The mysterious item of clothing beneath John's overalls...

Paddy and i wanted a garment, showing a particular logo that represents John's secret superhero identity. Now, we didn't want to rip off or try to replicate any existing superhero logos, so we brainstormed various logos that would fit the role of John. Now, considering the contradiction the audience will see at the end of the film, we prefered a more comical logo. We knew we wanted an animal of somekind, progressing more specifically onto birds e.g. blue tit, raven, chicken, Pelican...

We finally came to the decision of using a Pelican.

As you can see, we used the very basic colour of white to place the design on. The design itself is very simplistic, which we believe makes it more effective. It's quite a funny and odd design, but then again so is the story's plot. And so, with the help of Paddy's artistic capabilities, the garment came to fruition.

I give you, PELICAN MAN!

little bit of stop-motion

Last wekend, Paddy and I indulged in a little bit of stop-motion. We originally planned to shoot the sequences within Paddy's bedroom, but the lighting and room setup didn't look so good on camera. so we looked at two other possible rooms- Paddy's brother's and his sister's.

Turns out that his sisters room was ideal- the room was smaller (makes John look bigger) and the desk set up, with lighting, all allowed for easier animation.

The model isn't built to move itself from one point to another naturally, so the desk had no need to be large.

We wanted the model to appear as simplistic as possible, yet hold hold the symbolism of a true superhero; so we fitted our little wooden man out with a makeshift cape. If you're wondering what the material comes from...........my dads socks. Cheers dad!

Taking steps in gathering potential actors

We have the actors to play John, Neville, and one of the council members, but we need three more actors between the ages of 30 and 60 to play the other council members. We need two men and one women. We wanted to find actors who were enthusiastic about acting, could do a job, and are of the right age and look for our characters. We have contacted an amateur acting group in Wymondham called Wymondham Players who perform productions in Wymondham. http://www.wymondhamplayers.org.uk/



Firstly, we called the group then exchanged email addresses to discuss the details in further detail.

Hi Alan, Patrick and Jack here. We spoke on the phone earlier about the possibility of using 3 of your actors for our A2 short film piece. Ideally we would like two men and one woman to play the parts. We're shooting Sunday 11th November at Tacolneston village hall. Flexibility could be a possibility, but that date is best for us and our other actors. Let us know whether you can help us.

Kind regards, Patrick and Jack

Alan's response to our email was encouraging as he seems keen to know as much about the production as possible. We exchanged a few more emails, and have talked a few times on the phone to better explain exactly what we want from each actor.

Hello Patrick and Jack

I assume you mean December!

As it’s a Sunday, I think we need to know the time commitment for the day – are we looking at an hour, two, four…?

And what time of the day please?

Are there scripts available in advance, and what about dress requirements?

Any more information you can let us have would be helpful.

Thanks

Alan Carpenter

Wymondham Players

a teaser, and a pleaser.....our teaser poster!

We've used a very eye-catching, yet mysterious image of the character 'John'. As you can see, I've cut half of his face out from the photo- it's a subtle incentive for the audience to see more (watch our film).

The red eye is the most striking factor in this poster (thanks to photoshop), as i've contrasted it from the grayscaled surrounding facial features and jet black background. This is an implication of an oddity in the story's setting (film's title printed sideways up the poster specifies the oddity). Plus we thought that tinting the eye red would be far more effective than any other colour- It screams pain, passion and power!

The film's title positioning isn't placed horizontally as you would generally see on most film posters. The vertical positioning requires you to tilt your head (not a very conventional design) but, in saying that, this isn't going to be a very conventional film! Out of a selection of font types, we liked the style seen above in the poster the most. It's obviously not a standard 'Times New Roman' font, but it's not a very arty font either e.g. 'Edwardian Script IT'.  Instead it's a very bold and funky 'Arnprior' style. Very superhero if you ask me.

As a whole, we think it's a very effective teaser poster, considering its simplicity!

