Editing Techniques

The Blues Brothers - 1980

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGu2camh0WA

In this scene, it is a car chase between the Blues Brothers and a small group of Nazi's on the streets of Chicago as they are on the way to deliver some money that they owe. The editing in this scene of the movies is rapid editing to match what is happening at this point in the movie, as a car chase is usually fast paced and the editing is to mirror this scene. This scene also includes a sound bridge as it the soundtrack for this car chase scene. There are continuous reactions from the brothers as when we see the nazi's chasing and shooting, we see them ducking away from the incoming fire. Towards the end of the clip, the nazi's car appears to fly over the streets of Chicago as they fly off the edge of an overpass then, when they finally crash the car goes through the ground. It crashes in a sort of an animated style as it breaks in a perfect rectangle shape which matches the shape of the car, this small section of the scene has been done purposely for comic relief and entertainment this has achieved. the intended purpose of being entertaining because the genre for this film is musical-comedy.

The editing in this scene from The Blues Brothers is non-continuous editing, this is clear to the audience when the car can be seen falling as they aren't that far from the ground when they start to fall but the last thing we see before they hit the ground is that they're around about the same height as planes go and they only drove off the edge of a highway. Another section is just before the car goes over the edge of the highway, the Blues Mobile is one the ground but they some how jump the car oer the car that the Nazi's are in and we don't see how they made the car jump which does not make this continuous.

The Matrix - 1999

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggFKLxAQBbc

The Matrix is one of the most famous trilogy sets in the world, it is well known for its characters, world building and especially the amount of details (hidden also) in each film. This scene from the first installment of the trilogy is a rooftop fight scene between Neo and Trinity against some security guards and we see a helicopter pilot shape shift into an Agent who is a program created by the machines to maintain order within the Matrix. Neo begins shooting at the agent with dual pistols but, the agent is fast enough to dodge them, one thing that they added to show how fast the agent is moving, they included after images of the agent to show how fast he was really moving. Straight after being shot at, the agent returns fire at Neo who also begins to dodge the bullets without knowing he can, the difference between the two shooting sections, we see that whilst Neo is evading bullets we can see the ripples through the air that are produced from the bullets, this helps the viewers see whereto bullets are and how close to Neo they got. This also includes a slow motion section where Neo is dodging the agents gunfire. An effect they have added into the entire film is they have added a green filter over buildings, clothes, skin and the sky etc this is a reference the Matrix coding which is also green which could also be a visual representation when they're in the matrix.

Deadpool - 2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfZy2pM9Emg

The editing techniques used in this clip from Deadpool, is a montage of Deadpool hunting people and killing them to find an enemy called Francis. The montage consists of rapid and constant cuts to indicate how fast Deadpool is moving and to could also represent that he is in a hurry to find Francis so that he can be cured of his mutations. There is also the use of sound-bridging as the song "X gon give it to ya" playing through every clip of the montage. the reason this song matches the montage is because it is fast and sounds action packed which fits as the montage is a lot of small and quick clips of fight scenes which makes the song have more of an impact on the footage. There is a small part of the montage where Ryan Reynolds looks at the camera and speaks to the audience which is breaking the fourth wall which is a big part of Deadpool's character. At another point within the montage, there is a blood splatter when Deadpool slices him with his sword, the editing effect of how it splatters and slides up the wall is super realistic and is very well edited.

Django Unchained - 2012

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbmDpEhAp48&t=143s

This scene from Django Unchained, is one of the most gruesome shootout scene in the modern day, it is also probably one of the most violent scenes Quentin Tarantino has ever created. The editing in this scene is absolutely incredible especially the sound effects and music that has been used to make this scene pretty much perfect. One of the sound effects are used as the shooting really starts because we see Django jump through a door and sounds like a plane flying by in the distance which sounds like he is fast and is like a dart. A similar sound effect is used not long after for an incoming bullet as it sounds like a bomb being dropped from a plane in really old movies, the effect the incoming bullet has on the corpse that Django is using as cover has a similar effect as a bomb because blood explodes out of the body like a bomb had gone off. Another sound effect that is used, is when a bullet hits a corpse it sounds like a cartoon drowning sound which fits for all of the blood flying out of the bodies.There are a few slow motion moments in this shootout, one of which is focused on Django's face whilst he is screaming and firing his gun. The music that is used in this scene is a form of grime/rap but even though this film is a western, the music that has been added fits very well.

Doctor Strange - 2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01z_BcgFepw

In the last 30 seconds of this scene, the ancient one hits Dr. Strange in the stomach and creates an astral projection of his spirit and we see his spirit form out side of his physical body. This is an amazing use of CGI and green screening to have two versions of him in the same scene twice at the same time. This small scene gives the audience an example of all the amazing and hypnotizing editing that will unfold over the rest of the duration of this film. The astral projection has a slight goldish glow  around the edges which could represent how pure his spirit is or just to show that it is not his physical form. The editing has been made to look mystic and that there are things far more powerful than we realize in the world.

Initial Assessment

Initial Assessment                                                                         Dan Parkes

During August 2018, I started writing a script for a film called “Floor 33” I am hoping to bring that script to life this year as my short film project. To improve my script, I have some alterations to make so that the story makes sense and flows smoothly. Currently, I have only been able to complete the base script before I start altering it for the finished project but, I know what else I need to include to make a completed pre-production for the short film assignment. 

For the rest of my pre-production, I know that I need to update my script to complete the script section of my pre-production. After I have completed my script, I am going to start my equipment list so that I know exactly what piece of equipment I am going to need and for which scene of my film, I am going to need that piece of equipment for. After my equipment list is done, I will be including within the equipment list as props are a form of equipment that will be used throughout the duration of my short film. After I have finished with my equipment/prop list, I will be moving on to a location scout, so that I can plan and decide on where I want to film and when I want or can film in these locations. Locations are very important because it gives more of a variety to surroundings in each scene and the circumstances that my characters will be in. Once my locations are completed and organized and agreed on, I will begin personnel list which means I can start to get people together to play characters in my film to help me complete this assignment and this will also end my pre-production section of my short film project.

