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Friday 26 April 2013

7. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?



During the course of the project I have used many different tools to assist me in editing my final project. one of them is final cut express. to help me use final cut I had to look at video tutorials to teach me how to use such program. I have learnt that final cut is used to put all your clips together and fine tune them to look the best they can be. This could be by cutting out all unneeded footage that we took. also you can add lighting effects to parts of the clips, although I did not use any.

Here is one of the video tutorials I used.




To help me create Sound FX I had to use garage band and iMovie. I learned that iMovie is used to import your final edited cut and add the sound FX to the film, i used this to add sound to my animated 'GRACE IMAGES', this allowed me to spice up the clip.











Please note the picture below is not what I did to edit my project, this is just to show you the layout of iMovie.



Live type is a text creating tool. e.g. you can create titles to overlay your video. i did use live type to create my titles for the opening sequence. Live type allowed me to add effects to the titles like fading in and out. It also allows you to do many more animations.




4. Who is the main target audience for your product?





To find out our target audience we first started talking to each other about what the genre of a our film would be. Then we did some research into successful horror films and saw that they were all over 12, apart from cartoon horror films. in the end we concluded that we should make the film a 12.

We managed to attract our target audience by doing many different things. we did not add any gore, this would have made families not take their children, also the age rating of the film would have been a 15. We used mild swearing but not often. this would make the families more convinced that it is just not another potty mount film. 
No sexual scenes or references were added, this would stop the age rating of the film from going up to 15.

Our survey results showed that 30% of people were age 0 to 16 and 45% 17 to 21. This made me think that we should keep the 12a rating in mind to keep this percentage of people coming to watch our film.
Only 56% of the people were male. this indicated that we should also keep the female audience in mind.
Over 70% did not like gore in horror films. This made me decide to have no gore at all in the film.

The opening sequence managed to keep the audiences attention and kept them on the edge of there seat. all of them wanted to know more and I even had a couple of people ask if we were going to make another one.

The main target audience for my product will be 12 year olds and over. This is because we have tried to keep the things that make films that are 15 and over out. this includes minimal or no gore.
I had to do further research to find what the target audience would be. This includes the audience research I did before.

I found out that the best age rating for a film for families to see is a 12a. This is because avatar is the highest grossing film on record at $2,782,275,172.


1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?



There are many ways you can introduce genre in the beginning of the film. this is often done in the opening sequence. there are different aspects you need to take into account to bring forward the genre. this could be by the props you use and the story line. many ways we introduced the genre of the film is by the first person view of the man running away from an infected.

I also introduced the genre by the news broadcast that is sent across the whole of england, in the broadcast it says that there has been a mass quarantine in the glades at bromley, this indicates that this is going to be a horror. the message on the phone that is played is of a family/people who are moving west to try and escape the infection, but at the end they begin to be chased.

Comparing this to other horror opening sequences, some of the aspects are the same. an example of this is zombieland. you can see that people are running away from infected and some are getting bit them selfs. the part of the film that is similar to this is when the man is running down the path to get away from the infected and he does manage to get away, also he finds a phone were someone gets caught with the infected.

5. How did you attract/ address your target audience?

Before making the film, we thought we should have male teenagers as our main target audience. However, a survey we did revealed that the audience for most zombie films are only about 56% male so we decided to try to appeal both genders. We also asked what the audience wanted in a zombie film, we kept this in mind while filming and attempted to include all the things they wanted.

We tried to make the opening scene as inviting and appealing to the audience as we could.  The film goes straight into action to engage the audience into the film. We used couple of POV shots to try to purposefully draw the audience to the situation of the character.

Thursday 25 April 2013

6. Looking back at your preliminary task (the continuity editing task), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?

3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?



Our Media product mainly represents young, upper and middle class males showing them to be very business like in manner and appearance. We have subverted the typical stereotypical male lead, which is often a young white male and have used an Asian actor so as not to stray to much into cliché's and obtain some originality. 
For our opening we decided to use young actors (aged 16-18), this is because our target audience ranges from 15-26 so the audience can relate to the characters and think about what they would do if they were in that type of situations.
The costume both characters represents group of professional upper-class business man, this is because the characters are dressed in smart suits.
The main character represents someone who has been forced to do things he is doing and his uniform creates an impression that he is someone with a purpose and he is going to do anything he can possibly to do fulfill his purpose.





