Photos taken for the Feature article photographs

The editing on the short film

I decided to use the same fonts as used on the poster and double page spread in the movie to help match the house style, I edited the start to fade in slowly so that it wasn't a sudden cut.  I also have the text moving in to the frame with a sideways motion. The animation on the text was changed a number of times to suit the movie in the end I decided to go with a straight launch in from the centre so that it is quick and sharp rather than a long dragged out animation which I feel makes the short movie feel slow.

When it came to editing my audio quality was really crackly and the microphone had been picking up a lot of white noise in the recording this was because the microphone had been amplifying the sound so I have put the gain down on the audio to remove white noise and up the clarity of the speech, when the gain is up the voice is too loud and makes audio jump in-between cuts. Another problem with the audio was in different environments where I recorded it had other factors effecting the background noise such as echo’s, traffic and other people, wind and rural noises.

I decided to use special effects when transitioning to another clip that followed on with the last clip these would be a faster more noticeable cut to keep the pace of the short film going but in the parts where it would be moving onto a new scene it would be a slower cut. I’ve seen this used in other short films and this is very conventional. One effect I used was a blur fade so that it would blur from one frame to the next and allowed me to create a fast transition without it being a straight cut to the next frame and made it look more professional. Also at the end and beginning of some clips, I have used a fade in and out effect but made it a fast speed so it isn't just a complete fast cut but has some effect to it. I have also overlapped some clips so they fade into each other rather than fading to black then fading in again.

Using editing effects to zoom in editing, while editing some clips I noticed the framing wasn’t quite right but a new shoot was not needed as a simple zoom on the clip could be down to help crop and cut out parts of the recording that I wouldn’t want in it. An example of where I used this was when the character was walking towards the camera on the bridge I made a zoom at the end of the clip towards the characters face.

As props were hard to get hold of I had to use fake props in my film which wouldn't make real noise E.G the spray can so in my editing I found a Mp3 file of a spray can and made sure it fitted the movie and didn’t sound extraordinary then imported it into the film and adjusted the sound levels to make it fit in with the film and sound as if it was being sprayed on the film.

Poster Draft and Font Styles

Font Styles

Here are some fonts I tested, and can use on my poster 

Draft Of posters

Poster Draft 1

In this draft I tried to keep the design simple by having little text on the page I found this to be effective on mainstream movie posters as it allows the feature article photograph to be more exposed and stand out.

Poster Draft 2

This is a different layout of poster that I could use with the same fonts just a different layout

Poster Draft 3

For my third poster draft I decided to make it A3 page size so it would enable me to have a larger picture without needing to cut it as it could be a landscape photo

Double Page Spread Drafts

This layout of double page spread is good as it allows for the use of colloums and allows space for the feature article photograph, the fonts used match the ones from the poster following the house style. Grey and black and white will be the house style I will try to keep throughout my short film and poster and double page spread

Double page spread draft 2:

In this double page spread where you see black this is where the feature article photo will be placed over both pages for ultimate effect. white font used to match the overall house style of the magazine and movie, same fonts have also been used

Call Sheet 2

Call Sheet 1

Storyboard - Draft

Magazine Anaylis - Skyfall

The title of the page has been made in italic's and emboldened to make it one of the first parts of the page that you notice. Also the feature article photograph will be has been made to stand out as its been spread over two pages and has the main character on his on separate page with the car on the other page which is important but not as much as the character.

The main page text and writing has been grouped and moulded round the feature article photograph as it only covers the background and not the main features of the images such as the car. The font size is 5 and in calibri. The font of the title is a custom font made for this double page spread as it matches the house style, the font colours also used on the page match the image and with the characters suit which stops the page looking random.

The masthead of the magazine front cover has been placed in Black font, this contrasts with the white background. The image of the main character deadpool has been placed over the top of the masthead in an overlapping format this is because the masthead of the magazine is not as important as the advertisement of the film Deadpool.

The feature article photo is taken from a low angle while the character is jumping to make the character seem heroic and powerful.  With the splats of red paint over the photo which have been used to represent blood and show that he is a "badass".

Poster analysis 3 - War Dogs

The masthead taking up about 1/3 of the poster is normal for them as it follows convention the font used is customer for the film the way they have used a bright pink also helps the masthead stand out. The text has also been made bold and of a reasonable size to allow it to take up more space and be more visible.

The purpose of this poster is to create a explosive scene showing the 2 main characters of the film in action. With the image being low angle it makes the two men look great and powerful but then one of the mans actions contradicts this by having his hands over his head putting him in a lower position than the guy with the gun.

The colours on the poster are pink orange and then a mixed background colour for the photo as its set in a rural area.  Which makes the film seem for a younger age demographic.

