Review.

As my Short film is a mickey take of an actual Piece of work i feel that i will find it hard to write about.
To start with i shall do a mock-up in publisher and then once i'm happy with the publisher mock-up i will transfer it into Photoshop where i can add in the shots from the film and the photographs i will have taken.

Questions...
1. Am i completly making up a review.
2. Am i being critical of myself as the filmaker as a 'reviewer' or am i just saying about the content.
3. What shots and pictures do i use?

Comedy piece maybe?

Yesterday I sat with my dad and watched nigella lawson's food programme. This inspired me to not to my insomnia idea and go for a spoof parody style short film. I always had an idea of a comedic video.

I realise that doing a film based on insomnia is informative but looking at media outlets such as the internet, TV and film I have concluded that the majority of films are comedic and even though I in a way am conforming to this line of thought I feel that a comedic piece would be more recepted.

I shall keep the same actress and will do both the comedy and insomnia idea and ask my fellow students what they think I should do or what they would prefer. Also looking at my target audience who is 16+ I feel a comedy video would be more appreciated.

Looking at both Andrew and Emily's Blogs i've been able to see two new ways of posting on my blog.

From looking at the two blogs i have seen what level i should be working at and have seen that the language i'm using is not technical enough.


http://andrewjohnsona2media.blogspot.com/2010/01/codes-and-conventions-of-short-film.html
^Andrew Johnson
I love the way his language engages the reader.
Looking at Andrew's blog i see that he has blogged every detail in a post, but he has also joined two or three examples of the same topic in one post.

http://andrewjohnsona2media.blogspot.com/2010/03/film-review-page-idea-no1.html
^This post of Andrews film review page ideas i feel will be of use to me, when i come to my film review designing. These posts were often short and sharp to show the process that he's going through. I think in some of the posts he could of gone into a bit more detail for instance of the linked post i believe he could of gone into why he used those screenshots, what was relevant about them.

http://emilyjeanprescott.blogspot.com/2010/02/album-covers.html
^Emily Jean Prescott
This post i believe will help me in my research despite it being about music and mine short film i believe it will help me as she talks about her band and their message and i think i can use that to get the style i need for my short film. The detail of the post i believe is something i can take on board and make my posts more detailed for the reader/s.

Idea brainstorm

Brainstorm here
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Poster for Magella Dawson... Research!

As my short film is not a typical short film and is a spoof/cooking show i think making the poster will have very different codes and conventions than the poster of mainstream and independant posters.

Looking at other spoof/parody film posters i have seen that there is a big difference in the look of the posters.

I have had a look at a few spoof poster such as

The naked gun

The 41 year old Virgin

Hot Shots

Airplane

Ancillary task research

My two Ancillary tasks are
• a poster for the film
• a film magazine review page featuring the film

I plan on drawing out my designs for the poster as i currently have not got the desired photo available.

For the Review page i will do a draft in publisher which i believe will be a good piece of software to use for the task.

Progression

From my animatic i have seen that i need to work on my sound usuage. I did infact place some music in the background in some areas of the animatic but for an unknown reason this did not properly upload. Which i will Try my best to get working by re-uploading it and posting it.

I can also see where i may need to use some fades and some other shot transitions so it's not as jumpy when watched back.

To conquer these issues i have with my own piece i shall and have started to re-edit the animatic and include some transitions to make the audience viewing more smooth.

Animatic... Draft film Magella Dawson

New idea,

I realise that it's really close to the deadline to change my idea but i have infact done this and instead of doing my insomnia piece i have changed my mind to doing a comedy piece.

It was when i was sitting with my dad watching Nigella lawsons cookery program did i have the thought that a piece on insomnia will not attract my target audience as much as a comedy piece would.

Nigella lawson has been subject to many parodies in relation to her cookery shows, as a comedy piece i aim not go for the laughs but look at some areas of nigella's show and place them into my final film.

Locations

To work out which location/s i would use i had to think about the realistic and practical side of things.

1. It has to be available most of the time for filming.
2. Lighting needs to be available.
3. Fit in with the storyline and the protagonist might stay in a room/house like it.
5. Unique and not overused by others.
6. Big enough area, so a variety of shots can be taken.
7. Mise en scene is easy to re-create and jiggle about.
8. Environmental noise to a minimum.
9. Other locations that might/could be used are nearby.

Actress'

Had a talk with both sally and leah and they are both more than happy to be in the film so i have confirmation from the main parts. I'm thinking now that maybe i should involve a male in the piece, just because i don't want to give the impression that it's a female orientated so i can give the audience the idea that it is maybe happening to a male.

Final actress is Sally Sweeney.

Animatic Information

To improve on last years animatic i have decided to do both my storyboard and animatic using photos and video.

Looking at some animatics online the usual practise is to photograph the drawn storyboard and then edit them to the desired effect in premiere pro. So all i am really doing is missing out the drawing part.

To help me i decided to look at last years animatic to get some ideas and the feel for animatics again. Looking back i think last years one was a good effort and worked well, however i have learnt from one of our early drafts that it was too short.