Friday 19 April 2013

Evaluation Questions

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
4. Who is the main target audience for your product?
5. How did you attract/ address your target audience?
6. Looking back at your preliminary task (the continuity editing task), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?                                                                          7. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product? 


Monday 15 April 2013

Production - Restart

All our videos have been deleted from the camera without our knowledge. And due to technical fault, the videos we transferred to the laptop didn't open. Although we do have some footages, they are not enough to complete the opening sequence up to our standards. So we are going to restart our production and try to finish it by Wednesday (17th).

Wednesday 27 March 2013

Tuesday 26 March 2013

Production - Filming Canceled

We were unable to film today due to he weather conditions. As we had to continue from where we left of from, we needed snowy conditions but there was no sign of snow. We thought about restarting the filming but after a long discussion we decided not because the previous footage were too precious.

Monday 25 March 2013

Production - Second Filming Schedule

Our second filming session will be tomorrow morning (26th March).
Filming Location - Park

Production - First Filming Completed

We have completed out first filming session under snowy conditions successfully. During the session we captured about 3 minutes of footage. We are estimating that only about 20 seconds of footage from the 3 minutes will be good enough for the final cut so we will have to go back and do more filming at the location.


Saturday 23 March 2013

Production - Filming Cancelation And Reschedule

We were unable to do any filming yesterday as a member of our production team wasn't well enough. After a short discussion, we have decided to reschedule the session for Monday (25th March), where we will have 2 hours to complete our first filming session.
Filming Location - Park

Tuesday 19 March 2013

Production - Filming Schedule

Friday 22nd March 2013 (Action Day)

After school. (14:30)
We will try to complete all of the filming required for the opening sequence in this time period but we are aware that we may not achieve this objective. The filming will be done in and around the school. Then John will work on the editing over the weekend and next next week. It is expected to be done by Wednesday 27th.

Monday 18 March 2013

Horror AND Action


"Horror is a film genre seeking to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's primal fears. Horror films often feature scenes that startle the viewer; the macabre and the supernatural are frequent themes. Thus they may overlap with the fantasy,supernatural, and thriller genres

"Action film is a film genre in which one or more heroes are thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases. It tends to feature a resourceful character struggling against incredible odds, which may involve life-threatening situations, an evil villain, and/or being pursued, with victory achieved at the end after difficult physical efforts and violence." 
                                                                                             (Wikipedia)  

Currently, I think we will cover the horror aspect of the film very well in the opening sequence. However, I don't think the action aspect of film has been covered in the opening sequence. Therefore, we will have to think of more ideas that will cover both genre of the movie.

Common Rules of a Zombie Film



Origin
Most zombie movies do not have a set origin for what started the epidemic of the dead coming back to eat the living. Most will suggest that it was part of a governmental experiment, a satellite crash, or some strange type of sickness.
There is also the common idea that, "There is no more room in Hell," or that the End Days are upon us. This apocalyptic view is used more often then not as a suggestion. The viewer is left to wonder what caused this issue.
Physical Appearance
Zombies usually show a drawn pallor with varying degrees of decomposition. All walks of life are represented including some that could be considered as humorous.
Diet
The dead will feed on the living. Once a body has grown cold, the zombies will stop feeding on it.
Movement
Since the zombies have to relearn how to move, their movements are usually very jerky. For the most part, their movements are slow, and they can be easily outrun.
Destruction
There are two ways to destroy a zombie. You either have to burn the body, or destroy the brain. The most common method is to shoot it in the head. Committing any other type of damage will cause the zombie to keep coming after you.
Racism
Racism is not present in zombie movies. No matter what races people are from, they are able to have issues with each other without ever bring up any kind of racist issue. All of the people do what they can to eliminate the problem, or to find safety without making race an issue.
Help Does Not Come Until the End
The main characters are left to fend for themselves until the bitter end when help finally arrives. When help does arrive, it is usually too late for most of the main characters as they have fallen to the zombies, or to mistakes.
The Z Word
Most zombie movies will not use the word, "zombie." This is something that was originally established by Romero, and has continued for the most part until today. There are some instances where someone will use the word, and then be corrected by someone else.
As stated before, there are instances when some of these rules are broken. That can add a new sense of horror since the viewer of the movie has already sat down expecting these certain rules to be followed. Twenty or thirty years from now, most of these rules will probably still apply.