Compared to first year’s short film project, I feel more confident this year as I don’t have to do a full pre-production which will leave me with more time to work on the practical side of this project as well as leaving me more time to work on the editing to make the final product to a more professional quality and higher standard as I would have more time to work on the film and be more creative and even change some parts of scenes slightly to increase the finished quality.

Unit 20,Single Camera Technique

By Definition, 'single camera production only uses one camera for different shots to use in their production' this is the complete opposite to multi-cam which uses multiple cameras to film the same scene but capture it from multiple angles as well as different distances to film the same scene simultaneously. Some examples of single camera techniques that are used are:

1. Steadicam - Is a camera stabilizer set up for motion pictures, that are used to follow people or first person, this stops the camera bouncing around and making the visual blurry.

2. Snorricam - a.k.a a chest-cam is a device mounted on the actors chest facing the actor directly so when they walk it does not look like they're moving but everything around them does.

3. Worm View - Worm's-eye view is a view of an object from below to make the object look taller, stronger and more threatening.

4. Bird's-eye view - Bird's-eye view is the view of an object from above to make the object look smaller, weaker and harmless.

Single camera has been around since the 1910s and is used in movies and TV shows a lot more than multi-cam, examples of of single camera operation include Star Wars III Revenge of the Sith (2005) and for TV, a show that uses single camera is Arrow (2012) this TV show also uses Snorricam in most, if not every episode.

Advantages of Single Camera

There are many advantages of Single Camera for example, it saves a lot of budget to go towards equipment, props, costume/make up and editing finances. You have more control for each shot this also includes the lighting and sound are set for each shot. It is more flexible for the actors involved in the production as they won't all have to be on set at the same time to shoot the same scene. Setting up the lighting and sound becomes a lot easier as there would be a lot more space to move everything around. You can capture various angles and shots within one day.

Single Camera production requires less people to operate the camera and saves a lot of budget as not many personnel will need to be hired. This will also save space as there won't be as many people crowding around the camera or the scene as there won't be as many crew members needed on set at that time. With all of these advantages it is easy to understand why most filming projects use single camera to complete their projects as in most cases it is a lot more effeicent and a single camera requires less maintenance if the camera has a malfunction or breaks as a single person will be required to make the repairs or sort out the malfunction.

Another advantage with single camera productions, is that if your film is all POV (Point of View) for example "Hardcore Henry", it will require a smaller camera which will cost a lot less money and will also free up a lot of space on the set which saves more money, as many crew member roles will not be needed which will also leave more money in the budget to put towards other aspects of the movie. With POV the actor will be able to know if the camera fixing is getting too loose or unstable on the harness or helmet it is connected to, which means they will be able to alert the director and crew so that someone can come and help sort it out to make sure that the camera remains sturdy.

Disadvantages of Single Camera

A massive disadvantage for single camera production, is that it will up getting very repetitive as most shots and scenes, will need to be reshot at least three times to make sure that everything in that scene is perfect. After a while this will start to become tedious and irritating if things keep going wrong on set because there aren't more than one camera recording the scene. This can also lead to less realistic reactions in the scene, this is because when they keep recording the scenes and the actors will know exactly what will happen and will not be able to react as realistically as they did during the first take.

Editing is effected because you have to go through every take and shot and find which is the best as well as maybe merging different parts of each take of a scene to make them as realistic as possible. It will also increase the editing time as the editors will have to wait for the cameraman to finish the scene and every shot before giving them the footage to begin their editing. Whereas, if they were to use multiple camera's then they would be able to get different angles of the shots early would make the editing time start earlier and would overall decrease the editing time.

Examples of Single Camera Production

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ha-c9nc5Vzk

In Star Wars Revenge of the Sith, there is the legendary duel between Anakin Skywalker and his old master Obi-Wan Kenobi on the Mustafar System. This duel is a perfect example of single camera production because of the way that the camera transitions between the two characters and gets multiple angles of the fight between these two warriors. There is point in the fight where Anakin is choking Obi-Wan and the camera jumps between bird's-eye view and worm's-eye view because we look up at Anakin who is filled with darkness and this is to represent that in the end, the dark side will prevail and we look down on Obi-Wan who represents light and even though he wins this fight, the light becomes dim at the end of the film. The transitions in this fight, are like jumps this is because jumps are quicker and it also matches that this fight sequence is fast-paced. At another stage of this duel, we get an over the shoulder shot from behind Obi-Wan and it focuses on Anakin's face this show his anger and immense hatred for his old master and friend.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1zbdDak19E

In this episode of the Flash, we instantly get a tracking shot of Joe West heading to Barry's containment cell to convince Barry to go and save Iris (Barry's fiancee) the camera pans between Joe and Barry but it also has jump transitions between the two characters in this scene. The pans between Joe and Barry are very fast paced to show that this is a very intense moment, it is also to go with the title of the show (The Flash) which also suggests that this show uses quick pans regularly. Joe's emotions match this scene because the longer he takes trying to convince Barry to save Iris, the further away from them she is getting with her kidnapper, this matches that his worry and dread build up and an emotional impact on the audience as they would not know if Barry would be fast enough to save Iris.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zABLecsR5UE

At the start of this music video you can tell that this video, will be emotional because the first thing we see, are two people holding hands and then the woman lets go of lewis' hand and walks away showing that their relationship is over. After he helped to his feet, he begins to walk in the opposite direction but, he keeps turning around to go back to the girl but he is held back by random people who trying to convince him "not to make the same mistake and to not go back to her". Later on the video, while there is a massive group of people ready to stop him going back, we see her turn around with the look of regret as if she has made a mistake. When he keeps singing the camera pans around him and we see that all of the people are gone and this leaves us with an over the shoulder shot as we see the woman leave the street. The last shot we see is Lewis singing and the camera is almost a close up focusing on his emotion as it looks like he's about cry.

