film review

This is a film review for the new film Monsters directed by Gareth Edwards, this is a classic layout for a film review on a double page. A main image is used to depict both film and narrative, text and add on's are placed around the image with some overlapping, again colour schemes are added titles in red and a star rating is a concept that is used in all reviews, The text moves around the centre image much like this blog post which keeps the text in columns for an easy read and a simplistic view.

Total film have introduced a predictive interest curve which has a graph with a line of interest which adjusts to the viewers interest throughout the film this is one aspect that is different, its a novelty and add a extra view on the film these concepts vary in magazine and could be something i make up and adapt into my own review be it a predicted curve line or a related idea.

This is an example of how reviews will pick out a key quote and put it in bolder text which for one gives the reader an initial feel for the text but also can draw readers in depending on the quote, i will use this technique and as they do change the font colour and size to draw a reader.

Again a unique quality to this magazine and review is that the writers have put a indent of other films related to this one that readers might enjoy, because of the similarities with the both.

By looking at this review the thing that stood out for me was the curve line and the other films that viewers would enjoy, this is a concept i will definitely incorporate. The writing style has an air of humor and relates to its reader the mood is not so in depth and tries to appeal to wide range of social backgrounds and people film is global and the reviews must apply to this, the columnist strays of on points which link to the film to give a wider range of view and reading combining opinion with fact.



Moving on reviews often use actresses and actors cast and crew alike to question to give a brief lighthearted question and answer interview, questions are in bold black and answers in a lighter smaller text, an example of these are :

. What will make this a must see in 2011?

when doing a question and answer extract for my review i would question Leah my main actress, and ask similar questions such as

. What did you think of the concept behind the film ?

finally here are examples of reviews in the same magazine just giving a variation in review layout but i will stick to the above.

film review

Another aspect i need to do for my project is an ancillary task, which involves producing a movie poster and a writ en review. To do this i need to research both movie posters and reviews which i have done and now i am moving into the film review.
Today i went out and brought Total Film where i have read different reviews looked at composition and writing styles. i will go through different aspects and look how i can incorporate things into my writing and review both in imagery layout and text.




As you can see colour is used into the design with the titles in red and the information in black simple text, this gives it a effective break and division. Quotes are used in a larger text to give readers an immediate feel of what the text is about and what is said, one thing i thought was interesting is how the text is put into a box and the box is adapted to the white border giving it a professional slick look.

final location

I have finally found my location to film after thinking through different mise-en-scene factors i have picked my own house partly because of the lack of time and difficulties to find the perfect location as well as set backs i had after deciding on one location that fell through due to permission.
This location works well in that it can depict past, its a home with decoration and seemingly happy it works well as a family home and by showing past and present i can clearly reinforce the idea of an event that happened which in turn forces the house to become derelict and reflect two different time periods.
this location will be seen first as the audience encounter the event showing how the house has life the middle part of the film will use this location to reflect how inanimate objects have life and the walls have seen life and situation that are harsh and troubled towards the end part of the film the other location will come into play ,as seen in the previous blog post, resembling a lifeless setting and connoting time pastures.
for the past location my house i will change some appearance in that colours i will try to make dull and more sinister objects will be replaced to reinforce the narrative and the house will need to be cleared of all UN wanted objects that can stray from what i want to convey.

film poster composition

film posters tend to have three main components
. title
. actors main image
. film info be it production company film realise date actors e.c.t

basically its a rule of thirds three distinct layers showing information to draw in the viewer, each layer can blend and swap where there situated.

locations

i have found three locations this first one is for a before and after shot, it is a house, previously a mental institute and is run down shut out with metal frames , on the brick work keep out is sprayed on with paint as the wood and plants around are dyeing and unkept. This gives for a strong level of mise-en-scene and donnotes past and danger, for this location i was planning on filming some tracking shots to show a house with age and link the idea of life within an inanimate object in this case a house, carrying the narrative.

the location is easy to film uneven ground but overall easy to get to and no permission is needed to use here are a few pictures that reflect the above

practice

I filmed by cousin's freestyle one to help him but also gain experience and practice using a hand held technique. overall the filming went well and was pleased with the smoothness and variety of framing, one thing i could improve was if i could hear the track before hand i could adapt the camera movement into parallel motion with the sound.