Movie Title



This is our current film title. At first, we considered to use 'Wasteland' as our film title. We decided to change it because we think 'Dead Rise' instantly gives an idea to the audience that the movies is heavily based on zombies.

Saturday 16 March 2013

Filming Location

The first part of the opening sequence will be filmed in the school (Ravens Wood). This is a ideal location for this part because it represents the characteristic of the main character. The character will then escape from the school after the news breaks out. (We still haven't decided on the exact scenes that will be filmed in this location).

The second part of the opening scene will be filmed in the park near the school. This is one of the nearest open space outside the school. The character will be running down the alleyway, seen in the picture above. Once inside the park, he will receive a special message.

Friday 15 March 2013

Production and Cast

We have decided that just two people will be enough to film our opening sequence. John will be the cameraman and he will also edit the film while I will play the main character.

Thursday 14 March 2013

Music Ideas for Opening Sequence

Opening Sequence (Idea 2)

In a detention, teacher goes out
(10mins later) massive bang
gets up, look through door window (view of legs)
goes out to investigate, dead body (teacher)

back to the room to get the phone, picks up the phone
goes back out, teacher at the door
slams the door shut
goes out the back door
back gate of the school locked
goes to the front gate


park, walk towards the bench and sit down
walking dead appear from behind the bush
run up the slide
find a bomb
throw it
flashing of light
walking dead gone

DEAD RISE

Wednesday 13 March 2013

Opening Sequence (Idea 2)

[Companies name and logos]

On a computer, on facebook
about to post
repetitive clicks
'page not available'

go downstairs
check the router
dead
power cut

walk outside (daylight)
everyones' vanished
person in the distance, walking closer
walks faster (zoom in the person)
blood!

go back into the house
power back on, tv turns on
news channel - 'Dead Rise!'
'Make your way to this 'unit' for safety' (10 miles away from the current location)
{walking dead bangs on the door}

grabs backpack, with supplies
goes out through the back door
{black screen for 2secs}

park, walk towards the bench and sit down
walking dead appear from behind the bush
run up the slide
find a bomb
throw it
flashing of light
walking dead gone

DEAD RISE

Feedback

From Mr. Jackson

More Evaluation - relevance to the film
                              link every post to your film 

Current grade - C/B

Tuesday 12 March 2013

'XXL - zombie'



WYRMWOOD - An Australian Zombie Film (Independent)

