Journal - 20/12/12 Soundtrack and Editing

The website we used to choose our soundtrack was https://audionetwork.lgfl.org.uk this was to ensure we avoided copyright. Before looking at soundtracks we discussed the idea's we had on what tone, pitch and speed we would expect the soundtrack to be like; we all had a slight idea about what we wanted, such as the tempo increasing in speed to suggest a build-up in excitement and an action which may be about to happen. We felt we needed an upbeat tune which would present the characters enthuastic trait and the genre. When searching for our soundtrack we used the key word 'spy' to see what type of music fell under this category, here are some that we analysed:

City Streets: This music was of a techno style and suggested an adult nature which instantly established it wouldn't appeal to our target audience. We really liked the modern feel it had to it and expressed to us our film was set in present time, so we then understood we needed a modern sound to complement our film footage, typography and overall style.

Agent X: When listening to this soundtrack my group didn't like the heavy bass and male domination expressed. It is inappropriate for our target audience and doesn't integrate with our genre of comedy.

Alone In Love: Even though members of my group liked the romantic feeling of this soundtrack we discussed the fact it was a jazz piece mainly recognised in the 1960's era, therefore defeating our modern idea. The low toned instruments also added a sense of sadness and took away the upbeat feel we wanted.

Follow That Car: This was our favourite soundtrack as it had an upbeat feeling which expresses a sense of excitement and a positive outcome to the audience. It also works well with our target audience as we needed a childlike comical tune which would guide you with our images. A member of the group mentioned it reminded them of a couples dance in which it would represent our underlying theme of romance; the fast pace also exceeded our expectations and presented our genre well. Overall we are highly satisfied with this soundtrack and will be using it in our title sequence.

Editing

We went onto editing today because we was unable to get to the location our next shoot would be at. We began by converting all the footage and then placed them in chronological order to give us an understanding of we what had already filmed; as we were doing so we were constantly referring back to our storyboards to ensure we were being accurate. The main focus of this editing session was the speed of our clips, either speeding up or slowing down. I feel it went well because we was able to see the small progress we was making in filming all of our footage.

Below is our flash light test before editing

 

Journal - 17/12/12 Photoshop

Today we filmed our bird poo dropping on the protagonist character, however we found it diffiecult writing the lettering into the cream and so I decided to experiment on photoshop by adding the letters and then adding a dissolved effect to enable it to blend in.I don't feel we will be using this in our final outcome because it is not the same typography as our other casting; but this has given us an idea on what we are expecting the outcome to look like.

Journal - 15/12/12 Birds

Today we decided to have a fun experiment, as in our title sequence we have bird poo falling onto the protagonist's shoulder, therefore we felt it would be interesting to see if we could get a shot of a bird. This also contributed to Daisy's cinematography skills, her knowledge of angles and practising to capture smooth, fast shots with a steady movement. I feel we was successful in our experiment because we all gained knowledge of movement, continuity and the difficulties we may face when filming serious shots.
We are not going to use this shot because we fill it would create a 'jumpy' effect when going from one shot to the other; if we were to use footage of a bird we would need to have a close up, and today we proved that would be impossible.

Receiving feedback on the fonts

Above is the tally where we asked the audience their views and opinions on the fonts in which we gave them the genre and a brief description of the narrative, the results clearly give us a favourable font and my group was satisfied with the results as we all found this font suitable for our title sequence.

Choosing the font and colour

We researched a range of type fonts to see what we felt would work best, we decided to analyse each one to understand the positives and negatives of each one; this will also contribute to our decision when selecting the final font. To help us with our decision we will be taking a tally from the public to see what the preferred font will be ensuring that it is beneficial to our narrative and genre.

 

Font 1

Our group discussed this font with a range of negative comments which included; to feminine, contains swirls and to narrow. When asking the public we received comments that expressed it looked like a signature or it looks elegant and classy. We will not be using this font as it does not convey the comedy aspect of our film and would not appropriate for our  young target audience.

