Here is the complete example of my print text 2 the film magazine review. I based the style, colours and fonts on reviews from the magazine 'Total Film' taking features such as the bold red titles and the 'See this if you like' box. I also tried to write my review in the same style, which was not too intellectual and with a sarcastic tone when criticizing. The magazine is targeted at young males, hence the swearing and striking titles like my short film is, therefore I felt this was an appropriate choice of magazine as their readers are practically the same audience as mine.Thursday 25 March 2010
Print text 2
Here is the complete example of my print text 2 the film magazine review. I based the style, colours and fonts on reviews from the magazine 'Total Film' taking features such as the bold red titles and the 'See this if you like' box. I also tried to write my review in the same style, which was not too intellectual and with a sarcastic tone when criticizing. The magazine is targeted at young males, hence the swearing and striking titles like my short film is, therefore I felt this was an appropriate choice of magazine as their readers are practically the same audience as mine.
Wednesday 24 February 2010
Strengths, Weaknesses and Final Summary
Even within my planning before I went out shooting, I began making some adjustments from my original storyline. First, when considering the rating of my film, making me rethink how I was going to carry out the fighting scene and how gory I made it, and then secondly replacing a crowbar with a survival knife. Sadly I could not get the people I originally wanted to act as my Zombies due to time constraints, when I had the opportunity to book a camera from college, so I had to rely on my younger brother filling the space. Although I was impressed by his performance and grateful for him helping me, I still felt one of my own friends who I had originally intended to fill the role would have looked more threatening. The people I originally chose were taller and bulkier than myself, which would have given a greater sense of suspense for the audience as it would have looked like an unfair battle between my character and the zombie, as opposed to my younger, smaller brother.
Also I should have edited the pace of the news report scenes to be much quicker and made each clip shorter than the last to build up suspense more quickly, rather than the repetitive and tedious scene I produced in the final cut. Furthermore, on editing criticisms, I should not have made the TV static footage so loud, as it made my classmates cringe and cover their ears when I presented the finished film to the class.
However I was overjoyed when people stated in their feedback that I had an excellent selection of props costumes and location, and that they even found it scary. I personally believed that my location especially worked well to portray the story and to convey the right emotions to the audience. Shots of the Donnigton locations for example were perfect as they depicted deserted urban landscape in broad daylight, like in ‘I am Legend’. I felt that the daylight helped to emphasise the absence of life.
On the whole, with what I had to make do with I was extremely pleased my Film, and from the whole experience I have improved on my filming and editing skills compared my project from last year.
Also I should have edited the pace of the news report scenes to be much quicker and made each clip shorter than the last to build up suspense more quickly, rather than the repetitive and tedious scene I produced in the final cut. Furthermore, on editing criticisms, I should not have made the TV static footage so loud, as it made my classmates cringe and cover their ears when I presented the finished film to the class.
However I was overjoyed when people stated in their feedback that I had an excellent selection of props costumes and location, and that they even found it scary. I personally believed that my location especially worked well to portray the story and to convey the right emotions to the audience. Shots of the Donnigton locations for example were perfect as they depicted deserted urban landscape in broad daylight, like in ‘I am Legend’. I felt that the daylight helped to emphasise the absence of life.
On the whole, with what I had to make do with I was extremely pleased my Film, and from the whole experience I have improved on my filming and editing skills compared my project from last year.
Evaluation of Planning and its Affect in My Film
Although my story boards were to general on the scenes, rather than being specifying what each shot would display, I found it was sufficient enough as a guideline when I went out to film on location. I listed the different types shots that each scene would require, what music would be played alongside it and how it would be edited later on.
I had to carefully select which news reports I was going to incorporate into my film, as they were purposed to give the audience a gist of the storyline, when the actual reports where on entirely different subjects. I felt that I had chosen the appropriate clips and had edited them perfectly, so they were not misleading.
I decided to choose props that would look authentic and represent traditional horror film props. I decided to use a sawn off shotgun as one of the major weapons, as it is the stereotypical weapon used in almost every zombie film in the last few decades, which I decide to pay homage to. Also I chose short barrel gun after Terminator 2 inspired me, as if this choice of weapon would make my character to appear as macho as Arnold Schwarzenegger.
I originally choose I crowbar as my character’s melee weapon during my early planning as I felt it gave my character a more raw and gritty impression.
However I later changed it to a survival knife, as it was simple to make a fake knife that resembled my real one, and also because it was more practical, both to carry around and when using it with actors.
