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jamie hammond 3067 

media blog finished 

continuity excercise

This is a continuity exercise that we had to complete by using the techniques of match on action, the 180 degree rule and shot reverse shot. This task was set to show that we could use these skills in our actual project. The task gave us a short experience of using the cameras and was our second experience of using the editing tools. The first experience being a 3 hour task to make a short film using the cameras with little expereince of filming or editing, letting us make our own mistakes and letting us form our own vision of what filming would be like.

audience research

As part of the research into our genre's and audience i conducted a questionnaire to find out what the audience wanted from my chosen genre. Even though feedback is important to give what the audience is looking for, it not always what the film maker wants, so the results from the questions did not influence all of my decisions when creating the film as i had my own vision and creativity that i stuck to.
This is the questionnaire and the results displayed in graphs.

oganisation

After the researching into and deciding our genre's and conducting textual analysis it was time to begin organising how we would create our film. There were five main areas in which we needed to plan:

• storyboard






• actors






• locations






• costumes






• props

These areas had to be carefully planned and organised as if we were not prepared the film would fall apart. first the creation of the story board. Me and my project partner Steve Widger, started throwing ideas around on how we would bring on how we would bring our research and plans to life on a storyboard. For some parts the creating involved lots of trial and error, with different shots being added and others being taken away as both our minds spilled our ideas onto paper. There was no issue of ideas clashing and disagreement as instead we combined different ideas to improve on our personal ones. After many discussions and planning of ideas we came up with a story board that we both agreed suited the vision of what we wanted this film to be. These ideas that we had constructed on paper now had to take life and we had to be begin using our organisation skills to accomplish this.











The first thing we needed to was decide on the actors for the film. There were three main roles to fill, which were the characters of Matt Fox, Emma and the assassin. The first role assigned was Matt Fox and we concluded that Steve would best suit this role, this was an easy straightforward decision. However the other two characters went through a few changes as originally the role of the assassin was going to be given to another actor. Although i was determined to have an acting part in my film and the fact of reliability so the decision was changed and i was given the role. The character of Emma was the most difficult to fill as many girls didn't like the thought of being in a film. We then both decided Steve would find a girl for the part as we had already cycled through several candidates for the role, and he seemed to have an unlimited supply of girls names to list for the part. After much confusion Steve gave the idea of having his girlfriend who was coincidentally named Emma to take the role, i considered the implications of having a girlfriend involved, (as it would be disastrous if there was some sort of issue between them when we only have half the filming done)however we were running out of time so we agreed she would take the role. After we had shot these scenes we decided that the choice of actor and setting were not what we had wanted so we decided it would be best to hand the role to another actor and change the location of the scene. Following the selection of the actors we had to use the vision of the story and bring it to life. There were four main locations to find and conduct risk assessment. These locations were

• The inside of a bedroom
  






• The inside of a house (staircase and door)







• The outside area of a house (driveway)







• A wood with a small stream

Luckily we had all these locations close to us. so close in fact that we barely shot any footage away from either mine or Steve's house. The shots had to be planned carefully as some sections were filmed in different areas but had to look like they were the same area which became slightly confusing and meant we had to look for any sign that would give away this. Steve suggested that we use his house for the scenes within the house and i suggested we used the wood and stream directly outside my house for the scene in the woods. However there were problems with these ideas. As the scenes were shot in different places you could tell that these shots would match, so to make the shots blend together we used the inside of steves house but the outside shots were of my house along with the stream shot. After looking carefully at these shits we decided that it would be best if we used one location instead of blending the shots.
After all the shot locations were decided we had to make sure that they were safe for the actors and equipment. So to do this we had to complete a risk assesment. We decided that sum of the locations were low risk but there were sum high risk areas. These are the pictures of the shots:

After analysing these shots there were some areas witch had a reasonably high risk however these were shots that were very important to the film. so we agreed that we would have to take extra procations on the shots we may cause risk to people and equipment.