Producing a Media Campaign - Planning

For this assignment, we were tasked with creating three platforms to help promote a local boxing club and try to attract more people into signing up for lesson's and soon go on to fight in events for charity, we were given complete creative control meaning we could change the logo for the club as well as the colour scheme for the club. As part of this assignment, we were also granted the opportunity to go to the club to film and take pictures for our promotional platforms, were also allowed to use any and all equipment once we shown how to use them correctly so we could film each other using the equipment and if we went during open times we could film people who have been attending the club for a while to see more experienced fighters train.

I planned on making a promotional video first so that viewers can get a look into the club and see what they will be using and how they can use safely. The video is also to give off the right impression for people looking to join this club to begin their training in boxing, the video is also to help inform people of the range of possibilities that the boxing club can provide both physically and mentally. The video could convince people to join the club which provides 8 weeks free training which will improve a person's physical health which in turn could help their mental health because they're excited to go to training and get into shape. Since the club is associated with Box Clever events, this could inspire more people to join the club because they can help with local charities which could also inspire more people to attend the club and push themselves harder in training.

After the promotional video, I am aiming to use Photoshop to create a poster for the boxing club this is because posters are a great way to promote a business or club because they can be uploaded to the internet and if printed can be dispersed to multiple locations and can be seen by many more people around the local area which could be one of the best ways to try and convince people to join the club. Since poster's can be spread around and put up almost everywhere, it'd be a lot harder for people not to find one of the posters in a window or on a display board making it almost impossible for one of these posters not to be seen in the local area.

The third platform I am planning on making, is a Facebook page because it is a well known form of social media where I will be able to upload the poster and promotional video so that all three forms of promotion techniques that I will be making can all be found in one place which makes it easier for people to see all three for platforms at once when trying to out some information about the boxing club. One of the best parts about creating a Facebook page, is that they can be shared rapidly between multiple people's Facebook page's which adds to the clubs publicity.

Short Film - Editing

After the first day of filming on my short film, I started to edit the clips I had together and put them in the correct to make sure that my film run in the corrects order and that all the clips are trimmed down to the correct length so that “action” and “cut” could not be heard at the start and end of each clip that we shot. I also took out the audio at certain parts of my film because it was not useful and I felt like music would not have fit in at these specific parts of the film.

After all of my clips were placed in the correct position and at the correct length, I started to add the soundtrack as well as sound FX that I wanted to use that matched to the specific genre that I was doing. Once I had selected the music and sound FX that I wanted, I had to decide where I wanted to position all of it so that it matched what is happening on the footage which was a challenge at times to get it to play at the right moment for the correct amount of time.

When I was finished with the sound, I moved onto the visuals of my film to make sure that what can be seen on screen, synched up with the audio that was playing alongside the clips while the film was playing. In this small section of the film, the audio was a split second ahead of the visual so I had to go through this section a few times moving the audio left and right so that the dialect matched the person speaking on screen.

Eventually the audio and visual synched up and I was able to move this segment back into the timeline of the film in the correct place and watched it again to make sure that everything in the films timeline was in line and played at the same time.

My entire film, was based around the split screen element at the end (Fincher Effect) was the only part of my editing process that I struggled with. It took me two weeks to get the effect to work as closely to what I wanted it to be like but, it still did not work fully because it is clear to see that the camera had been moved and made one of the shots look bigger than the other which in the end ruined how it was supposed to look. These two shots were meant to be the same distance so both characters look the same size and so that the separation line could not be seen in the shot.

Producing a Media Campaign - Evalution

For this assignment, we were tasked with creating three sources of advertisement for a media campaign for Harton and Westoe Boxing and Fitness club, for my three sources I decided to make a promotional video for the club, a poster with information on the club and a FaceBook page to upload the video and poster to. This is help with the advertising of the boxing club because all three sources of advertising would all be on one Facebook page.

I went to the boxing club twice, these two visits were to gather shots and footage of training and activities that happen during training sessions. Some of us even got involved and used some of their equipment for our footage to show how the equipment is meant to be used safely and correctly.

The finished promotional video, was uploaded on May 1st.

Harton and Westoe - Video

Starting on May 2nd, I started to create the other two promotional platforms for the boxing club. I started by creating a poster for the club with all the basic information and the original logo for the club, I also decided to make the colour scheme follow the colour scheme of the clubs logo on a black background so that the colours stood out and looks more interesting and could be more gripping to people who are looking for a local boxing club.



Once I had finished my poster, I decided to create a Facebook page for the third platform so that I could upload the poster and video to the page for further promotional purposes and so that all three platforms could all be found on one platform. I used images off the internet, to use as the page's profile picture and the banner.

HartonandWestoeBoxingClubDanParkes

Once I had uploaded all 3 platforms, I asked some friends for feedback on my work to see if there was anything that I could improve upon to make my work better.

For the promotional video, the feedback I was given suggested that my video was good as it gave clear representations of equipment that is available at the club and how some of the equipment is to be used correctly. They said that to improve my video, I could try using different shot types and camera angles to add a bit more variety to my video as well as to be a bit more creative.

For the poster, my feedback was that the colour scheme was clear as I used the colours from the boxing clubs logo, I even used the colours for the photo's and text on the black background to help the font and pictures stand out to anyone who views it. I thought that by using the original colour scheme from the club's logo, that it would be more recognizable to people who know the club's colours and see the new poster.

