After many days of preparation, over 3 decision changes and a very cold wintery day, I finally finished my film. I have uploaded the final film onto my blog. My previous version, which is also on the blog has been changed slightly. For example my title has now changed into a much more visually stimulating title. Also i decided to change the ending credits music.
First of all I would like to analyse my camera work. Having watched my film many times I have soon become to notice the unsteadiness of certain parts of the film. For example at the very beginning, where my character is sitting on the wall. I feel that i should have taken my time on this part, because if i had, then It would have looked much more effective and less make-shift. Saying this, there are parts of my film, especially where my character is running to the shop, that i purposefully shook the camera, therefore making the audience feel more connected with the character. This is what my film is about, my aim is for the audience to feel that excitement when she wins money. It's a feeling that everyone loves, and I hope that I achieved this with my audience. Of course i did not plan to have it snowing on the day of filming, but i used this to my advantage, and thought of extra scenes to add in. For example the snow man making and snow angel. I thought this added a festive and magical feeling to my film, which i thing suited the genre well. I thought quickly, because i had a shooting script i wanted to stick to, so i made some notes and wrote down a few camera shots and it turned out well.
My genre of Drama, I feel certainly shined through in the film. A narrative story that could be part of every day life is a drama, although I like to think that a comedy aspect was included, as a sub genre. For example when she is making a snow angel; it is so unexpected, and I know some of the viewers of my film have laughed at that part.
I also feel that i have managed to stick to my target audience. To test this target i showed my father this film who is 46 years if age. Of course he would have like it, because he has to support my school work, but i asked him to answer honestly whether he would watch a film like this for pleasure. He made no hesitation in answering no! This concluded my decision. I do feel that this film would be suitable for maybe one or two years younger although, the representation on gambling could send out a negative message to younger viewers.
I managed to stick to the time limit of roughly 4 minutes. In short films, as a genre, i think the time span of the film is a typical form and convention. I feel i went against the forms and conventions of a short film, especially a drama short film with the music editing. I edited the music so it played through the whole film with no dialogue. Some would see this as against the forms and conventions of short films and i totally agree. Many people have suggested my film could be a music video. I see their meaning by this, but the lack of special effects and technical editing shows that it would never be a music video. The only specific parts that include any sort of enhancement would be the ending of my film where she realises she has won the money. I used slide transitions to mark the change in mood. This is another example of going against the forms and conventions of the drama genre.
If i could go back and make my film again, i would certainly take my time. As you can see at the early stages of my blog, i did change my mind a considerable amount of times and this resulted in me having to make a quick decision. This was a disadvantage, but i also thought that it showed my consistency and passion to make a perfect film. I had filmed 2 whole films before i came to this final one, which i fully edited. I just felt an emptiness in these films, with no clear message or excitement. So maybe if this was my original idea, i would have thought more carefully and slowed down. I would have used a tripod and changed the costume!
After creating a questionnaire for 10 people in my target audience, i found that there were some uplifting points about my film, although, as i have said myself about my camera work, people have said how unsteady some parts were. I have taken this on board, but as i have finished my film, i do not want to film all over again. The weather may be an issue! There are always things that you need to work on, things that you can learn from, and this is one of them. We also had a class viewing in my lesson. This was helpful to gain helpful information from my teacher and classmates. I even uploaded my unfinished film to youtube, which i received lots of helpful information from. I changed the title at the beginning of my film, because of someone elses point of view. If i had not uploaded it to youtube, my title would not be as good as it is now.
Looking at all of my work together; review, film and poster i feel i have accomplished what i set out for. With my review and poster i was aiming for simplicity. After looking at posters and articles in the same genre as mine, i saw a reccuring similarity. The colours are usually quite pink, with pastels and happy colours. Very rarely did i come across a review for an uplifting film covered in black. The soft peach palette from my review and the pink candy stripes on my poster do not match. I did not intend to have them matching. After all, they are different media texts, so they would not usually be matching in design and colour anyway. One thing that i think stands out well would be the design of the title on the poster. I made sure that the title was exactly the same as the one shown in my film, so that viewers can compare and notice the film and remember what it looks like.
I am not brilliant at using computers. From last years magazine making, i thought i had learnt alot, but when i started filming i realised how much harder this was going to be. Now i have finished my project, i have learnt new skills on photoshop, such as layering and resizing photographs, i have used the apple macs, which are generally quite hard to use and i have also made a film and by doing this i have had to learn the ins and outs of movie maker. This took time to get to grips with, but i figured it out and managed to learn all sorts of skills, such as editing music, adding clips, shortening clips, making stills from clips, organizing and arranging the clips, adding titles and credits and so much more.
