My Film

Question 4

https://prezi.com/p/roiwimluz6vb/

Question 3

file:///C:/Users/MAW/Documents/Media%20Question%203.pdf

Question 2

https://prezi.com/p/ilfbic9u-ydc/

Question 1

https://www.scribd.com/presentation/376682209/Codes-Conventions-Powerpoint

Props I Used in my Film

Props I Used in my Film.

For my film, I used a multitude of props, so as to improve the looks and aesthetics. There are two key props that are used in my film. The case and the gun. For the case I used my laptop case. Originally I used a brief-case, but due to restrictions was unable to use it for the reshoot and had to settle for the laptop case, which I was not as happy with, however, it was the best prop I had for that situation and felt that it still did the job, just not as effectively.

The other prop I used, was a fake gun. I did this as 1. I didn't have access to one and 2. It would have been unsafe and dangerous to have on set. So I had to use a prop one. I was very pleased with how this looked and felt it really added to the aesthetics and noir style of my film. I liked this prop so much, that I used it for my poster as well.

Sources I Took Inspiration From For My Film

Sources I Took Inspiration From For My Film.

When planning my film, I watched and studied many films and television crime dramas in the style of Film Noir. I felt this would be helpful as I could draw inspiration from them, as well as get a better understanding of the genre. Our teacher recommended us films like Fallen Angel, Blade Runner and Sin City. I listened to this and as soon as I got home I watched Sin City and took into account all the codes and conventions used in this film. I also noted the lighting, colour palette and costume design, as I felt they were quite  interesting and useful and whilst I didn't shoot my film in black and white, like this film mostly was, I did use a similar colour palette for my poster. 

Another film that our class studied and even watched during lessons was Ridley Scott's  Blade Runner and later the (at the time) newly released sequel Blade Runner 2049.  I enjoyed both these films and admired the dark, dystopian future they portrayed. I particularly enjoyed the set design of these films, as well as the costume and lighting effects.

 

The Use of Social Media to Advertise Films.

The Use of Social Media to Advertise Films.

https://prezi.com/p/-aac6xlh9riv/

Making My Film Poster

Making My Film Poster

After I had made my film opening, I thought it would be suitable that I also made a poster to go with it. At first, I was going to use a still from my film, but then I came up with the idea of taking my own picture for the poster. So I came up with an idea that would be both aesthetically pleasing and had some codes and conventions of noir. I took a picture of the prop gun I used in my film, and placed it alongside a glass of whisky. This I felt was very Film Noir and thought it would go alongside nicely with the theme of my film. 

This was one of the earlier shots I took for my poster. As you can see it is very similar to the final poster except it is still in colour and at a different angle.

As you can see here, this shot is more similarly angled to the finished poster, however It is still in colour, (this was when I was messing around with the filter options)

This was the closest one I came to choosing after the one I used. As you can see it is in black and white, which pays homage to the old original noir films and is the same filter I used for the real thing. 

However, after taking many different shots with many different filters I suggested upon this one: 

I felt that this shot suited the poster the best. I though the angle was just right and it was in portrait, which meant it would be more like a poster. However' I still fell I could improve it; in the background you can see an electrical socket, which looks slightly out of place and I feel it would look better if the shadow the whisky is casting was more obvious.

Poster For My Film

Poster For My Film.

How I Improved my Film With Re-Shoots.

How I Improved my Film With Re-Shoots.

Overview

The finished product that I will be using for my Coursework is different to the film that I had originally made. That film had a different cast and was much shorter with less footage. I re-shot it because whilst I wasn't unhappy with my product, I felt that it had to be improved. So I went and filmed the whole thing again, taking into consideration the points and tips that my teachers had given me and knowing what I had to improve on, until I was happy with what I had.

Here we can see how my film starts off the same way the original did, however we can see the latter was taken from a slightly different angle and was also filmed much earlier that the former.

This is another still taken from each film. As you can see I tried to keep the final draft as similar to the original as I could.