For my third platform for the promotion of the boxing club, my peers told me that they liked that I decided to create a Facebook page so that I could upload the video and poster to it to further the promotion of the club. But, they said that to improve add my name to the end of the page's name to prevent confusion for people trying to find the boxing club through Facebook.

After receiving this feedback, I know what I need to do in the future to improve my work and promotional techniques to increase the success rate of my work. I also see where I need to improve specifically to make my work more compelling for those who are looking into joining the boxing club. Personally, I believe that my promotional platforms for the boxing club was successful especially towards women because at the most recent Box Clever event, there was a statement that this was the first event that was heavily female dominated as more women took part in the bouts then in past events held by Box Clever.

Evaluation - Pre-Production

My initial planning 

Location Scouting - for this part of pre-production, we had to find places to shoot for our short films and get any permissions we needed to be allowed to film on the site. I decided to ask my dad if I could film on the second floor of his office building.

The reason we had to find external locations to film so we weren't just filming on college premises as we would be gaining experience and knowledge of what working in the media industry is like for filming in multiple places. I chose my dads office building because I knew that there was an empty room on the second floor tat was big enough for my filming and had a look that I was going for.

I would say that my location was about 50/50 because I had to get the permission to be allowed to film in the room but, one of the minor problems with the room we filmed in, was the echoing because the room was quite big which made the sound echo. If given another chance, I would try and soundproof a large room to prevent echoes which would allow the sound quality to be massively improved.

Script - my script was one of the longest parts of my pre-production because I had to think of an entire story, as well as characters and to try and write it in a way so that each scene ran smoothly and transitioned smoothly into the next scene. This was one of the hardest parts because I spent a while actually trying to think of a basic story line and how to expand on it and add more detail.

I had to write a script for this project, because without a script this project would not work as the script is one of the most crucial parts of pre-production because without a script, there is no story and without a story the project cannot work because then the entire finished project, would be a mess and a bunch of shots and dialogue that make no sense.

Personally, I would say that my script was quite successful because it gave me a basic story to expand on and create all of these characters with some kind of backstory and with the story coming together I feel like the script runs quite smoothly in each scene and the transitions between the scenes. In the future I would potentially change certain parts of the story and try and be a bit more creative with certain area's of the film to try and make it a bit more enjoyable.

Risk Assessment - for the risk assessment, we had to locate and decide all of the risks that could occur on and off camera in our filming environment, for example if we were filming near a road, the risk is someone falling onto the road and possibly being ran over.

We had to do this to make sure that everybody involved in our short films were working in a safe environment and were working safely so that they did not hurt themselves or others involved. The hoped outcome, was to be able to identify all possible risks both in front and behind the camera to prevent everyone involved in my short film was working in a safe environment. This is important because if the risks are not identified, then everyone involved could have been at risk of hurting themselves or others around them.

My risk assessment was very successful because, nobody was injured in the production process because I alerted everyone involved of potential risks and where all of the fire escapes are etc. This led to everyone working safely to help complete my short film shooting.

Contract - the point of the contract was to provide evidence that we were allowed to film at a certain location on an agreed time, this had to be agreed upon by the employer and myself to say that we both agree to the terms on the contract. We had to do this as provides real life experience for what it's like in the media industry to get permissions to film in locations and times. This also increased our confidence because we had to get in contact with the employers ourselves and arrange to meet them to get the contracts signed.

The outcome for this was show evidence that we could get permissions off companies and any other organizations for our short films on our own and to prove that we could reach out beyond our comfort zones to do this. It was important to do this so that we were not just filming in or around college and that we tried to branch ourselves out to show that we could show that we could get in contact with different companies etc.

My contract was very successful because I was able to get in contact with an employer from my dads company and was able to arrange for me to film in the available space they had on the second floor of their office building. As far as I am aware, there were no problems with the contract because I was successful in getting the permission I needed to film my short movie.

Music Reference - the music reference was a sheet we had to fill in about the songs we used in our movies and we had to put the hyperlink to the music that we got either from YouTube or another source of music. This was also done so that the specific video by using the hyperlinks that I provided on my music sheet, it can also be used to prevent copyright as people who see the sheet can see that I have given some form of credit to the video publisher.

We were tasked with doing this to show that we could find music for our films and present credit to the original video owner to prevent any copyright. This is also to gain some real experience because if we weren't using copyright free music this will show that we can give credit. This was important because it can show that we could find our own sources of music.

I would say that my music referencing was successful as I did not get my video flagged for using copyrighted music because I did not just give the hyperlink to the music video, I also linked the channel in the description which also prevented my music from being a problem for my short film.

Storyboard - the purpose of the storyboard, was to plan how we wanted each scene to be set up before we began filming, it also helps with deciding on where each person involved in each frame should be positioned and it also helps with deciding on what type of shot each frame should be and where to position the camera for each frame. The hoped outcome, was to make sure that every shot in my film was set up to make my final product look as professional and organised as we can make it. It is important to have a storyboard because without a storyboard, then during filming you would not be very organised and the cast and camera location could go wrong and ruin the overall product.

My storyboard was successful because during the days of my filming, we did not have to waste time arguing about where to place the camera and where each character needed to stand because I knew where each character was supposed to be so I told everyone where to stand to save a lot of time.

Budgeting - if we were using a lot of props, we had to find a low end budget for props that we could potentially afford. We did this to see if we could manage to finish our film on a low budget and with low end props of our choosing, the budgeting also included any equipment that we decided to use for the production phase of our project. My goal was to be able to film my entire project without spending any money and using mostly my own equipment, the only piece of equipment I did not have was a camera which I borrowed from college. It was important because because it provided evidence to see if we could work on a limited budget to complete our film and work with what we had to be able to complete our film.

