starry Eyed" Ellie Goulding
9. "This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both Of Us" Sparks
10. "We're All In Love" The New York Dolls
11. "Bongo Song" Zongamin 
12. "Per Qualche Dollaro in Più (For a Few Dollars More)" Ennio Morricone
13. "Bad Reputation" The Hit Girls
14. "An American Trilogy" Elvis Presley

Kidulthood

The first camera angle we see if a medium long shot. The shot is of the pupils in the playground. This is effective because it gives you a clear shot of the pupils in their 'habitat', so you can view their mannerisms closely, but because of the long shot you can see clearly all the different variations of people that attend the school. To use this as an opening shot is a good idea because you're immediately introduced to what type of school the film is set in. This is also reinforced when they camera crew start to use panning- giving the the full effect once again. It pans across the playground quite fast which gives the impression that a lot happens in the playground- and fast!

The next shot used is a close up on the young boy and his machinery. I think this is used because it's quite effective as you can see the full concentration in his face- showing that what he's doing is of high importance to him. The close up of the drill he's using also give the full effect of the precision of it, and you see every detail.

There is a mid shot followed soon after this of a male on female couple. They are stood behind a tree, and the reason being for this is the fact that they are hiding from someone. Due to the fact that a mid shot being used instead of a long shot portays the intamacy and secrecy better, and in a sense you brought into hiding with the characters.

Another medium long shot is used again when the group of men are 'talking' to two young girls. By using this you can view clearly what the men are deliberately doing- this being intemidately the girls and almost bullying. You can see how they are taller than them and leaning over them, making them seem more superior.

Age Representation

Old
Knowledgable

Wise

Give out advice

Routine

Crosswords

False teeth

Racist

Tea

Knitting

Walking stick

Story tellers

Critical

Young
Influenced easily
Motif t-shirts
Nauty
Bored quickly
Demanding
Believe in fantasy
Lack common sense
Vunerable

Teenage
Wasters
Rebellious
Into drugs, smoking, alcohol
Fights
Sleeping
Having sex
Street corners
Argue with parents
Hoddies
Pregnancy

Adults
New car
Hobbies
Busy
Parents
Mid life crisis
'Sexy'
On the phone
'Taxi'
In the money

Moon Audience

Surprisingly, I enjoyed watching the film Moon. I had an idea of what I believed the film would be like- this idea consisted of a monotonous, sci-fi story line, however I was proved wrong. As well as the basic story line of Sam Rockwell living on the moon, there was in depth ideas which were occasionally quite difficult to understand, but once these were made sense of, watching the film became easier to watch and there was even some emotional scenes.


Without watching the film, I would have said Moon is most probably just a one quadrant film- this would be men aged 25 and over. However I was proved wrong because I believe maybe a few people, that being younger than 25 and both males and females. I think the males over 25 will appreciate the film because there was a reference to the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey. This is when Gerty tells Sam "I can't let you do that", which occurs in 2001: A Space Odyssey when Hal says "I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that". There is also similarities with the fact that both films use a robot; although Gerty is different because it doesn't try to kill Sam.


Using Sam Rockwell will also appeal to the sci-fi males because his most famous role was Zaphod Beeblebrox in The Hitch Hickers Guide To The Galaxy.Men who are into their sci-fi films will then instantly recognise him and feel comfortable with what they are watching.

I think what attracts the younger audience is the idea of cloning. This is because cloning is quite a unique idea, asd well as the idea of death followed after it. Young people tend to be more open minded than elders, so I think they can believe the idea that the cloning idea that is happening could one day may be possible- so it intrigues them.

Bulimia

The character Harry Fisher in Waterloo road has the mental disability of bulimia. The reason for this is mainly because of pressure he's put under and his current living conditions- in a broken home. He's represented as quite a strong character in the sense that he's going through it by himself. Alternatively, this could also mean he's quite vunerable and lonely because he believes he can't share his problem with anyone0 that being friends or family.

Moon, Pre-Production and Production

Moon was director, Duncan James' first feature length film. The film was produced by Trudie Snyder who has also produced films like Snatch, Lock Stock and Liberty Films (Duncan Jones' own production company). At first, Jones offered a script to Sam Rockwell, but after a long discussion and lots of rewriting they finally came up with Moon. Before filming they had one week to reherse. Jones wanted to get Kevin Spacey involved in the film; however, he only did so after the film was finished and he was only used for half a day because that's how long he could be afforded for.