The font is curved which make it seem for a young audience as its not smart like you would expect from a film with adults in and guns.

The poster layout has the font on the right hand side to keep the feature article photography clear and allow you to see important parts about the photo such as the gun. Also the size of the man compared to the other guy.

Poster analysis 2 - Bad neighbors 2

The masthead has been made in a custom font that matches the genre of the movie.  The masthead also has effects added to it such ad 3-D layering by having the "2" behind the main text this also helps maintain space over the front cover and keep it in the the center. The font used for the "2" is also replicating paint and with the fence behind it it goes well.

The feature article photograph has been taken in a low angle but side on shot of all 6 characters looking into each others eyes each face to face and in line with one another. By all of the characters starring at each other it creates tension in the image and makes the film seem more alive. Also as everyone has been placed at the same height and the shot is low angle it makes them all seem powerful almost like a fight will take place.

No cover lines have been used on the front cover this is most likely to keep it simple and spacious. although they have used a tagline at the top of the the front cover "parenthood vs sisterhood" this is a catchy tagline as it links to the film itself and gives the reader a little insite to what the film actually is.

The color scheme of the poster is a mix of white black and red by keeping to these 3 basic colors it is keeping the poster conventional.

Again this poster is very simple and is a comedy film so it is following the convention of a normal comedic film.

Poster analysis 1 - Central Intelligence

The purpose of this film poster is to sell the film to the public the poster doesn't give much away about the plot of the film.The masthead  of the poster is writen in yellow bold font on a black background making it stand out while matching with the house style of the magazine. By having the masthead come over the the feature article photograph is makes it seem more important and by the use of this 3-D effect it allows you to recognize the name of the film which the viewer would search.

The feature article photo has been taken at a low angle to make the big character (muscly guy) seem powerful but the small guy seem powerless, also by the stance of the small guy the way he is holding the gun close and the facial expressions back up that he is the smaller and less powerful guy in the movie.

A plug is used below the masthead displaying the date of when the film is going to be released, This is conventional as it allows people to understand when the film is going to be released.  The text used for the plug is very simple and white. The mode of address is very informal and jokey showing that this films demographic is aimed for teenagers.

The tagline at the top of the front cover is catchy which is conventional for a front cover of this type of comedic film.

Shot List

 Overall Shot List

- Establishing Shot 

- Zoom

- close up 

- Medium close up 

- Establishing Shot

- long shot 

- zoom

- close up 

- Establishing shot

- handheld

- medium shot

- medium shot

- 2 shot

- close up

- Establishing shot

- Long shot

- close up

- medium shot

- Esablishing shot

- handheld

- medium shot

- close up

- Establishing Shot

- Handheld

- medium shot

- Semi-Arc 

- Pan/ Tracking shot

- handheld

- 2 shot

- Medium shot

- over the shoulder shot

- close up- Long shot

- Zoom

- focus pull

- handheld

- close up

- focus pull

- close up

- pan


Day 1:
Location- My house and woods

-Establishing shot ( Drone shot)
-Close ups
- Medium shots
-Zoom
-long shot

Day 2:
locaton- bridge
-wide shot
- Dolly shot
- zoom

Day 3:
location - underbridge/woods
- handheld
- close up
- long shot
-establishing shot
-two shot

Day 4:
location- woods
- POV shot
-close up
-hand held

What Ive learned from practice shots

Before we start to film we had a couple of lessons to allow us to improve and prepare for the filming process this in turn means the overall quality of film will be better. We started with some basic over the shoulder shots making sure that the angles can be kept the same over each side and smooth cuts can be made in-between the the two people in the shot, the correct height and adjustment is also important. A reverse tracking shot can be seen in the video below, this was one of the practise shots we decided to do This is a tracking shot from behind the subject while walking forward that could be used in my movie A Side tracking shot can also be seen here

Survey Monkey - Results

After gathering all results from my survey it has made my mind up for certain parts about my short film, one part that ive decided on is it needs to be comedic as from my results comedy was one of the main features people mentioned about a mockumentary. The script will need to be made very carefully to make sure that the character gets involved with the audience and connects with them to entice them into the short film.

The main character will need to have a comedic value about him and be able to make the audience laugh, when choosing my character I will need to be careful and check how they would read certain lines.

My mockumentarys length will also need to be around 5 minutes from my results the top result was for the short film to be 5 minutes, so I have decided to make my short film about 5 minutes long as I feel if its much longer it will be hard to get enough recording and if too little will not entertain the audience.

The cast of my film will be around 2-5 people as it will enable me to work fast with the people. The film is also going to have violent scenes  to keep the watchers entertained while watching the Short Film.

I have also decided on a name for the short film Town Savior, I came up with this name as the film is based around a guy who feels he is being a hero and helping the town he lives in.