As my short film is to be minimum 5mins i will be aiming to create 7mins. Depending on the length of my film i will always try to aim for 2/3mins extra on the animatic.


Here is a link to my groups AS animatic.


STILL TO DO. for animatic
- Find appropriate sounds (some found, sound post/s to follow.)
- Additional playing around with footage/picture

Change of Sharing method.

In my previous post i said that i used googledocs to share my powerpoint however whilst talking to a fellow media student i was reminded of Slideshare. I have now taken my powerpoint off of googledocs and have placed my powerpoint onto slideshare.

There is a part where i would like some comments back from the class if possible so i can gain some class feedback. I realise the powerpoint is pretty thin but this is due to it only being the first 2-3mins.

I still have some work to do to the ending part of my storyboard. To conquer this issue i will arrange to meet my actress and then upload the appriote powerpoint for te section.

I hope that the style of storyboard i have used (pictures+videos) will help me visualse my animatic more and help me adjust the timings as i have my actress in front of me and can work it out in my head.

StoryboardBeginning

View more presentations from maireadybaby.

Storyboard - Powerpoint

For my storyboard i chose to take pictures using my digital camera and also use a few drawn pictures when the camera was not available.

To create my storyboard i used powerpoint this is/was because my printer was starting to play up on me and would not print out the pictures. One thing i noticed about using powerpoint for my storyboard is that you can have as many slides as you like making this task an easy one to carry out.

once the powerpoint was made i uploaded it to googledocs which i am still getting used to.

Storyboarding

Process of storyboarding is tricker for this years unit as it's to last alot longer than the two mins from last time. I will try drawing the storyboard however if i start to have problems or feel that my storyboard is not making sense then i will use my digital camera and take photos of the shots that i would like to use and then place them in the order of which they will be shown.

So far

Now i have chosen my final idea which is to do with insomnia i am now in the process of storyboarding.

A few facts about the idea so far...

Actress: Sally or Leah, what i aim to do is to do a short practise film with both and see who i think will be best suited to the film.

Location: This will be a mix between my house and the surrounding village of Chalfont.St.Giles the choice of Chalfont.St.Giles is that the area is peacful and normally quite quiet, I also know a few area which i feel will be a good place to film. If there are any problems with those areas i am also very familiar with the seer green entrance to hodgemoor woods which is also a possibility for filming.

Few bits i'm unsure about...

Shall i do a dreamlike sequence?

Audience survey

Expansion on insomnia idea

The Idea is to have me as the character, and then I prop the camera up on tables or tripods and do a kind of self filmed piece, which in a way may look like paranormal activity but using insomnia as the subject. I think this would be a good idea as it will raise awareness of insomnia.

The idea presents the opportunity to use HA,LA,BEV shots.It also allows me to do a lot of research into insomnia, so i could if i did this idea be accurate and not offend anyone who may or may of had insomnia.

However this piece does raise the issue of me not being the camerawoman and instead leaving the camera on a tripod filming.

Insomnia.

Insomnia is difficulty getting to sleep or staying asleep for long enough to feel refreshed the next morning.

This happens despite having enough opportunity to sleep.

The most common problem in young people with insomnia is difficulty falling asleep (sleep-onset insomnia). An insomniac may also experience:

•Waking in the night (most common in older people).
•Not feeling refreshed after sleep and not being able to function normally during the day, feeling irritable and tired and finding it difficult to concentrate.
•Waking when you have been disturbed from sleep by pain or noise.
•Waking early in the morning (the least common type of sleep disturbance).
Nearly everyone has problems sleeping at some point in their life and it is thought that a third of people in the UK have bouts of insomnia. Insomnia appears to be more common in women and more likely to occur with age.

There are a number of possible causes for insomnia, such as anxiety, a disrupted sleeping environment, or an underlying physical condition or mental health problem.

Horse idea

http://maireadburkesa2mediacourseworkblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/cow.html
please see the link above to gain an understanding into my idea.

Expansion of the horse idea.

If i were to do this idea i would use POV shots as mentioned but also a few shots from the rider’s perspective. This is so the audience does not feel like they are only an animal but they also have a human counterpart.
There is also space to use pictures in the film as well however I fear that this may spoil the continuity of the piece, but I can play around with this. I also fear that it might also be shot at mostly one level even though there would be areas for LA,HA,BEV, I fear that the majority would be a flat height. If I do this idea then this is something that I will have to try and figure out so I can give the audience the right feel.
I really like this piece as it has a relevancy to myself. I feel people would like this Piece as it’s different from any other done before.

Research

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Cow

This short to me is more in the comedy short. The use of the voice-over narrative and continuous stream of cow(or related) Pictures, created a comedic feel to the piece.

I do infact like this piece and is something like i always wanted to do with, instead of a cow i would replace with a horse. However if i were to do the horse idea i think i would mix in some film clips, and a variety of different voices to infer different characters. Much like a show i watched when i was younger called Chatter Happy Ponies, which were talking ponies who went on various adventures.