Stage 6 Films were one of the studios behind the film. These are known for producing films that go straight to DVD, and making the cost less then $10 million. After the film has been made, Sony then decodes whether the film should been shown in thr cinema or go straight onto DVD. In moons case, in went into the cinema.
Moon had a budget of $5 million. Jones did quite a few ideas to try and get the cost of production down, these included: having a small cast and filming in a studio. It was produced and filmed in Shepperton Studios in England in 33 days. He preferred to use models instead of digital animation. For example, he worked with Bill Pearson to create a full 360-degree set of the moon. The visual effects were provided by Cinesite which are known for their cheaper costs for independant films. To add some of the other special effects they used CGI. This was used during the ping pong scene; after they recorded Rockwell miming the sound of the ping pong so he could play against himself, they added the ball after.

The budget was so tight on the film that Sony refused to send copies to the Oscar panel judges as they thought it might cost too much.

Overall, the film took $1,813,302 in the UK for a total of $9,747,108 at the box office ($5,010,163 US + $4,736,945 worldwide). Jones has since stated "The crazy thing is the business side of things. Moon is out in Germany now, Switzerland, and has maybe a couple of other smaller territories to be released in. It has earned nearly $9.5M so far, worldwide… it cost just under $5M to make… and yet we are STILL trying to pay back our initial investors. That was always one of the biggest priorities for me and it has been the most frustrating part about our apparent success. The lesson of the film business they don’t tell you in film school is this; if you make back everything you spent on making your movie, you’re still barely half-way to going into profit. That certainly educated the hell out of me!"

Tourettes

Tourettes is a physical disability. The people with the disability in this documentary are portrayed as quite happy characters- even though they have a physical disability, it doesn't seem to get them down. However, towards the end you see an insight as to how they are feeling and even though the disability gets them down, they realise they're quite lucky as life could be worse.

(500) Days Of Summer

The Damned United

Casualty, 'No Place Like Home'

After watching episode 1 of series 25, 'No Place Like Home', I saw a clear scene in which you can use Roland Bartes theory. In his theory he believed that you can look at one scene and gain various different meanings from it. A clear example of this was during the scene of the widows brother reading his speech for her husbands funeral. During the speech the man gets quite emotional and describes him in many ways, some of them being: "husband, lover". The fact that he adds on lover to the list after husband could imply two meanings. He could either mean not only was her partner a husband to her but he was also her lover, or he could have been trying to imply that the two men had an affair together, and he was his "lover". However, to understand this I think you have to pay attention to the scene and watch the character carefully.

During the opening 5 minutes of the episode, you are introduced to the character of Kirsty. When she begins to get changed there is a large visible bruise on her back. This instantly makes you question what type of relationship she's in- whether it's an abusive and controlling one. Which then makes you question if she's quite a weak character because she lets her partner treat her in this way. She may have the intelligence to be a doctor, but struggles when it comes to solving problems in her personal life.


Later on in the hospital we see the Senior Consultant, Nick. He's seen wearing a suit a tie, which immediately puts him aove the rest of the staff on the ward because they're all wearing uniforms. His authority is also reinforced when he's speaking to Tess. The camera angle used is a close up of him talking down to her- this implies that he is higher than her in the hierachy of staff.


Tess, who is head of nurses, is soon seen after this giving the rest of the staff a briefing. During the briefing she is put in the center of the circle, and the camera angle used for this is a medium long shot. I think this is a good angle to use, because instead of using a long shot where you can clearly see she's in the center, you get this from a medium as well as being able to see her face and the expressions that she's pulling to show her authority.

The 5 Theorists

Roland Barthe on Prezi

Rolands theories link to Life on Mars, by when looking at a shot, you can gain many different meanings from it.

Vladamir Propp
Discovered some narratives have characteristics and props. He analysed Russian folk tails and discovered the same events and framework being repeated. His main theories were that there was always: a villain, donor, helper, princess, sought-for person, dispatcher, hero and false hero. It relates to Life on Mars because the hero is Sam Tyler, the villain is Colin Reams, the princess in Mya and the false hero is Gene Hunt.

Levi-Strauss
He was a French theorist who lived until he was 100 years of age. Levi-Strauss was a huge influence before and after the war. His main theory was that in films there are always binary opposites. This means two complete opposites. This relates to Life on Mars because the first setting is set in a busy, modern city, and then once hit by the car, Sam is taken to the 70's which is hugely different.

Todorov
He was born on the 1st March 1939 in Bulgaria. He was a very influential from the 1960's an onwards. He published a total of 21 books, some of these were: The Poetics of Prose (1971), Introduction to Poetics (1981) and The Conquest of America (1982). His theory was that stories begin with an equilibrium or status quo, where opposing forces are in balance. This is then disrupted by an event that then results in a series of events and problems are solved so oredr can be restored. This relates to Life on Mars because he's sent into the past which sets off events and he has to solve problems to try and get back.