PES

PES is a stopmotion animation producer, who's YouTube channel is fairly popular, considering it's mere selection of 28 uploads. Probably down to the fact that he makes commercials for a living...

he has produced multiple highly renowned and respected short films, and i too respect these significant shorts. But, at the end of the day, i won't be able to produce clips at the same level. But PES has also uploaded these simplistic, short clips that i believe i can respond to...

Now these clips are obviously a lot shorter than your average stop-motion short, which is great for us! Paddy and I aim to produce a short with a couple, if not a few stop-motion clips, meaning that nothing too intricate is to be produced, but it needs to be effective.

These clips involve very basic objects, but have been used in a wonderfully quirky way, as you can see. We aim to produce stop-motion integrals involving a wooden model (little more human than the above), which may involve more fiddling with, but we hope to create a similar effect with what we have!

Hello John!

We wanted the character of John to be the bait in this story, in that the audience buys into the implications of him being 'super' (very deceiving).  Ram Dunne fits the profile of your classic superhero e.g. muscular build, good looks.

This is why we have chosen him to play John!

THE FILM'S NAME

we thought carefully aboutwhich of the four names would suit the film's story the greates, and we'vedecided to go with 'Atypical Superhero Story'. The story is all in the name, and the play on words should arouse interest!

We've found our Neville!

 

As you can see, Josh Brownlow (a friend of ours) fits the profile we've previously drawn of Neville perfectly! (Paddy genuinely drew this before we had Josh in mind)

he's more than happy to take the role, so we're going through with it.

concept drawings- gathering visual ideas

Paddy and I had gone through a process of trying to visualize how we want certain characters to appear on the screen. And what better way is there to brainstorm than draw up a few concept sketches to try and refine character profiling. Paddy, in response to our collective thoughts, created these rather fine pieces of art...

here, on the right, is a basic sketch of the character 'John' carrying out his duty as the local council's grounds keeper. As you can see, his profile abides to the appearance of your generic superhero e.g. muscular build-Something we should emphasise in order to add to the deception at the end of the film.

On the left, we see the character 'Neville'. Now, Neville plays a very significant role in the film, in that he turns out to be our undercover vigilante. So to create the ultimate twist as a conclusion, we knew that Neville's appearance, along with John's has to be very deceiving. Our ideal profile of Neville was a man of slim build, preferably tall (still a sign of authority) and posesses a very smart, business-like appearance e.g. tailored suit & tie, glasses and briefcase. Imagine the classic 'Peter Parker' alternate identity, but more respectable....Unlike your generic superhero, when 'inactive', Neville still likes to make himself noticed. He is loud and proud- very much a human attribute of cockiness. It seems as though this young man has nothing to hide. Oh how wrong initial assumptions can be....

   This is a simple representation of a Silhouette, displaying John against a bright background. Paddy and I have discussed this image, and wish to hopefully include it within the piece as it would add to the powerful image of our apparent superhero. It may be too hard to shoot, depending on the light situation within the village hall we will be using.





The two pencil drawings below are of the council in the process of discussing recent issues within the local community. It is obvious that Neville leads the council, as he stands at the head of the table, displaying his state of authority amongst the other members.

 

 

Gathering these visual ideas have really helped us refine our planning in preparation for the actual production!

brainstorming film names

we came up with four potential names for our short film:

• Regular village citizen
• The Vigilante
• Atypical superhero story
• Small town hero

finished script

FADE IN;

INT. BEDROOM – DAY

Early morning. Curtains are closed. Lights are on. John is sitting on the computer, finishing a blog post. His room is plastered with superhero posters, newspaper articles and fan mail.

                        

He walks over to closet, grabs clothes, and dresses. Picks up action figure, plays with it, and places it back down on the table. Picks up the car keys next to it, and exits the room, shutting the door behind him. Lingers on action figure.

INT. COUNCIL HALL – DAY

Neville is the head of the town council. He stands at the head of a council table. He addresses his fellow town council members as they enter the room and take their seats. He waits until everyone has sat down, before taking his own seat.

NEVILLE

Welcome fellow council members

Neville queries local issues with council members, Each member has a meaningless and irrelevant issue and speak simultaneously, the volume in the room increases, and a ruckus occurs.