I would say that my short film was quite successful with not having a budget because it saved time as I did not have to wait for anything to be delivered or pick stuff up, the only part I had to do was acquire a camera from the college technicians so overall I would say that I manged very well with not having an actual budget to use.

Equipment - for the equipment, we had to plan out what equipment we were planning on using from a camera to any props that we were planning on using. We had to do this so that we could plan and decide on what equipment we needed to use and take with us to complete the production phase of this project. This was important because we had to know what equipment and props we wanted to use before we began to film and planning our equipment made this easier.

This was successful for my short film, because while I was writing the script I had an idea of what equipment and props I wanted to use to make my film as professional as I could and the props and equipment also helped when it came to the filming phase of this project.


Codes and Conventions - for this part of my pre-production, I had research into the genres that I am aiming to make my film fall into, in this case Sci-Fi and Thriller so I had to see what makes these genres the way that they are. E.g. pace, colours, lighting camera shots etc. We had to do this so that we knew exactly what had to be a part of the films too make sure that we knew what specifically goes into these genres and that we can bring them into our own films to make them more professional.

I feel like in the future I could do further research into the genres I am doing so that I could make more decisions about what traits from the genres I want to bring into my film to make them even more professional and add a bit more of a challenge for myself, which includes filming shots and even in my editing.

Cast and Crew -  For this, we had to decide upon who we wanted to play the characters in our films as well as if we needed any extras and people to help with filming and setting up each scene and shot to help make the filming process even easier for everyone involved in the project on the day of filming. We had to do this so that so that we could decide on who we think would be the best choice to portray any character in our films and if our films were too big, we might have needed help with filming and directing etc. so this was helpful because it also got everyone out of their comfort zone as they might have been asked to be in front of the camera even if they aren't a fan of being in front of the camera, it was a good way to build confidence with everyone involved.

I think this went quite well, as everyone involved in my film are good friends and I even agreed that with everyone who helped with my film, I would help them with their films either in front or behind the camera ti help them complete their films for this project. I also tried to make each character based off of the people who played them personality wise because it would take them just outside of their comfort zone but not enough to not feel like themselves or feel uncomfortable with what they were doing.

Harton and Westoe Boxing Club - Products

As part of a project we have for Emma, we have to create 3 sources of promotional content for the Harton and Westoe Boxing Club. I decided to create a promotional video, Facebook page and a poster to help boost the amount of membership of this fitness club.

Facebook Page

Promotional Video

Poster:

Short Film Pre-Production - Proposal

Synopsis

The project we have been given, is to create a short fictional movie on the genre of our choice with complete creative control over all aspects of our movies. Before we can start to create our movies, we have to plan exactly how we want our movies to be which is our pre-production, we must also research into the genre(s) of our choice so we can understand what elements are needed to make our movies more effective on to our audience. For my short film, I have decided to do a Sci-Fi/Thriller to give myself more of a challenge creative wise, as I have to make sure I get the correct elements from both the Sci-Fi genre as well as the elements from the Thriller genre. We have to plan everything for our short film which includes story-boarding so we can decide how we want each scene to look as well as creating characters and writing the script so that the storyboard makes sense.

We have to plan, shoot, edit and evaluate everything we need to do for our film and what we did during filming (including behind the scenes) and how we edited our films together with a timeline of what we edited and when as well as what we filmed and when. During our evaluation we will have to over everything we did and in what order we did it all in, to prove we are organised and it also proves that we can plan an entire project and carry out the project including the Pre-Production, Production and Post-Production and the evaluation itself.

Logline

Mirror Image is a Sci-Fi, Thriller about a group of scientists who create a machine that potentially cures Schizophrenia but the leading scientist reveals he is the test subject to the rest of the team and unexpected results await them by the end of the experiment.

Screenplay Structure

Act 1: is the introduction of all of the team members and getting the basic idea of what Mirror Image will be about. We also discover that the team leader has been keeping some secrets from the rest of his team.

Act 2: is all about the first test experiment with an unexpected test subject. The experiment goes wrong and it leads to unexpected effects which is a massive surprise to the team.

Act 3: The team gets revealed a massive shock by the main result of the experiment which leaves everyone with more questions that the machine was meant to answer. The result is mentioned as a possibility during the first act of the movie.

Characters

• Scott McArthur: is the team leader who instructs the rest of the cast to build his machine for the project. Scott also has a PhD in Psychology which links in with the machines intended purpose, from the start of the film we get the impression that Scott is hiding something until he reveals what it is.

• Max Temple: is the alter-ego of Scott, he is linked with the secret that Scott is hiding until he reveals what he is hiding and then the machines gets involved and releases Max into his own identity.

• John Clarke: has been a close friend to Scott for many years and is probably more surprised about Scott's secret more than everybody else on the team as he felt like he knew Scott but this secret makes John feel uneasy about his friend.

• David Goodman: is a bit reserved but is still willing to help Scott make the world a better place and also agrees that the machine could lead to great things in the future but still has many issues with Scott being the first test subject for the experiment. 

• Lucy Green: is like David in a way because she is very reserved and asks Scott more questions about the experiment because she gets the impression that he is hiding something and when Scott announces that he will be the test subject, Lucy decides she does not want to be a part of the experiment anymore and leaves.

• Claire Rochester: Claire is a caring character, she cares about everyone on the team especially Scott, more so when the team discovers that he has Schizophrenia, she decides that she wants to stay too make sure that the rest of the team are safe during the experiment.

Film Treatment

Scott McArthur is a world renowned Psychologist who has spent his entire life dedicated to helping those who suffer from the ailments of the human mind, specifically those who suffer from Schizophrenia and have a split personality.

