Production Roles Top Trump Cards

Samuel Bamfo | Infographics

Javan Kinghorn | Infographics

Screenplay Script

The Winter Hedgehog

Script:

In today's lesson we learnt how to create a screenplay script, so that when the time comes for us to create the screenplay script for our opening sequence we would be able to easily do so.

We learnt about the key features and techniques, necessary for creating a script, such as: Dialogue being tabbed in, character names centred and in capital letters and other techniques and feature. The above screenplay script is therefore a script, me and my group created for 5 pages of a children's story book called "The Winter Hedgehog".

“If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!”

― Benjamin Franklin

25 Word Pitch

Crime Fiction: Superbad meets Catch Me If You Can
One man on the run from the police, in attempt to finish the job.

Saul Bass Practical - Anatomy of a Murder

Here the class learnt how to produce a stop start animation. I worked in a group of three and we cut out pieces of paper to match the shapes of the body shown in the original anatomy of a murder title sequence. Above is my finished edit from the pictures we had taken. I used final cut pro to join an array of photos, in order to create a full video opening. I also used text and fonts that were as similar as that of the original opening sequence.

WWW - What Went Well
 I was very proud with the opening we managed to do and I felt we managed the continuity of the images best, allowing a smooth run of the opening. I also felt we used the accurate amount of images in order to produce a free flowing sequence that was neither to quick, nor to slow.

EBI  - Even Better If
Although i feel that the overall creation of the opening was successful, I was disappointed with the fact that we were unable to completely finish our rendition of the opening sequence. We also struggled with our focus of the camera and managing how to keep even the smallest parts of the body in focus. 

Genre Conventions: Crime Fiction

Title Sequence: Institution Research

Text Analysis

Text Analysis

My Favourite Title Sequence

After doing some research and looking at title sequences that I enjoy, whether it be their style i like or maybe the abstract effects they use, I was able to choice my favourite title sequence and analysis it in depth, while also presenting the PowerPoint i had created to the class and demonstrating why i liked the title sequence so.

Here is the PowerPoint presentation I created about my favourite title sequence for the film, "Catch me if you can":

Catch Me if You Can (My Favourite) (1)

Here Is a video of me presenting my powerpoint on my favourite title sequence to the class:

Film Synopsis

This is a brief, initial idea of what I want my film to be about.

Soundscapes

My Notes - Samuel Bamfo

Soundscape - Ambient sound that we can hear in a scape, for example: birds, clock ticking, e.c.t

Clapperboard - Is a device that is used in both film making and production. It is used to assist the synchronizing of sound and picture. It marks a point in the scene that can easily be identified in editing so that both the sound and picture can be cleverly put together to form synchronous sound.



Dubbed Sound - sound that is added later, over the top of the picture

Foley Artists - Person that creates and adds background sounds and noises later on in the editing. This allows sound to remain clear and avoid background interruptions.

Contrapuntal Sound - Sound that doesn't match the action/scene

Wild Track - Ambient Background noise that you would expect to hear, for example, wildlife.

Sound Bridge - connects or link to pieces of sound over two scenes.

Score - specifically composed music or sound for a film, unlike song which already exists and is chosen not created specifically.

Timeline Comparison

The images to the left both show opening credit timelines, the first being of the movie "panic room" and the second from the film "the bourne identity". 

The opening credits to the movie "panic room" are 1 minute and 44 seconds long. It begins with the institution and has between 23 to 24 title shots. The music for the institutional logo also bridges with the music of the main title sequence and fades out to police sirens. It gradually builds and drops from frame to frame. The sequence also giving the setting for the scene, as there are a range of buildings shown with the credits. This connotes that the scene is likely to be of a city, most likely a city like New York. There is no action for the title sequence either. Finally the sound bridges between two frames towards the end of the opening credits. As the original score sound fades out and the talking of people comes in.

Unlike "panic room", the music for the opening credits of "the bourne identity" starts from the very beginning excluding the sound for the institution logo and its animation. The score sound is rather awkward and hard to figure out. This creates a sense of mystery or enigma that may relate to the tone and genre of the film. The opening sequence of the bourne identity is 1 minute and 40 seconds long, 4 seconds shorter than "panic room". There are no bridges of sound here and the sound is very consistent, however towards the end of the sequence the sound does fade out slowly until it is no longer heard. The sequence however (unlike "panic room"), doesn't set the scene of the film, but does show what looks like fingerprints. This is also an enigma code and sets a sense of mystery and identification. 

The two films do however use music that has been specifically made or suited for the opening, rather than use an already in use soundtrack.

