Saturday 28 January 2017

The feedback on the cut of the film openning

Overall in general the feedback for the film opening was good the consensus was that structurally the film was good an very easy to follow as the subtitles of '1 day earlier' mean that the audience knew where the film was in the chronology of the events that later take place.

Richard Mansell - 'The film didn't seem like an "amateur" it felt like it had been constructed professionally and the actual shots of the film were cleverly taken.'

Peter Clavin - 'The framing of the shots are very clever in using the windows and the natural tree branches to frame and attract the eye to the shots.'

Ellie Brackley - 'The sound track to the film was very original and served a purpose to the tone of the film it was very carefully chosen and an audience will appreciate that.'

The above quotes were just a sprinkling of the feedback that I was given about the film and I was almost surprised by the high praise that I got back from it.

However it wasn't all plain sailing so to speak as in the first cut it ran over the time set by the exam board so I had to make some cuts to the actual screenplay by cutting out needless shots that didn't add to the storyline at al and also for the opening credits they were in a montage however, feedback from the focus group and also teachers suggested to me that it was needless and wasn't influential in the film as it didn't provide and substance to the fil and it felt clumsy the way that it was put in so ultimately the idea was cut out and I had the credits above the real life action shots of the bridge hanging shot as that is what many directors do with in their own films such as 'The Revenant' directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu as the shoots did provide a lot of eye opening moments into how modern day film making is created and ultimately won an Oscar so it was surely good enough for my project to recreate it but with in my own image and ideas.

This was realty the only issue that I came across while editing and that was actually a relief as it was quite stressful trying non copyright get copyright music and implementing the right tone into the film and not losing any emotion or action to make it as engaging to the audience as possible for a so called 'amateur film' as the only thing I can't do that they can is use thousands of pounds worth of cameras and have months filming it.

Friday 27 January 2017

Foley Artists



Foley is the reproduction of everyday sound effects that are added to film, video, and other media in post-production to enhance audio quality. These reproduced sounds can be anything from the swishing of clothing and footsteps to squeaky doors and breaking glass. The best Foley art is so well integrated into a film that it goes unnoticed by the audience. It helps to create a sense of reality within a scene. Without these crucial background noises, movies feel unnaturally quiet and uncomfortable.


 1. What is a Foley artist?
A Foley artist is someone who creates  the sounds during films to either change or emphasise the sound that cant be picked up by the cameras as when filming the sound is more focused on dialogue than sound effects. For example, if an actors footsteps are not as loud as the director desires, they can be recreated in a studio and edited in instead of the original sound. They use props and/or their body parts.

2. Who was Foley?
The technique is named after Jack Donovan Foley who was a film maker born in 1891 in New York.

3. Why are Foley artists needed?
Foley artists are still an important role in the film industry today. Foley artists are needed to enhance the sounds used in films post-production. Without Foley artist's the film could sound empty and hollow as the sounds created help to establish a sense of reality within a scene. Without these background noises, movies may feel quiet and uncomfortable. For example, they can be used within comedy films to enhance sound effects and increase the comedy value of the film. Foley can also be used to cover up unwanted sounds in the original footage.

4. Give examples of how Foley artists traditionally achieve their outcomes.
Foley artists create their sounds on a platform surrounded by props and objects in which they can create sounds. They usually perform the movements which create the sound effects in front of a screen in which they are watching the film. They can make sounds such as swishing of clothing, footsteps and even sounds like clattering pans to sound like a big clash or something falling over.

5. How is Foley work done nowadays?
Usually, Foley work is now electronically done by a person behind a keyboard due to the wide range of technology available in this era.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZfQNt4ljsk

Hugh Jackman foley artist video

Monday 9 January 2017

Preliminary Task

https://youtu.be/YWd95unZPrg




The above link is for my Preliminary Task.


What I most enjoyed about making my video was the way in which all of the different shots and how they create a story to provide the audience with a gripping story line in our school based drama.
Things that I didn't enjoy however was not having enough footage to almost interchange scenes as at times the short film lacked depth in what we was doing and we was just scratching the surface of what I believe we are capable of, also the time of which we had to film it as we had an hour to film and then trying to get the correct mise en scene with the weather and having it nice and sunny on both days however, getting my mum to wash my clothes ready for the next time we had to film.