His career leads him to meet some of his closest friends and associates named: John, David, Lucy and Claire; as they work together to create a machine that could change the world forever. However, the team discovers that Scott has not been 100% honest with them and has been keeping a massive secret from each and everyone of them and this quickly changes the team's  opinion on their leader.

Everyone but Lucy, makes the decision to stay with Scott and help him complete their work and put this whole ordeal behind them and move on with their lives. Even though Scott doesn't say anything we get the slight impression that Scott is very grateful to his friends for helping him see his life's work through to the end by his side.

The team help Scott inside of the machine that they all worked on together and begin the first test run for this entire experiment to see if it is possible to cure Schizophrenia. The machine is activated and things almost instantly goes wrong as we hear Scott scream from within the machine leaving the team with nothing to do but panic and shut down the machine to check if Scott is alright.

Miraculously, Scott is alive and collapses to ground unconscious which is a relief to the team but, they still want to know if the experiment was a success and that is when both the team as well as the audience discover that the machine works but not the way it is supposed to. We then discover that instead of just curing Scott of his split personality, the machine also took Scott's DNA and has placed the other personality into a replica of Scott's body creating a "Temporal Duplicate" which is the exact opposite of Scott and leaves everybody on the team with more questions.

Target Audience/USP

I have tried to aim my short film to appeal to all branches of the demographic but for ages 12 and over as I feel that this age range would understand what is happening in my movie more than those below the age of 12 years old. the reason I have tried to appeal to every branch of the demographic, is because they are all different from each other but in some cases, they might share common interests which might take place in my film or could be a key element of my movie. For example, branch B is about creative people who could potentially use my film for inspiration on their own projects in the future. Whereas branch A includes Doctors who like all of the character's in my film except Max Temple, all have PhD's which some if not all Doctors could relate to these characters on a professional level.

My USP (Unique Selling Point) for my short film is how I created the machine and how it is supposed to work within the film's fictional world. In the film, Scott says that the machine is meant to "remove the other personality and transfer it into disposable energy" and there are many feature length films about Schizophrenia and being a cure but, I don't think they cure Schizophrenia the same way that my film was intended to cure it. I hope this USP is enough to make my short film stand out from other short/feature length films.

Short Film - Completed product

After two weeks of filming, I have managed to collect all of the clips that I needed and have edited them together to make the final product/short film. The editing took me about 3 weeks to get everything together in the right order and add all of the music with the effects such as the fade in and out of the music. I also had to boost the audio of each shot, as the room we filmed in made the audio sound quiet and boosting the audio also helped with the plot so the audience can understand what is happening throughout the film.

Mirror Image

Short Film Pre-Production - Budgeting

As part of planning my film, I had to decide about my budget and what I would need to buy for the production of my short film. The materials that I paid for, I bought a while ago, everything else that I used was borrowed either from college or from my dad's work in the spare room where we filmed all of our scenes. I only paid for two of the materials that I used which came to a price total of £55.00.

Budgeting

Short Film Pre-Production - Equipment List

A major part that must be considered before doing any filming, is deciding what equipment you and everyone involved will be using. This includes any props that you or your team will bring with them to help make the film more realistic. This list shows the equipment that was used in my film and where I got my equipment from and where I obtained the equipment.

Equipment List

Short Film Pre-Production - Music Reference

Music Reference Sheet

The music reference sheet, is used because it shows that I can refer to the music I used, where about in my movie I will be using it. It also shows that I can decide on when I plan on using my music and how long I plan on having the track playing for the specific part of my film the music is set for. It also includes a artist section, to make sure that you know who has created your songs as well as a section to add the youtube link to the song so reviewers can find the song by clicking the link.

Short Film Pre-Production - Location Scouting

For my short film, I wanted a big open space where I could use part of it, I asked my dad if he had any available space at his office building near the enterprise park, he said he would speak to one of the supervisors called Martin Porton if the upstairs office was still available for me to use for my setting for my film. After Martin agreed, I wrote up a quick contract and after we both signed it, I was allowed to use their available space.

Location Scouting
Location Release

Short Film Pre-Production - Storyboard

Storyboard

In pre-production, storyboards are one of the most important parts of the pre-production stage because they give a visual example of what the scene should look like as well as writing to show what the scene should have included as well as a part of the story. Storyboards are helpful to cameramen because they know exactly what they need to shoot and focus on and roughly where they need to place the camera, without the storyboard, the entire project could go wrong because the camera could be placed anywhere and make the film go all wrong.

Short Film Pre-Production - Proposal

The basic story for my short film, is about a group of scientists who create a machine with a unexpected repercussion.

The plot for my story is the lead scientist gets questioned about what this machine is supposed to do and once told, the team starts to have some concerns and questions if they should go any further with this project. One of the scientists has so many concerns about this project going horribly wrong, that she abandons the team as she does not want to see everything go wrong and possibly losing her friend in the process. It turns out that the machine is designed to cure schizophrenia by removing the selected personality and transforming it into disposable energy leaving the subject alive and with only their preferred personality. We also discover that the leading scientist Scott, has designed this machine because he suffers from schizophrenia and wishes to cure himself and everyone on earth who also suffers. Something goes wrong and the other personality ends up becoming its own person who is the dark version of Scott and we see the two on screen at the same time to prove that they're not the same person.

Character Breakdown:

Scott McArthur - lead scientist, hides information from his team about himself and the experiment.
Max Temple - Scotts alter-ego, dark, completely opposite of Scott.
David Goodman - part of the team, quite aggressive towards Lucy, skeptical.
John Clarke - part of the team, man with the technology, skeptical.
Lucy Green - part of the team, skeptical.
Claire Rochester part of the team, skeptical, cares about the team, worried about Scott.

