Genius plan!

We thought of a genius plan to get around the weather issue- we incorporate the rain into the opening!!! Now bare with me now it makes a lot of sense ...
As you know our opening consists of our protagonist (Leanne) being in Trafalgar Square and making her way home on the train and by foot.

• Trafalgar square - Time lapse
• Starts to make her way home- walking slowly by foot to the train station
• Gets onto the train - thinks people are staring and suspicious of her so starts becoming panicked
• Gets off the train and starts to become even more panicked 
• Hears a siren and starts to run 
• Now as she its running it starts to rain and HEY PRESTO the weather issue is solved, it ends with her in a field (preferably forty hall) crying on the ground.
• Then its the one week earlier.

So whenever it starts to rain while when we are filming Leanne must be running in the shot.
but we must get a shot of the sky before hand showing that it looks as if it is going to rain and also a gradual build up of rain. But of course its equipment first and will shall have an umbrella to make sure the technology does not get ruined, and then we will make sure Leanne doesn't get hypothermia or pneumonia!

But it is only an idea and may prove harder than just waiting for a clear day, however I've laid the cards on the table and we could use either options.

No longer a problem!

Finally!

Our group was very worried, and we should have been because we were falling behind schedule on our filming and worried that the weather wasn't going to be good enough to film, however we finally went out filming today and it was extremely productive. We got some new shots and redone some of the other shots. we shall post a Vlog we also done later.

Paris

Alicia and I (+Elena from another group) were in Paris from Friday till Sunday and therefore missed our Friday media lesson :( HOWEVER... We did Vlog on top of *Drum roll* THE EFFIEL TOWER ! So we will catch up on what we missed and Here is a little video of the visit however a vlog will be up soon !

Vlog update!

!

Christmas tree up !

I was watching the news and I noticed they were talking about Trafalgar Square. Bad news although beautiful, the Christmas tree (Sent by the lovely Norwegians) is already up which means that if we film over Christmas we will have to be consistent and film everything while Christmas decorations are up.

Films!

Seeing our film idea (2 minute opening) involves gang culture and shots of the protagonist running as well as  issues such as depression and a nervous breakdown, I looked for films that involved these themes/ or issues and these are what I found. So over the weekend coming I am going to try an watch a few of them to see what type of shots they use and discuss them with my group.

Involving running or about running:

• Chariots of fire (1981)
• The Long Run (2001)
• 4.3.2.1 (2011)

Gangs and girls in gang culture:

• Sket (2012)
• Kidulthood/Adulthood
• Shank
• 4.3.2.1

Here Is Our Research For Our 2 Minute Opening!

RESEARCH 2 Min Opening

Plan B!

If for any reason we cannot film underground, we will change the idea to either her making her way home on the bus or completely walking/running home. As we have been informed that transport for london may not allow us to film.

Practice!

Hannah and I went out on Wednesday at lunch time to record some shots we would like to replicate for the real thing, we defiantly like the POV shots and the Snoori cam as well the the shot when the train enters the station.

SUNRISE TIMES!

I googled sunrise times in London for when we film our Trafalgar square shot for our two minute opening and this is what I got, so that means we have to get to central London by about 5-6 to get ample opportunity to set up and to get enough of night sky in it as well as the sunrise. We have decided to film this shot last as it is very hard at the moment to get us all together as well as waiting for the weather conditions to be good. So we shall film the other scenes first and do the Trafalgar one last. If all goes wrong (which hopefully it shan't) we will film the sunset in Trafalgar square and just reverse the shot.

 

The New Microsoft Advert.

I LOVE the new Microsoft advert because of the type of shots used as well as content of the advert. I also love how the music fits perfectly in time with the actions and this is how our group wants to link the music with the running scene in our two minute opening .

Practise Time-lapse

This is our first practise time-lapse.
However, this is what we want to achieve for our actual film, a beautiful transition from dark to light however from a different angle and position:

The Music

We wanted to put music to our video, so we thought of these two songs, because the messages relate to our 2 minute opening idea adn they are very impactful and powerful, we are going to usethe music by having Leanne wear headphones, so there are no copyright issues involved. We are also want to use an artificial siren just before the girl starts to run.                                                    

Final Idea Vlog

This is our final idea vlog and this basically explains the idea and our story boards and the other video we are just talking about our idea again.

