Examiner Tips

Now i have my final idea i looked at the examiner tips from Peter Fraser, the head examiner. I am now sure what i need to do for the highest grades! Here is the list of tips that i have read, i will be sure to keep all these in mind when shooting my own project.

Research and planning
1. Focus your research by looking at examples of real media texts. If you are doing a Sunday supplement, take the time to examine several Sunday supplements. If you are doing chocolate ads, break down some real ads to see how they are shot and edited. If you are doing a radio current affairs programme, tape some real examples and identify the features they contain and how they are put together. Concentrate on formal and technical aspects – this is just as important as content.

2. Look at examples of previous students’ work. Identify their strengths and their weaknesses – you can build on the former and avoid the latter. Use their work to identify clichés to avoid, such as endless Tarantino rip-offs.

3. Think about your audience. Make sure your ideas are appropriate, realistic and aimed at people beyond your own peers, teacher and examiners.

4. Set yourself a deadline of a week earlier than the date for the final submission – that way you allow for any unexpected mishaps.

Coming up with ideas
5. Keep your ideas simple. The more complex the idea, the more can go wrong. Complex productions also run the risk of confusing your audience.

6. Film parodies or pastiches have to be really good to work. You may think you were the first people to think of doing a chocolate ad in the style of The Blair Witch Project … but you weren’t.

7. Don’t try to be funny. What is funny to you and your mates may not be that amusing to your teacher or the examiners. Out-takes in particular look childish and amateur – it’s like including a load of deliberate spelling mistakes at the end of an essay.

8. Endless car-based videos should be avoided. They just look like students showing off that they’ve passed their test. Scenes in pubs should similarly only be done if absolutely essential; they look like students showing off that they can pass for 18 and get served.

9. Avoid long scenes of kissing. They are usually just there to feature boys who want to prove they can get a girlfriend.

10. Scenes of students doing drugs (or simulating doing drugs) are painfully embarrassing. Avoid at all costs. Likewise avoid scenes with cigarettes. It doesn’t look big or clever!

11. POV (point of view) camera is similarly unwise. Just because you’ve seen the video for Smack my bitch up does not mean you could hope to emulate it. POV stuff probably needs a greater degree of planning and control than more conventional editing.

12. Remember, a thriller lasts 90 minutes or more, so you don’t have to tell the whole story in the first two minutes. Aim to establish atmosphere and intrigue the viewer, not kill off half your cast.

13. With music video, a track by an unknown band taken from an MP3 site, or from a local band is likely to be far more productive than choosing your own favourite song. A sensible distance from the material can help produce a more professional outcome. Choose a track that generates visual ideas – don’t illustrate the lyrics literally. A music video doesn’t have to tell a story, but it does have to sell the music, however, so endless depressing shots of girls on roundabouts staring at flowers or boys clutching pills ready to swill them down with vodka are unlikely to lead to CD purchases. Fast cutting and lots of close-ups work well.

14. Avoid using the most obvious music tracks – everyone else will be using them, too! Make sure you get hold of any tracks you need early on in the project. Don’t leave it to your teachers to find – it’s your project, not theirs. Get it on CD – local libraries often have a very good stock that can be borrowed for a small fee.

Planning the shoot
15. Plan and organise down to the tiniest detail: where you will be shooting, who is going to be there, what they will be wearing, who will bring the props, what time everyone will meet up, what each shot is going to look like. Make simple call sheets and give a copy to everyone involved.

16. Never shoot anything until you have a storyboard or shot list. You can always change this plan on the shoot, but without a plan you will shoot rubbish – guaranteed!

17. For group work, take down one another’s mobile phone numbers. Agree to phone each other straight away if there any problems or if anyone fails to show up.

18. Test built-in camera microphones before going out on important dialogue shoots so you can compensate for their limitations (e.g. shooting some scenes from behind to be dubbed later, recording wild sounds that you can use with dubbed dialogue). Lots of camera microphones pick up every sound equally (planes, the wind, distant doors slamming, as well as your dialogue) so you need to shoot dialogue in appropriate places or using an external microphone. Always try out unfamiliar equipment before you using it.

19. Make sure batteries are fully charged before you go on location. Avoid using the LCD as it runs the battery down very quickly. Always have a spare battery or a charger.

On the shoot
20. Don’t waste any time. If someone is absent, improvise. Don’t say you can’t do anything because they have the storyboards – you are all responsible. Always have a back-up plan, for example, what happens if it rains?

