'A Carrot Cake Production' Re-done

Re-creating my first production logo was simple, only having to remember to spell 'production' correctly. I am glad that it has turned out similary to my first attempt. But better in the aspect that I have no mistakes in spelling in the shot.

Second Production Logo

With my second production logo I decided to use Live Type. Previously on Live Type I was experimenting with different font types and backgrounds, before I had decided that I definately wanted to use this particular font for the name 'Tricky Films'. The style design can be related to the diamonds found on playing cards. As well as the smoky background can be linked to the mystery of card tricks.

Editing Sound

After cutting and editing all of my film clips, I moved on to editing the volume of the unwanted background noise and dialogue. I found that silencing the background noise was simple to do. However I did find that trying to control the volume of the song that plays continuously throughout the sequence, to then quieten it enough to hear the dialogue spoken was harder.

I wanted a smooth motion of difference in volume of the song when the dialogue was introduced. I did play around with the volume at first, to get a feel for the controls of how to edit the sound. This proved useful as after a few tries I managed to lower the volme in stages with the beat of the song. It appears less noticeable, then if the sound was lessened out of timing with the sound. I was pleased with the finishing result of the sound adjustments, the music suits well to the shots and the dialogue can be heard clearly.

Editing Film Sequence

Since all the filming was on schedule, I have managed to go straight into editing my film. Thankfully because of storyboarding the whole sequence, going through the selection of film clips and placing them into the correct order was simple.

Then it just a case of cutting down the clips of film I wanted and making sure they they were fluent in their transition between shots. This was essential when editing the shots for the match-on-action technique. However I feel that I have done this effectively, especially the three shots that feature Natalie (Olivia Lewis) walking the her bedroom door, across the room and then finally opening her wardrobe door.

When editing the shots containing the dialogue between the actors I realised a slight mistake. My actor Barney Nunn (Adam) had said two pieces of his dialogue that was meant to be split between two shots into one, because Natalie (Olivia Lewis) was meant to reply inbetween. Luckily, with Final Cut, I have managed to cut the shot after Barney (Adam) has said "Hello sweetheart. Are you alright?". Then putting the clip of Olivia (Natalie) saying her line; "Y...Yeah, I'm fine". Followed by using the rest of the  film clip of Barney (Adam) speaking the other line of dialogue; "Great. Shall we go?". This proved to be  overcome as I have shown this swapping of dialogue between the two characters and no-one had suspected the editing and cutting of Barney's dialogue.

Also later on I realised another mistake, but this only concerned my production logo. My idea of 'A carrot cake production' was created in a series of still-shots that gradually built up the number of letters shown. Unfortunately, it was only during editing these pictures that I spotted that I had misspelled the word 'production', having forgotten the letter 'c' in the word.

Therefore I must re-create my production logo and do the stages of the still-shots again as well. However, that has provided some important feedback about my production logo. I now know exactly how my production logo will look and the comments about it appearance.

Filming Day

Luckily all my shots were filmed on schedule. A slight incident happened with the mise-en-scene when filming the shots set in the dining room. However I feel that this was overcome with some adjustments of the furniture. Also we attempted to create a bruise on Natalie's (Olivia Lewis') arm. Unfotunately this didn't show as well as I hoped during filming.

I was slightly worried about how my credits would appear in film, but some have turned out quite well. My second credit which is on a towel, I thought would be diffulcult to film because of the movement from the actor lifting it. Therefore before filming both myself and the actor (Olivia Lewis), had a few practise runs at lifting the towel without tilting the credit.



With another one of my credits I wanted to try something a little different. So I wrote onto a mug a credit, then layed my camera on a tea-towel on the table to then pan around the mug. After the I had stopped panning Natalie (Olivia Lewis) would lift the mug out of the shot. This helped to continue the narrative, making the action appear smooth and not random.



Another credit that I was pleased with was included in a shot involving a wardrobe. In the shot Natalie (Olivia Lewis) opens the wardrobe door to expose the credit 'costume design'. I placed this credit in this shot when Natalie gets her coat, because of the link between the clothing and costume design. This work well and the background that the writing is on stands out from the wood of the wardrobe door.



My favourite credit was my final one, which included both the title of the film 'Speak Out' and a credit. I wanted these two to be chalk written onto a brick wall. This proved to make them both stand out in the shot. Also I think this credit is the better one of the credits to be incorporated into the film. I was able to do this because my location for my film is my friends house, who is also the actor for Natalie (Olivia Lewis). She gave me permission to write in chalk on the wall, then once filming was completed I washed off the writing immediately myself.

Unfortunately one of my targets of feedback about the dialogue was not met. The imput from my actors on the day of filming was little, as they both couldn't think of what else to add to my original dialogue. This was also the same for myself, I didn't want to do too much dialogue that would give away too much of the film so early on. Therefore the dialogue is the same/similar as what I wrote in the script.