Brainstorm!

Us brainstorming our idea for our two minute opening, which had been filmed and I shall upload that soon!

Story boards!

Here are our story boards we also wanted to add sound to our opening -plan b deepest shame and a siren at one point to show her getting panicky when she heard it go off. We also have our filming schedule which should take 3 days for each section of the opening- Trafalgar Square the underground and a luxury house, however it is more than likely that we will be re-filming certain scenes .

2 Minute opening idea's

Our group did not have a final idea... until now, here is a brief explanation of our idea however, I will be posting another vlog about the idea in detail, shortly.

Practice shots video.

This is our groups practice shots video that we filmed and edited ourselves, to help us get to grips with filming and editing, Which will be useful for when we are making our 2 minute opening video.

Equitment!

In Friday's media lesson we got out equipment ! Yay ! We then had to do some practise shots during the remaining lesson, to make into a little film, to help us to practise filming and editing.
(Apologies in our video Alicia said 'Sony HD camera' she meant 'Panasonic HD camera')

In our equipment kit we received:

• Panasonic HD video Camera
• Flip Cam
• Tripod
• A plate for the Tripod
• A (gorgeous) Equipment Bag

So we must make sure we look after all of the equipment and we are going to start editing our practise shots, to make a mini film which will be posted by next friday for you to enjoy !

Vlog on Wednsday's lesson

Alicia and I talking about some of the idea's we had with out group on Wednesday's lesson.

Film opening shot idea's

Here are some shots I found on Google. Our group don't have an exact storyline yet, but we do know we want some scenery shots. Some of them we discussed were in Trafalgar square (Time Lapse),  Underground and field shots, so here's what I found which we could do our own replica of. We also realised that a lot of us are going away to various locations around England and Europe ! So we are going to take the opportunity to get as many different shots as we can !


Trafalgar Square Time Lapse 20mm from Sasha Snow on Vimeo.


London underground train

underground passageway

Forty Hill/Hall stream/lake



Depth of field shot of person in a field 

Trafalgar square fountain

Sinister!!!

*spoiler alert (not of storyline however)*
Alicia a few others and I went to watch *DUN DUN DUN*.... SINISTER last Saturday and we had heart palpitations !!! So we decided to do a wonderful Vlog about it !! Enjoy!

Time Lapse

I really love time lapses because they just look so interesting and pretty. They make the world look they are going twice as fast and I thought it would look really good for somewhere in the opening, depending on what idea we do, and we could do a time lapse for anything not just cars, but a person, nature, flowers or objects.

screenshot of Time lapse- Cars

Group Vlog- Prelim

Our first group prelim !

Prelim Video !

We have finally finished editing our prelim video and it is now forever on YouTube. Editing was not as hard as I thought it would be and was actually quite fun and easier than I expected. I really enjoyed editing of video's and would gladly do it again!




Of course we have outtakes as well, just for your entertainment.

Prelim Editing

Here are some of the screenshots from editing in iMovie. We have finished the prelim and we are now editing our Outtakes.

Moderator's Report 2012

Moderator's Report - Summer 2012

Below is the full moderator's report for our centre from Summer 2012 coursework unit:

"Thank you for your prompt submission of the centre’s entries for this series. The work was securely packaged, the central hub for the blogs was appreciated and the candidates’ blogs were easy to navigate, despite the additional examination related posts.