NEVILLE

So, does anyone have any prominent issues to discuss with the council today?

CM 1 (female)

I’ve got a few significant matters that I’d like to bring to the councils attention. Firstly, Mrs Stevenson on church lane insists on more oatmeal-baked cookies being made for the upcoming bake sale…

CM2 (male)

…I think there are more pressing matters to be discussed than home baked goods

CM3

Yeah, like housing development…there has been a rising number in unauthorised building activity, and this is against the law, and must be addressed. If I had to apply for planning permission for my conservatory, why the hell should people get away with building extensions on to the side of the house with absolutely no approval from the council!

CM4

No no no! The obvious issue is illegal parking. Am I the ONLY person in this town that is taking notice of this preposterous lack of respect for local authority?!

CM5

Housing development?! Illegal parking?! Are you serious? *laughs* Youth deviance!! Something all of us would agree is a problem at the moment, Mr Fletcher had his shop windowed smashed by yobs, houses all along Regent street have been vandalised or burgled. It’s all down to parenting! I can tell you that right now!

Silent Neville reaches under the table into his briefcase, pulls out a recent issue of the local newspaper, and throws it down the centre of the table. The council falls silent. Lingers on newspaper headline.

INT. BEDROOM – DAY

Lingers on the same newspaper issue that features in the council hall. Transition from newspaper to action figure on the opposite side of the room. Action figure twitches…

INT. COUNCIL HALL – DAY – CONTINUED

Council members are discussing prominent issue of superhero vigilante scandal.

CM1 (female)

I’ve heard he’s a government experiment that went wrong… very wrong.

CM4

Yeah.. That’s exactly what it is, he’s a government experiment.. *under his breath* stupid cow..

CM3

My mother used to say that if you poke a cow, and stroke a sheep twice in the same week, strange things be occurring.

Just sayin..

The rest of the council stare at CM3. Perplexed looks on their faces.

Neville as head of authority brings the council to order, to bring reasonable explanations to the council’s attention.

Neville

Enough of this pointless squabbling. We need to consider what we actually know before we make sweeping assumptions and wild theories. He’s obviously a youth who’s been reading a little too many comic books, and the thought of bringing his comics to life has resulted in these outlandish events.

John enters the council with mop or broom in hand. Dressed in an overall. He begins to sweep/mop as the council continues their discussion in the background.

INT. BEDROOM – DAY

Action figure replicates the movement of character 1 in the council hall. Action turns head towards corner of the room..

INT. COUNCIL HALL – DAY

John turns his head to face council in a movement that matches that of the action figure. Council continue to discuss specific details of supernatural events occurring in the town.

Focuses on John from behind, as he imitates a superhero like pose (chest pushed out, fists on hips). He appears as a silhouette against the backlight.

INT. BEDROOM – DAY

Superhero figure is in a flying pose. OR in a single arm gun show pose (arm up, and tensed, hand rotating from front to back).

INT. COUNCIL HALL – DAY

Council talking about the description of the vigilante/superhero. Neville describes a person that sounds very similar to what John looks like and a detailed profile of the vigilante’s height, statue, build, hair and facial features are put forward.

Neville

Police reports estimate him to be around 5ft 9” with Dark hair. From analysis of his crimes, police have also gathered that he is both fast and strong, and suggest he must have a large athletic build. 

Council fall silent yet again, and draw their attention towards John, as he continues to sweep. John becomes aware of the silence, stops sweeping, and looks up at his audience in a confused manner. Focus draws back to each council member as they each in turn convince themselves of the stupidity in their assumption.

CM4

Nah forget that..

CM1

Can’t be.

CM3

He looks like a sheep stroker to me..

CM2

Well I’ve got a 6’o clock doctor’s appointment. I hate to leave at this moment of supreme enlightenment, as we seem so close!

This causes the meeting to adjourn, with each member peeling away for other commitments, leaving John and Neville alone in the room.

John finishes his shift, and undoes his top button on his overall slightly revealing a suspicious looking garment beneath. He says farewell to Neville..