mock up

This will be my mock up of my film poster a rough version but on the ILP we have no mac or computers with photoshop
http://www.battlemouth.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Scary-room.jpg

se7en

Se7en - Director David Fincher
A film of the thriller genre, which will apply directly to my project, has the title in clear sans serif text identifying the title immediately, the text is iconic to the film genre and with the rough harsh texture in the background instigates a gritty film. Thriller tends to keep simple sans serif text throughout and as shown in this poster the main actors shown prominently at the top of the screen which can draw attention from fans and enhance the films status, slogan under the title "seven deadly sin. seven ways to die" addressing the narrative and indicating the plot. down the centre of the page the sins are displayed reinforcing narrative.
One aspect that tends to lend itself to all genres are having the pictures of scenes and actors cut and cropped from actually footage of the film, actors looking into the camera again interacting with the viewer,both Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman emotionally have a sense of shock worry and intent on there face which is thought through by the designers to convey the emotion and mood of the film.


codes and conventions of the thriller genre poster that i have found or feel i should incorporate:

. title in centre bottom of the page
. production crew and promotions at the very bottom over black drawing as little attention as possible
. font depict the target audience and genre i.e sans serif is more masculine and is used in the thriller genres
. colour and style schemes again link narrative
. slogan depict narrative
. date of realise shown
. certificate
. the posters must have an effect on the audience draw attention and sell the film

thriller genre - film poster

Each genre has its own style of film posters, within the thriller genre there are many sub genres be it physiological thriller or action thriller e.c.t, my film would be a sub genre - physiological thriller.




This poster has very dark negative space with again the title centered at the middle bottom of the page, the writing is in blood red linking the narrative with the killing disturbing nature of the film, The main objective of a film poster is to provoke a reaction drawing attention and promote the film. by having the main character in a sinister grin again looking into the camera (synthetic personalisation)drawing attention creating a connection. Thriller films tend to relate to narrative strongly and create a sinister slightly mysterious cover putting engage the audience in a state of interest - investigation into the film.
combining the codes of conventions i.e title prominent in the center of the page production actors crew in the bottom in a different less distracting font, over black, big actors in bold.

film poster reaserch

film posters use conventions to gain an effect on the viewer, the poster themselves are advertising therefore they must engage and promote the film so audience go and spend money either in the cinema or on dvd.
The poster will indicate genre narrative character and depict a mood and style, to this the designers will use font colour lighting character photography and possibly slogans.

font is key there are two types of font serif and sans serif, serif font are typefaces with flicks and more of a famine curly design. sans serif is a font without any elaborations flicks and curls it is generally masculine and used in action film for impact. with the use of font the designers can clearly engage the target audience for example Law Abiding Citizen directed by F. Gary Gray uses bold sans serif font because it is a action exsposive film where as The Wedding Planner directed by Adam Shankman has elegant serif font to appeal to females, there target audience.

points i made from this poster
.The release date is clearly stated at the bottom of the page for audience information
. The film introduces the majority of the characters, which gives a familiarity in the trilogy of posters
.Font is a key convention to film posters; this is a serif font in a medieval type depicting history time and age linking the text to the narrative of the film
. Again the colour and tone reinforce the traditional age old feel and connotes the narrative and location of the film
. One convention that is seen in all movie posters are a list of the actors crew and production companies as well as promoters
. Title – large centre of the page. Draws attention clearly indicates to the audience the film instantly
. Synthetic personalisation is used to interact with the viewer creating a direct connection as the characters look at the viewer
. Film posters use effects to add a professional clean cut appearance, in this case mist and lighting show a air of mystery and adventure

animatic feedback

in class we had a group discussion on each of our animatics and how we could all improve and what aspects of the animatic were good and effective. for me this was a use full process and was something i needed to gather development, i was told by my teacher and peers that i needed to introduce more shots and the pace was far to short and quick. for me it hard to draw and animate a pov shot with no cuts which is a integral part of my film, but i will go away and think of how to over come this for example draw points as the camera maneuvers.

animatic

i had trouble adding the correct and useable music, i will ad the music and sound effect with in a day or two to improve verisimilitude and develop a better picture of the product.