The Pink Panther

9 Key Frames

Conventions

Saul Bass

The purpose of a Title Sequence

Themes and Styles

Definitions

Theme: A theme is the idea that exists in a subject that act like the base or foundation for a particular piece, whether it is work, art or another medium. The below video is a game intro that uses the theme of location and the location of miami city. This city is associated with the rich, high life and living on the edge. The video also suggests that there is a theme of crime and violence. This is evident as in the video we see gangs and bikers and these groups of people are usually associated with committing crimes and participating in violent activities

Style: The style relates to the method or aesthetics used when creating a piece. It is symbolic to what is being created, whether you use specific camera angles, editing techniques, e.c.t. In the below video the intro portrays a 70's, retro style. This is evident from the use of grainy quite deteriorated effects. There a flickers of black dots and white strips. These are often seen in old movies as the technology wasn't there to create high definition products so in using the effect in the intro they relate to and create a 70's style.

Whereas the theme relates to the actual contents of the video, the style is to do with how the piece is presented.

Enigma code: mystery that is connoted through shots used, editing, e.c.t.

Cold Opening: Where at the beginning the piece goes straight into the action.

Title analysis

The Themes presented in the opening sequence of the TV drama Dexter are ones of death, horror, thriller and crime. This is a result of the many connotations to blood, used in the opening. Parts were materials and props such as ketchup, link to blood and to a larger extent death. This is also use of enigma codes, as it draws the audience to have to make assumptions and conclusions about what the show will be about and why they have used these connotations of blood. Symbolic codes are also used as the audience recognizes that the elements of blood are being portrayed in the sequence.

The style that is portrayed, however, is one of mystery. This is something we would usually associate with crime and detection, Mystery. So in the opening sequence it is evident that they have tried to show this as best as possible. For example, the text for Dexter is blurred and in what seems to be blood. The style is also modern and based around the present time. This can be connoted from the scenery and the clothing of the character, seen at the end of the sequence.

Preliminary Task

The Preliminary Task

The below video is our preliminary task about a man walking into a room and have dialogue with another person. The video was successful in a sense and abided by the rules and regulations given for us to obey.

What Went Well

We attempted to create an enigma in the video leading the audience into both a sense of confusion and intrigue, and i feel that we did this successfully in the task. We also included the necessary shot reverse shot, match on action and abided by the 180 degree rule giving the video realism and allowing it to look professional.

What I was most proud of was our camera work and our ability to follow the characters and yet still abide by the 180 degree rule. This was a key issue that we had to address (abiding by the 180 degree rule) and I feel we handled the problem effectively.

Even Better If

I feel that with our shots it would have been better if we had given space and time before each take in order to be able to edit our work with more ease. There were areas in our video where there wasn't enough space given for the actors and as a result it was too quick and even some of the speech or dialogue is affected.

Overall however I am glad with how we did the task and hope that viewers of it will also enjoy it.

Continuity Task

Continuity Task

In this task we edited footage of a women walking through a door, into a room and then sitting down and opening a bag. We as a class edited it and tried to include match on action and abide as much as we could to the 180 degree rule.

From the video you can see that i used match on action effectively when she was opening the locked door. I also always kept her on one side to keep the footage looking realistic and correct to the viewer. Therefore i have abided by the 180 degree rule. This task was purely based on us learning how to edit and incorporate the necessary shot types in our finished edit.

It is important to create a sense of continuity when editing so that the audience watching feels like there are actually there watching it. Therefore errors such as breaking the 180 degree rule cannot occur, otherwise the audience can become confused about the scenery and the positioning of the characters. When filming it is therefore important that the camera stays on one side of the room or area as this is what will be the face of the audience. The juxtaposition of the characters can however be changed when editing, however it can only be done so if you move the camera while changing the position by using techniques such as tracking.

To create continuity when editing it is key that there is a flow in the footage, unless you plan to incorporate techniques such as jump cuts. It can become very apparent to the audience when a characters position changes or something in the scene appears and disappears. It is therefore important to make sure that everything in the scene remains the same when you shot several times. By doing this you ensure that the audience can easily keep track of the video/film.

It is important to create continuity when filming and editing as the audience needs to feel as though they are actually there watching the scene so that the sense of realism is kept. Also keeping the continuity there is a flow kept in the scene allowing the audience to again, easily view the what is happening without them become distracted or confused.

One way of avoiding errors in continuity is to take pictures of what the scene will look like so that if it is necessary that you go back to a scene you know where everything is and what needs to be in place.

CSI South Norwood

CSI South Norwood Task

In this task we attempted to make a replica CSI opening however for South Norwood in london, hence the name CSI:South Norwood. I believe it was successful as i have not only learnt editing techniques but also recording techniques in order to produce a professional looking opening.

Below is the CSI:Miami video we used for inspiration when shooting and editing our clip.

Narrative Theory

Todorov's Theory



Tzvetan Todorov is a Bulgarian philosopher born March 1, 1939. He has lived in France since 1963 and now lives there with his wife and their two children, writing books and essays about literary theory, thought history and culture theory.