John

I’ll see you next Tuesday

..and heads for the door turning his back to Neville. Neville picks up on the unusual garment as he’s walking away and questions John on it.

Neville

What’s that beneath your overall..?

An awkward silence follows.. *sound effects – dramatic piano note.* John replies confidently.

John

Oh this? It’s my costume for tonight. Got a party straight after work. Going as the vigilante. I’m a huge fan.

Neville

Quite short for a superhero aren’t you? What are you? 5ft 9”?

John

Something like that..

John leaves, attention is brought back to Neville (facing the audience), who is packing his papers back into his briefcase, sat at the end of the table, closes his briefcase, slowly looks up, eyes flash red, and our superhero is revealed…

little bit of a tease...

Teaser posters have become very popular within the marketing of  big superhero films, and with a lot of big block-busters for that matter. But my focus is more on the initial reference.

Teaser posters, unlike final release designs, are generally more subtle and plain in the images that are conveyed. Less 'In Ya Face'. Big-time blockbusters such as spiderman, X-men and batman, are widely recognised series; This can be played on by the marketing designers. You'll either get what you see plainly (the amazing spiderman-2012 release) or subtle hints into the films story will be produced e.g. The Dark Knight.


Mine and Paddy's piece is obviously not going to be a block-buster (short film). But we find the concept of teaser posters very interesting and very effective in the superhero film marketing game. Now as you can see, teaser posters wouldn't involve much hardship to produce, simple designs (sometimes with no picture- The Amazing Spiderman), so we're going to have a go at it...

successful poster campaigns

INCEPTION


This was a huge poster campaign. New posters were released regularly up until the theatrical release of the film, displaying different designs, but with similar attributes e.g. civilisation. Even the 'illusion' poster to the left appears, almost like a birds eye blueprint of a city.


Star power had been utilised, as big names were printed on each design e.g. Leo. These stars had been used as tools in selling the film to a more mainstream audience.




Inception began implanting the idea of mind crimes in the real-world – with warning posters like the one seen below.

Each poster has a QR code and, upon decoding it, I was sent to a new website: What Is Dream Share The site is an anonymous blog, in the fashion of conspiracy theories, as it attempts to figure out the mystery of the film’s core concept.

One of the articles on the blog discusses the origin of the device used to enter people’s minds in the film.

  This building sized poster is another example of what made this campaign stand out. It abides to the concept of 'mind games' and provides a nice little taster into the world of Inception.









HARRY POTTER: and the deathly hallows

A very iconic series, which has accumulated an incomprehensible number of fans. This particular number in the series happened to be the finale, so a great deal of hype grew over the release of it.

Teaser posters were used to great effect, as you can see to the left. Quite a contrast was formed with these posters in comparison to the ones previous in the series. You get a more eary, sinister feel from them- a far more mature use of advertising in comparison to their predecessors.

This particular poster presents the destruction of 'Hogwarts', an icon of the H.P series.  It would immediately catch the eye of the intended audience. For the fans, this is a very shocking image, hence making it more memorable. The tagline 'It All Ends Here' instigates that this is the final installment, so even people who aren't fans may become interested in seeing how this story ends. I know i was!

TRON
Tron: Legacy is a 2010 American science fiction film directed by Joseph Kosinski and produced by Steven Lisberger. It is a sequel to the 1982 film Tron.

Tron created one of the biggest poster campaigns of 2010, rivaling with the Harry Potter's campaign.

The stylistic visuals of these posters are very prominent, conveying a clear blue tone across each design, mixed with cyberpunk styled neon lighting.

The Tron: Legacy marketing campaign involved a triptych design, as three teaser posters were released in a build up to the final piece, constructed of all three.  These several individual one sheets have been released that connect to each other in a special way.  The final piece of the puzzle was unveiled via Empire and the above image is the finished product. See how they all came together below…

Does a bad review ruin the films chances?

Critics are there to criticise! It is indeed true that magazines need some writing to accompany the pretty pictures inside, but what effect do these words of review have on the films popularity?

