Length of Film

Whilst storyboarding, we all realised our film was short. However, after looking over it all, in todays lesson whilst editing, there is enough footage to last 2 mins.

Posted by Ishma

Editing

Today we started editing. Whilst doing our preliminary task, we learnt how to edit, however in this task we have decided to use some images that Shazmaa took as an establishing shot. It was really hard taking off the effect that imovie automatically puts on the picture when you upload it. We eventually took the zooming effect off with the help of our teacher and will have to carry on working on our editing in our next lesson.

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What I Learnt - Ishma

Looking at my personal mistakes while filming, I learnt many things. I learnt how to use a tripod which isn't rocket science but I never understood it. I also learnt how to be patient with re-filming the same shots over and over again just in case we needed it from another angle. I also learnt that without storyboarding, you wont get anywhere. This was a mistake we made with the preliminary task of 'have you fed the fish?' as our storyboard lacked detail and so when it came to editing, we didn't have a broad picture of what to do. I also learnt that although this task was about teamwork, you still have to make an effort as an individual as you can't always rely on others especially when working to a deadline.

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Things That Went Well During The Filming

To start with, we knew where we were going to film and had a list on what was going to happen, so we were well prepared. There was one occasion where we were relying on one of our actors to have a toy gun but he couldn't find it and we had to go out of our way to buy the prop. Other than the problems listed in the previous post, our filming was productive, we knew what shots we needed, what kind of shots they were, and the location. We were lucky to have two of our friends to volunteer to act for us and they weren't too camera shy! Shazmaa and myself was free to film and we done a good job in two days of filming.

Posted by Ishma

Problems With Filming

Whilst filming our feature film, we came across many problems. For a start there were two actors and two of us filming in a tight space which was hard for us fit into tiny gaps to place the camera. This also meant that our camera work wasn't as amazing  as we expected it to be as it was a bit shaky because we were so cramped. Another problem we had was that we couldn't get the tripod to pann smoothly. I think this was just because we didn't really know how to use it properly, but it was too tight and we didn't loosen it. When looking over our footage, you could hear 'creeking' sounds of the tripod moving. This can be fixed though so it was not much of a problem. Filming outside was also difficult, as people kept walking by and interrupting our shots. It was also quite windy outside and so in some scenes you can hear more wind than dialogue. When we were filming on Monday, we hadn't quite finished storyboarding and so at time we were unsure what to do next but after re-doing our storyboard we shot most of it again the following day so it worked out fine.

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24/02/11 - Main Shooting Completed

Today, we finished our main footage and will start editing ASAP.
We have shot more than we needed and so will have to go through everything and decide what we want to keep. This included shots from almost every angle so that when it comes to editing, we can decide as a group which angle looks best for the shot.

Posted by Ishma and Shazmaa

Is The Opening Too Short?

After storyboarding, because we had to decide how long each shot is going to last, we roughly figured out how long the film will be. At a minimum, our task will only be 1min42secs which is too short, however after filming and editing, we can push in some more time. This will be done as we need to included the title, the credits, etc.

Font For Title

we researched different types of fonts to choose for our title as we wanted to relate it to our genre. We felt that it is important to choose the right font for the film as the audience are captured into the right genre from the very start i.e. the tilte. For example, if we had chosen a font which was curly, then it would not fit in well with our genre as the audience would get the concept that the film is probably a romantic genre or a chick flick.
The font above is the one we have chosen for our title.
the colour WHITE symbolises the flashbacks the victim has which highlights the fact that it is a strange situation.
It stands out on a BLACK background which establishes the main characters life as it is black and white, and already set out for his. His future is already planned, so there is nothing in between.
The reason for choosing this font is that it is distorted which represents the character is in trouble.
It is simple yet dramatic which is what we are aiming for whilst filming.

22/02/2011

Today myself and Shazmaa have brainstormed titles for our opening. Our new fiction film is based on a crime thriller genre and so came up with some of the following titles:

- Last Chance - We got this as the character who tries to run away has one last chance to fix things but doesn't take his change.

- The Exchange - The fiction film is based on an exchange of money which doesn't get completed and this leads to the victims death.

- Karma - This idea is based on the fact that what comes around goes around and thats whats happens in our film.

- The Garage - The establishing shots are all based in a garage.

- The Back Yard - The garage is in a back garden.

- The Bullet - The opening of this film ends with a gun firing a bullet.

At the moment, we have not yet decided which title to choose out of the ones we came up with, so we decided too focus on the filming instead of wasting time with the title as this could be done in no time. The whole group will have a vote on the best title. 

21/02/2011

After starting to film the beginning of the production, and not feeling comfortable with it, Shazmaa and I decided we needed to revise our storyboard. We filmed at least half an hour worth of shots and decided to re-do our storyboard. Today, we sat down and did this. We have kept most of the shots we filmed yesterday, but changed the order in which they occur. We have also thought of a proper idea to do for our production, so we put down them ideas in our storyboard with full analysis of how them shots will be. For example, we decided the different shot types, the sound effects, how long that shot will last, etc. So today, we have now completed our storyboard, annotated it and will film the rest on Thursday.

Posted by Ishma and Shazmaa