storyboard

This is my storyboard i will add in shots at the bottom of this post to further detail and improve the clarity of my idea, the first two pictures as you can see are the production companies and the studios which will be over black with non diagetic music playing - preferably classical to set eery mood. from this slow paced faded transitions and non diagetic music, the sequence will straight cut into diagetic sound of breathing and use of a unsteady POV shot. The location is in a room with mise-en-scene clearly indicating its a girls room with innocent colours and images to depict the character, The POV will pan around the room and look down at the right hand arm which will be strapped down then either a straight cut or quick pan to the left arm struggling around (so the pace begins to build in movement).
A sound bridge will be used to link the shot of the arm to the sudden mid shot of the man walking in and out of frame, as he does so a non diagetic sound effect will crushendo to reinforce shock as well as the camera going from unsteady to steady and a gasp of breath before the event . The antagonist will walk out of frame then a door will slam as the camera distorts, which will become a graphic match of the door slamming an the cut juxtaposed simultaneously to a lap top where the audience will see either the house switching a switch in the switchboard, then cut to the lap top turning on, and the red light flicking to indicate the inanimate ibject is filming the event.
finally a shot looking through the screen of the phone will be the end shot as the scene fades to black and then the extracts moves to a separate time period, a low angled long shot zooming forward towards the door as the audience sees a man closing a door who is in detective or forensic attire as the door closes the shot holds then begins to move around the room on jib or dolly varying the hight and framing of the shot. As the camera maneuvers around the room focusing on objects in the bedroom non diagetic sound will be heard for example a picture of the girl playing will have screaming or an argument behind it reflecting the underlining meaning of how inanimate objects have emotion and life this sequence will carry on till the camera reaches the laptop and the lap top begins to play the footage and the last shot will be my main actress running the camera and slamming it to the floor in a struggle.

film riot - dolly

production company and music

in my story board the first shots are production and name of studio over black with non diagetic music so i am brainstorming and thinking of the names i will use and types of music over the top - mainly classical band pieces

studio names:
- patriot studios
- real line cinema
- imagination pictures
- tracking studios
- adventure studios


production studios
- real line production
- reality film
- adventure line production
- time lapse film
- Shepherds film
- home Cinema productions

music
i have found a website to use soundtracks sound effect and at high quality for free legally - www.jamendo.com
these tracks i have picked out that could fit the tone i'm looking for when the production companies are being named at the beginning of the film

development of my idea

As you can see in the first picture, i brainstormed around the idea of having a house and "if walls could speak" the top image on the left was a brief initial idea of having a layout and thinking how i could film, what a birds eye view would look like, a cluedo type theme. around this idea and train of thought i came up with a brief narrative and experimenting with shots such as i thought a good opening would be to go from non diagetic music straight in to a sudden use of diagetic breathing possibly pov shot. i want to introduce straight away location and one of the characters or both antagonist and protagonist (which is a convention i have picked out through the analysis establishing 4 main areas genre location character and narrative)
from this initial thought i developed into a stronger narrative and composition of shots, for example the second image on the second page is the pov looking through a gap in the door showing the antagonist closing curtains doors e.c.t an then turns and looks directly into the camera to either end the scene or as he walks into view the scene ends so the audience dose not see the event that takes place. the pov will zoom as seen in Cloverfield adjusting focus and motion to heighten the level of verisimilitude - brief structure :

. production companies
. event
. house filming
. story/ investigation
. flash back to event and house revealing the event and outcome

codes and conventions

After analysing the short films and feature films i found each would have common conventions of filming that would be in each crossing from feature films and short films, but as I'm doing a short film i must adhere to there particular codes and conventions which are:

. I must introduce and establish these four things or subvert the common contentions and have a slightly more unique opening these are , narrative , character , genre and character. this is a convention seen in any film short or feature.

. short films must engage the audience straight away due to the short length

. when creating action and a fast paced scene or even to build tension and suspense a variation of shots must be used varying from long shot mid shot to close up.

. close up tends to draw attention to a important and specific concept or object

. parallel sound is key to continuity as well as the use of a sound bridge


these conventions are not a must and can be adaptions however as i develop my idea and progress with my project i will come back and add to this post.

finalising my idea

For my final idea, i am defiantly going with "If Walls could speak". It revolves around the idea of having unsolved crimes incidents murders and events that are never proven never known and never seen, but if walls could speak these incidents and events could be proven relived and taught to younger generations. My initial thoughts where of taking an event such as murder e.c.t and having the opening scene as the event the next scene as the investigation and the final scene as the house revealing the truth. To reveal the truth i would have the house seem alive and have a mind of its own and reveal the incident to the audience through a chain of events such as the door hitting a switch to move the chair to turn on the projector for example, or simply a slow zooming shot of the electrics turning on mysteriously and a sound bridge of the TV playing the event which would be shot from the walls point of view or birds eye view to give the effect of looking in on the event.

now my next step after having decided my idea is to create a few narritives and storybords each with a slightly different story and stucture and then pick the best and most appropiate, finally after the narritive i can go and look into locations-character-acters and actresses.