Prezi Presentation on Wes Anderson

Wes Anderson on Prezi

Hot Fuzz Creators

Universal was first founded by Carl Laemmle in 1912 and out of the six major movie studios, Universal is one of them. As well as this, it is one of the oldest American film studios that's still in production. The very first film they made was in 1914, and have continued to make films to this date- even with filmsready for making in 2012. The very first film they made was called By The Suns Rays which was a silent western film. The most recent film released that has been created by Universal is Devil.

Working Title is a British film production company that is based in London. In 1983 it was founded by  Tim Bevan and Sarah Radclyffe. The institution have produced feature films and several television shows. Some of their most famous films created are: Wimbledon, Love Actually, Jonny English and About A Boy.

Studio Canal is a French based film production and distribution company. It was founded by Pierre Lescure in 1988. It also owns the third largest film libary in the world. Some of the films in Studio Canals library include Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Rambo: First Blood Part II and Basic Instinct, and they have international rights to Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, The Graduate and much more.

Big Talk is an English film and television production company that is based in London. It was founded by Nira Park in 1995. Some of the films it's famous for producing are Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. As well as it's films, it's also famous for producing British sitcoms like Free Agents and Spaced. There are also a few actors that have gained a famous status after appearing in Big Talk productions, these include: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Bill Bailey and Dylan Moran.

Merlin

What representations of gender are constructed by the extract through the use of: Mise en scene, editing, use of camera and sound?

After the opening shot, you can immediately see that the main character of the programme is a male. This shows that most of the focus will be on him. There is another shot very soon after of Merlin and the kings son. The kings son is wearing a suit of armour which give the impression to the reader that he is high in society and well respected. Shortly after this, you then see the king for the first time. The first image of him is him sitting on a throne wearing a crown, so as a viewer you gain full awareness of his power and authority. This is reinforced by the fact that his chair is on a step, which makes him higher than the people around him. As well as this, when he's heard speaking, his voice is very empowering. Lastly, with Merlin, there is editing used on his eyes that make them go a glowing colour. This represents something magical which is then followed by the idea of power, because if he has a magical ability he is certified omnipotence over the other villagers.

During the trailer for Merlin, the first woman you see is only showed for a very quick space of time, but she is portrayed as a very feminine female. She has very long black 'locks' which was very common during that period of time. She's also seen wearing a long purple gown. Purple is a very feminine colour which is very stereotypical. Also, the fact that the gown she wearing is long and not revealing could be down to the men in power deciding that women should be covered up. The next woman you see is a very old witch. It was a very common idea in the 1100's that there were many witches around, and most of these would be old women- so a very old stereotype was used. It also shows they had quite a low opinion of women by saying that they were such vile creatures, like witches.

Merlin Trailer

British'ness'

British films have uses many features that enable you to identify them as British, some of these features include: the film being set in a country side or rural environment as we have a lot a green/ farm land. However, they could be set in a run down, council estate as that is very common in big cities. There's also references back to British cultural experiences, such as the 1980's, or the film includes iconic things we associate with Britain. We are also famous for being self deprecating in our films, simply because other nationalities would find it humorous.

During today's lesson we watched two sequences from Hot Fuzz, and were asked, what is uniquely British about Hot Fuzz?
The opening scene is set in the busy city that is London. In this area you see very British looking streets, there's a Thames landscape, run down factories in urban communities as well as a mention of knife crime. The very first sounds we hear is a police whilstle, which then progresses to a bell, and this is then followed by a siren. You then see a policemen dressed in uniform, hear him mention being a constable and see the Queens crown on his police badge. Each of these are all aspects of the British police force. Lastly, during the entire opening sequence, the non digetic music being played is by Adam and the Ants, these were a very popular band in the late 70's/ early 80's, which reffers back to British culture.
The next scene we looked at was when Angel moved to a quaint countryside village, named Sandford. Upon his entrance, you notice that its raining heavily straight away- typical English weather. As well as the brown road signs you see regularly on our roads. You also see him arrive in what looks like a noticibly British taxi, and not your yellow American taxi. Once he's arrived in the village, you notice the old churches, cobbled streets, dated hotel and a pub. All of these you would expect to see in a country side village. Lastly, the pub in which he enters has many distinguishable features, these are: timbre beams, british laws postered, pint pumps and brass saddles which are all very common in British pubs.

