Evaluation

The videos below are of my evaluation, which I had to separate in 6 videos as youtube wouldn't allow me to upload one very long one.

Final Film

Final Poster

Poster

This is the poster I have created for my short film, which was done through photoshop and planned to fit in with the common conventions of existing independent film posters. I have used aspects from the Snowtown poster such as the star ratings, quotes from institutions and images of the lead actors. I also decided to include the location of one of the scenes behind the characters because I feel it links itself well  to the Tyrannosaur poster that I analysed, which features a northern council estate in the background.

I decided to use white as a main colour throughout this poster as I feel it really goes perfectly with some of the scenes in my film, which are deliberately washed out and bleak which connotes heaven and a dream like state. I feel that this poster will attract a target audience who can guess what the film is going to be like, through the use of colour to create mood, reviewer's quotes, star and age rating I feel that this poster will attract my target audience to see my film.

Final magazine double page

Magazine Scribd

This is my flat plan for the magazine double page that I intend to create in Adobe Indesign CS5.5. I have taken conventions from existing film magazines such as Empire and Little White Lies, such as the round corners on the main image, as seen in LWL and the symmetrically of the double page layout with the use of four columns to fill up the page. In the images I intend to feature my images from the film of two actors, Dan Annear and Jake Clutsom. I have chosen to do this because the readers can see the location of the film aswell as the actors too, therefore making the viewer more interested in the film and giving them a sneak peek into the featured product. Other conventions have been included too, such as the exaggerated first letter, the page numbers at the bottom and the name of the film in bold at the top of the page.

In terms of colour, I have decided to follow a similar scheme to Little White Lies because I feel that its influence on the independent film scene makes it more suited to my target audience. I will use a block coloured background of black, with white text and title. This is a lot more interesting than using black on white, because it will make the text stand out a lot more and is seen to be unusual due to white on black being used quite often.

I have chosen to use Indesign for creating this magazine as Photoshop doesn't have the same features for using columns and also Indesign is a more professional tool that designers in the media industry actually use. Although I don't know how to use it as well as Photoshop I feel that I could probably learn it and look online for tutorials if necessary.

Before and after Colouring

These two images show the before and after of the colouring process, which I used Final Cut Studio's colour grading program 'Color'. 

As you can see, this image is very plain, washed out and slightly overexposed. The skin tone is dull, and although very clinical I would like to create more atmosphere for the opening scene. This is just as I shot it though the camera. When colouring, I feel that it's better to over expose and turn it down, than to over expose your shot. 

As you can see, I have added contrast to really bring out the detail in the face to make the Elder look ill. The contrast also helps to bring out the light and darks in the hair to create even more interest. I darkened this clip down to really contrast with the clip after it when the Elder wakes up in a really bright, bleach bypassed scene. More tonal colour is brought out too, such as the wall behind and the red on the neck, which really gives a great effect. In photoshop, I created two black horizontal lines with no background, which I imported into Final Cut Pro as a .psd file. Then I scaled it up to re-create a letter-boxing technique that I then applied to the whole film and adjust the clips framing accordingly. This in turn creates a wonderfully cinematic feel, which fits in well with all the short films I have analysed.

Colour grading process

A video showing how I went about colour grading after I had edited my film together.

Some screenshots and an explanation of how I edited and produced my magazine double page review in Indesign CS5.5

Poster Editing

Screenshots showing how I went about producing my poster for my short film.

Soundtrack Editing

Screenshots showing how I went about producing my soundtrack for my short film.

Editing Screenshots

A video of my screenshots that I have taken while editing, as I talk about how I went about producing the film.

Filming scene 3

These are some screenshots that I took from my footage of scene 2 in the Hair and Beauty department at Woods Browning, which I made to look like a hospital, shot in the same bed, with the same lighting as  scene 1 part 1 to really link the two characters together. I used three cameras for the dialogue parts, one on the brother in the hospital bed, one on the child, one on both of them. I used media's 600D, my 60D and Photography's 5D mkII in this set up. I also ran the dialogue through about four times, twice with this set up and then twice with different angles but focused on different actors. This helps to create a perfect continuity during the flow in speech and also gives me plenty of footage to play with. I used three tripods, one on wheels with a very smooth head and two static ones that don't have as smooth panning or tilts on each. This means that I only used one camera for all the movement, so I prioritised which camera is the best and used it for this, so the 5D mk II went on the Manfrotto tripod on wheels.