21. In group work make sure everyone has a go at the different roles. Everyone must know how to operate the camera and the editing equipment, otherwise they will have difficulty in the production log explaining how the process worked. In your evaluation you should make clear your contribution to the project.

22. Don’t set up anything that is dangerous – for example, filming on railway lines or hanging off buildings. It’s just not worth it. If you are trying that hard to be different, you probably didn’t have a good idea to begin with.

23. Don’t film anything in a public place that might be misinterpreted as a criminal act. Toy guns have been known to result in police call-outs; bags of white powder carried by teenagers convince some people you are a drug dealer. If you are intending to film anything of this kind, talk it over with your teachers and see what can be organised. Ring your friendly neighbourhood police station – they can be very helpful.

24. Always create original images unless there really is no alternative (such as needing an explosion, where it is clearly more sensible to get one off a video). Dressing up fellow students, teachers or even parents as characters for your magazine covers, adverts, thrillers or websites is much more effective than using existing actors. If you need a famous background like the New York skyline that’s fine – but use it with image manipulation to integrate with your own material.

25. For radio work, make sure you can use a microphone properly. If the sound isn’t good enough record it again. Radio programmes need a lot of planning and variety. They should never involve simply reading out a script and playing a bit of music. The role and tone of the presenter is crucial because you are relying on sound alone.

26. When doing voiceovers, make sure the sound level is adequate so they can be heard over your music. Record only when the room is quiet.

27. Avoid your main source of light being behind your subject unless you want them in silhouette. In difficult light conditions, shoot a few frames, rewind and check.

28. For an effective piece of cheap lighting take a torch. But remember, most night shooting will produce completely dark tape. For interior mid-shots and close-ups you can create a dramatic effect with a 60 watt bulb in a bedside lamp.

29. Make sure date and time are not displayed on the camera viewfinder. If they are, they will be there on your final footage.

30. Auto focus can sometimes be a problem. Learn how to control manual focus, too.

31. Keep the camera upright. Unless you want to turn your TV on its side to watch it, footage shot at a slant will be useless! A well-planned tilt, however, is almost always better than a zoom.

32. Make sure you know when the record button is on and off. It is pointless to come back with 2 hours of shots of your walking feet and none of the material you set up! Use ‘shoot!’ and ‘cut!’ and a simple clapperboard (a cheap pad of paper consecutively numbered 1, 2,3 etc) for easier editing.

33. Keep the camera steady, using a tripod wherever possible. Handheld footage is very hard to do well.

34. Set up moving shots in advance. Always know where you are going to finish before you start. Do a test shoot and always run the camera for a good few seconds before the opening and run over after the action finishes, to avoid post-production nightmares when editing.

35. Pay attention to framing. Your shots need not always be centrally framed, but beware of close-ups where the actor moves his head too much or shots where the actors’ heads are right at the bottom of the frame and a big brick wall or curtain dominates behind. Don’t just concentrate on the action in the foreground – what is happening behind? Do you want that passer-by in the background making a rude sign? Is there a tree growing out of the hero’s head?

36. As a rule, avoid using zooms – they look amateur and will make your footage will look like a home video.

37. Got wobbly shots, poor lighting, someone in the shot who shouldn’t be there? Shoot it again to get it right!

38. Shoot plenty of extra footage to use in your editing for cutaways and cut-ins. Plan a variety of types of shot (LS, MS, CU) and angles on the same subjects. And always log every shot you shoot to speed up the editing process.

39. If shooting a music video with lipsynch, take a CD player with you on location and shoot the performance at least three times straight through from different positions so that you have plenty of material from which to choose when editing.

40. Always treat the equipment with care and bring it back on time.

Post-production
41. When editing, avoid cutting immediately to a second shot of the same thing. Cut to a different subject first, then cut back to the first subject – it looks more professional.

42. Don’t overdo the wacky edits. Special effects of any kind should be kept special by limiting their use. Most transitions should be cuts. Fades can be used to slow the pace, but gimmicky edits are only good for children’s TV!

43. You’ve run out of footage? Avoid the solution of simply running your existing footage backwards. It’s a common trick and looks too obvious.

44. Don’t use the names of famous actors or directors in credit sequences – the audience will expect to see them. Check thriller openings to see which personnel do get a mention and stick to the relevant crew. Use your own names or make names up, but please not silly names like ‘Hugh Jarss’ – leave that to Bart Simpson. Don’t spoil a decent piece of work with a silly title – keep the tone right.

45. An advert usually lasts 30 seconds or less. Not only will the audience be bored with a two minute advert but the company won’t be prepared to pay megabucks for such a lengthy slot!