Survey Monkey - Mockumentary

Create your own user feedback survey

Sony Vegas Pro 18

I wanted to use sony vegas pro for the editing of my project as I have had past experience with the programme which would make it easier for me to use. As well as this it had alot more features to offer other than programs such as imovie and windows movie maker and some adobe programs.  I feel sony vegas will allow me to have a very high quality film that is tidy and follows all conventions. Some examples of where sony vegas pro is good is transitions, cuts, overlays, sound manipulation, video resizing and moving, effects such as zooms and filters.

Monty Pythons Full Film Anaylsis

The film monty pythons is comedy film based around religion, but its made to seem real and thats what adds the comedic value to the film. The film was realised in 1969. This film become popular in british culture due to its comedic value. Due to its success it realised more films following it and almost made a series in the monty pythons films. It mainly uses comedy to portray issues they feel are wrong with everyday life. This a comedy/mockumentary type short film.

Conclusions

Ping Pong Mockumentary

The Ping pong Mockumentary follows generic conventions of a mockumentary by making it look real but also showing that it is fake at the same time, this adds a comedic value to the short film.

The mockumentary starts with classic non-diegetic sound playing in the background with the man "Joe" talking about his career in ping pong. This music creates a sense of immaturity of the clip. While the music is playing the man "Joe" is telling us about his life and characteristics about him this allows the audience to become familiar with "Joes" story line this will later be used in the short film to go against him, by this I mean there would be a clip later on in the movie showing him doing this activity wrong that would add comedic value to the clip acting as a binary opposite.
When the clip cuts back to the interview it uses a sound bridge to link the two clips together by having him start the interview speech before it has visually come up. This makes the film seem smoother and can help to speed up the pace of the short film. Non-diegetic music has also been used on the short film for example this happens when there is an action being done by the character "Joe" the music used is very harsh and intimidating and as the character doesn't look like that kind of person it adds comedy to the clip.


The Mise-en-scene of the clip has had the proxemics of the characters perfectly placed out throughout the clip, one example would be when the main character is talking in front of the camera they have used the Rule of thirds to keep him to the right and not directly in the center of the video, this makes the video less unnatural for an audience for watch which is what makes it seem like a real documentary. Eye-Line matches have also been used in the clip to help show the level of frustration on peoples faces once they have played ping pong against "Joe". This can help create a sense of dominance between the two people by seeing facial expressions.

The short film ping pong uses lots of handheld camera footage, this is conventional for a short budget film as it is a lot more expensive to use stands and more professional equipment.  Even though it has been filmed through a hand held camera it still adds a lot of effect to the video. A medium shot is used while talking to the character called "Joe" it is also a bit tilted towards his face and the camera is at a lower angle, showing that he is important and seen as better.

Short Film Title Ideas

The films title needs to be in the lines of a hero, who is in a town stopping crimes although the hero is more of a vigilante.

Names I have come up with so Far for my Short Film:

• Town Idiot
• Town Saviour
• The Main Man
• The Issue
• Graffiti Problems
• Town Hero
• The Vigilante
• The Semi-Hero

Hood Documentary Analysis

The hood documentary again uses generic conventions of mixing comedy in with a documentary as they use an idiotic man playing the role of a young youth in london who is mixed in with gangs and classed as a gangster.


 Voice overs are a main feature of mockumentarys as they help to reduce polysemy about the featured person, one has been used at the start of the hood documentary to tell the audience who he is and what he is and creates a greater sense of omniscience. A voice over is a very desired part of a short film as it allows for quicker pace.  This allows the short film to be much more concise with the use of short clips with the voice over which allows the viewer to become familiar with the characters and storyline. Right at the start of the short film a introduction to the character "roll safe" if used to show what he is like in public and what type of person he is. Though the use of editing and mise-en-scene you can see he is in a rural area with clothes that match the typical gangsters of London. The acting of the short film is very well planned and makes "roll safe" look very idiotic, I feel this is what the main point of this mockumentary is to present gangsters as stupid and trying to set an example.  High Key lighting is used repetitively throughout the short film to heighten the status of the character "roll safe". Also through the use of hegemonic views the character selected was of black ethnicity  as by the public it is seen as normal in rural areas where this was filmed.

This short film also uses a handheld camera this is most likely because it is on a small budget and the effect of using a handheld camera is good for documentary's as it makes it seem more real and in moments where there is tension or a problem it shows shaking of the camera man also and gives the viewer a feel to what is going on. The rule of thirds has also been used in this short film as they mainly keep the character "roll safe" to the side and not in the direct center of the camera but occasionally they go against this rule and put him in the middle when he is talking directly to the camera. I feel they did this to make you feel uncomfortable when he is talking to the camera and realize how he is thinking through his body language and facial expressions. This is then also shown through a zoom to a close up on him when he is answering a question that he is struggling with, this again reduces polysemy and shows the audience that he is quite unintelligent. Mid shots/two shots are used when the character "RS" goes up to other people to help the viewers interpret what other people around "RS" think of him.