Screenwriting with Dustin Lee

This is a video i have found on screenwriting, it is important at this time for me because my project is in the development stages."Film Riot" is the YouTube channel that offers advice tips and techniques to make your own films and by looking at this weeks episode i can get a grater understanding on screenwriting which i need to do for my project.

the young method actor

Developed idea "If walls could speak"

How the director made Iron Man vs Bruce Lee

He mainly uses tools to hold the shape as he moves to stop frame animate the characters and then adjusts lighting and contrast to give it a cinema feel and finally green screen the holders out, technical but very effective

Iron Man VS Bruce Lee by Patrick Boivin

This is a piece of stop frame animation but has a unique characteristic of continuity and action unlike most stop frame pieces. It uses technical aspects from film and the conventions of camera work but applies them into a stop frame movie, The film opens into instant action framing iron man ,flying, in a long shot as the camera appears to track back, the director adds a higher level of verisimilitude and makes the sequences feel more alive with small details that make a big impact such as the director uses depth of field and blurs to denote speed and keep the audiences attention on the action, another convention he uses is character mannerisms ,mostly seen in real life films, for example the way Bruce Lee touches his nose and bops around making him more authentic and real. Again the director introduces charters instantly and assorts authority by filming the two in a low angle adding to there life like dominer, sound is key to this piece it has parallel sound and is edited so the action is fluent and fast using quick transition as seen as straight cuts.
in the background the director has chosen to show ordinary household objects such as books laps and doors as well as filming the fight against skirting boards this reinforces the location and size of the characters and keeps the scene fantasy and artificial which is heightened by the bright artificial lighting. the director uses the camera well and films the scene using many zooms and longer shots which adds continuity but also keeps the film as if it was not stop fame giving it a more realistic style.
This is the most impressive use of stop frame animation, it has fluidity and a realistic composition, sound is key and it seems to be crated after the sound so the sequences fit and are parallel.

Teeth - directed by hn Kennedy & Ruairí O'Brien

This short film has a sense of humor and suttle quality, its style of cinematography has a look of beauty and uses tone and colour to grate effect. the feature opens with a extreme long shot introducing the audience to lake , again one of the four areas i pick out in the previous features, the grey dark tone instead of creating a sinister feel creates this wholesome type structure that is reinforced by the friendliness of the characters and the sound bridge of laughter. as the extract moves on non diagetic music is played that connotes play fullness and tranquility, again adding to the suttle friendly nature of the film, the pace is slow and uses dip to black transitions reflecting how time has passed, as the opening moves through extreme long shot to long shot both portraying the characters in shiloetts the director has established a air of mystery linking it to the unknown nature of fishing the main subject within the narrative.
finally the audience are introduced to the main charters two elderly men in old fashioned , grandad like , attire. The is no dialog in this short film and it relays on body language and facial expression to convey emotion and feeling which it dose successfully, the power of this silent dialog is easy to see and the directors use it well to build a whit and wholesome like atmosphere. one of the men sneezes and losses his teeth, which through a series of jump shots reveals the other to find this very humorous and causes him to laugh for a long period of time , his laughter creates a sound bridge between the faster paced shots but also through the dip to black transition showing a change in time, with his laughter linking the two time periods.
non diagetic music is still playing throughout until the lagging man hooks a fish, as the struggle of playing the fish in continuous the director uses a variety of close ups, mid shots and long shots to build pace and signify the struggle of the event, the level of verisimilitude is heightened by the stopping of music and the dominance of diagetic sound parrel to what is on screen. Luck is with this man today first by not loosing his teeth and now catching fish this ideology is symbolised through a shot where the laughing man is in the foreground , dominate, and the sad teeth less man is sitting in the background with his back to camera denoting sadness. however as he looks back non diagetic music is suddenly added to signify a change in hart which is duplicated by the mans facial expression changing simultaneously. the man puts his teeth in the fishes mouth and turns in hope to his friend, a graphic match is used putting the laughing man in the background and the unlucky man now in the foreground showing a change in dominance and enthuses which reveals the man to look ridiculous in the new teeth and with that he troughs them into the lake, leaving the laughing man shot in a close up stunned and helpless, with that the film end suddenly with a straight cut to black leaving the audience grinning.
in conclusion this film is pleasant and friendly the grey tones subvert common conventions instead of creating a cold sinister look, show a friendly humorous atmosphere. the directors use this silent dialog that instantly reveals a friendship between the two character but also convey emotion effectively. the film has a simplistic slow pace and uses no complicated themes or techniques and by doing so create an effective pleasant happy film that is a joy to watch, thoughts i took from this is simple is sometime better and i will now look at my own idea and think of how i can make it effective without over doing the sequence