In the end I felt the knife worked just as well, and the fact I used both a fake (and real) survival knife, gave my character a more deadly look, and come across as a more professional survivor.
I also wrote my own short script for my radio news report, covering the zombie outbreak, read out by my friend in a North American accent. I felt this choice worked well in my film, as I played the report over a black screen, helping to build suspense, as the audience could not see what was happening, also the decision of an American reporter, aided in giving my film a Hollywood feel to it.
I had to carefully select which news reports I was going to incorporate into my film, as they were purposed to give the audience a gist of the storyline, when the actual reports where on entirely different subjects. I felt that I had chosen the appropriate clips and had edited them perfectly, so they were not misleading.
I decided to choose props that would look authentic and represent traditional horror film props. I decided to use a sawn off shotgun as one of the major weapons, as it is the stereotypical weapon used in almost every zombie film in the last few decades, which I decide to pay homage to. Also I chose short barrel gun after Terminator 2 inspired me, as if this choice of weapon would make my character to appear as macho as Arnold Schwarzenegger.
I originally choose I crowbar as my character’s melee weapon during my early planning as I felt it gave my character a more raw and gritty impression.
However I later changed it to a survival knife, as it was simple to make a fake knife that resembled my real one, and also because it was more practical, both to carry around and when using it with actors.
In the end I felt the knife worked just as well, and the fact I used both a fake (and real) survival knife, gave my character a more deadly look, and come across as a more professional survivor.
I also wrote my own short script for my radio news report, covering the zombie outbreak, read out by my friend in a North American accent. I felt this choice worked well in my film, as I played the report over a black screen, helping to build suspense, as the audience could not see what was happening, also the decision of an American reporter, aided in giving my film a Hollywood feel to it.
Evalaution: Screenshot analysis
I got this clip off YouTube, its new footage of riot police attacking protestors at the G20 Summit camp and its original YouTube URL is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t244-zEENSs.I used it because I wanted to give the impression of a mass panic outbreak in the cities. I felt it achieved this with the sheer amount of chaos, occurring in the clip. The main reason I choose this video is because of the extreme violence the police are using, and its appears as if they are trying to contain an evacuation, or an infected mob.
I am pleased with using this video clip in my film as I feel it displays what I intended and helps to give a hint of the storyline and setting of the outbreak of the infection. It managed to achieve the desired affect on the class when I presented it to them, as it seemed to grab their attention, which I feel is crucial at the beginning of a film.
Here is an example of my favourite shot of the film. During the climax where my main character is in a prone stance, unaware of the zombie that has just emerged from the shrubbery ready to pounce upon him. I filmed this shot at sunrise, so I could achieve this fantastic effect of the zombies outline casting a horrific silhouette against the rising sun, as if they are rising together to bring chaos.
The inspiration for this shot came from this image I found on the website www.houshaunters.com/products of a Halloween window silhouette which itself, is purposed to give houses an eerie sense to passers by on Halloween.As I was impressed by its effectiveness, I wanted to recreate my own shot that looked as similar to it as possible to build up tension as the zombie in my film is lurching forward towards my vulnerable character.I accompanied this shot with the strings segment of ‘The last Spartan’ score from the Halo 2 soundtrack. The brief section I used is composed of a string orchestra and choir which both build up in noise to quickly create a spine-chilling sensation to play alongside the zombie lurching towards my character, making the overall scene even more eerie.
Thursday 11 February 2010
Evaluation of Research
I began my research by studying the history of short films, and their significance within the industry. The main thing I gathered was that modern short films are deliberately different than mainstream feature movies, in their topics and how they are made, so from this point I wanted to make my own production which included aspects from typical feature films but still retained distinctive elements.
I then started to look at an overview of the ‘Zombie Apocalypse’ sub genre, noting what aspects they included to make them fit into that category. I could then incorporate them into my own short so my audience would recognise it as an apocalypse film.
The first popular media about zombies I looked at for inspiration was Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ video. However, I did not find it particularly useful for my own project because it wasn’t really scary or realistic. I then decided to look at the depiction of zombies in popular culture throughout history. I took particular note on the novel ‘I am Legend’ and the Romero’s film ‘Night of the Living Dead’ which together formed the zombie stereotype of western culture.
I also looked at more recent production such as ’28 Days Later’, the TV series ‘Dead Set’ and the film adaptation of ‘I am Legend’. All of these have aimed to defy the common stereotype, the most notable new feature is that the zombies and infected people in these productions are capable of sprinting, as opposed to the traditional shambling monster.