 

Font 2

 

Our group discussed the scratching effect of this font in which we felt it related to the genre horror not comedy. When asking the public, one person thought it was the font used in the opening title sequence Se7en, this concluded this font will not be suitable because it does not enable our narrative to come through, therefore having a negative impact on our sequence.

 

Font 3

 

When discussing this font we felt it was to child like and wouldn't appeal to our secondary audience; a member of my group felt it looked like play dough and didn't like the young feel to it. We want the font to appeal to our target audience in which they are young but not that young.

 

Font 4



This was our favourite font out of the ones previously discussed because we like the idea of it being written by our protagonist; this resembles his importance in the film and enables the audience to understand the comedic and entertaining elements involved in the characters traits. We also feel the font is smooth and accurate without it being to 'thoughtout', this contributes to the comical aspect of our film. A member of the group also felt our target audience could relate and understand the font as it represents handwriting. Overall we really like this font and when asking the audience this font received the most positive feedback and votes on our tally, therefore we will be using it in our opening title sequence.

 

Deciding on the font colour

We discussed the connotations of colour to ensure that it would give our title sequence a positive feel.



Red: The first colour we discussed was red because we felt it didn't have a direct gender associated with it, therefore appealing to our target audience. But we felt this wouldn't be a suitable font because of the connotations of blood, danger and romance, even though we do have an underlying theme of romance the colour will not represent our narrative or genre.

 

Blue: The next colour we discussed was blue, prominently associated with a masculine colour we felt it would be appropriate for our main target audience. However, the connotations of blue are depressed and loneliness which would not be suitable for a younger audience although these feelings are expressed when our protagonist loses a family member (his grandmother.)

 

Black: The final colour we discussed was black as we felt it would reinforce the handwriting font, it would also represent a modern style. The connotations of black consist heavily of negativity but we feel this will not be presented strongly and will be easily overlooked because of the font, props and soundtrack used in which a humorous atmosphere will be felt. 

Lesson Notes - 14/12/12

Typography

The aim of this  lesson was to understand what typography, design and the way in which the titles appear communicate to the audience.

Throughout the lesson I considered these connotations: Genre

                                                                        Style/ Mood

                                                                                          Possible narratives

                                                                                          Production values

                                                                                          Themes

Regular way of the order of the titles:

1. Name of studio
2. Name of production company
3. Producer name
4. Starring  - Starting with main characters
5. Featuring - Featured actors
6. Casting director
7. Composer of music
8. Production designer
9. Editor
10. Director of photography
11. Producer
12. Writer/Writers
13. Director

Now I have a good understanding in the way in which titles appear, I feel I will be able to apply this to my title sequence and consider the order of my cast and featured actors.

Analysing Typography

 

Catch Me If You Can



- Titles integrated ( Apart of the action.)

- The sequence is stylised and modern which works alongside Jazz music

- The geometric shapes, colours and lines are influenced by Saul Bass's style and             

techniques.

- Moves smoothly which makes the sequence flow with elegance; movement also suggests a sense of travelling may be involved.

- Suave and sophisticated

- Informal, representing a non serious character; it also foreshadows a humorous aspect

- High production values

- Sans Serif

- Typewriter hints the era of the film is 1960's and the significance of the object

 

I really enjoyed this title sequence and the way in which a range of things such as the genre and era can be identified through the typography used. From this sequence I have taken into consideration how important the typography is and want my title sequence to represent the protagonist and genre through the use of typography.

 

Seven

 - Distorted typography represents the characters state of mind

- Sharp lines foreshadows violence, weapons and suggested murder

- Handwritten giving the audience a sense of the character and suggests a mental illness ( Not stable.) Also gives us a theme of identity.

- Colour of typography is dull and faded looking, this foreshadows a fading character or death.

