The Immunes- Final Cut

This is the final finished product and I have made several changes since the rough cut.

The Immunes - Rough Cut

This is my rough cut, there is quite abit more editing I would like to do before it's finished, some of the shots are too long and some more effects and tittles need to be added. Also I have to change the volume levels to the sound. Finally there is one location I would like to go back to for some extra footage.

Casting the voiceover

I have asked two people if they would be willing to speak in the voiceover who I feel fit the part. The character's voice needs to be deep because the character is mid 20s and I want my character to have a strong masculine presence because he is not on screen. I have asked people who's sounds close to this. The first person, who was closely to the age sounded good and dramatic but the character is coming from a working class background and has a rough voice. But the voiceover sounded more like upper class.

So I decided to use the other person his voice fit really well with the character. I was able to edit it the crackle and static of the radio straight after recording using the voice recording software, also I added a echo so it seems to be coming out a radio and isn't completely clear.

Filming Review

I felt overall filming went really well. I got most of all the shots I needed and I wasn't in a rush at any of my locations I feel like I tried to use a variety of camera angles while filming which really shows in my opening sequence. One thing that definitely helped was using the monopod; it meant I had a lot more flexibility and movement. Unfortunately at my first location the camcorder ran out of charge so I had to switch to my camera, this was not as easy to use as the camcorder but worked just as well. Also at one location I didn't have a monopod so my original footage was rather shaky but once I stabilized it the footage isn't any different.

Location 3

This location was an old RAF base, it had so old brick buildings which were perfect for another location. While editing I was able to mix these shots with the other footage from the other locations. There was a lot of rusted objects I was able to film like the wheelbarrow and milk bottles.

Location 2

Another location I used was this, its a old, left caravan surrounded by a lot of junk and a rubbish heap. The broken bath and sink was perfect for close up shots to show certain details. I also did some shots around the caravan. The inside of the caravan seemed pretty in tacked but obviously uninhabited. This is a perfect second location in my opening for the person receiving the broadcast and I filmed with the radio in the caravan. I can put some good distortion effects on these shots when editing.

Location 1

This was an old barn I found near a farm. I t was great because it was a big building which had many falling down outer building I could film. I was able to get a variety of shots from panning to close ups, zooms and point of view. The broken glass windows created a great shot as well as the falling side wall. I could get some good shots inside the buildings on top of the outside shots which was useful.

Audience Research

Group Opening Sequence

For this task we were put into groups and were each given a role, one of  creating a plot, casting and location, filming and directing or editing. The idea was to replicate a real life situation because in the film industry you do one part you don't have complete control over the whole production but have to work with what you are given. I chose to do the editing, which completely proves this situation because I have no control over the quality of the filming and just have to edit what I'm given. We were given 1 hour to come up with the first minute of an opening sequence.

Plot Synopsis

My plot idea is to have a future set film, in a fantasy world where there has been an event which has taken out most of the population. For the beginning I would like to do lots of establishing shots to get a strong sense of setting and then introduce the main character with either narration or a monologue.

Submarine - Final Cut and Evaluation

 

 

The Submarine opening was a lot more difficult to recreate than I first thought as smaller details were really the parts that made most difference and made the clip better. Obviously certain restrictions meant it was harder to add this extra level of detail and therefore restricting the end project. These things being funding, time, choice of actors and location. Which if we would have had more time ways could have been found around problems. To improve I would have liked to spend more time designing the settings especially in the bedroom as key items were missed. I think what was in our control was done well for example the editing we had a large range of sounds to choose from so were able to find the rights one to fit with the original. Overall I feel the project went well and will definitely help when doing our own opening.

Submarine - Cast

                                         
We had a hard time finding someone who looked similar to the character Oliver; so we went for someone who was available, willing and could pass for a distant cousin. Unfortunately Richard who had arranged the actor couldn't make it to the filming  so I was left to find someone who was on site, luckily one of the chefs from the pub beneath the apartment was willing and not to dissimilar from Oliver though a little older. This however limited my filming time to about 5 minutes so I didn't have as much time as I would have liked to get a really good shot.

