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Thursday 30 June 2016

Short Film Pitch Presentation

Below is the presentation that I presented in class;


Below is the handouts that I gave people to read during the presentation;

Music Video Research

     For our music video, we have decided to use the song Empty Threat by CHVRCHES. The official music video for it can be seen below, along with two other examples of their music videos which we studied.

Analysing the Track

Meaning
We believe this song is talking about a break up between two people - a break up they regret because they still love each other and want to be back together. Because it’s a girl singing in this song, it’s seems clearer that she’s the one who broke up this relationship and she wants to fix it. The meaning behind this comes from the lyrics: during the chorus, the song talks about “Taking back an empty threat”. An empty threat could mean that she didn’t want to break up but they did anyway. “More than you could ever know” sounds like she’s talking to someone, expressing her love for him which is greater than he could know. “Take it back with no regrets” talks about how she wants to take back what she said or did.
Imagery
This track is full of metaphors, a lot of them referencing the ocean. This is clear especially during the bridge of the song: “If we wanna stay here, can we see the waves”, “They’re spilling over us, filling our insides”, and “In the rising water, in the rising tide”. Particularly describing the tide and the waves as their “spilling over us”; a reference which gives evidence that she’s drowning or being pushed back because she can’t undo their split because of her mistake. This imagery gave us the initial idea to set our music video on a beach.
The first line in the song starts as “Tore a line in the sun” this can be a reference to separation that was perhaps the result of an argument that a couple had. Further evidence is given with another line; “I see the turning tides are parting for you”.
Narrative
The song itself doesn’t have any progressive narrative. The lyrics express the various emotions felt by the singer as a consequence of the assumed break up.
Genre & Style
Electronic / Synth-pop
Duration
Full Song: 4.04
Radio edit (which we used): 3.46


Researching the artist- image and representation

Research Dossier of Technical Deceit


James's Work

Themes, Locations & Characters



Robert's Work

Changes we had to make
Originally in the script, we had our main character (Dave) attempt to kill himself after suffering depression about him being a nobody. This was spoken to him by Kate after saying "You're a nobody, the people here wouldn't notice if you disappeared". Dave is suddenly stopped by Damien who stops him from taking his life.

We had to remove that part of the script because the location that we were shooting at had a real life case where as it happens, somebody behind the sound and lighting rig killed himself.
Instead, we replaced the scene with Dave sitting on the stage, still upset with himself but not so much that he tries to kill himself. Damien then walks in and essentially cheers him up. There were times in the script where the rope which Dave was going to use to kill himself was going to be shown in shot as a way of foreshadowing; so we had to remove all traces of the rope as we were changing the ending.


The film covers certain themes, specifically fraud which occurs throughout as Kate starts expresses her concern over Damien who she thinks is committing fraud. There are several real life articles of similar events such as this one;  

Source: http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/man-admits-180-000-fraud-at-leeds-grand-theatre-1-6916134 

Similar to this article, a man who worked at a theater committed fraud to the sum of £178,340 which went missing from the theater's account. This is a similar case in our film where Kate (the journalist) uncovers that there's missing money coming from the theater's accounts. 


Our film also has a play of Macbeth which is being rehearsed throughout the film. It's essentially a film within a film or a story within a story, as such many great examples of this exist such as The Equestrian Vortex, which is a film shot within an existing film called Berberian Sound Studio.

Single Camera Techniques Essay

INTRODUCTION WHAT IS THE ESSAY ABOUT?
The essay is about single camera production which is becoming very popular among broadcasters and audiences. With its gain in popularity, there are many more opportunities for people specialising in this sector to be employed. There are many job roles in single camera production whether they are in production or creative skills in developing ideas into production.

CAMERA HOW IS THE CAMERA USED AND THE FOOTAGE SHOT?

IMAGE SOURCE: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1a/Singlecamera-diagram.png/220px-Singlecamera-diagram.png

If the name is not obvious enough, single camera production is filmed with only one camera. Which is not always possible when filming heavy dialogue in which case, two cameras could be used. Besides that, single camera production carries a benefit that allows productions to have more control over shot placements and are able to set up each and every shot individually. The drawback with this is filming is more expensive as it takes longer to film.

LIGHTING HOW IS A SINGLE CAMERA PRODUCTION LIT?


IMAGE SOURCE: http://www.studioonashoestring.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/low-key-lighting-diagram-with-reflector1.jpg

Lighting is greater to control with single camera production as with every shot you can light each one individually and can give each one a look that is consistent with the previous. In multi camera production, lighting is a bit trickier as you can't move the lighting around as freely without it appearing in one of the multiple cameras. A low key lighting setup is an example where you have 1 light that might have a modifier or filter on it depending on the desired look. It normally will be shining on one side of a subject. A reflector covers the other side of the subject so the other side of the subject is not in darkness but it depends on preference.


SOUND WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES OF SOUND IN SINGLE CAM?

IMAGE SOURCE: http://www.toptelly.co.uk/img/boom.png



In single camera productions, the sound captured from microphones has to be re positioned every time the camera moves because it would get in shot. And with every shot, there has to be a new sound recording. This means that the level of  jumpy transitions in between shots is very noticeable when the audience is listening. There has to be a certain amount of overlay in between shots to avoid this.
If you you are filming an interview for a TV program, mics are fine if they are visible in shot and the mics that are normally used for those kinds of situations are small clip-on microphones which capture great sound.

EDITING HOW IS A SINGLE CAMERA PRODUCTION EDITED?