However the main part of this blog is outlining his theory on narrative. He believed that every story followed a three part narrative. Equilibrium - Disequilibrium - New Equilibrium. This basically means that at the beginning of the story there is a balance that we the audience consider normal. There is then a disturbance that cause the normal to change and all of a sudden there is no linger a balance. Finally after the disequilibrium there is a new balance that we know consider normal however it is slightly or largely different to the standard equilibrium. This is known as the Todorovian Narrative.




Syd Field's Theory

Syd Field is an American screenwriter, known as one of the kings in the profession. He has written several books on the subject of screenwriting, and he conducts workshops and seminars on the subject of producing salable screenplays. He was born in 1935 and Hollywood film producers have increasingly used his ideas on structure as a guideline to a proposed screenplay's potential.

He also had a theory as to narrative and it has served him quite well. He followed up on Todorov's theory and claimed that the Disequilibrium was the main part of the film where the audience is most interested. His theory (below), however was more complicated and suited to films more than all stories. His theory addresses the fact that in act 1 and incident builds up but doesn't begin. The audience knows something is going to happen. This stage is known as the setup. Next is is the confrontation, two sections were the incident occurs and the hero or good guy gains confidence to step up to the challenge (example). Finally the resolution comes were the climax happens and the good guy or the hero wins the battle or confrontation. 

Vladimir Propp's Character Theory

Propp is a Russian who analysed folk tales and from this gathered that in all stories (theory) there are 8 character types:

1. The Hero - Leads the narrative, usually on a quest, doesn't have to be male, for example a hero is spiderman

2. Villain - Tries to stop the Hero from succeeding, for example doctor octopus in spiderman

3. Donor - Gives the hero something special, whether it is power or a clue that aids the hero in his quest, for example Yoda in star wars

4. The Princess - Prize or Reward for the hero not always a person, for example princess fiona in Shrek

5. Helper/Sidekick - Helps the hero, for example robin in batman

6. The Father - Offers a reward for the hero for completing the quest, for example the sultan in Aladdin

7. False Hero - Takes credit for what the hero does, tries to marry princess, for example prince charming in Shrek

8. Dispatcher - Starts the hero on his quest, king from Shrek the movie

Claude Levi-Strauss (binary opposition theory)

This is the theory that a story unconsciously reflects the values, beliefs and myths of a culture. It also a theory involving conflict as binary is 2 (bi) and opposition is the confrontation between them.

Examples of binary opposition is Good vs Evil, Weak vs Strong, e.c.t.

Roland Barthes

Roland Barthes is a french semiologist. He believed that narrative works in five different codes and uses denotations and connotations. The 5 codes are Action (were the resolution is made - for example in a shootout), Enigma (a mystery or questionable thing - it teases the audience by presenting an unanswered puzzle, an example of an enigma is a trailer), Symbolic (connotation), Semic (denotation) and cultural.

180 Degree Rule

180 Degree Rule

What is it and Why it is important?

The 180 degree rule is the ruling that ensures that the positioning of the characters in relation to the scene stays the same, furthermore this makes it easy for the audience to follow the characters and focus more on the dialogue and movement rather than the shots. It also therefore allows the audience to see the footage from realistic perspectives and from their point of view, making the audience the camera.

How can you use it?

Although it is in a sense a "forbidden rule" you can make alterations to the positioning of the characters and still abide by the 180 degree rule. You can effectively do this by tracking around the character, thereby moving the camera slowly and not make a transition to the next shot.

How will this impact on your planning for your preliminary task?

By doing this task we have learnt that when doing our preliminary task we will need to visually map out our camera angles and the angles we are going to use so that the footage looks and feels realistic. It will also probably be good to take some images that relate to the filming we will do and create a storyboard. In doing so we will be able to identify any errors and also be able to see if the shots look good and if they abide by the 180 degree rule. This task will thereby help our preliminary task, what we do and how we do it.

Narrative Theory - Jelly Baby Task

The History of The Jelly Baby Four

All is good in jelly baby world and the baby four are all happy.

However black jelly baby was feeling out of favour.

He felt the team should be more adventurous.

However the rest of the team disagreed, and out of frustration, black jelly baby left.

He went to a secret hideout at the far end of town, while the rest turned  their back and headed off. 

Embracing his new evil side black jelly baby took the weakest of his friends, Orange. 

He took Orange all the way to his hideout and......

He killed him, as Orange refused to join him.

After realizing that they were missing a man the rest of the gang came to look for Orange, however to their shock they found him dead.

The Rest of the gang in their anger looked for black knowing he had killed Orange and surrounded him. A huge battle was initiated and finally.....