The centre’s comments were clear and referred to the appropriate level and mark descriptors. Marking was in-line with what is considered to be the agreed national standard for this unit.
In research and planning, there was a range of evidence in place for both the groups and the individuals. There was a clear ‘journey’ of progression from the brief to the evaluation across the sample, mainly due to the frequent blog posts. It was clear that the final moving image constructions were result of the detailed research and planning. Video-logs were strong across the sample and candidates posted regularly. It was felt that key concepts, like audience, could have been documented in more detail and the candidates should relate planning to their potential construction whenever possible. It is especially important to link all stages of planning and research when a group changes ‘concept’ midway through the process.
The video work made use of forms and conventions which made them clearly readable as openings to films within their chosen genre. Use of sound and the post-production titles were particularly strong from this centre. Editing was generally well considered to create meaning for the viewer. The centre correctly identified the professional film to some of the examples and how framing was successful in creating a cinematic feel. This led to the majority of the candidates falling well inside the Level 4 criteria.
In the evaluation element, all candidates responded to the seven stipulated questions showing an understanding of the key concepts, outcomes and the process of construction. A wide range of technologies was successfully employed. The mixture of video commentaries was explored here in detail. It may have been helpful for the centre to identify the different individual candidates in the group commentaries for the moderation process. Some candidates included outtakes of the evaluations, which although entertaining, was unnecessary for the moderating process.
Overall, it is clear that the candidates are well supported and that they responded positively to this. The centre has fully embraced the spirit of the specification.

It was a pleasure to moderate such a well organsied centre. Thank you."

Our First Vlog!!!

Even though I had already posted about my group's prelim's, Alicia and I decided to make a Vlog.

Next time we will remember to give our video a title !

Johnny Depp!!!

I completely forgot that my favourite actor of all time is... Johnny Depp. In my opinion he is one of the greatest actors of all time!  He can portray a variety of different characters and really embraces his role as an actor, and therefore he is a Idol in the acting world.

Johnny Depp's many versatile roles.

Prelim Videos!

Some of us filmed our prelim videos in Friday's lesson and my group was first. I am in a group with Leanne, Hannah and Alicia.

 Leanne and Alicia were filming and Hannah and I were doing the "Acting". We chose to do a line from the film Titanic, and attempted panning, wide shots and close-ups, for our first time think our group did really well and I really enjoyed doing the prelim video's.

However, as I had to fake fall multiple times I have a a painful knee, but I still enjoyed it and and next time I think we will be much better!




My Poor knee !

Favourite actress

My favourite Actress is Elizabeth Taylor because of her amazing acting ability. She has starred in many well known films such as 'Cat on a hot tin roof' and 'Cleopatra' and she is also know for her amazing 'purple' eyes !

Film Openings

I saw this on the chief examiners blog (pete) and thought it would be incredibly useful for when we are making our 2 minute opening films.

Film openings event from petefrasers

Interesting Adverts

I love how they have the guy walking toward the camera, In many different places and he is in the same spot. This made the advert memorable for me and very creative, And we could use this idea when thinking of film ideas.

Favourite things

My favourite film - Well it is a choice between Harry Potter and the goblet of fire or Sherlock Holmes: Game of shadows because I love they action in the films and the way they filmed the movies.
Another is 4.3.2.1 because I liked the way the storyline came together in the end an they done that using a type of montage.

My favourite Actor- My favourite actor is Liam Neeson as he stars in some of the best action films and is such an experienced actor, who is so versatile in his acting !

Most memorable film- Matilda as I love the storyline so much as well as the way they filmed it from the novel and created the magic, or any Disney film as they made me happy to watch any of them. I also love The hangover I and II as they are so comic and brilliant.

Most memorable line from a film- "I will look for you, I will find you and I will kill you" from Taken.

Previous video's

In fridays lesson we watched many previous AS Media studies videos, my favourite video's include prey for me and Heroine. In 'heroine' I liked the camera angles and shots and with prey for me I loved the storyline and the way it was filmmed.

John Lewis Advert

The John Lewis advert is very useful in terms of the split screen. It also complies with the 180 degree rule that we learn't on friday. The advert is very good and is memorable.

Course Booklet

ECS as and A2 Media Studies Course Booklet

Filmmaking techniques video

Hello, I will be posting various ideas for media studies as well as clips, pictures and useful information. However, for my first post, I have posted this very informative video on film making techniques. This video is really useful and could help us with filming in the future. It is also very intresting and provides a lot of information and I really enjoyed wacthing it.