Evaluation of Rough Cut

Evaluation of first rough cut

Smart targets

I have set myself some smart targets on pro-monitor as a reminder of what I need to do to improve my blog in order to attain the highest mark possible. Setting targets with a deadline will help me manage my free time better to make sure I actually meet the deadlines and allow time to post extra blog posts to enhance the quality of my blog.

SWOT ANALYSIS

Evidence Audit

Rough Cut of the Title Sequence

Psychological Editing- Andrei

I was browsing through youtube videos, hoping to find an interesting and effective way to edit our title sequence together and I managed to find this clip.

Post production is where all the pieces of our title sequence come together and understanding the psychology behind editing will help us create a title sequence with purpose.

The video explains the reason why a target audience prefer and enjoy some movies more than others. This is due simply because the audience tends to analyse the film they are watching subconsciously, therefore they have a preset impression of a movie right after watching the title sequence, hence why our title sequence needs to be flawless.

We can, firstly begin by selecting all the footage that we feel is most powerful, can help us tell a story and could be effectively put together to maintain the viewer's attention and suspend their disbelief. One way we can make this happen is through our editing,by using the 'Kuleshov Effect', whereby we take a few clips that do not necessarily have a connection to each other and organize them in such way that we could create something that wasn't initially there. This could impact the quality of our title sequence greatly as using a such simplistic, yet so effective technique will expand the audience's knowledge of the film and help them form a more detailed perception of it, making them more engaged in the title sequence.

Here are a few things we could do in the post production work to enhance our title sequence:

• Knowing when to cut- every time we cut, there must be a reason for it. Cutting must be done to show emotions, as well as conveying the story of the film. 

• Holding shots- we can hold shots either on subjects or objects in our title sequence to determine their significance and connoting to the audience a feeling of importance in the film, as well as, giving the audience time to connect with the characters and what they are feeling.
• Shot ordering- The general rule for movies is beginning with a master shot then follow up with a shot of a subject (character). However, when we sometimes break this rule, we can create a sense of mystery as the audience are slightly confused as they were not expecting it.
• Cutting on action- cutting on action can make the title sequence seem more transparent and often leaves the audience craving more, therefore it will help us successfully attain our goal for the title sequence; leaving the audience 'on the edge of their seats'. 
• Focusing on the viewer's eye trace- this involves making sure that we don't change the perspective focus of the viewer's eyes too drastically so we can create a more flawless transition. This helps us, as editors, control: where the viewer is looking, what they are seeing, their feelings and the story that is being told to them.

Overall, using all these techniques and procedures, we hope to achieve a title sequence that is cohesive, includes seamless cutting and conveys a powerful potential story that will be told in the film through the title sequence. 

How to achieve a cinematic look with colour grading

how to use morph cut effects in premier pro cc

how to create flicker effect into premier pro

How to create a cinematic film look in premier pro

The Psychology of Framing-Andrei

Out of curiosity, I decided that I wanted a deeper, more detailed knowledge behind the framing of shots. Therefore, I did my own research on how to make the framing of our shots for fitting and interesting in order to attract and engage a wider range of target audiences.

The most popular shot types are:

• Wide Shot
• Medium Shot
• Over-the-shoulder Shot
• Close up Shot
• Macro Shot

Throughout our title sequence we want to be using as many variations of shots as possible, enabling us to maintain variety and prevent our viewers from becoming slightly bored of seeing the same exact shot types.

Another thing we could do to further develop our title sequence more professionally, is using 'The rule of thirds'. This involves:

1. Dividing the frame into nine equal blocks
2. Placing the subject(character) in the middle of the four intersecting lines.
3. This causes the viewer to follow the subject into the frame 
4. Then, unconsciously focusing on the edge of the frame
5. And returning their eye trace towards the subject once again
6.  This creates a more dynamic image

The above only takes place if the subject is on one side of the screen. However, if the subject is in the center of the frame, the viewer's eye remain static as  there is an equal distance between the borders of the frame and the subject, creating a more still image which could be effective if we want to raise tension or show the 'power' of a character.