Overall, I think Hot Fuzz does a very good job in presenting 'best of British' as it includes humorous ideas and features that a British viewer can relate to as well as having other nationalities being able to understand the content.

The Inbetweeners

This week I decided to watch The Inbetweeners as an example of a TV drama. I would defiantely class it in the comedy genre of TV dramas, as there was a lot of humour in the episode. I think it's defiantely a programme to be watched by young people, around the ages of 15 to 19 maybe- this is because they can maybe relate to some of the situations. Overall I think it's a very good show and i'll continue to watch the rest of the series.

Shynola

Overall, my favourite director out of the selected directors was Shynola. I like their work because I think it's imaginative and unique, and some of their ideas they use are very unusual. I am a fan of the video below, for Blur, especially because even though there's no colour used at all it still manages to catch my eye, and is very thought provoking. I think the four of them put there ideas together well, and manage to compliment them nicely.

Different Directors

Shynola
There are four men that make up Shynola, these are Gideon Baws, Chris Harding, Richard Kenworthy and Jason Groves. One of the films they was The Jerk. As well as films they have also made music videos for Blur, Queens of the Stoneage and Coldplay. Their style is mainly animations and they use unrealistic themes. They have a very wide range of audiences as they direct many things.

  

Hammer and Tongs

Made up of two men, Garth Jennings and Nick Goldsmith. Some of their work includes the video for Vampire Weekend, A Punk, and films such as Hitch Hikers Guide To The Galaxy and Son Of Rambow. They also have a wide range of audiences- from older males to teens. They have a distinctive feature that they use often which is using hand puppets.

Michel Gondry

He is a French director who has once been described as "wierd". At first he wanted to be an artist but soon changed his mind and went on to make music videos for people like Paul McCartney and Kanye West, commercials for Levis and films like Be Kind Rewind. He has a very distinct feature that is using bold colours.

Spike Jonze

He is a 40 year old, famous director born in Maryland, America. He has won many awards, including Oscars, Golden Globe and an MTV Movie Award. Some of his films include Where The Wild Things Are and Jackass. His audience can vary but it is mainly teens or younger children.

Wes Anderson
He's an American director, but he's also had many other careers. Anderson went to university where he met Owen Wilson, and went on to write three scripts with him. You can see that he casts the same actors/ actresses for his films, including; Bill Murray, Owen Wilson and Luke Wilson. He aslo uses a similar soundtrack- which usually involved The Rolling Stones. As well as this, he is a fan of using symmetry in his work. He's been nominated for two Oscars and has a strong fan base, with a wide target audience.

Anton Corbijn
He was born in Holland in 1955. Some of the films he directed were Control and Run Pussy Cat, Kill! Kill! which had a strong them of woman empowerment- this gained him many female fans. He's also famous for directing Coldplays video, Viva La Vida, which was a very melancholic video. He's also photographed many famous people, inclusing: David Bowie, U2 and Bjork. He was very famous for using black and white in his work. His target market is mainly teens and middle aged people.

Post production

   Overall I enjoyed making the magazine and I think I will do it as my final idea. I am strongly interested in advertising as it's a career I want to go into when I am older and making the magazine was remotely similar to making an advert so I enjoyed it a lot. The colours used go together well and compliment the image nicely. I chose these colours because the image was of a male so I thought I'd use a slightly femenine colour to balance out the magazine, making it appealing to both male and female. I'd say the age range would be around 14 to 17 year olds because the articles in the magazine are relevant to them.
   The part I found hard was using Photoshop as a whole because I'm not very experienced using it, but I think the more I use it the more confident I'll become and the better my skills will be. The part I found quite easy was inserting the fonts and placing them were appropriate.

   I'm quite pleased with my magazine cover although when I do my final one I will think about the consumer of the magazine and use colours, fonts and images suitable for the reader.

Magazine front cover





Contents page



Production

   To create the magazine firstly we had to go and take some pictures of what image we wanted on the front cover, followed by the images we wanted on the contents page. Then we uploaded the images taken onto the computer so we could use them on Photoshop. After uploading the chosen image, I used the 'Magnetic lasso tool' to cut around the image and could take the background off the image, and then set it as a new layer. After using this tool I gradually become familiar with it and found it very usful when cutting my images. I then had two layers- one of the image and the other as the background. After adjusting the image to the correct placement and size, I set the background as a light purple and the started to add the text. I went through a variety of fonts for my title, headings and subheadings- the one I chose in the end was 'Tw Cen MT Condensed'. I had the name of the magazine in a dark purple, the headlines and subheadings as a lighter purple and then the price, issue number, and date in white.
   Next, I created the 'Contents' page. It had the same layout as the front cover with the use of purple colours. I set the page numbers as a left align of the page, and then the stories as right align on the page. I then inserted the images I had taken that were appropriate for the story and sized them to fitted correctly. Lastly, I added a page number to the bottom right hand corner as it is a logical place to put it for the reader. 