Well it all depends on an audiences belief in them, for example, your model TV Buff or Aficionado audience member will more religiously make their mind up on whether to attend a showing or not in response to a film review, as apposed to a more mainstream viewer. I personally like to think of myself as a more mainstream viewer, relying more on the adverts of a film, than critical prose in a magazine etc. The same can be said for many people my age. it's generally more of an impulse trip to the cinema, than a well-thought, critic influenced decision. Now, considering that the largest proportion of cinema-goers are still in their youth, i will estimate that the majority have a similar frame of mind to my own.

In response to my viewpoint, it is a case that many badly reviewed films can initially get away with a large number of viewings. But ultimately a bad film will gain a bad reputation, and word will spread.

audience research

the film poster in popular culture

Film posters are used as a key tool in attracting a target audience, and act as a clear, well-thought representation of the films concept. Progressively, in response to development of technology and variety of culture, posters have been distributed through different streams of format.

quite an effective form of poster advertisement is by the use of mobile phone screen-savers. Now these can become available at a set price, or as a free download. The truth is, either way it's a win-win situation in concern of the film's profit- a screen-saver sold at a premium will benefit gross sales automatically, but a free one would still act as a tool to lure film-goers or non-film-goers e.g. a teenager may show his or her friends this new film on their phone, and hence expand an audience.



Standard print posters are also still put to very good use as they're placed in clear view, quite strategically in certain locations e.g. at bus stops, train stations or near local cinemas. This takes into account the rate of foot fall, meaning that the more people who come into the proximity of the poster, the more attention it will grasp, and ultimately the more viewers the advertised film should gain.

This brightly lit 'District 9' poster displays the factor of location, quite cleverly with it's witty advertisement...

Film posters have developed greatly since the 1960's film era...


 As you can see, the concept of bright colours and big names became quite prevalent in those days. Posters were more 'In ya face' so to speak. But this style of advertisement was very effective back then, as the general film-going population were susceptible to these almost 'desperate' features. The slimmer variety in taste of genre meant that any member of audience would go to see one of these films, just because they were the latest thing going.

 

Today, film posters have been depicted in a variety of ways, to suit the diversity of viewers' tastes in film. This creates a plethora of different designs....

stop motion practice (swirly whirly)

In our last single lesson, Paddy and I created this very basic example of stop motion. This experience indefinitely showed us the patience it would take to create a fully constructed stop-motion piece. The advantage is that our piece will be a fusion between stop-motion and real time (predominantly real time), so the dilemma of time shouldn't become a problem.

mine and Paddy's rough script (strictly action based)

FADE IN;

INT. BEDROOM – DAY

Early morning. Curtains are closed. Lights are on. Character 1 is sitting on the computer, finishing a blog post. His room is plastered with superhero posters, newspaper articles and fan mail.

He walks over to the closet, grabs some clothes, and dresses. Picks up action figure, plays with it, and places it back down on the table. Picks up the car keys next to it, and exits the room, shutting the door behind him. Lingers on action figure.

INT. COUNCIL HALL – DAY

Neville is the head of the town council. He stands at the head of a council table. He addresses his fellow town council members as they enter the room and take their seats. He waits until everyone has sat down, before taking his own seat.

Neville queries local issues with council members, Each member has a meaningless and irrelevant issue and speak simultaneously, the volume in the room increases, and a ruckus occurs.

Silent Neville reaches under the table into his briefcase, pulls out a recent issue of the local newspaper, and throws it down the centre of the table. The council falls silent. Lingers on newspaper headline.

INT. BEDROOM – DAY

Lingers on the same newspaper issue that features in the council hall. Transition from newspaper to action figure on the opposite side of the room. Action figure twitches…

INT. COUNCIL HALL – DAY – CONTINUED

Council members are discussing prominent issue of a superhero vigilante scandal. Neville as head of authority brings the council to order, to bring reasonable explanations to the council’s attention.

Character 1 enters the council with mop or broom in hand. Dressed in an overall. He begins to sweep/mop as the council continues their discussion in the background.

INT. BEDROOM – DAY

Action figure replicates the movement of character 1 in the council hall. Action turns head towards corner of the room..