46. Cut and cut again. Unless a shot has dialogue, we are likely to get the point in less than one and a half seconds. If your shot lasts much longer, ask yourself whether it couldn’t be cut down. This is particularly important with adverts. Student video shots are rarely too short, but often too long.

Evaluation
47. In print work the overall ‘look’ is often neglected. Stand back from your page and disregard the content of the writing. How does the layout compare with examples from professional texts?

48. Don’t fill your evaluation with excuses – be honest about the shortcomings of your work and make it clear what you have learnt from the experience. Don’t blame other members of the group, limited equipment or, worst of all, your teachers! It is better to be modest about good work than to try to talk up a turkey!

49. Keep within the word limit. You risk a penalty if you fail to do so.

And finally …
50. Treat your project with professionalism and organisation and you will not go far wrong! Enjoy your work. Being creative is brilliant – but you can’t beat being organised.

Pete Fraser

Soundtracks

One of the very fundamental elements when creating a film is the arrangement of the film music. Most people probably think of the original film score when referring to a film’s musical components. But for many low-budget, independent or semi-independent projects, epic film scores are not the most advantageous choice. Often, the pre-produced songs used in film music, or popularly referred to as the film’s soundtrack, are overshadowed. Their artistic weight and contribution to the film are overlooked and not fully appreciated simply because critics sometimes view them as a “short-cut” to creating a film’s music or consider them as just entertainment. If utilized properly, popular music used from a different previous context can bring the same amount of artistic and practical worth as originally composed scores. Soundtracks are usually used by a filmmaker diegetically, coming from inside the film’s narrative. But when used in a non-diegetic form, replacing or co-existing with a film’s score, a film’s song soundtrack can sometimes create a stronger relationship with the viewer as well as the onscreen action.  Each of the musical pieces chosen by any film maker and their music editors help to define the film, commentate on the narrative of the film, and ultimately influence the emotional tone of the scene. Few films have ever been created that has an instantly recognisable tune, or sound in them. Jaws' dum-dum-dum-dum-dum is one of the few that is instantly recognisable. 
Soundtracks have been used since the start of moving pictures. to start with, there would be a live orchestra playing the music to the images on screen. when microphones were made, and it was possible to record the sound, then there was no need for live music, and so the sound in films were born. now actors could make films with talking in- as opposed to the old Charlie Chaplin silent comedies. Ever since the actors were being able to speak in films, film makers have put music over the top of parts, to express moods, evoke emotions and support the images playing on screen.
The sound that will be used in my opening will be slow and evoke strong emotions from the audience. I want the audience to really connect to the character on screen, and the characters emotions. The music will probably be quite slow, no words, ideally have it playing on the piano i think.

Update

At the weekend I went to Horsey beach and took some pictures for my production. These shots are just a few that i may include, Jon Wright (left) and Martin Lemon (right) were posing. They are supposed to look like they are on an oil rig, i will edit more sea and less sand!

 Re-doing my storyboards because my idea changed. i will take pictures of my old one to prove i have done it.

Having problems uploading my audience research, working on it now.

Film Genres

The most important thing that the opening of a film must do is to establish a tone so that the audience fall into the same mood as the film they are watching. It doesn’t have to be a big budget explosive opening in order to grab the audience’s attention and sometimes an over the top opening like this risks upending the structure of the film with a sense of where do we go from here? Most films nail this concept, but some just dont make the mark.
Usually the most successful film openings bring a well developed sense of intriguement that will leave you settled into your seat desperate to know more about the story and the characters that are going to be in the film. If it is particularly inventive there will be some dramatic foreshadowing that will enable to hint you at the problems that are going to occur throughout the story.
Horror films
Sound is one of the most important parts to a horror film. It accompanies the images on the screen, but it also helps to set the mood. There is no point having a scene which is supposed to build suspence, and have you on the edge of your seat, when there is an upbeat soundtrack playing! Music in film can set any sort of mood, but horrors it is used primarily to set the mood, and to build up more and more suspense. Arguably the most important part in an opening to a horror film is the music. It immediatly drags you into the atmosphere of the film, and helps set the scene.
Sci Fi
CGI may be more advanced these days but it has become far less imaginative. When it first came out, CGI was used to create awe inspiring images in star wars, and it allowed directors to be much more inventive with the scope of their films. CGI in Sci Fi's are now almost entirely based on CGI, because it allows the directors to open up such a wide variety of oppertunities. Sadly though, there are not many Sci Fi films in production. However the opening to all Sci fi films immediately  show that the 'world' as the characters know it is far in advance of anything we as an audience can imagine. For example the opening to Star wars  'A New Hope' straight away jumps you into a space battle between an enormous Star destroyer and a small frigate. The awe inspiring effects, and the fact it is in space tells the audience that it is a Sci Fi film.
Action
The opening to most action films jumps you straight into the action. James Bond Quantum of Solace jumps you straight into a car chase. The Matrix starts with the attempted capture of Trinity. All these films start with a bang, and it really gets the audience excited, and in eager anticipation of what is to come. Action films need to constantly keep the audience going and in the mood for the next fight, or car chase, or gun battle ect. The tension built up needs to be high, because if there is a romantic bit in the film, and all of a sudden it just jumps straight into a car scene, its not going to be as well enjoyed as if there has been a long build up.