Submarine - Filming and editing

                     
                                                                         Filming

In the bedroom I did a slow panning shot from one side of the room to the other, using a tripod to keep the shot steady and level. In the original I first thought the shot zooms in at the window, trying this proved hard to move the camera and zoom smoothly. however watching it again the camera actually moves and lowers to change the angle. For the close up shot I did a low angle shot looking up and then a more level shot. I would have liked to spent more time filming to try other camera angles but the wasn't possible.
Filming the outside locations was easier because it was just a still shot and living in the countryside meant I had access to many good locations. however timing was hard because sometimes cloud meant the sun disappeared earlier than you were expecting. Also the in the original the sun is captured just before it completely goes meaning it was all about timing.


                                                                        Editing

Adding the tittles in between the footage was   
really easy on premiere pro, unfortunately we didn't have a production company name so we couldn't add that in. For the footage between tittles I use two different shots and cropped them so they appeared to be one take. For the long shot of the window it was hard to get the exposure right and I had to spend longer editing the colour because at the window there was more light than at the start of the shot. The shots were actually a lot darker than I initially thought so I had to increase the exposure but  I couldn't change it too much because the shots needed to be consistent. I also used a warp tool so when the camera is panning it has a smooth motion.   The main part of editing was the sound, not just adding the soundtrack but also ambient noises like the seagulls, the ticking and general background noise which I all added.

Submarine - Setting and Location

                               

The opening clip from Submarine is set in a boys bedroom around the late 90s. For our location I knew an empty apartment which could have a suitable room for us to use to recreate the bedroom. We decided it would be better to use an empty room rather than one of our own rooms because then we have complete control over what went in the setting and we could add specific props. the one problem was there was no furniture we could use so the setting was abit bare compared to what we wanted. When designing the setting we really tried to keep it in the correct time period by adding older posters. Certain items we added was the lamp and the wooden ship which was the closed thing we had to a submarine. To make it seem more like a bedroom we added books and clothes. If I could have I would have spent longer on the setting as we missed out certain props like the telescope and skeleton.


 For the outside footage, I live in the countryside so it was easy to find places where the sun was setting but the sun was normally hidden behind trees and the settings are all very similar. In the original clip there is one of a town so I decided to try and film around Norwich to get a clip.

Opening scene Anaylsis - City of God

This opening is completely different to Jackie Brown, it starts of straight away with short shots no more than a second per frame and upbeat music. This means we pick up little bits of information from each shot which make up the setting, these shots are at different angles some high on someone's feet and others low angled up at somebodies face. These are all close up shots which mean we can focus on what is going on and means we aren't overloaded with information. The slightly longer shots are of the chicken which is an important to starting the story and there's a subtle pause. All these shots create a busy atmosphere and so us the culture of the scene. We are given a lot more information than the long shots in Jackie Brown. As the pace quickens we see medium shots as the chase begins. The use of several different angles speeds up the opening as they are contrasting. Next the pace is stopped to introduce two main characters in the film and there is a still, long shot to show they are important. After some more quick pace shots, it stops for wider shots which creates tension, especially when we see the panning shot showing the setting around the boy.

Opening scene anaylsis - Jackie Brown

This is opening is made up of several long shots which focus on one character as she makes her way across the airport. We start by seeing a side profile and the opening credits appearing, we focus on these because the shot is very still and we only know its moving because the background wall changes. This shot is medium close up so we don't see any of the setting around giving us little information. Next shot is a close up of luggage deliberately moving the other way to the previous shot. The next few shots are shorter than the first and give us more detail about the setting telling us she's in an airport. Next we go back to long shots but at a low angle on the side and then front really focusing us on the character so we know she is important, this also shows us a lot more of the setting but just what you typically expect of a airport. Then back to a similar shot to the first but a close up reducing information of the setting again. As the character starts running the speed picks up but we still see a long side profile shot. Personally I find this a lot less interesting than an opening with many different camera angles but  the lack of information and plot can stimulate interest and curiosity into what's going to happen.