When it comes to my opening scene for the next task I will ensure that we will have a lot more footage to work with so we have options on what scenes we are going to do and also we are going to change location so that we aren't filming in school again and keeping the audience engaged with our vision.

generic features of post apocalyptic films

  
    History There have been a huge variety of post-apocalyptic horror films varying from the effect of a virus, war and failure of modern technology etc. The most highly recognised and influential post- apocalyptic horror films is George A. Romero’s ‘Dead’ series most notably ‘Dawn of the Dead’ (1978). This made the post-apocalyptic horror genre more popular to a mainstream audience. The genre also came from popular literature such as the successful Post-Apocalyptic horror film, ‘I am Legend’ (2007) which was based on the popular novel of the same name. ‘The terminator’ (1984) was also a popular post-apocalyptic horror film based on the advances of technology which was a frightening thing for people at the time.   


Conventions of the Post- Apocalyptic Horror genre 
  • A tight community of protagonists/ Survivors
  • Abandoned and isolated locations 
  • Survival 
  • Heroic
  • mentally and physically male protagonist 
  • Dangerous and deadly antagonists 
  • Death 
  • A deadly and deathly environment 
  • Hopelessness 
  • Constant fear 
  • Contrast between slow and fast paced editing    
    Target Audience The target audience for the Post-Apocalyptic Horror genre is usually targeted to older teens and adults (18-44) as its content is seen to be more appealing to this specific demographic. This specific genre’s style of dark themes and violence also is targeted more to the male gender thus these types of films use these themes and conventions to make it more appealing. Due to scenes of violence, Post-Apocalyptic films such as 28 Days Later and Dawn Of The Dead are not intended for a younger audience but people of this demographic find it more enjoyable and entertaining to watch.
   
Influential Post-Apocalyptic Horror films  
  • Dawn of the Dead (1978) 
  • Day of the Dead (1985) 
  •  Land of the Dead (2005) 
  •  Diary of the Dead (2007) 
  • Survival of the Dead (2010) 
  • 28 Days Later (2002) 
  •  Quiet Earth (1985) 
  • I Am Legend (2007) 
  •  The Terminator (1984)

film moodboard post apocalyptic



This is the mood board that we have used for our post apocalyptic film, this is how we gathered our ideas and created a general image of what generically is used in post apocalyptic films. as you can see the costumes that we have are very much take what you've found and put it on making it very rustic. also when coming up with the broad narrative of the film many films such as the book of eli and the road use a religious aspect and take on the films events.


The generic terrain in which post apocalyptic films are set in are baron wastelands that's why our opening scene was filmed where its far away from civilisation as it creates the effect that you are alone on a journey with it being far away from tranquillity.

Saturday 7 January 2017

Audiences who are attracted to post apocalyptic films


THE ROAD (2009)
  • 7.3/10 - 185,018 reviews
28 DAYS LATER (2002)
  • 7.6/10 - 309,983 reviews
THE BOOK OF ELI (2010)
  • 6.9/10 - 238,63 reviews
I AM LEGEND (2007)
  • 7.2/10 - 557,843 reviews
These stories let us imagine being suddenly forced out of our comfort zone and into something far more heroic. Plus, have you tried to change the world lately? It’s painful and slow or quixotic at best. End-of-the-world narratives allow us to imagine large scale rebirth and play into our utopian desires. Apocalyptic narratives play into liberation fantasies. Mass annihilation is depressing, sure, but it’s sure as hell more exciting than the mall and running to the store to get toilet paper. We gravitate toward stories of the end if only to see whether or not we will survive—and whether it will be with our humanity intact.

What’s more, we find our fondness for destruction in pop culture reflected in our 24-hour news cycle. That, coupled with the relentless updates of Twitter and the Huffington Post, have provided an instant fear-of-collapse impulse to feed apocalyptic visions. Disappearing airliners and  biological robots carry with them the uneasiness of possible dystopian futures

The directors visions of how a world would be after the apocalypse that can happen in any way possible then this almost can mirror what it would be like if a normal family had to deal with this who have almost lost everything and now have to survive by themselves with nothing as money cant get you anywhere its down to sheer resilience.

Ultimately the Sci-fi genre in films have always had big hits in the box office films as it adds diversity and a new visual experience to films as producers can experiment with new techniques and story lines as people want changes from the monotone world that we live in and post apocalyptic films show this.