We could also use 'Frame Balancing'. This technique juxtaposes images within a frame so that the objects are of equal visual weight. When different parts of attention command your attention more than others, the right balance is achieved. This could be extremely useful in our title sequence as we can use 'frame balancing' to direct the viewers attention on a certain character or object and manipulate their emotions much more easily.

This video has also made me understand that the distance between the viewer and the subject correlates to the difference between the camera and the subject. Accordingly, framing could help us establish relationships between the target audience and the characters right from the title sequence. If the camera is more distant from a character, it means that the character will also seem more distant and mysterious. On the other hand, if the camera is closer to the subject while filming, it will helps us develop a really impactful, strong emotional connection between the character and the viewer. Moreover, we can also decide to change the frame of certain scenes to denote how the character is feeling and further develop a character to viewer relationship, while also helping our target audience figure out the genre of the movie. 

Understanding framing on a deeper level and the connection it can create for the viewer,we can use it to create the desired effects and enhance our title sequence overall.

Update on storyboard-

Due to the change of locations and changes to our shots , here are some images of the our final storyboard.

Working on our production (4/12/2015)-Andrei

Evidence of Filming-Ceanne

Here are quick shots of us filming  and the props used in our title sequence in Shoreditch.

PROPS UPDATE--Alex Dragulele

COSTUME UPDATE--Alex Drauglele

LOCATION UPDATE-- Alex Dagulele

A month ago, 13th of November, me and my group visited the filming set, we decided to use this as we could work with the atmospheric light, which on camera looked very atmospheric. It was located on on Shoreditch High street, behind the pub The Old blue Last Pub  and were close enough to the high street so that there would be a background sound of busy cars to create a city sounds, which linked in with the genre of the film , Thriller.

However, when we arrived on the set on the 1st of December, we were surprised to see that the whole site in Shoreditch was closed up because of road work. therefore we had to improvise and go find a new location. With luck we found a new, well lit location, located a short walk from the original location. the new location contain a little part with a wide pavement. The little park was attached to the wall of a church.

the new location, also was more discrete and further away from the road, which meant not as many people would disrupt our  filming session, but because it was a public space, members of the public still came through.
The wall of the church was a huge advantage to us as we were able to hang up the symbol of the murders. we did this to contextualise the scene and also add a sense of mystery.

The trees in the new location were very low down, this helped the scene be more discrete and also it added a nice contrasting tone, between the green of the leaves and the blood.

The new location did add more atmosphere to our film and it made it more discrete.

OUR FINAL IDENT FOR DISTRIBUTION COMPANY- Devon Smith

The Psychology behind Cinematography/Camera Movement- Andrei

Camera Movement is a great technique to add another layer or dimension to our filming and form different interpretations for our target audience to infer and getting them more involved and intrigued in to the film, hence why I did another independent research of how to perfect this technique and found as much detail about it as possible. The main types of camera movements:

• Pan- this involves moving the camera horizontally. It is often used to follow a subject or to show the difference between two objects. It can also be used to give the viewer a panoramic view of the setting.

• Tilt-Often used to follow a subject or to show the top and bottom of a stationary object, panning is extremely effective to connote possession of power or vulnerability of characters. Tilting up makes a character look much larger and thicker(more powerful), where as tilting down makes the character look smaller and thinner(less powerful). 

• Pedestal- Physically moving the camera diagonally, usually on a tripod. This is used to show the size of a character or object and potentially connote either danger or innocence. 

• Dolly-The camera is set on tracks or wheels and moved towards or back from a subject.This is done to follow an object smoothly to get a unique perspective. In some movies directors combine the dolly and a zoom shot for a real sense of doom. To do this, the camera lens zooms into the subject at the same time as the camera physically dollies out, and the person in the shot remains the same size, but the background appears to move. It's difficult to master smoothly, but done right, the shot conveys a real sense of tension and feeling of vertigo.

• Crane-This works and looks similar to a construction crane. It is used for high sweeping shots or to follow the action of your subject. It gives a bird's eye view and looks as if the camera is swooping down from above.This is often used for street scenes so they can shoot from above the crowd and the traffic, and then move down to eye level.

• Handheld- Holding the camera without any resting equipment e.g. tripod. If mastered correctly this could be very effective as it offers great precision of angles because the camera is handheld, therefore it can be positioned in any way. Handheld is best when you are shooting someone or something that is moving. However, It looks very bad when shooting landscapes, buildings, or stationary objects.