Magazine pre- production

   For the process of pre-production of the magazine, we had to create a draft on A3 pages for both the front cover and contents page. First we had to name the magazine- that had connotations of our school- and then think of headlines and subheading to put on the cover which were also related to school. An image also had to be put on and we had to decide on what the image would be, the facial expressions used and who would be the model. After doing so, we had to decide on the type of fonts used and the colours- with a maximum of three each.
   Moving onto the Contents, we had to chose the layout and how we wanted the page to look, deciding where the page numbers and images would go. After adding page numbers I then wrote a quick brief of what the page would be about- enough for the reader to be interested. Lastly, I decided on what images to use, and would have relevance to the article.

   I was inspired by the following magazine front cover because I think it's unique in the way they the space of the page and even though the name of the magazine is very simple, they still manage to make it look complex.

Editing

During todays lesson we learnt the basics of how to edit a video on the eMac. First we uploaded the film from the camera that we shot last lesson to the eMac by importing it. Then to edit it you had to drag and drop the different sections you wanted and then cut the parts of the shot that weren't usuable. Then we added text and the start of the video naming it 'Door are boring to film'. We had a go at adding transitions but felt they weren't needed so left the film as it is.
I found adding the text and transistions quite easy as it was pretty straight forward. However, when it came to the actual cutting of the clips it took me a while to get used to it. Although once the action had been repeated many times I soon got the hang of it. I think I'd enjoy to do filming, however a lot of detail has to go into it, and my key skills might lie more in the photoshop area.

Production

   After being designated a story board which we had to try and stick to, we then had to go off and make the film. The story boards told us what camera angles to use, how the characters were positioned and what the dialogue was. Using a tripod we were able to use the camera at different angles and capture specific shots. With our given story board there was some difficulty in understanding what exactly was supposed to happen in the shot- to help this they could have made the drawing more detailed and the writing more readable. This goes to show how when making a story board you must go into as much detail as you can in able for the person using it being able to understand and interpret it.

Pre-production

   During todays lesson I took on the task of making a story board. The film plot/ brief we were set was 'someone walking down a corridor, opening a door, sitting down and having a conversation'. I was allocated 4 shots in which the chararcters had to use dialogue. To do so, I simply drew the basics of what would be in the shot, but in the box underneath for text, I stated what camera angle would be used, how long the shot would last and the type of digetic and non digetic sound used.
   The difficulty was in deciding what camera angle to use, as a variety needed to be included and then deciding how long the shot would last. The easiest part of the task was the drawing as it does not matter if you have a high skill in it, as long as the shot is explained in the text box.

Hot Fuzz

   During the opening scene of Hot Fuzz, the first camera angle used is a long shot. You see Nicholas Angel walking into the building and he is surrounded by a light- which could be interpereted as a halo of 'gold'. The continuity is kept up well, however in the last shot of the opening scene you see him being stabbed by a man dressed as Father Christmas in the left hand, but when you next see him, the scar is on his right hand. The cutting isn't done very smoothly, but I believe this was done on purpose, It shows the fast pace and how quick Angel was, and many of the shots change by dissloving or fading. Also, the shot usually chnges after a flash or a sudden sound- this makes the action seem faster. At the begigning you see a close-up of Angels face on his police ID. His facial expression is very stern and angry. You then see a close-up of this face again and it's exactly the same- this implies he must always be feeling this way when at work. Angel is also shown to be infront of, what looks like, bars. These could present the bars found in a prison cell, but the fact that he's infront of them and not behind shows he's not corrupt and the law is always behind him.

5 C's

Long shot

• Camera angles- The different types of shots a camera uses.
• Continuity- This generally refers to visual errors.
• Cutting (editing)- Used mainly to add a pace to a sene to make it exciting of slow it down for dramatic emphasis.

• Close ups- When something/ someone important to the audience this camera angle will be used.

  

  Medium shot

  

  

  Close up

  
  
•  Composition- The way something is put together





Hello

My name is Megan Rhodes (although I prefer Meg) and I'm doing media because a share an interest in both music, fashion and film- but mostly music- my favourite music artist is Florence and the Machine, I'd probably say my favourite designer is Alexander McQueen and my favourite films is Jaws (except the fourth one!). I also hope to go on to study some form of media at uni.