Conversation with Mr Michie

Below you can listen to me talking about the conversation that we had with Mr Michie and how it has affected us and the decisions we have now made.

Locations

Last weekend me and the group when to London to take photos of our locations that we are thinking of using. Below is a map of our locations:

We decided to uses London as out main location as is has a modern, stylised and contemporary feel about it which is what we are trying to create. We have chosen this location as they are iconic of London so the audience will know where we are straight away. See below for Picture of locations:


Buckingham Palace:

Houses of Parliament and Big Ben:

London Eye:

MI5:

Trafalgar Square:

Tower Bridge and Tower of London:

Cafe:

Alley:

We also will have a MI5 scene that will be in a dark room a look like it is in MI5, However be film is a class room at school and as this sense has the most dialog this means that if we need to reshot it this will easily be done as it is in a controlled environment.

Our choice of location has been influenced where we live being just our side of London but also by our story line and script revolving around the idea of The Tower of London. From our research Crime Thrillers do not normally start with establishing shots, so we are variating from the stereotypical Crime Thrillers to need it fresh and to engage the audience. This will help us to visual how and where the placement of the camera should be and whether the location are right for where we want to portray with our opening. 

Props, Costume, Actors and Actresses

After creating our storyboard are started to consider our props, costume, actors and actresses. We know that we wanted a man to play the part as our criminal and a woman to play the part of our MI5 agent. We also know that we need a phone and blueprint as there would be our two key item in our story. The costume how even were a little bit more changing as we know we when a stylised opening but did not want it to alienate our audience. So we decided on as smart but casual look for a male and a smart businesses dress for our female.

Below our our choices:

Tower of London

Props:

iPhone

Example of Blueprint 

We have chosen to use an iPhone as it is a stylised, modern and befits the character we have in mine. Also we have decided to create a blueprint of the "Tower of London" as that is where our story revolves around but also as we have been thinking about out title (See post about titles) and decided on creating of titles around the theme of a blueprint as it features in the opening but also has connotations of crime and theft.

Costume:

Male Black Suit

Female Suit

Male Purple Shirt

For other costume, we want both characters to be smart. The female MI5 agent more so that the male as she is in a working environment both us to create the air of authority and power. So for that reason we want her to be in a woman's suit, skirt, blazer and shirt. For out male characters we want to create a air of superiority however being suave and sophisticated at the same time. We did not want him to look like he had just come just work so we have decided that he will be dress in a grey or black shirt with a purple shirt and pocket handkerchief. As purple has connotations with royalty, elegance and sophistication.

Actors and Actresses:

Female: 

                                                    Chelsea Davison                             Sophie Mooney

When choosing our male and female leads we when to follow the stereotype for our male but break it for our female, as we feel that break the stereotype of a MI5 agent from a male to a female would put the audience on the back foot and not know what to expect from her, creating mystery and unease as the audience would want the crime to be court but with a woman, which is not normally see is film as being a MI5 agent the audience would not know if he would be. So for this reason we have chosen to go with Chelsea Davison. As she conforms to the stereotype of a blond, stylish woman with sought-after looks, putting the audience in a unusual situation as normally blond woman are the "eye candy" with a film that do not help the protagonist, as this example of the famous James Bond Dr. No with "Ursula Andress" shows.

  

Male:

                                                       Tameem Rahman                              Daniel Pirie

Form our main lead we wanted a male that fixed the stereotype criminal, however someone that the audience would be draw to and look at the end of the film. Traditionally a Black man would be the stereotypical race for a thief however our film, that portrays a criminal in a stylised way is normally a white man as this clip for "The Thomas Crown Affair" with "Pierce Brosnan" shows:

So for this reason we have chosen Daniel Pirie as our male lead. Also we have chosen both of our actors as they fit the part but moreover that we think they are reliable and that we have ask them not to change there appearance for the duration of our film as this would effect our continuity.

Our choices have been influenced our research and what actors look like in there parts of other crime films. Also we have have been influenced by our decision to change some stereotypes and conform to others, which has affect our choices of actor and Actresses. This will help us in creating the correct mood and tone for out opening titles as we now can visualise what out characters will look like and sound like. This will help our final script and storyboard.