• Push in / Pull back – here the camera is pushed towards the action or pulled back (whether manually or digitally) often to subtly suggest an increasing affinity or dislike for a character as a clip or scene progresses

• Zoom in or Zoom out – here the camera lens zooms in or out to change our spatial and emotional relationship to the scene and the characters

In addition, each camera movement and the speed of the movement has it's own unique and specific emotion or feeling that the audience or viewer picks up subconsciously. Therefore, using cinematography we can connect certain characters and objects with the audience by evoking specific feeling without any dialogue which, in my opinion,creates a magnificent title sequence that does it's job of introducing the movie to the audience without giving away too much detail or information.
Lastly, we can use camera movement while filming to our advantage to create specific emotions and forming a hierarchy of the importance of every occurrence of every scene and making our title sequence more compelling as a whole.

According to the clips, often the terms 'Zoom in' and 'Push in' are confused with each other. A 'zoom' is a two dimensional magnification that increases the size of the center of the camera's image. Meanwhile, a 'push in' is physically pushing the camera towards the subject, creating a much more three dimensional space for the viewer. A 'push in' gives the viewer a more detailed and familiarized perspective of the character and the surroundings where as a 'zoom in' is more artificial and offers a more of an 'outsider's' perspective. 

TRANSCRIPT -Alex Dragulele

Normally, a film script does not include camera directions however, i have added these directions to help me and my team get more organised with our shots and how they will look. I also added them to give extra detail of how they will look.

OUR FINAL IDENT FOR PRODUTION COMPANY- Devon Smith

ALLEY WAY PART OF TITLE SEQUENCE-Alex Dragulele

ALLEY WAY SHOTS AND CLEAR DIRECTIONS

BLACK SCREEN

SOUND OF HEELS IS HEARED

SOUND OF LIGHT RAIN IN THE BACKGROUND

LONG SHOT OF ALLEY WAY IS ESTIBALISHED ON AN ANGLE IN THE CORNER

BIRDS EYE VIEW OF A WOMAN WALKING THROUGHT THE ALLEY WAY, HER SHADOW IS INFRONT OF HER AND THERES ANOTHER SHADOW BEHIND HER.

A SHADOW OF SOMEONE WALKING BEHIND THE CAMERA APEARS

MEDIUM SHOT OF THE WOMAN’S FACE WALKING

SOUND OF HER PHONE IS HEARD AND THERES A JUMP CUT TO HER BAG

SHE STOPS

SHE SEARCHES HER BAG AND REVEALS THE PHONE TO THE CAMERA

JUMP CUT TO A MEDIUM SHOT OF HER FACE

THERE IS SOMEONE IN THE BACKGROUND BUT WE CANNOT SEE THEM

SHE PUTS THE PHONE TO HER EAR WHEN SUDDELNTLY A HAND COMES THROUGH THE SHADOWS INTO THE LIGHT AND GRABS HER MOUTH

BLACK SCREEN

SOUNDTRACK (‘SEE YOU AGAIN’ REMIX) STARTS

SOUND OF LIGHTER

CLOSE UP MONTAGE AND JUMP CUTS OF THE LEADER SMOKING A CIGARRETE

OVER THE SHOULDER SHOT OF A WOMAN SMOKING

FOCUS IS ON HER AND BAKCROUND IS BLURRED

IN THE BACKGROUND THERE IS A SPOT LIGHT OF A WOMAN ON THE FLOOR (BLURRED, UNNOTICED) WITH 2 MEN BEHIND HER

SHE BLOWS THE SMOKE OUT

THE FOCUS CHANGES TO THE BACKGROUND, WHICH REVEALS THE WOMAN ON THE FLOOR WITH BLOOD ON HER

LOW ANGLE SHOT OF THE BLOOD MOVING FURTHER AWAY FROM HER HEAD

CAMERA TILTS UP TO REVEAL A PART OF THE WOMAN’S FACE AND THE LEADER ABOVE HER

MATCH CUT TO THE SYMBOLS ON HER BODY AND THE SYMBOL ON THE WALL

Overall Pitch-Ceanne

Feedback after Pitch - Devon Smith

Production Schedule -Devon Smith

Below is a rough copy of the production schedule and is defiantly a template/guide so we do not go off track in our attempt to make this title sequence the best it can be. we will be constantly changing the schedule but rest assured that we will update it regularly and post it on this blog.