I found all of these extremely useful, for the concept of my own zombies, thus helping me to formulate which costumes to use and how the actors should act.
The final part of my research involved me searching for a suitable location to shoot my film, I considered many different Brownfield sites across Telford each with their own advantages. I also had to bear in mind accessibility to certain locations, as it was difficult to arrange my cast and crew to meet up at locations that where awkward to get to. However, even though I settled on using the Lightmoor location for my fight scene, I still used footage of each of my considerations in my final film.
I then started to look at an overview of the ‘Zombie Apocalypse’ sub genre, noting what aspects they included to make them fit into that category. I could then incorporate them into my own short so my audience would recognise it as an apocalypse film.
The first popular media about zombies I looked at for inspiration was Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ video. However, I did not find it particularly useful for my own project because it wasn’t really scary or realistic. I then decided to look at the depiction of zombies in popular culture throughout history. I took particular note on the novel ‘I am Legend’ and the Romero’s film ‘Night of the Living Dead’ which together formed the zombie stereotype of western culture.
I also looked at more recent production such as ’28 Days Later’, the TV series ‘Dead Set’ and the film adaptation of ‘I am Legend’. All of these have aimed to defy the common stereotype, the most notable new feature is that the zombies and infected people in these productions are capable of sprinting, as opposed to the traditional shambling monster.
I found all of these extremely useful, for the concept of my own zombies, thus helping me to formulate which costumes to use and how the actors should act.
The final part of my research involved me searching for a suitable location to shoot my film, I considered many different Brownfield sites across Telford each with their own advantages. I also had to bear in mind accessibility to certain locations, as it was difficult to arrange my cast and crew to meet up at locations that where awkward to get to. However, even though I settled on using the Lightmoor location for my fight scene, I still used footage of each of my considerations in my final film.
Evaluation: Audiences Review
After presenting my finished production to my media class, I happily received positive comments from everyone in the room. However, after carefully reading my classmate’s feedback, it intrigued me how certain sections were disappointing to some viewers but praised by others. For example one persons feedback who liked the music, felt the fight scene looked too amateur, whilst another despised the music but was thrilled by the final battle.
On the other hand I found common positive trends, as everyone thought the props and costumes I used where up to standard and in some reviews regarded as excellent, which I am pleased about. Also, I was satisfied when the main ‘scary scene’ of my short, made several people jump, which I was trying to achieve.
One negative trend I noticed on practically every feedback sheet was that the TV static was far too loud, which I will admit myself, as I used it repetitively, it became tedious, and made me cringe let alone my classmates. On the whole I am pleased with my classmates opinions and agree with the majority of criticisms, which I will try to eradicate when making another production.
On the other hand I found common positive trends, as everyone thought the props and costumes I used where up to standard and in some reviews regarded as excellent, which I am pleased about. Also, I was satisfied when the main ‘scary scene’ of my short, made several people jump, which I was trying to achieve.
One negative trend I noticed on practically every feedback sheet was that the TV static was far too loud, which I will admit myself, as I used it repetitively, it became tedious, and made me cringe let alone my classmates. On the whole I am pleased with my classmates opinions and agree with the majority of criticisms, which I will try to eradicate when making another production.
Finishing Touches to Print Text 1
For the style and font of the title text I want to use something similar to the logo title from the 'Left 4 Dead' computer game series, here to the right I have included the title for 'Left 4 Dead 2' as an example.The reason I am using this logo for inspiration is firstly because the 'Left 4 Dead' franchise is a popular Zombie series, but because I liked the shear contrast of
bright colours. The use is white writing against a dark background, with blood splattered across looks admirable to me because of how bold it is, with the blood giving a hint of the films horror content, which is more subtle opposed to the whole poster being bright red like the '28 Days later Poster'.
Here I have drawn out a rough draft of my ideas for the poster, where I have compiled the two images into one picture of what appears like an immense zombie face emerging out of the night sky ready to pounce upon the unsuspecting main character at the bottom of the poster.It made realize that when I come to making the real thing on photoshop I need to edit the image to be darker to suit the topic of the film, and that I should use the font 'Impact' for the title to make it more bold and intimidating.
After compiling together all these features, I finally devised this poster for my film using the programme Photoshop. As well as editing the lower screenshot, I also edited the above image of the Zombies face, making it paler so it looked as if it was actually dead. I also added several fake reviews and fake Warner Brothers logo to make it come across as more profesional.
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