My favourite part of the film would have to be my editing. I like the music that i added to the credits at the ending. It works well with the lollipop. The lollipop, if you are wondering, represented the characters innocence, as a young girl. The fact that such an innocent girl would win thousands of pounds is laughable. I also like the change i made in the title. The title was made on photoshop by myself, which took alot of time, because i have always found photoshop slightly hard at times. Finally, i also like the narrative to my film. When last year i heard about this years course of making a film, i imagined something like my film. A story that has a twist, something that makes the audience feel good with uplifting music. This is what i have achieved.
Tuesday, 23 March 2010
Film Review Research (EXTRA)
(THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED EARLIER)
I have been looking at film review layouts on the internet for some time now, and i have written a post about one of them. Now i want to look at the text in an article. I want to know how to write an article and have been looking at examples from The Guardian and Heat magazine to get contrasting reviews. This opening of an article on the new film 'I Love You Phillip Morris', gives an overview of what the film is about:
"Jim Carrey's rubbery, hyperreal face achieves a sheen of panic and desperate neediness in this stranger-than-fiction comedy drawn from real life. Steven Russell (Carrey) is a fraudster, a hypnotically plausible fantasist, and a formerly married ex-cop who comes out as a gay man, before finally getting sent to jail in Texas for insurance scams, and there finding the love of his life. This is the shy, young innocent Phillip Morris, nicely played by Ewan McGregor, who, like the rest of the world, trusts the exuberant and charming Steven implicitly. Morris himself tells his own story in a seductive, honeyed voiceover, rather like Reese Witherspoon's narration in Alexander Payne's Election." - This is what i aim to do in my article, giving an overview of what it is about and also mentionaing the actors and directors, as you can see Jim Carrey's name has been put in brackets.
"Is it about a con man's criminal career? Are we, the audience, supposed to trust Steven Russell, to take him at his own estimation of himself?
Not exactly, no. Even calling him a fraudster doesn't describe the character Carrey plays."- I like the way, in this extract from the article, the writer asks rhetorical questions...but then answers them anyway. It's like a conversation with himself, but mostly with the reader. I like this style of writing, and will most certainly try and use it in my article.
I have been looking at film review layouts on the internet for some time now, and i have written a post about one of them. Now i want to look at the text in an article. I want to know how to write an article and have been looking at examples from The Guardian and Heat magazine to get contrasting reviews. This opening of an article on the new film 'I Love You Phillip Morris', gives an overview of what the film is about:
"Jim Carrey's rubbery, hyperreal face achieves a sheen of panic and desperate neediness in this stranger-than-fiction comedy drawn from real life. Steven Russell (Carrey) is a fraudster, a hypnotically plausible fantasist, and a formerly married ex-cop who comes out as a gay man, before finally getting sent to jail in Texas for insurance scams, and there finding the love of his life. This is the shy, young innocent Phillip Morris, nicely played by Ewan McGregor, who, like the rest of the world, trusts the exuberant and charming Steven implicitly. Morris himself tells his own story in a seductive, honeyed voiceover, rather like Reese Witherspoon's narration in Alexander Payne's Election." - This is what i aim to do in my article, giving an overview of what it is about and also mentionaing the actors and directors, as you can see Jim Carrey's name has been put in brackets.
"Is it about a con man's criminal career? Are we, the audience, supposed to trust Steven Russell, to take him at his own estimation of himself?
Not exactly, no. Even calling him a fraudster doesn't describe the character Carrey plays."- I like the way, in this extract from the article, the writer asks rhetorical questions...but then answers them anyway. It's like a conversation with himself, but mostly with the reader. I like this style of writing, and will most certainly try and use it in my article.
Thursday, 11 March 2010
Article text
Just in case the text was unreadable on my article, you can read it here:
English director and writer Lydia Bowden has wowed us with yet another masterpiece. Her award winning short film ‘Lollipop’ has delighted audiences all over the world with this heart warming true story.