INT. COUNCIL HALL – DAY

Character one turns his head to face council in a movement that matches that of the action figure. Council continue to discuss specific details of supernatural events occurring in the town.

Focuses on character 1 from behind, as he imitates a superhero like pose (chest pushed out, fists on hips). He appears as a silhouette against the backlight.

INT. BEDROOM – DAY

Superhero figure is in a flying pose. OR in a single arm gun show pose (arm up, and tensed, hand rotating from front to back).

INT. COUNCIL HALL – DAY

Council talking about the description of the vigilante/superhero. Neville describes a person that sounds very similar to what character 1 looks like and a detailed profile of the vigilante’s stature, build, hair and facial features are put forward

Council fall silent yet again, and draw their attention towards character 1, as he continues to sweep. Character 1 becomes aware of the silence, stops sweeping, and looks up at his audience in a confused manner. Focus draws back to each council member as they each in turn convince themselves of the stupidity in their assumption.

One of the council members breaks the silence by declaring he is late for his 12 o’clock doctor’s appointment (open to another excuse to leave, etc) and this causes the meeting to adjourn, with each member peeling away for other commitments, leaving character 1 and Neville alone in the room.

Character one finishes his shift, and undoes his top button on his overall slightly revealing a suspicious looking garment beneath his overall. He says farewell to Neville, and heads for the door turning his back to Neville. Neville picks up on the unusual garment as he’s walking away and questions Character 1 on it. An awkward silence follows.. *sound effects – dramatic piano note.* Character 1 replies confidently that it’s a fancy dress costume, and he’ll be going as the vigilante. He’s a massive fan. Neville replies with a witty phrase.

Character 1 leaves, attention is brought back to Neville (facing the audience), who is packing his papers back into his briefcase, sat at the end of the table, closes his briefcase, slowly looks up, eyes flash red, and our superhero is revealed…

initial inspiration

SMALLVILLE


Smallville is an American television series developed by writers/producers Alfred Gough and Miles Miller based on the DC comics character Superman, originally created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.

i have been quite a fan of this series, despite only really getting into it a couple of months back. The series is obviously based around the 'superhero' element, and action sequences are not a rarity throughout, but it was the insight into Clarke Kents personal life and human emotions that allowed me to respect the complexity of the program. The general narrative arc of the entire series  basically shows how Clarke develops into 'the man of steel', which is influenced by powerful factors in his life, for example, love, hate and moral values. These factors are indeed present in the old  DC Comics, and also provide a solid structure to the storyline of each issue. But to what effect? the concepts i mention are used very broadly in the old paper format editions, which collectively create the image of a caricature. Alternitavely, the protagonist shown in this series comes across as a true character, with his alien abilities fused with his complex human emotions.

In response to these ideas, Paddy and I have agreed that a less straightforward story of a superhero would be more suitable for short film. It would allow us to raise more enigmas, which would hopefully captivate an audience more effectively. We all know classic superhero storylines e.g. the hero defeats the bad guy and gets the girl etc. but we don't want to abide to such stereotypes. It's a short film-we can explore!

use of sound

From the inception of motion pictures, various inventors attempted to unite sight and sound through "talking" motion pictures. The Edison Company is known to have experimented with this as early as the fall of 1894 under the supervision of W. K. L. Dickson with a film known today as [Dickson Experimental Sound Film]. The film shows a man, who may possibly be Dickson, playing violin before a phonograph horn as two men dance.

The concept of marrying sight and sound in film has developed greatly since. Through developing factors such as diegetic & non-diegetic sound, soundtracks and other effective techniques, the use of sound in moving imagery has been effective in enhancing miss en scene and creating a larger impact on the audience.

framing, tracking & camera angles

Extreme wide shot, very wide shot, wide shot, mid-shot, medium close up, close-up, extreme close-up and cutaway. These are your eight basic shot types and will form the foundation of your framing choices. Of course you can experiment with them and perhaps fuse one frame type with another, for example, combing a closeup with an extreme close up, cutting off the top and bottom of a subjects head.

The rule of thirds divides the frame into nine sections as shown in the picture below....

