Final Product!

Here is the final cut of our opening sequence, Sleeper!

Film Evaluation

Coursework: Evaluation

After completing our product we must evaluate it. We have decided to do our evaluation as a group rather than individually, as we all contributed to the film and feel it would be more effective to talk about it together. We are going to film our evaluation and discuss the different aspects of our film and of making it, such as things we would do differently and how we decided upon our initial idea. We have planned to film our evaluation this week.

FINISHED COURSEWORK

We have no completely finished our coursework product 'Sleeper'! Everything such as credits, editing and sound has been finished and we are all really proud of our product and are glad that all our hard work has paid off. We feel really pleased as we know it was all of our own work and we know that we have put a lot of time into it. We would not have been able to make the film to the best of our ability without the feedback we got from the showcase and we are so pleased with all of our work.

Coursework: Sleeper Feedback

After receiving some constructive criticism from our showcase, we decided that we needed to alter some of our film to make it appeal more to a mass audience. After seeing it played on a bigger screen we found there were some serious issues with the lighting and there were some bits that were so dark it was impossible to see what was happening in the scene. We corrected the lighting on these shots and were very happy with the results. We also cut some of our credits as they ran for too long and turned down some of the digetic sound as it overpowered the music.

Coursework: Filming Problems

Everyone in our group was assigned different positions, such as actor and director. We felt it was easier to share the roles between the three of us, as there was only one person on screen at any time. We all had a go at filming and assisting the director and two of us played the characters.

When we had first planned our shoot, we had asked a friend outside the group to play the part of the 'Psychopath' but he let us down on more than one occasion. To ensure that this would not happen again we decided it would be best if one of us played his part. This was much more helpful as it made filming much easier and we didn't have to worry about being let down again.

Coursework: Showcase

Yesterday (29th March) we showcased our film to our media teachers and our class. We had to add the music last minute which we were worried about but it all went really well. Most of our feedback was extremely positive, especially about the music which everyone felt complimented the film really well, but there was some constructive criticism given back. We were really nervous about showing our film to everyone but we were really pleased with the audience's reaction and the feedback we received.

Coursework: Music

After looking through all the tracks on freeplaymusic we have selected a song called 'Abducted' to use in our film. The track is very complimentary to our narrative, it fits perfectly and is effective in creating tension and building suspense. It also compliments the digetic sound in our film.

Coursework: Finished Editing!

All of our editing has been completed! We have added opening credits and have cleaned up some of our shots, and are now looking at different types of music to add to our sequence. We found a website called www.freeplaymusic.com and are currently browsing through the different tracks they have. The music for our film has to be just right in order to create tension and engima whilst also making it coherent.

Coursework: Editing

Now that we have finished filming, we are continuing with the editing of our film. We have finished most of it but feel that some of it needs cleaning up and changing, and we also need to add opening credits and sound to our sequence. We have our class showcase next week and hope to have all of these completed by then.

Coursework: Finished Filming!

We have finally finished filing our opening sequence 'Sleeper'! We are all really pleased with the footage we have shot and have uploaded it all onto final cut. This is a photo of our Group:

Group M

Coursework: Editing

Our new footage has been uploaded to Final Cut and we are continuing with the editing process. We are still getting used to the features of the programme but feel confident that we know the basics. We have also discussed some of the different edits that we may want to include in our film, such as wipes and dissolves.

Coursework: Editing

We have editing all of our uploaded footage so far, but some of it will have to be changed as we have made  new decisions concerning the beginning of our sequence. As a group we felt that our film needed to be more exciting and contain more enigma in order to attract audiences, which we did by adding another scene. We all agreed that this would be effective and are pleased with the progress we and our film have made so far.

Coursework: Filming

This week we are continuing with the filming of 'Sleeper' and have shot the bedroom scenes. We contemplated using the night vision mode on the video camera rather than day vision, and after shooting the scene in both we decided that night vision gave the scene more effect and it helped give it enigma and fit into the horror genre (as it does in films such as Paranormal Activity). We are really pleased with how these shots turned out, however there are still a few things for us to do with our filming. We want to add some more outside shots to give the opening a more scary effect, and there are so shots that we need to re-shoot.