Storyboard

So from our script we decided to create a storyboard of what we want our opening to look and feel like. We found this proses fairly easy as we all contributed idea and thought of what we consider to good shot for the element, e.g. shot type, moment, angle. There was also a lot of convocation about whether we need some sequences to other, the placement of scenes and how and where each shot should be filmed and located.

Below is our completed storyboard:

This has been influenced by our research into other films in the genre of crime, and how they use the camera and where are they shot, but also by our script and own person opinions. All three of us want to create something that pushes the boundaries of Crime while keeping the same key elements that make a good Crime film (not being stereotypical or conventional). Will will help us to create our animatic and shooting schedule but also help us to visualise what is going to happen next in our opening and how we get from one to the other.

Script

As a group we feel that before we started creating our storyboard we need to take our best ideas and turned them in to a script. The script needed to have a description of the scene and shot, along with some dialog, however it was the description that we need move than the speech. As this would help you created and visualise our sequences of event and develop or storyboard.

Below is our first draft:



This has been influenced by our research into title sequence and by the technical codes and conventions for our genre of crime. This has help us develop for opening, as now we have a clearer idea and know where we want to take our 2 minutes. However, there is still some hazy and unclear concepts (e.g. what our main protagonist will say) that will need to be thought about and decided upon.

Development of Idea

After creating a brainstorm of our ideas and researching in to the language of film and the technical codes and conventions we create another brainstorm of ideas about the plot, charters, location, filming style etc, for our opening.

This can be seen below:

We as a group has an idea of what we wanted to opening to be like, modern, stylised, something new and unconventional. Nothing that we have decide to create the idea of a master criminal how is about to steal The Crown Jewels, However the police are on to him. The location for our film is going to be set in london which givens it the stylised feeling that we wanted.  We also have decided on the filming style which is doing to be Close-up and medium shot, Tracking, panning and tilting, and establishing shot as this is what of there film are like as we have seen for there technical codes and conventions is the audience will be familiar with it.

With will help when we come to storyboard and film as we now known what type of crime thriller we are trying to make. This has been influenced my of research in to the language of film and technical codes and conventions  as that is there we are basing our filming style and plot on.

Technical Codes and Conventions

To develop our groups understand of technical codes and conventions of the crime genre are watch 4 films each, so in total 12 film, which we thought would give us a good understand of what the codes for a crime film was. Is research the codes and conventions of Pulp Fiction, Seven, Reservoir Dogs and The Usual Suspect, here our my findings. 

Pulp Fiction. 

Opening - 4:37 Before tires

Camera:

- Start with the studio logo / animation 

- Definition of the word Pulp

- Mid shot (2 people taking)

- Close-up (Low angle)

- Close-up (eye level)

- Mid shot (2 people)

- Mid shot (Over shoulders, SRS)

- Mid shot (2 people)

- Close-up (SRS)

- Mid shot

Editing 

- Slow at start

- Speed up as we got to SRS

Sound

Taking

No music

Mise-en-scene

USA diner

Casual clothes

Female and male.

Titles

-Yellow font on black

- Name of studio

- Name of film rolls on to screen

- Name of actors over name of film

- Actors name in white over name of film in yellow

- Fast

Seven

Opening - 4.11 Before tires

Camera:

- Studio Logo

- Mid long shot

- Mid shot tilt to face

- Close-up

- Mid shot

- Pan

- Title over video

- Long shot to mid close-up

- Soft Focus

- Mid shot low angle

- Tracking

Editing 

- Fade for black

- Slow

Sound

- Non-Diegetic sound from street

Mise-en-scene

- Raining

- Old detective

Titles

- All Close Up

- High-key lighting

- White text over black live action

- Cross Dissolve

- All shot mostly Black and White

- Cut into the titles

- Old Film

Reservoir Dogs

Opening - 4.40 Before tires

Camera:

- Orange titles over black

- Mid tracking

- Close up

- Over shoulders Tracking

- Mid shot eye level

Editing 

- Slow

- Cuts

Sound

- Voice Over

- Diegetic Speech

Mise-en-scene

- Play cards

- Male in suits

- Smoking

The Usual Suspect

Opening - 2.28 Before tires

Camera:

- Studio Logo

- Blue Text on the right on black

- Text over live action

- Text font old type writer

- Close up of match

- Mid shot

- Low-key lighting

- Tilt

- Mid shot

- Close-up

Editing 

- Slow up to the titles

- Cut

Sound

- Soft, Classic music

Mise-en-scene

- Fire

- Dark, unclean, on the street.

