Blog post number 12: Production Diary

Week 1 - This was the original date that we were meant to film our original video at my house. However, we could not get hold of Emma (our main actress) or Carly (actress) so we were only able to shoot minimal shots, the ones that none of them were in, this was very hard as Emma was our main character.

Week 2 - We were unable to film at my house as Carly and Emma were unable to sort transport.

Week 3 - Liv, Emma and I went to Carly's house in Gresford to film, we managed to get about three quarters of the filming done over a 2 hour period.

Week 4 - Emma, our main character dropped out of college but agreed to finish the film, so her and Carly came to my house to finish the filming we were meant to do in Week 1 but couldn't because we were unable to get in contact with them.

Week 5 - We started editing our footage in the editing suite.

Week 6 - We edited a significant amount of our film.

Week 7 - Our teacher told us we'd have to change our film because of poor acting and lack of variety in camera shots, so we came up with a new storyline, we made a new shot list and a new storyboard.

Week 8 - I went to Liv's house in Rossett to film all the shots that I was in, this took just over an hour.

Week 8 - Liv and Kessiah went to Hayley's house and used her garden to film all the shots that Kessiah, Hayley and Harrison were in, this took just over an hour and a half.

Week 9 - Liv, Carly and I started to edit our new footage in the editing suite.

Week 9 - We continued with our editing all week, including trimming down clips and putting in the titles. As we had no sound, I needed to record a voiceover for my character the drug dealer. I then edited that into the final piece, and inserted all the audio effects and video transitions.

Blog post number 11: Shot List

Blog post number 9: Costume, Props, Location, Casting

We made our film at Olivia's house in Rossett, I acted in her brother's room because we were able to make it look dark and dingy, just like the room would be of the drug dealer I was playing. We filmed Kessiah, Hayley and Harrison in Olivia's garden in the sunshine, to show the contrast between the two spots.

Costume is very important to a character aswell as it can display a character's importance, wealth, etc. I played a drug dealer, so I made sure I wore worn jeans and a black, baggy hoody to give me a very cheap and lazy look. Also, throughout the whol video, my hood is coverng my face, this is to give me a very mysterious look. Kessiah, Hayley an Harrison all wore casual clothing to make them look like the regular members of a family.

Props are also very important to a film, they help enhance the drama, help the actors do their job, and they can be invaluable components of the overall story. My characters props included a cigarette, a can of lager and a backpack, these props are all essential as they show the audience my personality, my pasttimes, etc. Kessiah's prop was the air ball that her and Harrison were playing with, it's important because it shows the audience they're bonding and playing with each other.

Blog post number 8: Storyboard

Blog post number 7: Audience Research

We carried out research into our potential target audience by asking a short series of questions to media students. The questions were as follows:

• Name:
• Age:
• Favourite film:
• Favourite TV programme:
• Favourite actor/actress:
• Favourite genre:
• Hobbies:
• Dislikes:

Here is a quick example of one of the students we asked:

• Name: Jeffrey Roberts
• Age: 17
• Favourite film: 'Blow', 'The Godfather', 'Lock, Stock and Two Smokin' Barrells'
• Favourite TV programme: CSI, The Inbetweeners, Scrubs
• Favourite actor/actress: Angelina Jolie
• Favourite genre: Crime, comedy
• Hobbies: Skateboarding, socialising, computers, watching films
•  Dislikes: Watching the news, reading newspapers

 

here is a picture of the student we interviewed.

From my research, I have learnt that everybody likes different films, TV programmes, genres. I have also learnt that stereotypically, girls don't watch just romance films and boys don't watch just action films, everyone has a diverse taste in film. Our target audience is people aged 15 years and older, people that enjoy crime/romance films, people that enjoy a film with a drugs themed storyline.

Blog post number 6: Production & Distribution

Media Institutions
There are 2 ways my group could decide to distribute our film, we could either market and distribute it independently, using websites such as YouTube, or we could research into small local distribution companies that we could use instead. If we chose to do it independently, we would set up a YouTube channel with our film on it and distribute it over the internet, on the other hand we could use a local distribution company and they would distribute it for us.

 

Age Ratings

Content age ratings give viewers/parents viewers an idea of whether a film/television program will be suitable for the viewer watching it, it is determined by the content of the film, it may contain strong language/violence/gore/sex/nudity/drugs/etc. The age ratings are set by the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification)

The age ratings are:

• Uc - Universal, suitable for everyone, children in particular.
• U - Universal, suitable for everyone.
• PG - The film will have some scenes which may be unsuitable for children.
• 12 - Suitable for people aged 12 and over.
• 12A - Suitable for people aged 12 and over, if under 12 they should be accompanied by an adult. 
• 15 - Suitable for people aged 15 and over.
• 18 - Suitable for adults only.

We would give our film a '15' certificate, as the film would show frequent drug references and mild/strong language.

Blog post number 5: Mood Board

This is our group's mood board we made on the theme of 'crime'. We made a mood board because we knew it would help give us more ideas on possible props/locations, etc for our main task. We chose to include a variety of settings including high-rise council flats, council estates and terraced houses.We inserted typical props for the crime genre such as guns, a variety of illegal drugs, boy racer cars, we put in a picture of police to let people know our main task is a crime film if they didn't already know so. Lastly we put in a picture of two teenagers doing a drug deal, one handing over money and the other handing over illegal drugs.