Institutional detail- Devon Smith

our final designs for production and distributor ident-Devon Smith

Our production ident ( the final product will have a transparent background)

A photo posted by Asset7 Group 33 (@asset7group33) on Nov 18, 2015 at 12:02pm PST

Our final distribution ident ( final product will have a transparent background)

A photo posted by Asset7 Group 33 (@asset7group33) on Nov 18, 2015 at 12:04pm PST

Finalising the logo decisions and our pitch.

As a group we understand the importance of the pitch and the significance of an eye catching Ident and therefore have decided to meet up out of school hours to make sure we have what we need to cement this title sequence as one of the best that Any City and Islington Sixth form College group has ever produced.

The first draft of the distributor logo- Devon Smith

( A screen shot will be taken to replace above photograph  and embedded using Instagram)

First draft for our production ident logo- Devon Smith

The aim is to keep this simple but slick so  as a team , we decided that we didn't want a ident that intergrated too much colour which was because of the fact that we wanted the ident flow naturally into the title sequence ( unlike many we have seen in other title sequences)  to compliment the feeling we are trying to portray. ( A screen shot will be taken to replace above photograph  and embedded using Instagram)

Pitch Task 12- Andrei

                                    Risk Assessment

As we are going to be filming in different locations, we have come up with a few risks we may face while filming, as well as how to prevent those risks and how to deal with them if they ever happens. We, also ranked the risks based on their severity on a scale from 1 to 5, 'five' being very severe and 'one' not being very severe. Therefore, when we will be going out to film, we will be well prepared and more able to deal with the risks if we ever face any.

                               

                               

Hazard	Risk	Precaution	Emergency Action	Severity
Food and Drink	There could be a risk of spilling liquid onto electrical equipment which could damage the equipment, as well as causing a risk of electrocution.	To prevent this from happening food and drinks should be kept away from any electrical equipment, as well as, keeping all equipment safe in their bags.	Clear up any spilt liquid as soon as possible and report any incidents to the teacher.	3
Fire	In case of a fire, students may be trapped and suffer severe injuries.	Precautions may involve making sure that you are familiar with any fire exits in the building you will be filming.	In case of a fire, call 999 immediately and evacuate the building. Report injuries or any other incidents to the teacher.	5
Public Transport	On the bus or any other public transport vehicles, the equipment may get damaged or even damage members of the public.	To prevent this from happening, take care while handling portable equipment and keep it secure in its bag and only take it out only when it’s needed.	Report any damage to the equipment to the teacher and call 999  if anyone gets seriously harmed.	2
Weather	In case of rain or severe weather conditions, equipment could be damaged, as well, as cause serious harm to people on the scene.	Bring large umbrellas to prevent the equipment from getting wet and wear water- proof clothing so you don’t get wet.	Don’t use equipment If it is wet to prevent electrocution and report any incidents to the teacher immediately.	3
Criminals	Due to the fact that students will be in possession of expensive equipment, there is always a possibility that thieves will target them	To reduce chances of this happening, students should try making the equipment as less visible as possible to lessen the chances of criminals seeing the equipment.	Hesitate provoking criminals in any way and call 999 straight after the incident has taken place. Also, contact your teacher to let them know of the event.	4
Travelling	Equipment can always be misplaced or even damaged severely which means that less time will be available for filming and more time will be wasted on trying to locate the item.	Care should be taken as to where equipment is placed during the journey to the filming location.	If equipment is ever lost, try contact the travelling company such as ‘Arriva’ to report the lost item and leave a contact number in case they find the item.	1

Pitch Task 9- Andrei

This clip is our first attempt at creating title credits for our final production, it establishes how the credits could be integrated in our title sequence, as well as how they could possibly look like. However, as this is our first draft, they will likely be modified drastically by the time we begin editing.