The Matrix reloaded analysis sci-fi/action

The film opens with credits and the title of the tinted with green light, which is the colour commonly associated with sci-fi. The music in the opening is mysterious and builds tension indicating some action is about to take place. The opening shows symbols and codes running down the screen linking with the sci-fi genre.The establishing camera shot shows the symbols panning out from animated codes forming a clock, the clock signifies that the time on the clock maybe of significance for later in the film. The next shot is of security guards representing authority and safety which is about to be interrupted relating to the action genre.Trinity is the first heroic characters shown, she enters on a motorbike which is signified as a phallic symbol and the noise the bike makes her seem powerful like a roar of a lion. Her costume is also a signifier as it is black a mysterious. Trinity jumps of the bike and it lands into the security guards building, taking away there power and also conforming with the action genre. Trinity is then chased through a building and jumps out a window, as she jumps out the window the camera goes into slow motion showing more action. The next camera shot is a swinging shot as the camera twists round Trinity's body as she jumps out of the window, the shot makes you feel as if trinity is jumping past you. The Nemesis called the agents, tries to regain power as the chase pursues with guns. All these symbols and camera shots help identify the genre, but how does it draw in the audience? The opening of the film first engages the audience with the use a mysterious music, as it gives a feel that and event or action is going to have to happen. Secondly the mysterious codes shown draws the audience in as they want to know what these symbols are. Hidden messages that are in the opening with an example of a countdown inside of the scrolling symbols leaves the audience intrigued. A sudden burst of action within the first few minutes of the film leaves the audience surprised and confused of why this action is taking place and highlights the action genre. The use of technology ,guns and explosions helps hook the audience in further.

star wars analysis

STAR WARS : EPISODE THREE(sci-fi) -
The opening credits and titles show a green tinted company logo which then changes colour to gold then silver. The green colour represents a classic sci-fi film and genre, the silver could have meanings such as technology and the gold representing glory or power.
The opening credits to the film begin with the classic phrase "A long time ago in a galaxy far far away" the credits scroll from the bottom of the screen to the top with the background being a space setting. This immediately shows the audience that the film is set in space, conforming to the sci-fi genre codes and conventions, as well as the background of space there is also music playing in the background. The music is similar to music of a march or a victory of a battle. however the music soon changes and becomes dark and sinister. The next shot is an uprising shot of a planet. The planet is being orbited by hundreds of small spaceships witch are guarding a big spaceship, this big ship being protected signifies the power it must have. The planet is illuminated with light, half the planet being red light and the other white light. These two lights could represent good and evil, safety and danger or conflict.
The character of the senator is introduced departing from a ship being surrounded by guards which represents her importance.As the senator steps of the ship there is fog all around representing something mysterious. The senator is dressed in white signifying her purity and naivety.
The space ship suddenly explodes signifying terrorism against politics and representation on real life issues. The senator is then shown lying of the floor, her dress is no longer white, it has been covered in black from the explosion, the colours contrasting and representing death. One of the body guards of the senator is then shown, he has an eye patch showing he has been in battle and survived showing his courage and loyalty to the senator.
This was the first opening two minutes of the film, but how do the techniques engage the audience. The opening shot shows a spaceship fly past the camera making the audience feel involved in the film. The audience would be drawn in by curiosity of the shot of the big spaceship being guarded by the smaller ships, as they would begin to ask themselves why that big ship is so important. The use of the sudden change in music going from victorious to sinister builds up tension. The fog that surround the ship and senator when she leaves the ship builds tension as fog indicates something mysterious. The sudden explosion hooks the audience in and leaves the wandering what has happened. After the explosion it reveals that the senator shown was a decoy, and the real senator is alive leaving the audience confused and looking for answers.

influences/codes and conventions

At the beginning of our projects we were told to think about a genre we enjoyed and wanted to use as our chosen genre for the film. After considering the many types of genre i decided on a final two genre's to research, these genres were sci-fi and action. To conduct research on these genre's i would have to use my critical analysis skills that i had been taught to use when watching films. To have an understanding of my genre's and how they introduce the setting and narrative, as well as the characters and establish the genre all within the opening two minutes. All these things would be shown through music, setting , costume, lighting and pace will all give information on the genre and how it is clearly displayed. The following essays (some parts are in note form) are analysing the sci-fi and action genre. The films are Star Wars, The Matrix Reloaded and The condemned. (the original copies of the essays will be posted)