You may recognise some of these shots from my storyboard, but I also added a few more that I though I might need for editing. There wasn't much variation in camera shots when filming this scene, as I really wanted to focus more on the dialogue and acting rather than the fancy camerawork and interesting angles. This scene is a powerful one, and I wanted to make the most out of it. I thought the actors did quite well, but I wished that they had really tried to learn their lines in advance, however I feel it went to plan and the footage I have looks good, sharp and professional, which I think was tough to achieve because this is definitely the hardest scene to film and will be to edit too.

Filming scene 1 part 2 and scene 4

These are some screenshots that I took from my footage of scene 1 part 2 and scene 4 in the industrial unit up at Woods Browning, which I made to look like a blank empty warehouse type space. I used two  cameras in the end but I only used them both at rare times, I really only used two because one had more of a wide angle lens, while one had one that was easier to zoom with, so I could tightly frame some shots. Although using two camera was good to create continuity, I couldn't help but think it wasn't entirely necessary, I could have just brought two different lenses with me. I used my own camera, and also the camera from my media department, which isn't as good as mine, but you barely notice the slight lack of quality. I used two very basic tripods, and if the photography department hadn't been locked up then I would have used the tripod on wheels so that I could smoothly pan and use camera movement in a fluid motion.

This footage isn't exactly how I want it to be in the final edit, so I will brightly colour it and add a bleach bypass effect to really make it seem like a dream/heaven. I lit this scene using a key lighting effect, with one light high up looking down which casts a warm tone onto the actors. Unfortunately there was lots of light being let into the building due to very large skylights on the roof of the space, so the lighting that I set up wasn't as effective as I would have wished. Although with some decent post production editing I know that this wont matter too much because the lights coming off the actor's faces will be able to seem very light and washed out with a simple effect added in Final Cut Pro, After Effects or Final Cut Studio's Color. Even though the setting that I was filming in had too much natural light that I couldn't shut off, I knew that this scene could still look good if I tried. The filming went smoothly, and after having a few run throughs and takes, I felt that I had enough footage to play with. I used a TASCAM BB800 connected via XLR cable to a Rode NTG-2 shotgun microphone on a boom pole to record the sound for this film, which meant I also had to monitor the sound levels as well as do all the actual filming. Luckily I had my dad there to hold the boom pole, so that I could set the sound levels, focus the cameras, click record on the sound, click record on the video and then monitor the audio via headphones while the cameras were rolling. Although a lot to think about, the quality of the sound produced was worth the effort and extra equipment, although I will still have to put the audio and video in sync during the editing process, which could also be another time consuming process.

Filming scene 1 part 1

These are some screenshots that I took from my footage of scene 1 part 1 in the hair and beauty section of Woods Browning, which I made to look like a hospital. I only used one camera in the end, although I had two more at my disposal. I only used one because I knew this was a very short scene and I could easily just create continuity easily. I didn't use my own camera, I used photography's Canon 5D mk II, which has 21 megapixels in relation to my 60D's 18 megapixels. I also used the department's Manfrotto tripod which had an excellent smooth head for tilting and panning, which I then mounted onto some wheels to create a smooth panning shot without having to set up a jib or track.

I was very pleased with the acting for this scene, as I though Derek did a fantastic job of dying because some actors can portray death very dramatically, but although quite dramatic, I thought it was a very cinematic moment which I thought worked really well with the intimate and close camera shots that I chose. I stuck to the storyboard slightly, but I also decided to experiment with focus pulling up the bed too. When it comes to the editing, I know that I might use as little as two shots for this scene, but having lots of footage is going to help if some of the shots I have aren't decent enough or I need more variation.