Narrative

The plot/story distinction affects all three aspects of narrative: cause/effect, time and space.

Cause and effect

• Usually, the agents of cause and effect are characters. By reacting to events, they create causes and react to the twists and turns in the story.
• Characters have several properties:
• They usually have a body.
• They possess traits: attitudes, skills, psychology, drives, details of dress and appearance, habits, etc.
• The viewer seeks to connect events by causal motivation of characters.
• Sometimes the plot will lead viewers to infer causes and effects. The plot may withhold causes and thus arouse the viewer’s curiosity (Sci-Fi, horror, mystery).
• It may also withhold effects after presenting causes, prompting suspense and uncertainty (disruptive if it happens at the end of the film and leaves viewer hanging).

Time

Causes and effects take place in time.

The film may present events out of chronological order.

The film does not show every detail from start to finish (we assume insignificant details: sleeping, eating, etc).

In constructing the film’s story, the viewer considers these temporal factors:

• Temporal order: may be in or out of chronological order, including flashbacks and flashforwards; it may alternate between past and present.
• Temporal duration: Screen time is the duration of time it takes to watch a film. Story time is the duration of time covered by the story. Screen time is usually between 90 minutes to 3 hours; story time may cover a day, several years, or a century, for example.

Space – Events occur in particular locales. The visible space between the frame (plot) is called screen space. Story space includes screen space and other locales that are spoken of, but never seen.

Openings, Closings, and Patterns of Development

A film begins “in medias res,” Latin for “in the middle of things.” The viewer speculates what went on before based on plot cues. The portion of the plot that sets out story events and character traits is called exposition. The set-up of a film is generally the first 30 minutes to ¼ of the film.

Patterns of development:

     Change in knowledge – a character does something that turns the plot .

     Goal-oriented plot – a character takes steps to achieve a desired goal/object.

     Search or investigation – this pattern is often seen in crime dramas and mysteries.

     Journey – an actual journey, or a metaphysical one.

A film doesn’t stop, it ends. The climax is the high point of drama. This is where everything reaches a head. The climax is followed by the resolution, or a tying up of loose ends.

Narration – the flow of information – Range and depth

The range of story information – who knows what when.

     Unrestricted – the audience knows more, sees more, hears, more than all the characters. Also called omniscient narration, especially in historical narratives, where the audience knows the outcome of an actual historical event (ie A World War) that the characters are living on screen.

     Restricted – The characters and the audience learn story information at the same time. This may be useful in creating suspense in a horror or mystery. However, Alfred Hitchcock, known for the suspense genre, prefers unrestricted narration, so that the audience will fear for the protagonist, who doesn’t know what we know.

Restricted and unrestricted are opposite to each other. Most films are a mixture of the two.

Depth of story information

      Most narrative flow (narration) is objective; that is, the plot confines us to external behavior of its characters.

      At times, we see things from the character’s point of view (POV). This mental subjectivity is when we see images from the character’s mind: dreams, fantasies, memories (in the form of flashbacks). This subjectivity increases a viewer’s identification with the character, and may reveal a character’s motives.

The Narrator

The narrator is a specific agent who purports to be telling us the story.

• The narrator may also be a character in the story (or a character who is a child in the story, but an adult narrator).
• A non-character narrator is the anonymous “voice of God.” This type is a matter of fact commentator who may be objective or subjective.
• Sometimes the narrator is not revealed until the end.