Overall, I feel that filming went really well and was successful in getting all of my shots done. Although I am slightly disappointed that I couldn't think of ways to further extend my dialogue, but I am happy with the results from both my actors.

Productions Logos Extended

Since contiplating which production logo to use, I decided to make a draft version of the each one.

Robotic Eagle

With this idea I am finding it challenging about the image. I originally wanted a cartoon animation of a robotic bird with it wings moving. Yet I am finding this to be an impossibility with the level of technonolgy that we have access to.

I have yet to create a draft of 'Tricky Films'. But that is in the process of being done. However I am leaning more towards 'Tricky Films'. As well as my idea of presentation of the production logo is more practical compare to 'Robotic Eagle'.

Final Animatic Edit

From the feedback I received I've conformed some aspects of my animatic.

• The adjustment of the music at the end of the animatic has been brought up to a higher volume.
• The credits that had been missing before have now been included.
• When thinking about the feedback on the dialogue, I have decided to adjust this at the time of filming. I would like the input from the actors about what they feel their character would say and how they would say it.

As for the comment about adding in more close-up shots of the character's faces to show their emotions, I'm slightly unsure. However if the dialogue is lengthened I will add in a few close-up's. Alternatively, if this does not happen I can and might include some close-up's of Natalie during the section of film where she is sitting at the table.

I will be likely to include this close-up shot of Natalie inbetween shot 30 and 31, to show her nervous and cautious behaviour around Adam.

This close-up will possibly be used after the end of the sequence (shot 35) to emphasise Adam's anger towards Natalie.

Animatic Feedback

After having some peers watch my animatic, they gave both comments and targets to help improve my ideas. The variety of shots were well used in their effectiveness, (over-the-shoulder, long shot, medium shots). It was commented that the music connected well with the storyline and the genre of the film. All liked the style of the credits being included in the film (attached to objects in the mise-en-scene). The presentation of the characters was thought to be clear and easily understood, as well as the type of relationship between the two characters. Also it was commented that the genre was easily identifiable.

Targets

• Prehaps some more dialogue to give more of an introduction to who the characters are.
• Adjust the music to return to normal volume after the characters have said their dialogue.
• Maybe add in some more close-up's to show more emotion from both the male and female characters.

Filming Schedule

Unforunately I am limited to one date of filming opportunity, as the 10th was the only day they were free. However I do have pre-planned back-up dates incase of any last minute emergency filming needs to be done. These would be used if for example while looking over the different shots of film and spot a mistake, I chave my back-up dates to re-film the shots I need. The date in green is my first back-up film day, then into orange as my next, then finally my absolutely last day to get my filming done is in red.

With a majority of the opening sequence being filmed indoors (shots 1-27) do not have to worry as much about weather conditions. Unless, of course, with extreme weather conditions which may be either seen through a window or heard during filming. Whereas I am slightly concerned about shots 28-35 because of filming outside, I am very conscious of the weather. Hopefully I can get my filming done completely on the first day, however if needed I hope the other filming days have similar weather conditions to match the other shots. Most of the props needed are all easily accessible, as well as access and permission to film in my chosen location.

Opening Sequence Animatic

When creating my animatic I found it difficult to draw the exact angles that I wanted for certain shots. However I feel that this over-come through the description given in the script. At the time when constructing my storyboard, some of my credits were not decided on where they would be placed or whether some would be used. For example, at the time I did had not decided on my music and therefore couldn't write about recieving consent from Lewis Mokler about his song. Though now I have recieved all the information needed for all of my opening credits, I will most likely re-draw and post them to show all completed credits.

I am slightly disappointed that the voice recordings of the charcters aren't clearer and of a higher volume compared to the non-diegetic sound of the song. On the other hand I am happy with the clear quality of the song. I believe that while filming some adjustments might be made to better accomidate the location and how it looks in final editing. One change I have been pondering is to make the transition of fade to black before the title of the film appears and afterwards, to try and emphasise that it is the title of the film.

Casting

Having already thought through about my characters I knew the appearence that I wanted my actors to have. My actor for the role of both Natlie and Adam had been cast. Unfortunately the actor I orginally wanted to use for the role of Adam pulled out and I am now currently looking for another male actor to fill this role. The characteristics I am looking for is a tall and broad-shouldered, average-looking male. But looks as though he has that sinister underside to him.

Production Logos

A variety of different production logos were thought of. One was already thought of and designed. This was my idea to bake an actual carrot cake with white icing ontop, then to write ontop of that in orange icing writing 'carrot cake'. To then next write on either side of the cake in white icing 'a' and 'production'.

For my second production logo I have yet to decide on. During the lesson, some ideas were thrown around and we had an experiment on the Live Type software. This helped to create a few more ideas and show other ways of creating and presenting our production logos.

The name 'Tricky Films' was developed from 'Circus Trick Films', then I experimented with other fonts. I will most likely try some other animations with the two names 'Tricky Films' and 'Robotic Eagle', to help decided which one shall become my second production logo.