Red and Yellow mounted their revenge and defeated black jelly baby, and in so swearing they would defend good and battle evil in order to honor their late friend Orange. 

Aim of the Task:

The aim of this task was simply to learn how narrative works and what it actually means. We used Todorov's theory of equilibrium – disequilibrium – new equilibrium and used jelly babies to demonstrate this. From the task we learnt that narrative is not the story but the way the story is made up. Todorov's theory suggests that in the beginning of a story there is a balanced state that is considered normal. Then a problem occurs that leads to a disturbance in what is considered normal. Finally a new equilibrium is formed where another (new) state of normal is created. (For more read the narrative theory post)

Explanation of shot types with examples from your photographs

The following photos present shot types that me and my friends have taken in a range of areas. We did this in the previous lesson in order to aid our learning of the types of shots and their effects in different scenarios. Shots such as POV shots (point of view), close up; there are many other types as well.

Close Up
This (left) is an example of a close up shot. A close up is a shot that is zoomed into the face of a person. It shows the persons full face and is good for showing emotions. It can also be used when someone is thinking so you can see their facial expressions.



Over the Shoulder
This (right) is an example of an over the shoulder shot. It is taken just above the persons shoulder and shows part of the person's head, but the man purpose of the shot is to show both half of the back of the person, and what is over his shoulder.

Birds eye view
This (left) is an example of a birds eye view shot. It is taken from the view of above a person, as if it were from the perspective of a bird, hence the name. It is generally used in movies and TV shows to show a large group of people in an area usually walking busily.




Extreme wide shot
This (right) is an example of an extreme wide shot. It is taken to show a wide range of space leaving your view of the person in the shot as minuscule in comparison to the area around them. It is not the best shot to view the expressions of a person and therefore is usually used to show a group of people or is a shot that is increasingly zoomed out to show a person on their own. Emphasising loneliness.

High angle
This (left) is an example of a high angle shot. It shows the person from the perspective of being slightly above. It is probably best used to make the person look inferior to the person from which the shot is taken. For example a child being shouted at by a teacher or their parent, the child is seen as the weaker person.


Cantered shot
This (right) is an example of cantered or slanted shot. It shows the person at an angle, slanted, but it can also be used to show objects from the point of view of someone else. In movies and TV shows it is most often used to show someone falling or their view of something when falling.

Worms eye view 
This (left) is an example of a worms eye view. It is taken from below the person looking up, from a view of that like a worm. In movies and TV shows it is often used to show the view of someone injured and on the floor looking up. Whether it is an injured man looking at the person that has hurt or a person trying to help them.





Low Angle

This (right) is an example of a low angle shot. It is taken from slightly below the person, looking up. In most scenarios these shots are used to show someone dominant or in power. For example if a mafia boss was look down at someone, this would be the most suitable shot to use. 

2 Shot

This (below) is an example of a 2 shot. As simple as the title it is basically used show 2 people in one shot. Often used to show 2 people either having a conversation, fight, you name it, as long is shows 2 people in the shot.

 

Mid Shot

This (right) is an example of a mid shot. In using a mid shot the person aims to show someone in mid range. By that I mean it shows someone from head to waist. A simple yet effect shot and one we probably see most often in TV and Movies.

 POV Shot

This (below) is an example of a POV shot (point of view). It shows whatever the person taking the shot would see. For example if someone was walking towards a door, the viewer would see what the person sees (the door in this case). It is often used to allow the viewer to enter the shoes of the person and can also create a sense of tension.

Extreme Long Shot (below)

A lot like the extreme wide shot, also shows very little detail of the face. It mainly shows the full body of the person and what is around them. It is most often used to show the person alone like the extreme wide shot

Long Shot (below)

Closer than the extreme shot however is still yet to show much detail and therefore is not used to show facial expressions or anything of the sort but to show the person full on and possible show body language.

Mid Long Shot (below)

Closer than the long shot, we are beginning to see the face but not to the extent that we can define facial expressions and features. It is often used in the same sort of scenarios as a long shot as you see the same sort of things.

Mid Close Up (below)

We can now see facial expressions clearly, the shot also shows the shoulders as well as the head of the person. The shot can be used in various scenarios, whether you wish to use it and eventually zoom into an XCU or to show someone's face in a confrontation.

Extreme Close Up

This is an example of an extreme close up shot. Zoomed completely into the persons face to the extent that you can see a bead of seat falling from their face if they wanted to. It is a shot most often used to show the slightest of facial movements, whether it be a twitch, tear or sweat. Commonly seen in cowboy movies were there is a confrontation to show the sternness in their eyes.

Eye Level 

Another shot stated in the name. The eye level shot shows the eyes level with the camera in a close up shot. It is often used to simple show a persons face and their eyes starring at the camera. The viewer is made to feel a sense of eeriness as the persons almost stares into the viewers soul.