I like the typography used in this title sequence because it immediately suggests violence and the movement of it allows to identify the genre is a thriller. I really like how you are able to identify so many key/ important aspects of the film just through a simple thing such as

typography. Although now i realise it isn't as simple as I first believed it to be.

Lord Of War

- Not integrated

- Subtle

- Small scale

- Russian Military

- Square suggests not friendly

My most favourite thing about this title sequence was the camera angle, I really like the way in which the audience gets a point of view from an object; the bullet.

 

Forest Gump

- Serrif 

- Similar to Times New Roman

- Constant position, colour and font style. Suggests a continuous character trait.

- Subtle and delicate

- White suggests purity and innocence

- The film is timeless

 

Journal - 10/12/12 First Shoot

Today we began our first shoot, as the location manager I was able to find a location in the school which resembled an office, this to ensure our title sequence has a sense of realism and belief. To succeed in our intended background we used the green screen, this means we will be able edit the background in, further on in the production.

 

As the props manager I decided to use classic office essentials such as pens, paper and a comical 'spinning' chair, I also decided to use not so essential office props such as a plant pot. 

To ensure our genre; action/ comedy was continuous throughout filming I made sure the costume of the actor was accurate to the protagonist's personality, job description and what it would represent to the audience. When analysing similar action, comedy films the common costume was a smart, sleek suit and so that is what we decided on.

 To achieve the smooth camera movement we used a dolly, this meant the outcome was sophisticated and successful.

Assigned Roles

In our groups we have assigned individual roles for each person these include a director, props, makeup and location manager, continuity manager and a cinematographer. My selected role is the props, makeup and location manager, this means I will have to find suitable locations for our filming; I will need to check if we need permission to shoot there and understand what we will need to film to enable a successful outcome. I will also have the responsibility of the props that will be needed at each filming session; I feel to be successful in this area I will need to be organised and know what we need  and when. Overall my role is going to contribute to a successful title sequence with appropriate locations and props.

Cinematographer
We decided to assign Daisy to the cinematography as we feel she has a good understanding of camera angles, movements and positions. She is also able to follow a storyboard ensuring the outcome is as smooth and sophisticated as we expect.

Director and Producer
We selected Nicola as the director and producer as we felt she is very organised and has good experience with creating film sequences. Her role will include ensuring everything is up to date, being aware of everything taking place and obtaining everyone is up to date.

Continuity Manager
Thomas is the continuity manager as he understands the rules of filming and will ensure we do not create any mistakes; this will provide the group with a successful outcome with no mistakes.

Brainstorming and Story Board

My group used a spider diagram to present the ideas we have for the title sequence, this gave everyone the opportunity to discuss and explain props, locations, actions etc. they would expect in our final outcome. From the discussion and diagram we came up with the themes love, friendship, family and stupidity, we will be presenting these through the use of iconography and characters personality traits, which would include bird poo for stupidity; confetti, wedding ring and a camera flash for the themes love and friendship. My group also wants to represent the genre and the spy theme of the film through the title sequence and so will be using stereotypical iconography such as a magnifying glass. I feel this group work helped everyone understand every ones opinions and ideas, this was successful because we was able to form final ideas which completed every ones expectations.

 

 

We then went onto storyboarding where we placed our ideas into an appropriate order, this enables our title sequence to flow in a continuous and sophisticated way. We also added the cinematography we will be using and the sound/ dialogue which will be included in the shot; this will help us throughout the shooting of our title sequence because we will be able to refer back to it.
 Because our target audience is aimed at younger children we decided to add humour to engage the audience and to involve them in the narrative.
We chose not to show the main characters face because we wanted to reinforce the fact he is a spy and has a hidden identity.
The storyboarding has given us an understanding of the locations and the development throughout the process of our title sequence.

 

Blog Feedback

To improve my blog from the comments I received I added screen shots into my analysis to create a visual comparison between my writing and the image. I also created a journal label where I will be weekly documenting my title sequence progress. Other than that I feel my blog is visually appealing and is regularly up to date.

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