Age Rating - Examples


LAND OF THE DEAD
Land of the dead was made in the year 2005 by director George A Romero. The story of ‘Land of the Dead’ deals with a zombie assault on Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, where a tyrant run government exists. The survivors in the film have fled to the city. The city is protected on three sides by a large river and on the other by an electric barricade.
Rating
‘Land of the dead’ is the first movie in the ‘living dead’ series to receive an MPAA rating for its theatrical release. Romero had said he would film two versions; an R rated cut for the theatres and first DVD, and an unrated cut for the second DVD release. Both DVDs were released in the United States on 18 October 2005. Rumors suggested that Romero shot alternate gore scenes for the theatrical release, but this is not entirely accurate. The more extreme instances of gore were obscured by foreground elements filmed on bluescreen, so that these overlayed elements could be easily removed in post production for the unrated DVD. Other ways used to obscure blood in order to get an R-rating were achieved by simply trimming the grislier shots by a few seconds, by digitally repainting blood so that it is more black than red, or by digitally painting the blood out altogether.
In Canada the film was rated 18A and 13+ in Quebec. In the UK the BBFC rated it a 15 in both theatrical and unrated versions. Although the unrated was sold as an 18 certificate due to its bonus features. In Germany both versions were rated 18. Due to this the unrated version was more widely available. The film was banned in Ukraine.
Shaun Of The Dead
Shaun of the Dead is a British horror comedy directed by Edgar Wright in 2004, starring Nick Frost and Simon Pegg, who also helped to write it with Wright. Simon Pegg plays Shaun, a man attempting to get some kind of focus in his life as he deals with his girlfriend, his mother and stepfather. At the same time he has to cope with an apocalyptic uprising of zombies.
The film was rated 15 in Britain and R in the US.
ZOMBIELAND
Zombieland is an American zombie comedy directed by Ruben Fleischer from a screenplay written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick in 2009.
The film stars Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslin as survivors of a zombie apocalypse. Together they take an extended road trip in an attempt to find a sanctuary free from zombies, following a set of “rules” designed to keep them alive where others have failed, killing zombies in a variety of creative ways while trying to “enjoy the little things” in a ruined world.
Zombieland was rated:-
  • 15 in the UK
  • R in the USA ========
  • 16 in Ireland
  • 13+ in Canada
  • 18A in Canada
  • 15 in Norway
  • R16 in New Zealand
  • 15 in Sweden
  • 16 in Netherlands
  • 18 in Ireland
  • 18 in South Korea
  • R-13 in Philippines
  • 18A in Canada
  • 14 in Peru
  • 16 in Argentina
  • 16 in Germany
  • 14 in Brazil

Monday 11 March 2013

A History Of The Title Sequence




The sequence includes all the names of title designers who had a revolutionary impact on the history and evolution of the title sequence. The names of the title designers all refer to specific characteristics of the revolutionary titles that they designed. This film refers to elements such as the cut and shifted characters of Saul Bass' Psycho title, the coloured circles of Maurice Binder's design for Dr. No and the contemporary designs of Kyle Cooper and Danny Yount.









Art of Title Design

Film Certificate

According to the BBFC:
http://www.bbfc.co.uk/ - British Board Of Film Classification



Certificate 15

Theme

A 15 certificate rated film always has a theme, but must be suitable to the audience. Hence fourth no theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is appropriate to 15 year olds.

Language

Language is also infrequent, with a few references to strong language, and the strongest language is only justified if it is in context. Continued aggressive use of the strongest language is unlikely to be acceptable.

Nudity

Nudity is allowed in sexual context, but no strong detail is shown. There are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual or educational context in a 15-certificate film.

Sex

Linking with nudity, sexual content is also shown and is allowed to be portrayed, but with no strong detail. However there may be strong verbal references to sexual behaviour.

Violence

Violence can be strong but with no focus or dwell on the infliction of pain or injury that has been caused. Scenes of sexual violence must be discreet and brief.

Imitable techniques

Dangerous techniques e.g. combat, hanging, suicide, weapons that are easily accessible and self-harming should not be focused on to much in imitable detail. Easily accessible weapons should also not be glamorized or portrayed as ‘cool’ in order to not influence the audience.

Horror

Very little gore is shown within horror, but strong threat and menace are permitted. The strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable.

Drugs

Drugs and drug taking may be shown but the film as a whole must not promote or encourage drug misuse in anyway and once again much no glamorize this or portray it in a way that looks acceptable in order not to influence the audience.



Certificate 18

BBFC findings show that at the age of 18 a person should be entitled to see whatever they wish as they are an adult. However exceptions include the promotion of dangerous acts (both to the individual and society). certificate 18s also cannot risk harm to individuals or to society, or involve sexual violence that could support sexual assault. Explicit sexual content is only shown if the context can justify it.



The difference between a certificate 15 and certificate 18 film.

The main contrasts between an 18 certificate film and a 15 certificate is the detail and the explicitness of the context. In a an 18, sexual content is much more explicit and violence is in much more detail. Strong gore and violence is more obvious, in a lot more detail and more extreme in an 18, along with the use of very strong language. Even so, in both a 15 and 18 the content must be justified by the context.