This has help me and my group work out what is not most common shot, angle, movements, editing techniques, sounds use, music, decor and costumes. We found that the title sequence did not start the when the film began but there was a little begin plot to lead into the film which we have decide to take and uses in ours. We as decided that we would use mainly medium and medium close-up shot in the opening. We have also desire on having a voice over and diegetic speech, possibly using a sound bridge. Is will help us in our planing creating out storyboard and through out our  pre-production & production fazes. 

Language of Film

I have research into title sequences to find out what the technical codes and conventions were for the crime genre that we have chosen. Before that I needed to research in depth about the different techniques and what the names where for them.

Basic Terms

Auteur:  another word (French) for the author (Director)

Diegesis: objects, events, spaces and the characters that inhabit them.

Editing: the joining together of clips

Flashback / Flashforward: a jump backwards or forwards in diegetic time.

Focus - Depth of field: shallow focus, deep fouces, racking focus.

Mise-en-scene: "put in the scene": the setting, the decor, the lighting, the costumes, the performance

Story / Plot: fabula and syuzhet, the events that are directly presented in the film, the order, duration, and setting of those events

Scene / Sequence: takes place in a single time and place

Shot: a single stream of images, uninterrupted by editing.

Mise-en-scene

Decor:  objects contained in and the setting of a scene

Three-Point Lighting: standard lighting scheme for classical narrative

High-Key lighting: produces images that are usually very bright and that feature few shadows on the principal subjects

Low-Key lighting: lighting scheme that employs very little fill light, creating strong contrasts between the brightest and darkest parts

Costume: clothes that characters wear

Deep Space: significant elements of an image are positioned both near to and distant from the camera

Frontality: elements face the camera square-on

Matte Shot: process shot in which two photographic images are combined into a single image

Offscreen Space: Space that exists in the diegesis but that is not visible in the frame.

Shallow Space: the image is staged with very little depth, opposite of deep space

Cinematography

Colour: used to create aesthetic patterns and to establish character or emotion

Contrast: the ratio of dark to light in an image

Deep Focus: significant elements occupy widely separated planes in the image

Shallow Focus: keeps only one plane in sharp focus

Depth of Field: The distance through which elements in an image are in sharp focus

Exposure: A camera lens has an aperture that controls how much light passes through the lens and onto the film

Racking Focus: changing the focus of a lens such that an element in one plane of the image goes in or out of focus

Telephoto Shot: An image shot with an extremely long lens is called a telephoto shot to compress the apparent depth of an image

Zoom Shot: change the focal length of the lens while the shot is in progress

Low Angle:  shooting at a lower position than the dominant element

High Angle:  shooting at a higher position than the dominant element

Canted Framing: frame is not level

Point of View Shot: camera placed approximately where the character's eyes would be.

Extreme Long Shot: object shown is very small (as used as establishing shots)

Long Shot: the object shown is small, taking up the hight of the screen

Medium Long Shot: is when a human is only shown from the knees up 

Medium Shots. the subject or actor and its setting occupy roughly equal areas in the frame (waist up)

Medium Close-up: the object shown is fairly large, (shoulders up)

Close-up: the object shown is relatively large, just the head is shown.

Extreme Close-up: the object shown is very large (mouth or eye)

Crane Shot: camera above the ground and moving through the air in any direction.

Handheld Camera, Steadycam: the camera operator's body as a camera support, either holding it by hand or using a gyroscopic stabiliser and a harness

Pan: camera body turning to the right or left

Tilt:  camera body swivelling upward or downward

Tracking Shot:  travels through space forward, backward, or laterally

Whip Pan: extremely fast movement of the camera from side to side to make image to blur

Editing


Cheat cut: cut which purports to show continuous time and space

Crosscutting: alternates shots of two or more lines of action occurring in different places

Cut-in, Cut Away: shift from a distant framing to a closer view

Dissolve: transition between two shots during which the first image gradually disappears while the second image gradually appears

Iris: round, moving mask that can close down to end a scene

Jump Cut: elliptical cut that appears to be an interruption of a single shot

Establishing Shot: usually involving a distant framing, that shows the spatial relations among the important figures, objects, and setting in a scene

Shot / Reverse Shot: Two or more shots edited together that alternate characters, typically in a conversation situation.