The Black Hole directed by Phil and Olly

The short film opens with a tracking mid shot moving the camera to the left where a young male adult , tired and worn in exterior , stands framed in a mid shot. The comic serif styled font appears through a super imposed black whole at the start of the film linking narrative with editing techniques. Sound is key to this short film in that it creates a continuous sound bridge but also adds to the dull office boring atmosphere, this is reinforced by the lighting used within the scenes, the director has used only artificial light and picked a location with dull cold tones such as grey and light blue to convey the atmoshpere though mise-en-scene.
The only actor in the beginning of the feature is always framed fully revealing background and location giving the audience the impression and conformation he is alone, however the director uses a variety of camera shots such as close ups when the actor is irritated by the printer and is shown repeatedly tapping the printed and kicking the printed which focuses the audience on his frustration again adding to the annoying boring office culture created. In the first 10 seconds the director has introduced character established location and some sort of narrative 3 of the areas i picked out as being a common convention of any film or short film , something i must apply in my own project.
As the scene progresses and the actor interacts with the "Alain" hole the director has chosen to , when shooting through the hole putting the audience in place of the mysterious object , use non diagetic sound of a unfamiliar drowning sound effect, reinforcing its alien like properties. When the character uses the whole to get a free chocolate bar a close up revealing him chewing , in a greedy manner , shows the audience his change in emotion going from amazement to greed and law braking intent as the close up is used to show the actors expression change vividly. The man uses the hole to steal cash this is the start of his demise which in turn builds the pace of the scene where the director uses a quicker transition but more variety in shot such as when watching it is clearly shown he is framed in long shots, mid shots and close ups in quick concession adding to the pace and drama. parallel sound is used to signify drama and a frantic scene as well as the actor showing panic in expression and body language which suddenly comes to a climax with the man falling into the whole trapped!
The short film i feel looks at the greed of man and hes ability to abuse a power, looking at the techniques used it is clear short film directors engage the audience almost instantly revealing the 3 of the four main areas , location - character - narrative and genre, camera shots are used for different purpose such as a close up will reveal intent and key point be it props or reaction, long shots show location and can de-power a character and mid shots are used in dialog and as a link to long shots and close ups.

initial ideas

This is my initial brainstorm, i came up with three initial ideas and plan to do more. My best idea i feel is the idea about walls and if they could speak it has more room for improvement and a stronger narrative to go with. I have thought of particular shot composition but plan to make more ides as well as develop this one.

audience

feature film to short film

From analysing both feature films and short films i have seen both similarities and differences. A short film has to engage and draw the audience in straight away because of the time limit, therefore the use of camera and editing is developed and more intricate to change the style within the first few seconds. Each short film is different and has unique narratives however a common convention that runs throughout is its pace of the narrative, the story has to be simplistic and easy to understand because the characters and emotions have to portrayed to the audience almost instantly within each scene. feature films have a big budget and can take a longer time to introduce both characters and narrative. By looking at The Italian Job directed by peter collinson we can see that the extract opens with a extreme long shot to establish location and a montarge of shots as a red race car meanders up a italian mountain side, this particular scene takes roughly two minutes thirty seconds for a shot film this is a long time period and as a title sequence is impossible to do simply because of the time limit. In contrast lovefield directed by Mathieu Ratthe, the feature takes 1.30 seconds to reveal to the audience some action and characters and finishes with in 5 minuets ,a common time that most short film directors use, this is a full minute shorted than The Italian Job which only shows titles for the first 2 - 3 minutes.