Target Audience:

My target audience is probably for 12-15 year olds as there is quite a bit of explicit language and the story can also be a bit confusing for those below the age of 12. The reason I have chosen this age gap of 3 years is because I feel like 12-15 year olds would enjoy this movie and would want to learn a bit more about the split screen I will use in the editing for the end product.

Short Film Pre-Production - Meetings

Meeting Minutes - 08/01/2019

During this meeting, I asked everyone in my film who they wanted to play out of the remaining 4 characters. Once they had decided, I placed their names next the characters so that I could remember who is playing who.

Meeting Minutes - 09/01/2019

On the second, I asked everyone who is in my film if they were all right for filming on a certain date and at a certain time of day, everyone agreed. We also discussed where we would be meeting and how we'd get to our location for filming.

Meeting Minutes - 15/01/2019

The third meeting was during the first day of filming, we were deciding which order we were going to film in and who was needed for each shot and where each person would have to stand. We also spoke about where we should put the camera for each shot so that we got a variety of different shots so that it didn't always look the same during each shot. Another point we had, was deciding which scenes needed the microphone so that we could get some clearer audio for that scene. At the end of the first day of filming we discussed how we had another day of filming and mentioned who we'd need as well as a place and time to meet for the second part of the filming.

Meeting Minutes - 22/01/2019

This was our last meeting which was during the second and final week of filming, we discussed where we needed people to stand and how we wanted them to act, we had to decide where I'd stand as both of the characters that I'd play. We had to think about how we wanted to position the camera and how high or low we wanted it to match each persons height. We also mentioned about how long it would take to set up each scene for filming which also included how long t would take me to swap clothes for the other character I was playing.

Short Film Pre-Production - Risks

Risks are very important because they provide evidence that you can identify any and all possible risks and can identify how to prevent anyone from being involved and injured by any of the risks if something were to go wrong and could put someone in danger. If you don't identify any risks before you go to film you are putting yourself and everyone included in danger, that is why you should always identify any and all risks no matter how small.

Risk Assessment
Risk Assessment B

Short Film Pre-Production - Characters

Obviously one thing that is needed pre-production before you can start filming, is deciding what to call your characters and who you want to portray these characters, without figuring out who is playing , then filming can become harder as people will not know who they're playing or get confused as to who their playing.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Short Film Pre-Production - Contract

Contract

We had to get permission off of a company if we wanted to film on their property, the only way to prove that we got the permission s to either have an email off the company saying that we're allowed to use their property or space. Or we have to have a signed contract signed by both the company and the student to prove that the student will stay in the parameters of the contract.

Short Film Pre-Production - Sound

Sound

This powerpoint presentation includes links to the songs and sound effects that I used for my short film to make it more entertaining and to make certain parts of the film more tense or lively but I also needed a song for my credits to make them more enjoyable.

Short Film Pre-Production - Codes and Conventions

Codes and Conventions

Codes and conventions are a good way to show that you know abut the genre(s) you are doing and can talk about that them in depth so that anyone reviewing your work knows that you understand about the genre(s) that you have chosen and what your film must include to meet these codes and conventions.

Short Film Pre-Production - Consent Form

Consent forms are really important to pre-production because it shows that the people involved in your short film, are allowing their faces and voice to be used and uploaded to the internet/ YouTube. You need to get consent off of the people involved in your film so that the reviewers can see that they're allowing you to use them in your project.

Star Wars VII - Media Campaign

With Emma, we were given an assignment on January 31st to create a media campaign for a movie or franchise of our choice. I decided to my campaign on Star Wars VII - The Force Awakens as I am a big fan of the franchise and the film is only 3 and a bit years old, I thought that it'd be easier to my campaign as I could find everything I need for the film before its initial release in December 2015, I managed to find merchandise, the teaser trailer, official trailer and the official Star Wars Episode VII website.

Since Star Wars was bought off George Lucas by Disney, everyone was worried about what Disney would do to the Star Wars franchise but, Disney have always released amazing merchandise for any movie they have worked on and when they got all of the rights to Star Wars they started releasing merchandise in anticipation of Episode VII that started to calm a lot of fans down and started to create more excitement rather than the fans being reserved about their feelings towards a film that hadn't been  released yet.

The trailer and teaser trailer also started to cause a lot more hype as they had the original soundtrack remixed slightly to have a more noticeable beat to indicate that this is a new era for Star Wars and the original score for the movies.

Star Wars Powerpoint

Magazine

Since late September, early October up until December, we have been creating our own magazine on a genre of our choice. I decided to make my magazine on music because music is everywhere in the 21st Centuary so I thought it'd be quite an easy subject to make a magazine on. We had to draw out a flat plan of what we initially wanted our front cover and double page spread to be set out. Once we did this we could actually start taking photos and start putting everything together for the complete project.

My magazine, is to be a digital magazine which can be viewed on computers, tablet and mobile phones so they can be accessed anywhere with either the internet or a persons mobile data. I have decided to make my magazine digital because it is a lot cheaper to release and saves a thousands of trees which also helps the environment. One of the advantages of a printed magazine is that it can be in thousands of shops which could lead to thousands of people seeing my magazine and making a purchase whereas, on the internet not everyone will be looking for a magazine.

The target audience for my magazine is from 13 year olds up because i feel like when that is when most people start to listen to music and then continue through the rest of their lives.

Magazine Progress

Working magazine

Front Cover Flat Plan

Double Page Spread Flat Plan

Short Film Pre-Production - contact information

Contacts

As part of the pre production stage of our short films, we have to include the contact information for everyone involved in our short films. This includes mobile numbers and social media account names. This is used to show that the people involved have given some form of consent to being in your short film.