Coursework: Planned Filming

We had planned to resume filming our sequence this weekend (5th March) but we were unable to get the equipment we needed and consequently had to postpone our filming. Therefore we have rescheduled our filming to this week (Thursday 10th March) and hope to complete it all on the day, so we can continue editing and will be able to meet our deadline with rushing.

Coursework: Editing

We have begun editing our sequence on Final Cut. Whilst editing we found that some of the outside shots we took we very dark, and it was unclear what was happening in the scene. We fixed this on the software, by changing the brightness and making the colour clearer. This has helped us to gain more experience using the programme, whilst also making us aware of lighting problems for future filming.

Coursework: Filming

We have begun filming for our opening sequence, 'Sleeper', and are really pleased with the progress we have made so far. All the decisions made on the opening were unanimous and we are working really well together as a group. We were comfortable using the equipment and luckily there were no technical problems. We have uploaded all the footage we have shot so far onto the school computers and are going to begin editing our film using Final Cut.

Coursework

Four our coursework we are making an opening sequence to a film, which we have decided to call 'Sleeper'. We thought this would be an appropriate name for our film, which we had originally planned to call 'Dreamer', as our film is set in the horror genre.

Preliminary Sequence:

This is our preliminary sequence which we filmed as preparation before our coursework. In this exercise we had to practice using a camera and film different shots from different angles in order to broaden our knowledge on how to use the equipment and how shots can be effective. This exercise helped us to progress and use the skills in our final coursework product.

Opening Sequences: The Wedding Singer

The Wedding Singer - 1998
Director: Frank Coraci

The opening sequence of The Wedding Singer immediately sets the tone and atmosphere of the film. The blue shadowed credits on a black background show that the film may be old, even though it wasn't made very long ago. The song used also emphasises that it may be set in the past, along with the costumes used throughout the sequence. All of the clothes used are typical 80's fashion- bold colours and big features. Also the title, The Wedding Singer, helps the audience to decipher the film's era- as their popularity has decreased in the 21st century. The first shot of the main character Robbie Hart, played by Adam Sandler, shows that this film is most likely to be a romantic comedy- a genre which he is most associated with.

Opening Sequences: Once Upon A Time In Mexico

Once Upon A Time In Mexico - 2003
Director: Robert Rodriguez

The opening of this film immediately helps the audience to recognise the setting of the film. The bright lighting and exotic colours show us the time of day and help to set the mood of the film. We are also immediately introduced to the character played by Antonio Banderas; who we assume to be the main protagonist of the picture. His character, El Mariachi, is playing guitar in the streets and the camera soon starts to follow him around the town. The use of the tracking shot allows the audience to feel as if they are a part of the film, whilst also further helping to create a setting. The close up shot of his guitar also gives him character more depth, as we can assume that he is very artistic and passionate about music. Both the music and lighting help to create an exotic atmosphere, along with the variety of camera shots used to display both the setting and the characters. The simple yet bold credits are used not to distract the viewer from the image on the screen but to heighten the mexican mood. The sweeping and panning shots of the city suggest that we will experience them throughout the film and also make the opening seem more dramatic, along with the increasing tension caused by the music.

Opening Sequences: The Pianist

The Pianist - 2002
Director: Roman Polanski

The first image we see of the film of of dark grey clouds. This image remains throughout the whole of the sequence; giving the sense of a dark, gloomy atmosphere. The credits appear in simple black font, not trying to take too much attention from the images on screen. The dark and ominous music also helps to create a gloomy mood, as if something bad is going to or already has happened. The clouds stay present in the sequence, but start to fade as the music opens. We see a fuzzy image of people lying on he ground; one in which some people will immediately be able so recognise or associate with a specific event in history. Iconic images are shown throughout to give the audience an idea as to what the film is about whilst also setting the tone and mood of the film. Very low lighting and primary colours are used for simplicity, as is the transition from image to image. This may have been done for emotive effect, as it will get the audience thinking and engage them immediately. The sequence ends the way it starts- with an image of grey clouds sweeping slowly across the screen.