Points of interest should be positioned away from the centre of the key, adding a bit of variation, hence making what would normally be a boring scene a little more interesting.

You also need to think about the space in your shots strategically, for example, if a man is looking at a woman walking across the road, you need to place spacing in front of the mans face for him to look into and spacing in front of the woman to walk into. It simply makes the sequence look less awkward and more natural.

I found that a lot of the framing within my AS level piece didn't abide to these rules, and hence degraded the flow of the piece. To improve, I will keep these beneficial techniques to the forefront of my mind when producing mine and Paddy's short film!

examples of camera angles include: eye level, high angle, low angle, birds eye and slanted.
Camera angles influence how a shot is interpreted and effects the implication of a particular shot, for example, a low angle shot of a fully grown man can make him appear more domineering and all powerful, although he is actually 5 foot 7 inches (Tom Cruise).

tracking includes movement of panning, titlts, dolly shots, hand-held shots, crane shots and aerial shots. These are all possible within our production, apart from maybe the crane and aerial shots. Hand-held shots are fairly hard to pull off well as, although they provide a jerk, ragged effect, they need to be treated with professionalism and can easily be seen as amateur if executed wrongly.

I believe that i will use at least one of these tracking techniques within my piece as they can be use to convey movement, establish a scene, create variety within a static sequence of shots and so on. A very handy factor in filming.

This short preview from Merlin, series 4, episode 2 demonstrates some of the tools that I've mentioned-


Camera Panning becomes prevalent throughout the first half of the clip, as emphasis is put on the armoured characters while they talk. Alternitavely, as emphasis is put on Merlin e.g. being carried, the shots become still. Perhaps this signifies how lifeless Merlin is at this time. He seems cold and deathly, and it is as though time has almost run out for him.

The framing abides to the rules i stated earlier, in that when one or two characters are in the shot, they are positioned off centre. This ultimately makes the scene more interesting, without changing the action on screen.

Camera angles are used subtly, but effectively within the scene e.g. while the soldiers talk, their heads occasionally reach the top of the frame as the camera is tilted slightly upwards. Where as shots of Merlin, up until him mounting the horse, reveal a clear and distinctive gap between his head and the top of the frame. It is subtle, but the state of power between the characters are revealed through the camera angles. Even when Merlin is on the horse (higher position), the soldier in the scene appears to be higher up (superiority), suggesting how extreme Merlin's state of weakness is.

brainstorming short film ideas...

Recently, our class were directed by our teacher to produce a 'visual diary' if you like of our accumulated ideas up until now. Originally, Paddy and i had planned on setting up a camera to blandly film ourselves explaining our thoughts and future plans on our short film. But we're media students, so of course we're going to put a little twist on things....

 This is what we ended up producing. We structured the film around breaking the 'fourth wall', as the audience can see through our eyes and think how we think (brainstorming)...Great examples of breaking the fourth wall include the material of 'peep show' and 'scrubs'. We hoped to have created a similar, more subtly comedic effect than these examples.

editing styles

Continuity editing is the predominant style of film editing and video editing in the post-production process of film making of narrative films and television programs. The purpose of continuity editing is to smooth over the inherent discontinuity of the editing process and to establish a logical coherence between shots.

In most films, logical coherence is achieved by cutting to continuity, which emphasizes smooth transition of time and space. However, some films incorporate cutting to continuity into a more complex classical cutting technique, one which also tries to show psychological continuity of shots. The montage technique relies on symbolic association of ideas between shots rather than association of simple physical action for its continuity.

Discontinuous editing describes the deliberate or accidental violation of rules of continuity when editing films. As a deliberate technique, it may be used to connote authenticity or to create alienation. The viewer's expectation of continuity can be violated by such methods as changing image size or tone between shots, changing direction or changing shots before the viewer has time to recognize what is happening.It is also known as montage editing, and employs a series of often rapid and non-matching cuts which creates a style the audience is conspicuously aware of, or alternatively that create uneven and unpredictable rhythms and emphasize the rapidity of movement between images.