Wipe: transition between shots in which a line passes across the screen, eliminating the first shot as it goes and replacing it with the next one

Eye line Match: first shot shows a person off in one direction and the second shows a nearby space containing what he or she sees

Match on Action: cut which splices two different views of the same action together at the same moment in the movement

Continuity Editing: cutting to maintain continuous and clear narrative action

Sound

Sound Bridge: sound from the previous scene carries over briefly before the sound from the new scene begins.

Sonic Flashback: one diegetic time is heard over images from a later time

Diegetic Sound: sound presented as originating from a source within the film's world

Non-Diegetic Sound: sound not originating from a source within the film's world

Offscreen Sound: simultaneous sound from a source assumed to be in the space of the scene but outside what is visible onscreen

Post Synchronization sound: The process of adding sound to images after they have been shot and assembled

Voice Over: When a voice, often that of a character in the film, is heard while we see an image of a space and time in which that character is not actually speaking

This will help me to analyse other title sequences to find out what the technical codes and conventions are but also will help me in the production and post-production fazes of our title sequences as I can uses my research to develop and improvement to to opening but also add different techniques 

aspects as well. 

Brainstorms

 After deciding of on plan of pre-production & production, we started to develop ideas for our title sequence. We when off by our selfs to create a brainstorm of our own ideas that we would bring back to the group and talk about what we felt would be the crime genre for us to create as a group and what would the plot line be about.

Below you can see my brainstorm:

After brainstorming our selves we gathered back together and read about all of our idea to each other. We created another brainstorm of the ideas that we thought would be the best one to create our title sequence around.

This again can be seen below:

Our research helped us to decide what would make a good crime thriller title sequence and how other crime thrillers when about in creating theres. Also our research helped us to decide that we want to progress the crime thrill genre as we feel that it has become to still and the audience is become board of the same old films. So this is what we are going to aim to do.

I feel that our group works really well together as we all brought some thing to the table and suggested ideas even if we did not go along with them. I feel that our group as all been given equal role and responsibility and non of us taking a back seat, if we don't like something or are unsure about it we will said. Which creates a really open atmosphere, which is good for coming up with ideas.

Representation

Representation is how social groups, different subcultures, occupations, ages, social classes -and places are portrayed in the media and how the audiences interpret these portrayals.

Below is an image that represents how representation works:

It all starts with the idea or event and then it gets mediated by producers. Then it is a cycle between the Institution, Text and Audience one influencing the other.

To understand and analysis representation we first much ask our self these questions:

- Who is presenting the images and why? (Institution)
- How do the people receiving the images, including myself, react to what they see, read and hear? (Audience)
- Over a period of time, what do the images suggest about certain groups in society? (Text)
- What points of view are neglected or ignored? (Text)

Analysis of the content of media products needs to be accompanied by analysis of how people interpret what they read, see and hear. Only by asking these questions, can we analyse media text and investigate the relationship between the media and it's audience and prove Dominic Strinati's theory, that "The mass media, for example, were once thought of as holding up a mirror to, and thereby reflecting, a wider social reality. Now that reality is only definable in terms of surface reflection of the mirror".

David Buckingham writes in his study entitled "Boys' Talk: Television and the policing of Masculinity" that young boys and probably most men fear being labelled as homosexual or effeminate. The pressure to conform to male codes is often exerted in male banter and repartee. Buckingham found that in talk about television there was much more pressure on boys than on girls to avoid being ridiculed or humiliated by peers.

However to prove that David Buckingham study is correct we need to identify the effect the media text has on people and what type of text Buckingham was analysing. For example there was a study untaken by Gillian Murphy in the affect of romantic magazines on woman. She concluded by saying that women should free themselves from romance and become 'politicised'. She also criticises romantic magazines for concentrating on romance, which is rather like criticising detective novels for concentrating on crime. " This is Bad research and analysing.

Therefore when analysing ourselves we need to removed our own opinions and study the content, affect and portrayal leading to the representations.

Plan of Pre-production & Production

We as a group decided that we need to write up a plan of how we will go about completing the pre-production task leading up to our production faze. We have decided that we need to complete our filming before the start of the holiday as that leaves up a nice period after the holiday to edit and complete the title sequence.