Here we can see one of the things I did to improve my film. I had the shadow cast against a more obvious and clearer surface so as to emphasise the danger more.

Conclusion

Overall, I feel that the changes that i made to my film were for the better, and I am much happier with what I had by the end, the re-shoots were well worth it.

Interview With Actor in my Film

Interview With Actor in my Film

After I had finished filming , I decided that I should interview one of my actors, Toby, about his experience filming, and how he felt I was as a director.

Me: How do you feel you performed? 

Toby: I felt my performance was adequate, but I sometimes felt impended by safety measures such as not slipping in the mud by the barn and precautions such as not getting my suit dirty.

My reflection on this: I also felt that Toby's performance was adequate and knew he acted the part well, however I was not aware of the mud outside the barn being a safety hazard as that area tends to be dry, meaning I was not expecting it to be a hazard. However we still made sure that we were safe under supervision when it came to the slippery mud we were sure to take some care.

Me: How was I as a director?

Toby: I felt like you knew what you were doing but it could have been communicated to the actors a little more. I think the main reason for this is that there was no script or story line made beforehand,* you just made it up on the spot really and if there was, it wasn't communicated very well.

My reflection on this: * This was because I had had to adapt the script so much from the original that I eventually scrapped it and came up with a new, but similar, story line, however, I didn't have time to write a new script, so for the most part, I just improvised and changed what I could remember to fit the circumstances, overall I felt that despite the lack of a script and the poor communication I was able to get most of my ideas forward, however in the future I will definitely try to communicate better with my cast.

Me: How did you feel the process of filming was? 

Toby: As I'm not a media student, nor have I got any experience in the film industry, I am limited in my answer, but from the number of different angles and techniques you used, I would say that you were trying to vary yourself to show off all your filming skills. Also,we did quite a few takes which meant you had a selection to choose from but a few more wouldn't have hurt. Also, to reach your length limit more easily, you could have played with more suspense shots during the encounter in the barn.

My reflection on this: I agree with Toby saying that a few more takes wouldn't have hurt, as they would give me more options when it came to editing and the idea of taking longer shots to fill the run time did come to me, however I had a different idea, I just filmed additional footage that I could edit out, for example, I had filmed about 40 seconds of additional film after my actual film finishes. 

Me: How did you feel the story line was?

Toby: I thought it was a good story; a chase at the beginning, an encounter where one person is cornered and a resolution where the killer gets away with what he was after. From what I know about Film Noir, I think this is a good example of an opening or possibly a trailer because it sets up a scenario that can evolve into the rest of film - with the goal being to solve the murder case and catch the villain. However, I do feel it was a little rushed and could have been more thought out.

My reflection on this: I'm glad that Toby enjoyed the story that I had prepared, and I'm glad that he can appreciate the elements of Noir I put in there. For the story, I took inspiration from a number of sources. and originally the opening was inspired by openings on famous crime dramas, such as The X-Files (just without the sci-fi elements). I also agree that it was rushed though. However, this was because of tricky schedules and an ever more imminent deadline.

Me: What do you think I should do if I were to do this again? 

Toby: First of all, plan! Get a script and a proper story line ready to give the actors before hand so we can learn how to get into our characters sooner rather than being thrown in. Maybe provide some costumes that you don't mind getting dirty so it doesn't impede performance and make sure the set is safe. Communicate with the actors more so we know exactly what you want from each shot ( a plan will help with this). Maybe play around with even more shots and angles to give variety and for each scene take at least 5 or 6 shots so you have more to choose from. Also, you could add a few more shots to help with the length!

My reflection on this: I can really take a lot from this! Being quite inexperienced with this level of film-making, I can say that I was not familiar with all the techniques, didn't have all the highest tech and am more suited to being in front of the lens rather than behind it. However I can say that I tried my hardest and in the end, was happy with the result. However I will still take all of these points and use them to improve my film making in the future. 

I will be sure do everything that Toby has kindly recommended and I look forward to improving my skills to make more, and better films in the future.