IMAGE SOURCE: http://www.workinentertainment.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/video-editing-bay.jpg 

The editing usually takes a long time as the editor goes through all the footage you've captured and puts them together in order to create your product. In a multi-camera production, there is a lot more wasted footage than single-camera productions on the other hand multi-camera productions are usually cheaper as it will take far less time to film.

SINGLE CAMERA GENRES AND FORMATS HOW AND WHY DO CERTAIN GENRES AND FORMATS LEND THEMSELVES TO SINGLE OR MULTI-CAMERA PRODUCTION?


Period

A period drama is set in a specific era in the past. This genre is pretty common throughout film and TV productions. It is pretty common for period dramas to be romances but you do get some that are adventure texts. When creating a period drama,  the set needs props and costumes set around that era. Actors playing the characters must fit the looks and roles of the people they are playing in the set era. An example of a period drama is Downton Abbey.

Crime Drama

As the name suggests, these are all about criminals and authority figures. They tend to be filmed with single camera productions because they utilise low key lighting. Some crime dramas take sides with the law such as Sherlock, Silent Witness and CSI whereas some crime dramas take sides with the villain/criminal such as Bronson (Nicholas Winding, Refn, 2008).

Horror

Single camera productions are used for the purpose of creating the feeling of realism and to make them appear more personal. An example of a horror is Paranormal Activity(2007).

Comedy

This is evenly split between single and multi camera productions. But generally most shows use single camera production because if a joke is told, the response from the actor would be more natural if it were all shot during the same take. An example of comedy is Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa.

Compared to Soap opera

Because of the rate in which these shows need to be produced, multi-camera techniques are favorable. However single camera productions may be the only option especially if you have limited space filming at real locations such as inside a building where rooms may be small. An example of this is Brookside.

Series
With the same characters but with a different storyline, a series is formed of many episodes. Within the storyline for all of the episodes there may be a sub-plot which lasts over several episodes. An example of this is CSI.

Serial

Similar to a series; it also runs for a specific period of time. It is common for a serial to be never ending. Shows such as EastEnders and Coronation Street are good examples; they do not end having no break between seasons and no season finales. As they are produced so quickly, multi camera production is preferred as it is quicker to film.

Single drama
A single drama normally has one episode that can run anywhere from 5 minutes to hours. Some single dramas are split into two or even three parts. An example of a single drama is Dirty War(2004).

MULTI-CAMERA TECHNIQUES HOW DO THEY DIFFER

In many cases, multiple cameras are required to capture action especially live TV shows such as Britain's Got Talent. Many soaps such as Emmerdale or Coronation Street all use multi camera productions because they are faster to film and they need to be fast because they shown daily.

Research Portfolio - Secondary Research

Before continuing, this is a continuing from another post. See link here: http://robertlancastercert.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/research-portfolio-primary-research-2.html 

(This post has been split up into three separate posts because some links won't embed because there are too many on one single post.)

Unilever Pitch Prezi
This is a good example of secondary research because I have used secondary research sources to collect information about Unilever including facts and statistics I sourced online such as viewing statistics from BARB and information about existing campaigns with one of their products called Ben & Jerry's.

TV Advert Analysis Prezi
This is a good example of secondary research because I have used secondary research sources to collect information about Ben & Jerry's which is the product I analysed in this Prezi. I also collected information from ASA, Ofcom and BCAP to understand what they are and what they do.

Documentary Pre-Production Paperwork

http://robertlancastercert.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/regenerating-lowestoft-pre-production.html 

This is a good example of secondary research because recces and talent releases involve sourcing information like addresses and phone numbers which you can't collect unless you ask someone else. Asking someone else apart from yourself yourself is considered secondary research. 

E Stings & The Brief Post

http://robertlancastercert.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/research-and-planning-e4-and-brief.html

This is a good example of secondary research because I have sourced information from the internet such as E4 along with research about the E Stings competition. I have lastly used YouTube to source 3 examples of E Stings and have used them to analyse their content.

Research for documentary

http://robertlancastercert.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/3-minute-wonder-research.html

This is a good example of secondary research because I have used the internet to source 3 examples of 3 Minute Wonder documentaries from YouTube which I used in order to analyse them.

Research Portfolio - Primary Research 2

Before continuing, this is a continuation from another post. See link here: http://robertlancastercert.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/research-portfolio.html 

Mortal Kombat Questionnaire

This is a good example of primary research because I am collecting information for myself about what people think about the animation I helped to create in the animation unit. It asks questions like; "What do you think inspired us to create this?", "Do you think the character's clothing is appropriate to the narrative?" and "What is the narrative?" With this information, I can use the results I collect from this to improve the animation and to gain useful insight if I create similar content like this in the future.

Mortal Kombat Questionnaire Answers

This is a good example of primary research because the results give me an idea of what works well and what doesn't with the animation with the use of questions such as "What age range do you think this attracts most?" and "What style of animation do you think this is?" which I can use to improve the animation and to gain useful insight if I create similar content like this in the future.

James Paget Hospital Interview



The interview was created by many people including me in college. The interview took place at James Paget Hospital and it followed the journey of young people from North Denes Primary School as they explore Ward 10; the children's ward. The children interviewed the people at the hospital and the jobs that they do.

This is a good example of primary research because we created something that would help others when they might look for information concerning Ward 10. During the production of this interview we learned many things about what the staff do at James Paget Hospital in a format which until now has never been available to find online. 


See this post for Secondary Research: http://robertlancastercert.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/research-portfolio-secondary-research.html 

(This post has been split up into three separate posts because some links won't embed because there are too many on one single post.)