Filming scene 2

These are some screenshots that I took from my footage of scene 2 in the woods. It was a relatively straight forward one camera shoot, but I spent a lot of time trying to think about how to create continuity with Jake's movement in the scene. I stuck to my storyboard as much as I could, but in the end I changed a few shots that I thought were necessary and added some in that I felt had to be included. I feel that it is better to have too much footage when going into the editing process than not enough. Making sure the theme flowed smoothly was time consuming, but worth it in the end, as I think the shots that I have chosen below have good framing, such as following the rule of thirds to create interesting composition.

 This scene was simply done with a one camera shoot, because it is as if the Elder is narrating over what is happening, so I didn't really need two cameras at the same time. For other scenes such as the hospital one, I need two camera to consistently create a good sense of continuity through fast paced dialogue between characters. I also took a few nature and weather shots incase I needed to take the sound of the clips and lay them into the background to make the dialogue less jumpy and stand out in the editing process.

I think that this is a good start to filming my film, and if the rest of the scenes that I shoot go as well as this, then I think that this film will be successful!

Equipment Lists

These are my equipment lists that I have made for each scene, showing what I need to bring with me to each location to help create a professional, high quality film:

Scene 1 (part 1)

Canon 60D

Tripod on wheels

TASCAM BB-800

Rode NTG-2 Shotgun Microphone

XLR to XLR cable

1gb SD card

32gb SD card

Boom pole

Scene 1 (part 2)

Canon 60D

Canon 600D

2x tripods

TASCAM BB-800

Rode NTG-2 Shotgun Microphone

XLR to XLR cable

1gb SD card

16gb SD card

32gb SD card

Boom pole

Scene 2

Canon 60D

Manfrotto Modosteady

Opteka Video Stabilizer

Tripod

TASCAM BB-800

Rode NTG-2 Shotgun Microphone

XLR to XLR cable

1gb SD card

32gb SD card

Boom pole

Scene 3

Canon 60D

Canon 600D

Canon 5D mk II

Tripod on wheels

2x other tripods

TASCAM BB-800

Rode NTG-2 Shotgun Microphone

XLR to XLR cable

1gb SD card

16gb SD card

32gb SD card

8gb Compact flash card

Boom pole

Scene 4

Canon 60D

Canon 600D

2x tripods

TASCAM BB-800

Rode NTG-2 Shotgun Microphone

XLR to XLR cable

1gb SD card

16gb SD card

32gb SD card

Boom pole

Lots of this equipment is owned by myself, but I will also borrow various equipment from the media  and photography departments in school. 


Gauntlett goes to say that new media (and new media technologies) erodes the boundary between producer and audience to the extent that it makes little sense to talk about media audiences at all anymore: “Conventional research methods are replaced—or at least supplemented by new methods which recognise and make use of people's own creativity, and brush aside the outmoded notions of 'receiver' audiences and elite 'producers' (Gauntlett, 2007) This consequently erodes the boundary between the producer and the consumer, which is relevant through all my technology that I am using to shoot my film that wouldn't have been remotely available two years ago. I am lucky to be able to get my hands on this equipment, as some of it is rather expensive, but in relation to a fully budgeted feature film, the price of this equipment would be very minimal.

Filming Dates

Now that I know all of my actors are onboard, I need to sort out when I can get them at different locations on different days to complete my filming. Unlike a budgeted film, my actors aren’t actually getting paid money to star in my film, so I am worried that there might be a lack of incentive to work or make time to come and film with me. I will have to see how this plans out. But for now I have drawn up a list of dates for filming each scene in each location:

Scene 1 part 1
27th February
Hospital/Hair and Beauty/Woods Browning

Scene 1 part 2 and scene 4
29th February
Industrial Unit/Woods Browning

Scene 2
20th February
Respryn Woods

Scene 3
1st March
Hospital/Hair and Beauty/Woods Browning

Prop list

As a main part of mise en scene, props are a key aspect to consider when making a film. For instance, a period drama would need to have archaic items to create verisimilitude. But apart from creating realism and believability, props will also help support your narrative, for instance a dead rabbit is essential for my woods scene. Although I want to keep my props and scenery relatively low key, I want to create realism without having to try and create a particular time period. The following lists contain what props I will need for each scene:

Scene 1 part 1 (Hospital)

Hospital bed

Bedsheets

Lamp

Medical equipment

Wire chair

Scene 1 part 2 (Empty space)

Fold out camp bed

Bedheads

Pillow

Scene 2 (Woods)

Fake blood

Dead rabbit

Stones

Scene 3 (Hospital)

Hospital bed

Bedsheets

Lamp

Medical equipment

Wire chair

Scene 4 (Empty space)

Fold out camp bed

Bedheads

Pillow

How I made my production company logo

This is a brief video consisting of screenshots which show how I created my production company logo in Adobe After Effects CS3.