Short film pre production - script

(Scene 1)

Sound of a car reversing, as if it pulling into a parking bay in the morning at the start of a busy day. A front wheel can be seen stopping, a door opens and a shoe and part of a leg can be seen, the camera raises up to see Scott McArthur putting his glasses on. He begins to walk towards the building where he works.

(Mirror Image)

He continues into the building and up the stairs towards his laboratory

(Scene 2)

Scott McArthur: “Morning all, how’s the machine coming along?”

John Clarke: “Morning Mr. McArthur, the machine is finished I think we’re ready for test run.”

Scott McArthur: “That’s fantastic, make sure that no external DNA like saliva or blood goes into the machine.”

David Goodman: “Why?”

Scott McArthur: “If there is any external DNA in the machine, this entire experiment could go wrong.”

Claire Rochester: “That’s what we wanted to speak to you about, what exactly is this experiment?”

Scott blows his nose and places the tissue in his pocket

Scott McArthur: “Alright fine, if this works then this machine will cure Schizophrenia…Hopefully.”

Lucy Green: “That’s…That’s incredible how will it do this?”

Scott McArthur: “Basically, this machine takes the other personality out of the subject and transforms it into disposable energy, you can even choose which personality you wish to remove or keep.”

David Goodman: “Is this possible?”

Scott McArthur: “Well, that’s why we’re here…to find out if it is possible.”

David Goodman: “Fair enough, who is our test subject?”

Looking Nervous

Scott McArthur: “I’m the test subject.”

Claire Rochester: “WHAT?!”

Scott McArthur: “Yeah…I err, I have Schizophrenia.”

John Clarke: “Really?”

Scott McArthur: “Yeah, I was born with it and have this bad side to me, I wake up in places that aren’t familiar and have no recollection of where I’ve been or what I did before I woke up.”

Lucy Green: “Are you sure? You want to risk your life for this experiment?”

Scott McArthur: “Yes, I’m sure…I’ve dedicated my whole life to this project, that’s why I got a PhD in Psychology.”

Lucy Green: “Well I can’t, watch one of my colleagues and friends die in an experiment I was a part of I’m sorry.” 

David Goodman: “LUCY!”

Lucy turns around

Lucy green: “I’m Sorry.”

Lucy exits

(Scene 3)

Claire Rochester: “Can we just get this out of the way please?”

Scott McArthur: “I think that would be best.”

Scott and Claire walk over to the machine, Scott steps inside and Claire closes the door. She then moves to the control panel and flips the switch, a blue light appears. She walks to the door and speaks

Claire Rochester: “Ready?”

Scott nods his head; we also see the tissue fall out of his pocket to the floor

Claire Rochester: “He’s ready, begin the initiation sequence John.”

John Clarke: “Sure thing, flipping the switch in 3…2…1.”

John begins the sequence, which activates the machine

David Goodman: “You okay in there Scott?”

Yelling

Scott McArthur: “I’M FINE…LET’S DO THIS!”

David Goodman: “Okay, John increase the power and let’s get this done as quick as possible.”

John Clarke: “Okay, here we go increasing the power.”

increasing the power, there is a white flashing light emitting from the box and we see a green streak follow the tube into the compartment next to Scott’s compartment, we suddenly hear the screaming of agony from Scott

Scott McArthur: “ARGGGHHHHHH!!!”

Claire Rochester: “SCOTT!”

Claire turns to face David and John and runs over to them

Claire Rochester: “TURN IT OFF…NOW…HURRY!”

John and David hit the master switch to cut all power to the machine

The white light stops with a bang as the machine turns off, the team all look at each other

Claire Rochester: “David, go and open the door and see if he’s alright.”

David Goodman: “On it.”

David runs over to the machine and pulls the door open, Scott walks out but then collapses onto the floor

David Goodman: “Did it work?”

John Clarke: “I don’t know.”

Max Temple: “It worked!”

David looks at Scott whose eyes are shut and is lying completely still, he gets to his feet and back to the desk with his colleagues

David Goodman: “Who said that?”

Claire Rochester: “I have no idea.”

The door to the other compartment opens and we see a boot step out

Max Temple: “It was me.”

Everyone looks shocked and Scott opens his eyes and looks at the other version of himself and staggers to his feet

(Scene 4)

Scott McArthur: “Who the fuck are you?”

Max Temple: “I’m the other you but my name is Max…Max Temple.”

Scott Arthur: “How are you even here? There was no external DNA in the machine.”

Max Temple: “No…Then what’s that?”

Max points at the floor and sees Scott’s tissue

Scott McArthur: “GODDAMMIT!”

Scott rubs the back of his neck

Scott McArthur: “What even are you a part from my other personality, what are you now?”

David Goodman: “He’s a clone.”

Max Temple: “Wrong, a clone is a carbon copy both physically and mentally whereas, I’m another personality with my own body which makes me a doppelganger.”

Both Scott and max walk in a circle scanning each other

Max Temple: “It’s like looking in a mirror.”

John Clarke: “Man…This is heavy.”

Claire Rochester: “More like trippy.”

Scott McArthur: “Well, we’re both free of each other now you don’t need to stay here.”

Max Temple: “Yes I do.”

David Goodman: “What do you mean?”

Max Temple: “Well, I’ve been stuck in this guy’s head for 25 years since day 1 and even though he doesn’t remember what I do, I can recall everything he does and now that I’m free, I’m going to kill him and all of you and become him.”

Scott McArthur: “Why, when you can just leave?”

Max Temple: “Because I’m the dark side of you that you try to suppress plus you have a good life and I want a good life like that.”

Claire Rochester: “But people will know it’s not Scott.”

Max Temple: “My dear, don’t you listen, I know everything about him, how he walks, talks and acts and after I kill all of you and become him. I WILL BECOME A MIRROR IMAGE OF THE GREAT SCOTT MCARTHUR!”

Everyone looks scared

(END)