Slow motion was used during the clips of showing the charecter at the start by the use of this allows the short film to emphasise the status of "RS" as being high up and important. This slow motion technique allows the viewers to pay close attention to the charecter and what to expect from the character. This later turns out to be a total binary opposite when we see the character "RS" for ourselves and how he reacts in clips.

Non-diagetic sound is also a big factor of this short film as it is mainly used to help cuts jump from one place too another this is also conventional as it helps match the too places together and disguise the cut.

The narrative of this short film is again to be comedic against people who act like "roll safe" who is meant to be a gangster of London. By showing the charecter "roll safe" as being stupid and not smart shows us what life would be like as a being a person like him. This is a binary opposite as it shows him thinking he is right and getting then getting told or shown that he is infact wrong this is really good for the comedic aspect of the short film.                                                                                                                                                                                                          

Big Society Analysis

Big society is a short film thats genre is to be a mockumentary, and have comedy mixed with it. The short film has a very well thought out layout by this I mean the way it was edited to show some clips before the others. The film shows the man cooking in his house to start off which is a very traditional   activity to do making the man seem peaceful and not someone you would expect for the part this is what adds to the comedic value of the short film. Going against the hegemonic views as they show him then fighting people in the public its very unexpected and totally changes the views on the man but as soon as it goes back again to the clip inside the house cooking it will change again. In a comedy short film this style is very conventional as it makes the users laugh as they are binary opposites and unexpected from the audience.

A hand held camera had been used in the film as a technique to show stress and that it was a dangerous environment. The use of hand held cameras is also a conventional way to record a film as short films dont have big budgets and this effect is very cheap to do as it can be done with only one camera without it being on a tri-pod. Rule of thirds is also being used when in the main actor or the protagonist, he has not been placed in the center of the shot but to the right hand side this is conventional as its very unusual for a film to have a person in the center of the screen. A few POV shots have been used throughout the short film also to show certain objects such as the cake progressing through its cooking stages and for items like the taser. By the showing of the cake again and again throughout the film it also could be representing the protagonist how he is growing and becoming harsher and harsher. The editing also backs up this idea as the clips get shorter and shorter so it speeds up the pace of the film, this is shown from clip lengths such as the lengths of the clips get shorter and also more violent towards the end.

The film maker made the short film interesting through  camera shots and editing as what was shown in the camera shots through mise-en-scene. For example the cake that was being shown added more to the story as it showed that the man liked to cook as well as be violent to people that litter.

The short films narrative is to be a comedic film about people who litter and how the protagonist fights against them to help fix the litter problem, but the way in which he does it would not be seen as right in real life this and the use of binary opposition with the protagonist is what really makes the mockumentary funny. This interests the audience in the short film through the use of comedy this is done in a number of different mockumentarys there for this short film follows convention.

What is a mockumentary ?

A mockumentary or docucomedy is a type of film or television show in which fictional events are presented in documentary style to create a parody. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues by using a fictional setting, or to parody the documentary form itself. They may be either comedic or dramatic in form, although comedic mockumentaries are more common.


Information from:

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mockumentary)

General Notes For The Project

General Ideas and Notes For the Project

Genre: Mockumentary

Media examples of mockumentary’s:

Big society - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geq4MHsoH4Y

Monty pythons - https://www.youtube.com/user/MontyPython

Hood documentary - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=165R9OWugAk

Devvo - https://www.youtube.com/user/RealDevvo

Things to think about when making a film [Resources]:

Location, Cast, Script, Length, Equipment

Convention:

-          Comedy is a big aspect

-          Most start serious, and then show you something unexpected

-          Close ups are good for showing facial expressions

-          Music in background can help portray emotions.

-          Hand held camera

-          Binary opposition

Ideas [Mockumentary ideas]:

-          School / outside littering / not studding /

-          Religion such as Monty python’s life of Brian

-          Poverty, classes and status

-          Places such as the hood different people going to different places

Ideas for my film:

Litter issues around Chelmsford, someone litters idiot hero tries to sort it out, goes up to the guy and knocks him straight out, this would be filmed hand held to add effect. Another time could be where people are doing graffiti but the type of graffiti they are doing is for an artwork project and they have permission for it

After each scene it will cut back to him doing something peaceful and something not expected from a person like him for example it could be cooking or listening to peaceful music and sunbathing.  The the actor would talk for a bit at why he is right [idiot hero] when he hurts people for littering or doing wrong in public. By the use of this binary opposite it should create comedy.