Distribution

When researching into film distribution, I stumbled upon an article written by David Sim from the BFI, which briefly explains some techniques of film distribution and briefly explores vertical integration. Sim goes to explain:

“Distribution is about releasing and sustaining films in the market place. In the practice of Hollywood and other forms of industrial cinema, the phases of production, distribution and exhibition operate most effectively when 'vertically integrated', where the three stages are seen as part of the same larger process, under the control of one company. In the UK, distribution is very much focused on marketing and sustaining a global product in local markets.

In the independent film sector, vertical integration does not operate so commonly. Producers tend not to have long-term economic links with distributors, who likewise have no formal connections with exhibitors. Here, as the pig-in-the-middle, distribution is necessarily a collaborative process, requiring the materials and rights of the producer and the cooperation of the exhibitor to promote and show the film in the best way possible. In this sector, distribution can be divided into three stages - licensing, marketing and logistics.”

This is an interesting article, and it links to my production and leads me to the question ‘How will I distribute my film?’ A short film like mine would be released through the BBC with their short film scheme, or Film4 who are the same. Both of these companies independently fund British films, shorts and features, with both being vertically integrated. Film4 would have been the company that I would have tried to get funding from, so I feel that they would be the company to distribute them too, especially as it is part of their vertical integration system. As an independent filmmaker I will also upload my film to websites such as Vimeo and Youtube so that a community of other filmmakers and the public could watch my product and I wouldn’t be paying a fee, I wouldn’t be receiving money for my film too though, but because I didn’t actually pay much money for it anyway this doesn’t matter.

Colour grading research

Colour grading is something that is used in almost every piece of professional digital video and film work. Colour grading can take the form of simple colour correction such as correcting the overall tone, or can be used to give a particular look, for instance making a scene look warm or cold.

Wikipedia defines colour grading as

“Color grading is the process of altering and enhancing the color of a motion picture or television image, either electronically, photo-chemically or digitally”. 

These days almost all colour grading is done digitally using various programs on different computers. Colour grading can consist of one or all of the following: changing brightness; changing contrast; adjusting white point; adding or removing red, green and blue; or applying filters.
Colour grading in it’s most basic form is usually used to either correct shots, like matching one shot with the next one, but can also be used to give a piece a look, or, for example, to make the sky more blue or someones skin look more flesh coloured.
Most video editing software contains some form of tool that’ll help the user to program colour correction and grading.These are some of the most common ones:

Final Cut Pro 

Final cut pro contains some good colour correction tools; not the most extensive or the best sometimes, but it’ll certainly do the job alot of the time! 

Color 

If your serious about colour correction and intend to do alot of it, Color is part of Final Cut Studio and is very good at colour grading providing lots of tools for correcting problems or giving a scene a look. It can also send sequences between its Final Cut Studio brother ‘Final Cut Pro’.

After Effects

After Effects is another program that has some great inbuilt colour grading tools, there are also a number of plug-ins available to extend it’s capabilities such as Red Giant’s Colourista II, this plug-in is also available for Final Cut too.

Premiere Pro

Premiere pro has a similar toolset for colour grading to Final Cut, not the best but certainly more than capable for most jobs.

Avid 

Avid is another video editing programme that can be used to colour grade, with a very robust set of tools. 

In terms of my film, I intend to use Final Cut Pro and Final Cut Studio’s Color to really add a certain feel to my film. The good thing about both of these products being Final Cut is that they are integrated with each other, so a sequence I create in Final Cut can be export to Color in a few clicks. If I need to learn more about how to actually colour grade, then I will look on the Vimeo Video School to look at some tutorials, but for now I know what to do.