Plot: A young girl (representing Lydia’s second cousin) is having a bad day. It’s snowing, its cold, just one of those days where you don’t know what to do with yourself, until something unexpected happens. We always dream of finding a ten pound note on the floor, but the girl finds one pound. Now that may seem pointless to you, but for a young, bored, candy hungry young girl it’s like all of her dreams have come true. She makes a very good choice of a mars bar, until she notices a scratch card at the counter. Guess what happens next? Stupidly she blows her pound on the scratch card instead, although when scratching the card she realizes she has one thousands and thousands of pounds. Right, I’m off to the shop.
Lydia says, “I think it’s that thought of the unexpected. As your scratching the card, you know your not going to win, your heart is thumping, and you are hoping to see big numbers,” she continues to say, “Of course it never usually turns out like this; it’s fantasy, that’s why I wanted to share this story, for everyone to enjoy.”
Well, we all agree that this film sounds like a massive hit. The fact that it is based on a true story, you can really relate to the character. Actor Verity Ferris represents perfectly the raw emotions of winning thousands. She says, “I loved playing this part, I just wish this could happen to me! Well we think, Verity, that you already have thousands of pounds to get excited about…
Go and see this film. It is edgy, it is classic, and we especially love ‘Cash In My Pocket’ by Wiley playing in the background. It will make you fell uplifted, and you never know…this may happen to you one day. ■
English director and writer Lydia Bowden has wowed us with yet another masterpiece. Her award winning short film ‘Lollipop’ has delighted audiences all over the world with this heart warming true story.
Plot: A young girl (representing Lydia’s second cousin) is having a bad day. It’s snowing, its cold, just one of those days where you don’t know what to do with yourself, until something unexpected happens. We always dream of finding a ten pound note on the floor, but the girl finds one pound. Now that may seem pointless to you, but for a young, bored, candy hungry young girl it’s like all of her dreams have come true. She makes a very good choice of a mars bar, until she notices a scratch card at the counter. Guess what happens next? Stupidly she blows her pound on the scratch card instead, although when scratching the card she realizes she has one thousands and thousands of pounds. Right, I’m off to the shop.
Lydia says, “I think it’s that thought of the unexpected. As your scratching the card, you know your not going to win, your heart is thumping, and you are hoping to see big numbers,” she continues to say, “Of course it never usually turns out like this; it’s fantasy, that’s why I wanted to share this story, for everyone to enjoy.”
Well, we all agree that this film sounds like a massive hit. The fact that it is based on a true story, you can really relate to the character. Actor Verity Ferris represents perfectly the raw emotions of winning thousands. She says, “I loved playing this part, I just wish this could happen to me! Well we think, Verity, that you already have thousands of pounds to get excited about…
Go and see this film. It is edgy, it is classic, and we especially love ‘Cash In My Pocket’ by Wiley playing in the background. It will make you fell uplifted, and you never know…this may happen to you one day. ■
Film Review Final Version
This is my final review. I had made a completely different version originally, but unfortunately it didn't look right. I then researched some more film reviews and found the one that i have analysed on my blog. I like the natural colours used, it is easy on the eye, and i took a few ideas from it.
I took the idea of writing the text on top of a pastel colour from the review, and as you can see it works very well. I thought i would add a personal touch, buy making a horozontal shape for the second part of text. The part i most admire, is the font for the title. It's classic, it's smart and i could imagine this article in an up-market magazine. I used the forms and conventions of a film review, by using stars to rate the film. Of course using 5! I think this makes it look professional straight away. When i was researching, i said i wanted to follow the forms and convention with the images and i did. I used one main large image and one small image. I think these images work well in grabbing the audience's attention. There was also space to add a feature on the double page spread, so i looked up certain articles from heat magazine, and found that they ask viewers oppinions on films. I tought this was a good idea, because when you hear someone else's point of view, it makes you want to watch a film even more. I used a grey background to contrast with the pastel colour. Black, pastel (peach) and grey work well together. I finally added a small frame around one of the photos to add a vintage feel and this goes well with the vintage style title.
Wednesday, 10 March 2010
FILM POSTER EVALUATION PUBLISH
Here is my final poster. Now i will be honest. I made this in 50 minutes to be precise, but only because i knew my intentions. I knew my colour palette and i knew that i wanted to use the same title logo as in my film. After seeing the other film posters, i decided i would keep my poster limited. I stuck to that thought. I really like this poster, i think it looks eye catching and it makes me want to think of what the film is about. The tagline line suits perfectly! The pink stripes represent sweet shops bags, although this film does not have much to do with a sweet shop, it does have a special meaning with the lollipop (innocence). The only negative thing i could say is that it could be biased towards a female audience. All the pink may not be too interesting for a male.
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