With a majority of production logos the image associated with them is very literal or link to the visual in some way.

Therefore when creating my own production logos, I will also produce a literal image to go with the name. For example, with 'Robotic Eagle' I hope create a bird/eagle that is covered in a robotic form above the name. Then for 'Tricky Films', I will most likely have the name spread out along the top of a group of fanned cards.

Music For Sequence

Upon completion of my storyboard and script, I turned my attention to what music I would use in my sequence. I felt that the music should be relevent to my main character's (Natalie's) emotions about relationships; already I knew that I wanted something acoustic. Inspiration struck me when I thought about the many unsigned bands/artists in Bury St Edmunds that I could use. Luckily a few weeks back I went to an event called 'Bury Sound', where various bands/artists from Bury St Edmunds performed. One of the artists from the competition performed with only an acoustic guitar (Lewis Mokler) and had recorded his own songs onto Youtube. After listening to his collection of self-written songs, one seemed to fit the profile of the song I wanted. This song was called 'Bubble-Wrapped Heart' and the lyrics suited to the character of Natalie being cautious about a relationship after Adam's abuse.

Of course I e-mailed Lewis Mokler to ask his permission to use his music for my film sequence, and thankfully was granted permission.

This is the URL where I downloaded the music:
http://lewismokler.bandcamp.com/

Scripting

Scripting a film sequence was a new experience for me which I quite enjoyed.

I favoured the idea that you could explain your directions in words, rather than with pictures if you can't draw the shot exactly how you want it. As well as being able to put character instructions in there as well helped to reinforce the emotions displayed by the character.

There was some confusion as to which software to use to write my script with. Each one had both their pro's and con's. I eventually went with Celtx, a program that I downloaded myself onto my own laptop. I found this software extremely easy to use!

Here is my script:

Storyboarding

I have found that whilst storyboarding my opening film sequence has helped me to process all the different variety of shot types that I want to use. Because of this I have made sure to include as many shot types as I can, yet not over-loading the sequence.

I've also included a few continuity techniques within the sequence.

180° Rule

(Establishing shot)

Match-On-Action

Eyeline Match

As the developement of the storyboard has progressed it has made me more aware how how long my shots should be compared with ofther films within the social realism genre. There is a tendency to have longer shots than you would find in a horror film. I feel that I have done this quite well, however some of my shots could possibly be last for a more extended period of time than I have written down. Although I do not feel this is a major issue at the moment as some timings may change during the filming process depending on numerous variables.

At times for some of the shots, I have found drawing the specific angle I want was difficult at best. Fortunately, I feel that a better description of the cinematography I wanted was given in the instructions of the script.

For some I have used an extreme close-up shot to make it easier for the audience to read the credit.

Whereas for other credits I've used a medium shot to keep the narrative moving, while also showing the credit.

I've added in extra shots from my original sequence that I had planned. These include an over-the-should and close-up while tracking.

They help to keep the audience involved in the character's movements and help to change the POV (point of view). Changing from viewing the character, to seeing things more as they see them. It also provided a better way of transition from the character being in one environment to another. Also breaks down the length of time it takes for the character to move. Instead of one long continuous shot of the character walking down to the kitchen

Film Idea

Resulting what I have learned from my questionnaire I have now decided on my film idea.

Storyline
Natalie Simmons, aged 16 years, gets her first boyfriend but after a while he is not what he appears to be. Her boyfriend, Adam Carlson, becomes abusive and possessive. Trying to deal with it all on her own Natalie begins to crack under the pressure, until she opens up to another who had been in the same situation as her before. As she gains the courage to speak out about her suffered abuse, the situation is resolved and eventually she starts to move on.

Location begins at the girls house/apartment, then progresses to the car park just outside of her house where Adam is first introduced into the film.

Natalie

(Played by Olivia Lewis)

Questionnaire Results

From these results I am going to analyse the most popular film, 'Bend It Like Beckham', to compare it with my film idea and opening sequence.

This emphasises the importance of having a developed narrative and storyline. But to also have characters that suit the role that they are playing.

The prioritising of the different issues offered was surprising, as there were no votes for alcohol abuse being a top priority. However, it has shown me that my storyline being based on a abusive relationship will be well recieved as people care about the subject.

The idea of the credits being a part of the actual film/setting was very enthusiastic. No-one was against the idea, this has only encouraged my drive to acomplish this to the best that I can.

The comments recieved of why Guy 4 was the better choice was said that he looked to have a darker side to him. Others said stereotypically because the actor appeared older and therefore could more easily overpower the female character. With the other actors some chose them because they thought them to have 'scary-looking' eyes. From this I can conclude that the actor to play the role of the boyfriend will have to have the characteristics of a dark eye shade to look 'scary', and look muscular to a degree to look able to over-power the female character.