So here is what we decided we need to do and by when we need to do it.

- Brainstorming / ideas (to be blogged)- Monday 7th November
- Development of ideas - creating a shot list - Friday 11th November
- Scripting - Friday 18th November
- Storyboard - Friday 18th November
- Props / Costume / Locations / Actors and Actresses - Friday 25th November
- Animatic / Presentation - Friday 25th November
- Shooting Schedule - Monday 28th November

We have also decided that we need to:

- Scout locations and take picture - on the Sunday 20th November
- Filming day in location and (if time) with actors- Sunday 4th December
- Reshoot day or Backup Day- Saturday 10th December

This has been designed and influenced upon our Continuity Task and how we need more time to produce a good quality pre-production plan e.g. Storyboard with description and annotations. Also we have factored in to our plan that wee need to make and complete the task of getting actors, choosing locations and creating an animatic and shooting schedule.

We have also include a backup day to film incase the weather is back or we did not get and the forage we need. However is day will also service as a reshoot day if we don't like or thing a shot is been frame wrong and there is some shaking. Unfortunately this poses a challenge is we need to reshot how the weather or other factors are not the same as the first day filming. This is something the we will have to consider and manger as and what, if it does, happen.

Past Students Work

Room To Breathe: The grade I thought  Level 3 / 40 (Shot shakes/ Different shots/ Music cut out/ Titles did not fit.)


Given Grade: LEVEL 2 / 35 (Top)

Unrequited Love: The grade I thought Level 3 / 36 (Titles cut into the shots, SHot not shaker, Not different transitions, Music)


Given Grade: LEVEL 2 / 30

Root Cause: The grade I thought Level 3 / 47 (Title fit, Shot still, Mise-en-scenc fit with the plot)


Given Grade: LEVEL 4 / 54

Revelation: The grade I thought Level 4 / 52 (Good use transitions, Music, Titles, Shot length)


Given Grade: LEVEL 4 / 48

Final Fate: The grade I thought Level 2 / 29 (Music, Could be transitions better)


Given Grade: LEVEL 2 / 24

The Domino Effect: The grade I thought Level 3 / 47 ( good shot length, music fit well, Title are to small, The verisimilitude is low)


Given Grade: LEVEL 3 / 40

This has help me to understand what a good student make title sequence looks like but also what we should not do in terms of plot, editing, sound, mise-en-scene and camera. This has given some good ideas about plot and how we should create our sequence to make it feel professional. From this I feel that through out our proses we need to constantly need to be looking at thee mark scheme, to see if we are doing the best and that we are doing all that we need to get the best grades.

Reviewing Continuity Tasks

Our Groups Continuity Task

Evaluation and Improvements


For our continuity task I feel that we could have held the shots more steady, instead for it holding a little to from side to side, e.g. at 0:07 the camera moves shakes. This is some thing to remember when we are film our opening title sequence. Also the lighting at 0:16 is a dramatic change from the pervious shot, which is a little bit disorientating, and need consideration when filming our opening.

However we do uses a range of different shot from long shot to a close up, and this is a panning shot of our characters walking down the corridor. We also do frame our shot so that the element or characters remains which the shot. We also have edit the sequence together to create meaning which is apparent with the viewer. Also, we used music in to sequence to create and build tension and dramatic affect on the audience.

On the other hand, we have not uses a range of different transitions or put titles on to it either. This is some again that we need to remember to do and consider when creating our main title sequence.


Hannah, Nicole and Danni Continuity Task

Evaluation and Improvements

When watch the other groups continuity task, like ours they did not hold there shot steady but shakes from side to side, e.g. at point 0:22 the camera shakes violently. Also, at point 0:22 there framing of there main characters is not positioned are as they have cut her head of by it being out side of the frame. The editing and mixing sound to create continuity is lacking for me as there are points where sound it cut of half way through (0:31) and at points where audio is missing all together (0:25).

However this group does use a range of different shot distances from long shot to close up. There edit does create meaning for the audience. Also the indoor dialogue is clear and easy to understand and follow. There uses of setting, props, and figure has been well thought out and is clear to the audience.

Other the other hand, like us they have not used a range of different transitions or out title on the sequence  to convey meaning.