If i was to do this piece i would mostly use POV shots as if i were the horse. And capture things like being in the field, working, play, and at night. Due to my Job at a riding stables this is a possibility as i already know a lot about the horses cycle. Not only would i use POV as if the camera(audience) was a horse but maybe alternate with a riders perspective.

I will expand on this idea further as i really do like this idea.

Research into short films

i really enjoy this short animation film it's got a message of bullying and i like the way the creator has a child to talk over as the smaller dinosaur as i think i keeps the message of the short evident.

I thought it would be a good idea to look at some short films that could be a possibility for my final piece and some that will/may not. I think this one will be one that i will not produce. But i feel that it's a beneficial to my research, as i can see what other ideas are already out in the short film world.

Brainstorm - ideas

What is Rico clustering?

"Clustering is a technique similar to mind-mapping. It's a powerful brainstorming tool for writers - both creative and non-fiction - and can help you develop ideas into stories, articles or blog posts... Clustering can help writers to make their creative right and analytic left brain hemispheres work together. During the clustering process, the right hemisphere runs wild. When reviewing the cluster, the left hemisphere puts the ideas in order and turns them into a coherent text."

^explains what clustering is.

What Do You Need To Cluster?:

•a big sheet of paper (plain works best),
•pens in different colours and
•at least 10 minutes without interruptions - the longer the better.

How Do You Cluster?:

•Write a word in the middle of the sheet of paper and circle it.
•Write down the first thing that comes to mind next to it, circle it and connect the two circles with a line.
•Write down the next thing you associate either with the word in the middle or your first association. Draw a line to the circle it is connected to.
•Keep repeating this process. As you add more words and phrases, you might find that they connect to more than just one circle. Draw lines to all circles.
•Don't censor your associations. Write down anything that comes up.
•By adding words and phrases and linking them to other circles, you will create a web of connected ideas.
•Once you filled the page or when you feel you've put down enough associations, review your cluster.
Mark ideas that belong together in the same colour, cross out ideas that don't seem to be related to anything else and identify the order in which you want to present the ideas.
This is essentially an outline of your story or article.

This process is slightly longer than mind mapping.

http://www.xomba.com/clustering_brainstorm_and_develop_writing_ideas

what is Mind mapping?

"A mind map is a diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks, or other items linked to and arranged around a central key word or idea. Mind maps are used to generate, visualize, structure, and classify ideas, and as an aid in study, organization, problem solving, decision making, and writing."

^ shows what a mind map is.

Tony Buzan suggests using the following guidelines for creating Mind Maps:

1.Start in the center with an image of the topic, using at least 3 colors.
2.Use images, symbols, codes, and dimensions throughout your Mind Map.
3.Select key words and print using upper or lower case letters.
4.Each word/image is best alone and sitting on its own line.
5.The lines should be connected, starting from the central image. The central lines are thicker, organic and flowing, becoming thinner as they radiate out from the centre.
6.Make the lines the same length as the word/image they support.
7.Use multiple colors throughout the Mind Map, for visual stimulation and also to encode or group.
8.Develop your own personal style of Mind Mapping.
9.Use emphasis and show associations in your Mind Map.
10.Keep the Mind Map clear by using radial hierarchy, numerical order or outlines to embrace your branches.

For me Mind Maps are easier than a rico cluster although both have benefits i think i will use Mind maps to channel my thoughts.

Black hole

This was one of the first short films that i looked at. I really really enjoyed this short. The idea of the short is great and kept I for one wondering what i could do if i found a black hole.

In connection with the short i want to produce, i don't believe that i will be creating a piece like this one due to
1. Lack of Skills
2. Different feel than i would like to create.

Pixar short films

I had a look at some of Pixar's short animation films and here's a bit about them...


Pixar Animation Studios is an American CGI animation film studio. The studio has earned twenty-four Academy Awards, six Golden Globes, and three Grammys, among many other awards, the studio has also made around $5.5 billion worldwide.

Pixar have also made a vast amount of short films.
These include:
Partly Cloudy (2009)
BURN-E (2008)
Presto (2008)
Your Friend the Rat (2007)
Lifted (2006)
One Man Band (2005)
Jack-Jack Attack (2005) - personal favourite
Boundin' (2003) - personal favourite
Mike's New Car (2002)
For the Birds (2000)
Geri's Game (1997)

http://www.pixar.com/shorts/index.html

Final AS Piece

This is the Final Product from AS, i will be using this to evaluate my progress in the course

My brief

I chose brief 10 which is a short film here are the requirements


A short film in its entirety, lasting approximately five minutes, which may be live action or animation or a combination of both, together with:

• a poster for the film
• a film magazine review page featuring the film

On the brief page the short film brief was also put up with some links to helpful sites. i think I shall put them up here so you can also look at them.

http://www.bbfc.co.uk/ - to help classify my short
http://www.futureshorts.com/ - This is helpful to get an idea of other shorts.
The "Art" of Short Film - This is an online essay style page about Short films

I look forward to making my Short film as the subject matter is so vast.