Budget of Highest Grossing Horror Movies



This list shows the budget of top 20 highest grossing horror movies of all time. The two movies with the lowest budget (Paranormal Activity and The Blair Witch Project) are presented in the style of 'found footage'. The Blair Witch Project is known to popularized this style horror movies.

IMBd User Ratings - Shaun of the Dead


IMBd User Ratings- Machete


IMDb User Ratings - Planet Terror


Monday 4 March 2013

The 20 Highest Grossing Horror Movies Of All Time (U.S.)


20. Saw II (2005): $87 million 

"Saw II" is the most successful film from the "Saw" franchise, which includes seven movies. It starred Donnie Wahlberg and Beverly Mitchell, with Tobin Bell playing the villain, Jigsaw. 









19. Scream 3 (2000): $89.1 million

"Scream 3" is part of the four film "Scream" franchise. The movie stars Neve Campbell, David Arquette, and Courteney Cox. 
18. The Haunting (1999): $91.4 million
This late '90s film is a remake of the 1963 film. It starred Liam Neeson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Owen Wilson.



17. The Others (2001): $96.5 million

"The Others" starred Nicole Kidman and was released the same year she and Tom Cruise divorced.



 16. Sleepy Hollow (1999): $101.1 million

"Sleepy Hollow," directed by Tim Burton, starred Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci. It is the sixth highest-grossing Burton film out of the 16 he has directed.




15. Scream 2 (1997): $101.4 million

"Scream 2" was released a year after the original "Scream" and was directed by Wes Craven, who directed all  four films in the franchise.



14. Scream (1996): $103 million

"Scream" won the MTV Movie Award for best movie and reportedly used about 50 gallons of blood during production. 



13. Paranormal Activity 3 (2011): $104 million

"Paranormal Activity 3" is the highest grossing of the four film franchise, so far . Many of the scenes shown in the trailer were not featured in the actual movie, angering many fans.
12. Interview with the Vampire (1994): $105.3 million

This horror film starred Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, and Kirsten Dunst. It was also nominated for two Oscars in the best art direction-set decoration and best music/original score categories.



 11. Paranormal Activity (2007): $107.9 million

The first film in the "Paranormal Activity" franchise grossed $9.1 million in the U.S. during its first week in theaters. It broke the record for the highest-grossing weekend for a film playing in less than 200 theaters.



10. The Grudge (2004): $110.4 million

The first in the three film franchise was inspired by a Japanese film and had the same director as the Japanese original.
 









9. The Village (2004): $114.2 million

This film starred Sigourney Weaver and Joaquin Phoenix. It was nominated for an Oscar in the music category.








8. Van Helsing (2004): $120.2 million

"Van Helsing" starred Kate Beckinsale and Hugh Grant. The movie earned $65 million during its first week out on DVD, representing more than half of its theater revenue. 










7. Shutter Island (2010): $128 million

This Martin Scorsese directed horror film starred Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo. It is Scorsese's second highest-grossing film, behind "The Departed."








6. The Ring (2002): $129.1 million

"The Ring" is a remake of a 1998 Japanese film. More than two million copies of the DVD were sold in the U.S. during its first day of release. 









5. The Blair Witch Project 

(1999): $140.5 million


All lines in this horror film were improvised and almost all events were on-camera surprises. It is one of the most successful independent movies of all time.









4. What Lies Beneath (2000): $155.5 million

"What Lies Beneath" stars Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer. It was directed by Robert Zemeckis while his other film "Cast Away" was on break waiting for Tom Hanks to lose weight for his character.







3. The Exorcist (1973): $232.9 million

"The Exorcist" is based on a 1971 novel about a real life exorcism from 1949. Maxim and Entertainment Weekly have voted this film the scariest movie of all time.
 









2. Jaws (1975): $260 million


This Steven Spielberg directed film won three Oscars (best film editing, best music, and best sound). Spielberg named the shark from the film "Bruce" after his lawyer. 









1. The Sixth Sense (1999): $293.5 million


The highest-grossing horror movie of all time stars Bruce Willis and 11-year-old Haley Joel Osment. It was nominated for a staggering six Oscars, including best director and best picture.