                          

PITCH TASK 3- GENRE(Ceanne)

Film Name Ideas- Alex Dragulele

Audience research PITCH TASK-Ceanne

Our target audience is middle aged men with a disposal income range between £200 to £400. Our wider audience is males ranging between 15 and 40.

my attempt of using selective colouring

I used the After Effects software do to this feature. it wasn't as easy as i assumed but once i did it i felt a somewhat sense of achievement. it does look good  so i will be using it in the title sequence. while i was doing this clip i realised that you must not have any colour that is similar to the colour you want to emphasise  because it will make it extremely hard to isolate it. You also should not use a poor quality camera, like a mobile camera , which i did, because it will make the outcome of this feature grainy. even if you bring up " clip softness" to 100%.

The clip is below:




Thank you to Callum in group 31 for his feet

Storyboards-Drafts (Ceanne)

The drafts of our storyboard

Final Storyboard

KEY CAMERAS

In out title sequence we will include:

Medium Shot

Jump cut

Fade

Dynamic Shots

Extreme Close-up

Close-up

Wide shot 

Static shot

Cross-Cutting (Switching back and forth from location in this case the alleyway and a apartment with a simple wooden desk)

It Starts of with a black screen with the sound of heels , it then changes to a dark alleyway where you can slightly hear someone walking in there. Next, is a bird eye view of the alleyway and a woman walking but we notice a dark figure behind her. There's a jump shot and we are presented with a wide shot of the woman's shadow on the wall and the mysterious shadow behind her. 

 At this point she looks slightly anxious taking longer strides and checking her watch but over her shoulder is the figure.

 Jump shot to a bird eye view of the woman, her phone beginning to ring in her bag and she stops. Medium shot, she rummages in her bag, and is about to answer her phonecall when a hand covers her mouth and drags her back. The screen goes black and the Title of the movie is displayed. Fade on shot of posters of missing people and newspaper articles of women scattered everywhere on a desk, shadows moving slowly above it.Another jump cut, and a close-up shot of the faces of missing women. The screen fades again where we see an extreme close-ups and a extreme close-up on her phone screen cracked and her dad saying "Emily"?

There's another fade and its an extreme close-up of the womans face with a tear trickling down her face, the camera zooms slowly outwards revealing a symbol on her collabone and a man wearing a suit and a disturbing mask tilting his head and looking at the camera. As he slowly walks away the wall behind him is the same symbol on the woman, The symbol comes forward as if its protruding out the wall, everything disappears but the symbol remains in the middle of the screen.

How to do selective colouring ( for personal reference)

What we could use in title sequence.- Devon Smith

I was watching the film "Sin City"  and I was hypnotised by the way they used selective colouring. I believe it was incredibly powerful because it forces the reader to fixate on one object. This is a feature I wish to put in our title sequence because of that reason. 

Below is the opening scene of sin city as you can see what I am Talking about. There are better uses of selective colouring in the film but it is difficult to find on YouTube. 

What title sequence is it? -Devon Smith

  

What type do you intend to use?

The group and I believe that the best title sequences make you ask the question " why did that happen?" , " who is that?" " what's gonna happen next ?!". Without these questions popping in the audiences head they will not be completely invested in the film from the outset and throughout. This is why we will use a mix of types of title sequences because we feel it will assist us In fully suspending the belief of the audience. Discrete and Stylised. 

What real title sequences have influenced you ? 

It wasn't easy to decide on a type of title sequence, that was until we  acknowledged the fact we did a somewhat great job remaking " SE7EN" and so sticked to what we believe we are good at. However, we felt that the award winning title sequence of "SE7EN" was missing somthing... Somthing that will attract more attention at the start the clip. A clip hanger of some sorts. stylised title sequence came to our minds after watching John wick. 

Do you intend to stick with the conventions of a thriller title sequence?

The answer to that is yes and no. Without giving much away , we will stick to some aspects of a thriller title sequence to assist the audience in understanding the plot of the film but will definitely not do the convention of a protraying the main character as a ordinary man who is forced to go on a journey by an antagonist.

 We wish to challenge Kyle Cooper for the title of revolutionising the title sequence industry.

Monkey Survey results for film Title

The film's scores were very close;

The winner was 'THE ANOMALY' with 35 votes

followed by 'JUDA'S KISS' with 30 votes

And lastly 'DECEPTION' had 23 votes.