Camera shots and angles

 

Establishing - Normally shows the outside of the building before cutting to a scene inside so the viewer knows where the actors are. This is more common on tv shows and soaps which use the same locations.

Wide - This gives you lots of information and normally is used to show setting because it doesn't focus on anything in particular. It gives the viewer and idea of where the scene is similar to an establishing shot.

Close up - Focuses on someone's face and is used to introduce characters as we note their appearance and remember their face.

High and Low angle - These are used to show the dominance of a character over another as a high angle can make a character seem shorter and low angle taller. This can also be used to hide height difference between actors for example Tom Cruise is actually quite short but we don't notice it in films.

Extreme close up - Is often used in horror movies or to show emotion on someone's face like focusing on a tear.

Two shot - Is useful to capture setting as well as the relationship between two characters as we see the whole of their body and stuff going on in the background.

Worm's eye view - Is an extreme low angle which also shows the dominance of character and taller and they fill the shot.

Bird's eye view - Makes the people look very small and shows the view from a helicopter above.

Shot/ reverse shot - An effective way to shoot a conversation because it captures what the actors are saying clear and their whole face.

Point of View - captures what a person sees which is useful when people are watching things happening like in horror films and makes the viewer feel involved.

 

Love Actually - Pre production

We were given a piece of script and 2 weeks to film and edit this scene. We needed a cast, location, costume and a storyboard. A date to film and enough time to edit our footage. As a group we decided to all help out instead of allocating roles. We brainstormed locations and people for a our cast and then set out jobs to do before next lesson. After this we discussed a date of when we were all available for filming.

Location - In the movie the scene is set at 10 downing street, as we don't have access to that we chose a manor, grand house which would be believable as the prime minsters house. I looked up similar locations and found several hall/hotels which suited what we wanted, I phoned up Caistor hall to see if they would be happy for us to film on their location, however they never replied. So we also tried Park Farm they also didn't get back with in our deadline. So we ended up asking friends who had a suitable house whether we could use their house, one of them agreed so we had a location.

Cast - As a group we found cast rather hard because it was hard to set a date without knowing the location and time and people had to be available on short notice. So we decided to properly cast the PM and Natalie as these people needed to have more acting experience. For the rest of the cast we decided see who was available at the time because they only had a few lines therefore didn't need great acting skills. Ed was our PM because his personality fitted with the character in the script, and Libby as our Natalie because she is a good actor and she also fitted quite well as innocent, nervous Natalie. Me and Kate had to fill in the other parts as Annie and Pat because people were not available
and dropped out at the last minute.

For costume, I ask Ed to wear a smart black suit, to appear like a prime minister. Libby, me and Kate all wore smart looking clothes, white blouses. We didn't need to worry about bottom half because it was never on camera.

Love Actually - Production

We decided to start with the PM coming out of a car to show he just arrived at his house. We did a low shot of the car door opening and his feet stepping out the car, and then we continued it with a moving shot of Ed doing up his jacket and adjusting his tie. Next shot was at the door and match on action of Ed walking up to the door waving and from the other side of the door him coming through. We plan to edit in crowd sound effect afterwards, we found a mixture of different sound effects online to download and blended them together to make it more realistic. As he entered we faded out the sound effects but only cut them off when the door closed.

Throughout the whole thing we added a de-noisier and changed the brightness especially inside which was rather dark we also had another person holding a light on set to make the scene brighter. We did two shot/reverse shot for the two conversations between pat and the PM and Natalie and the PM, this meant we could clearly hear their lines and got a close up of their faces to capture their facial expressions. We only had a small section of corridor to film in so we did separate shots using the same section of wall. We did a few takes because of things like looking at the camera and had to skip Terence because we didn't have enough actors, as well as the end because the camera ran out of charge but you cant really notice and it doesn't look like its been cut off before the end. We had planned to do these bits in front of the green screen but we didn't have a lot of time. We played around we lighting in editing and volume level. I would have preferred a plainer location because stuff in the background could be distracting.