The fourth wall

The fourth wall is a phrase used to describe the "wall" between the audience and the actors. Most films do not break this "wall" because it completely changes the mood of a film. However some films do get their main actors to break the "fourth wall" and it can set a completely different mood. Waines world is a classic film that breaks the fourth wall. The Waines world is a comedy, and it starts off with the main character Waine talking to the camera, telling you what they are doing. He introduces his friend Garth. Throughout the film it is only Waine and Garth (best friends) that talk to the camera and break the fourth wall. At one point someone talks to the camera but Waine tells him that only he and Garth are allowed to talk to the camera.
The film also has a subtle irony, in that in Waines world, they are in their own TV show, so the film is about them in their own tv show.
There are many other films that break the fourth wall, each with their own differences, but the breaking of the fourth wall does add just adds a nice difference to all the normal films.
Other films that break the fourth wall include:

• Ferris Bueller's Day Off
• Spaceballs
• The Muppet Movie
• Airplane
• Blazing Saddles
• Robin Hood: Men in Tights
• Garfield
• All the Monty Python films
• Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

Re-Evaluation

With my opening to 'Exposed' I really want to play with narrative a little more. I like the fact that the opening starts in the middle of the story, but i was thinking of having Julia looking at a picture and then she closes her eyes and flashes back to the memory. Then she closes her eyes and imagines her husband dying. She then flashes back to the day when she found out about her husbands death. i think that this will intrigue the audience more than just it being set in one time. I will stick with the oil rig burning on the TV but i will get someone to speak over it like a news reader.  After having trouble with filming with william, i think i will change the final shot of the opening to a letter falling to the floor. connotating the end of the memory.

I had william (young jason) over and we filmed a little bit, hopefully it should be enough for what is needed.

Had some trouble with the takes, he refused to do any more filming after 2 takes so hopefully with editing it will be fine.

Changes

Right guys i have decided to change my opening. it will play with narrative abit more, and will be really good if i can get it right. ok so the new idea:

Start off with Julia crying, looking at a fond memory (wedding or something)  and she closes her eyes, and in black and white she re-lives the memory. (i will get the actors to dress up in the same clothes ect). she opens her eyes to weep more, looks at another picture and closes her eyes, you see flames burning and you can hear a mans scream. this slowly faids and it comes up with "2 Years earlier". the alarm is going off. julia gets up and goes along with her usual routine. she picks up a letter and starts to read it, at that point the phone rings, she stares through the hall to where the phone is and she goes through and answers it, she drops the letter and runs through and turns on the TV where the images of tthe burning oil rig are being shown. she has to sit down as tears roll down her face. Jason opens the door and stands there. the sequence ends with the letter slowly landing on the floor.

Mood Board

Update

Ok so i am filming the section with my cousins son (Jason as a child) on sunday. It will probably take some time to get it right, but it is not a long part so it should be ok. As long as we get the child's part right, we can do the part without him another time, because i can edit it in.

An update with the pictures, i am struggling to get a sunny day, the weather forecast isnt looking good, i might have to go to the beach no matter what weather, and just take the pictures. They are vital for the opening, but it will have to be cloudy.

I am still looking for the video of the oil rig burning to have on the TV, it is hard because none of the school computers allow youtube, so the work has to be done at home. I will continue looking and when i have found the best one i will upload it.

My ideal actors

 so if i could have any actors i would have :

Jason: Russel Crow       

Jasons girlfriend : Amber Heard   

Mark: Hugh Laurie 


Julia: Judi Dench 

Bad guy: Heath Ledger




These would be my ideal actors in my film if i could have them.

Credits

I just remembered i had to put in some credits in, im not sure whether to have julia looking at a few pictures and have on the back some credits, or have them appear in the establishing shot.

The Script

Establishing Shot- Down a street, all the houses look the same. Camera moves to a house and to the front door/window (tbd).
Cuts to close up of a picture of Mike and friend on oil rig. Julia turns over the picture to see writing on the back.
Phone rings.
Julia picks up "Hello?"
She listens to the phone. "Yes"
"What's happened?" she covers mouth and sits down to stop herself from falling. she turns on the tv to see a news reader talking about an oil rig fire. you see it on fire and words scrolling along the bottom 'Massive explosion on oil rig, no bodies found'.
Julia has tears running down her face as she holds the phone to her ear still, she isnt saying anything, just has her hand covering her mouth and tears running down her face. she is breathless-shocked (MUST BE SHOWN).
(child) Jason walks in and looks at his mum crying. camera zooms in on eyes and ends in a bright white flash.

Planning

Sat 5th March: Location scouting, pictures upload after.
Sunday 6th March: Send Script to actors, set a final filming date.

Production Company

I have changed my mind, i am not sure what the final name will be, i like the name "black jack ltd", but i thought about the card idea and i really liked it, i want some cards being dealt out, and someone picks them up and lays them down face up, so you can see a jack of clubs and the ace of spades.