Knowing that i'm creating a short film, i realise that i should captivate an audience, whether it's through the presentation of enigmas, or drip feeding them a bit of what they like (or not). It is indeed true that discontinuous editing can be put to great effect when referring to short film. I mean, you can jam as much information as you desire within the piece. But i don't believe it would be very adequate for mine and Paddy's desired plot.

Our idea involves the story of a young super human being, leading a somewhat 'normal' life in a normal community. Now how can we present this 'blending in' of culture through editing? Perhaps a more linear narration would suit....

flash animation practice

just a very short clip of a superhero. Of course i keep it relevant!

George pal

George Pal (February 1, 1908 – May 2, 1980), born Gyorgy Pál Marczincsak, was a Hungarian-born American animator and film producer, principally associated with the science fiction genre. He became an American citizen after emigrating from Europe. He was nominated for Academy Awards (in the category Best short subjects, Cartoon) no less than seven consecutive years (1942–1948) and received an honorary award in 1944.

George went through a period of creating what you call 'Puppetoons'. Now the stop-motion technique used for these animations were what set him apart from other animators, for example, in this short film, George carved and sculpted many different heads which conveyed different facial expressions. This would make the final picture look more natural than if he were to use dolls or other malleable objects. Just imagine the amount of time it must have taken just to construct this 1 minute long short!

Obviously this technique is beyond my current capabilities, but i find it very unusual and captivating. Such an innovative idea for the time period of invention (1940's)!

short film exercise (started something i couldn't finish)

This film is based around a title which was chosen from a limited selection, and issued by our teacher.

The Crusader (short film)

The scene is set in your generic council estate as the first shot reveals. The next few sequence of shots signify a far less 'super' lifestyle than you might expect from the true Crusader, as images of kebab leaflets, council tax notices, picture of him and his wife on their wedding day reveal. He mentions the loss of his wife, which sparks up thoughts of your generic superhero story e.g. losing a loved one, and either responding with vengeance or striving to spread truth and justice. Instead, we see images of fast food remains and a playstation controller. Is this what fuels the ''Tower of strength'' ?

we next see him out on his patrol as he cruises his 'batmobile' down local roads as he is questioned on his superhero roles and experiences e.g. "have you ever been injured?" (he nods)...."been stabbed eight times".  Shortly after, an egg is chucked at his car. Lee reacts as though a bomb has gone off. Again, more bark than bite!

Once you realise- through the egg 'confrontation'- that he's not so super, your speculation draws to a conclusion that he is indeed more of a fraud than a hero (hence the cut back to the concil estate). "you said before, you were on state benefits. How do you intend to pay your legal fees?"......"phone up the advert ain't I. Y'know, 'no win, no fee'...".  A conditional fee is any fee for services provided where the fee is only payable if there is a favourable result (suing Warner Bros.). The prolonged silence instigates the stupidity in what he just said.

The sequence cuts to a close up, profile shot of him on the top of a building. "Do you ever dream of having a normal life?"..."to me, this is normal. I've never known any different".  This section of the short film actually allows me to perceive some genuineness e.g. he takes a drag from his cigarette (a normal activity), the spacing of shot attributes (how far away civilisation seems to be). I begin to see a figure who possesses the generic superhero/vigilante downfall (outcast), with no super strengths to compensate.

stop motion

Stop motion (also known as stop action) is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence. Clay figures are often used in stop motion for their ease of repositioning. Motion animation using clay is called clay animation or clay-mation.

I've known of this technique for some time, but up until recently i haven't appreciated it in its entirety. I have come to realise the undeniable hardship that goes into creating a piece of stop-motion. It seems to take eons to produce a quality product, by i am reluctant in thinking that the results aren't worth it!

This is a great example of the kind of stop motion that i believe can be achieved at this level (with great patience and determination!). Produced by GinoEast

I find the use of a wooden model very interesting also, as i feel it wood set mine and Paddy's piece apart from others. I've seen A-level stop motion pieces in the past using toys, clay mache etc. But not a wooden model. The simplicity of its design (no face, basic natural colour) would also benefit the symbolism we will try to convey, as we want to represent real life happenings through a docile, easily manipulated object.