The audience we targeted were between 16-18 years old. We also gave them the brief outline of what the plot is to contextualise their knowledge for more precise data and results.

Monkey Survey For Film Title

Create your own user feedback survey

Mise-en-scene: Props,costumes, make up -- Alex Dragulele

Props:

The three main props we are going to use are

1. 3 suitcases- As the main mystery in our title sequence, will be what is in the suitcases, but this is not  revealed in the title sequence. This also creates suspense  and also drives the plot of the film further with more questions being asked.

2. Blood- As the genre of the film is thriller, it is important to have an element of blood as it signifies murders. This further enforces the audience's prior knowledge learnt from the title sequence.
Blood also adds the the tension of the film.

3 Cigarettes- We will use cigarettes to develop a misty, fogy and tense atmosphere, it also adds to the characters as it conveys a rebellious personality, which also links with the film's narrative.

Costumes & make up:

in the title sequence, there are 5 characters

The first character is a woman, she is dressed in a short black tight skirt that reaches above the knee, a plain black jacket and a 40s style hat. she is also wearing hills and has a small red shiny handbag. she also has white earrings.
Her make up is minimum however she has red lipstick on.
Her hair is done up in curls.

We have chosen to give her this look to show the audience that this character is an everyday woman that is coming home from work.

The other 3 characters which are all men, have identical black suits. the blazers are fully black, with skinny black ties and black trousers. They are wearing white shirts and plain matt shoes. Their hair is jelled back and neatly combed. They are wearing no make up.
As part of their role, they are also wearing a Victorian stylised mask.

We decided to to give the men this look to create a suspense and mysterious character.

The main character ( the leaser) is wearing a white, tight fitted dress that goes all the way down to the floor, The dress is split from the thigh downwards to reveal fish net tights, She is wearing high red heels. There is a diamond necklace around her neck.
Her hair is let loose and it is straight.
Her make up is heavy, it consists of; red lipstick, contoured chicks mascara, eye-shadow and eye-liner.

We are over exaggerating her look so there is a clear hierarchy between the characters, to show the audience the amount of authority this character has in comparison to all the others.

Mise-en-scene: Lcation and setting -- Alex Dragulele

Potential background soundtrack for title sequence- Devon Smith

I created a background soundtrack that could potentially be in the title sequence. I strongly believe that the lyrics used (chorus from song "when I see you again”) links incredibly well with the plot of the film. As you have read the recent blog post you understand that the main character has fled from an organization of murderers. The lyrics used makes you assume that the person talking is talking to the main character (the person that ran away). The original song is too sad and cheerful to be compatible to the plot of the film so I created my own version. The repetition of the sentences allow the listener to see the buildup of anger, frustration and the feeling of betrayal  from the organization leader because of the main character's unauthorized absence. As well as it being clear to you that the leader of the organization is not someone you want to mess with or meet down a dark alleyway it is clear that she will not stop until she sees the main character again. Enjoy and prepare to be slightly freaked out. 

This is of course is a rough copy. 

I suggest that you listen to it with earphones as it sounds 10x better.

Horror or Thriller?

Finalise Title Sequence.- CEANNE

Our title sequence, 'The Anomaly' , involves 4  main characters; three men and a woman.They are a group of mass murderers A psychotic woman being the leader of the group threatens their lives if they were to betray the pact. However,one of them decides to leave and goes back to his family. Couple of days later, he gets home to find his wife murdered and his child missing and raises the question of what happened.

In the title Sequence , there's a young woman possibly late for an event she's supposed to go and goes through a dark alleyway as a short cut however there's a figure that seems to be stalking her. The shots constantly changes to the woman and the unknown figure and a apartment with posters of missing young woman scattered along a old wooden table. As the shots changes back and forth, the woman gets killed by the figure, leaving a bizzare symbol on her body. The man's appearance is shown near the end of the sequence and is wearing a black suit and a haunting mask while watching her dead body. The sequence ends by displaying the image of the same symbol on her body which slowly fades into the camera, leading to the discrete title sequence.

Sound Effects-task 29

Individual idea-Thriller

Individual idea for genre and storyline