not finished

LOVEFIELD by Mathieu Ratthe

The feature opens with a series of extreme long shots, showing the far landscape and emptiness of this field reinforcing size and being alone, establishing location . dissolve cuts are used to signify a transition in time and specific place again adding to the fact no -one is around. The cinematography has a cold dull tone and is carried through in the titles colour scheme of silver and grey. the pace of editing is slow and ambiance of the crops is heard in the background, on top of this non diagetic sound is added to bring in what will become a dramatic piece of music adding tension and mystery of the extract. The director has used symbolic signifiers and iconography to lure the audience in to a state of UN-ease and shock, this ideology is soon converted into a completely different look and mood a convention the director creates through symbolism and then turns the meaning of each subject.
the first symbolic signifier the audience see is the black crow which connotes death and tragedy, the squawk of the bird acts as a sound bridge in the film bringing each shot in with continuity and a good flow. as the camera tracks back raveling objects that denote a incident depth of field is used to focus on specific parts such as the mobile phone which is indexical to the lack of communication the victim has again reinforced by diagetic sound of the phone ringing constantly, as this scene progresses only diagetic sound of the woman screaming is heard as the continuous tracking shot frames a close up of her hands grabbing the straw and her feet moving in a struggle, the realistic diagetic sound adds to the verilisimilitude of the scene and creates a higher level of tension. the music comes to crescendo and the foot is centralised (not moving) then suddenly a second crescendo is parallel to the hand slamming a knife in the ground. the audience are convinced a murder or assault has taken place the iconography and the way the extract is shot , not revealing the face of the victims, reflects this view. however the pace builds as the man who is stereotypically dressed in a hill billy attire runs to the black car as he opens the boot, by going to the boot again links him to murder and as he holds a black bag it reinforces the attitude that he is a criminal and the protagonist of the film, jump cuts are used between the man and the crow as it hits the roof of the car this has no non diagetic sound and gives the impression that we as the audience are the crow looking in powerless to this mans actions.
finally the scene is at a fast pace music is loud and violins play at a high pitch iconic to the thriller genre adding to the tension of the scene when suddenly all sound comes to a climax and a baby's cry is heard, as the baby is moved into the frame diagetic sound of there laughter is heard and the tone of the scene changes from cold grey to a warm orange reflecting the change in mood and meaning of the film, the pace becomes slow and parallel peaceful music is added, the film ends in a long shot revealing a tractor as the police arrive showing the true mans identity and the true films narrative.

key point
the best thing about this film is how the director has taken iconography and sybolic subjects and used them to create a tense opening which is then turned on its head to reavel a happy ending. this could be done the other way!

Armageddon

Armageddon 1998 directed by Michael Bay 

The director instantly establishes genre one of the four areas i highlighted in my last post , narrative- genre- character- location, the scene opens with a extreme long shot panning around space then centralizing earth in the centre of the frame, by setting the initial scene is space it instantly resembles the sci-fi genre establishing genre through iconic signs and symbolic subjects of science, in both mise-en-scene and dialog. this film is a sub genre which means it blends two genres in this case sci-fi and action, to establish the film as action the scene soon builds to a fast pace extract as the meteor hits earth while fire is used again to set the title of the film alight as it explodes all signifiers that relate to the action genre, finally the use the US government and army reinforces genre and something i think directors use to establish genre is actors. By casting Bruce willis , a big action film actor , again links the film to the action genre. 

     A wipe transition is used to show a different location where the audience are shown nasa working on a satellite again reinforcing genre. the pace builds and as the meteor hits again a symbolic close up is used revealing the american flag ripping apart, this reflects how this natural force can destroy Earths most powerful nation with ease, which is symbolic and hints at the possibility of the events of a meteor hit but also links the possible narrative of the film. so within the first few minutes the director has linked genre and narrative 2 of the 4 areas i feel that most directors establish at the start of the film an example of this is in The Italian Job , which i posted before this analysis. within this scene there is a dual narrative between the meteor hitting and the pentagon trying to figure out the impact, with quick straight cuts to different location such as the pentagon - nasa - government office - new york adds to the national threat and the lack of understanding from the US , showing them as inferior. dialog is always key to an media text be it tv drama or film narrative can be established and key lines of dialog can be just as important as semiology in the first 5 minutes repetition of "unidentified" and "surprised" again shows the US to be inferior to this natural destruction.

     the director introduces a variety of characters all from different classes jobs and background, first we identify with the main instructor at NASA and then we are introduced to the black "slag spoken" poor but charismatic individual and finally Carl a man who seems to be a lower class than the people at NASA this is shown through his attire the director has put him in very casual cheaper clothes than the NASA workers. by having the range of characters and people reinforces how powerful this natural disaster is and the range f classes shows how this meteor will effect each class and each nation , making it a global issue and something the whole human race come together to fight this issue 

not finished             

one of my favourite short film directors

Patrick Hughes is a up and coming director he has just finished his first feature film Red Hill a action/ thriller/ Weston film. from his list of short films my two favourite are "The Director" and "Signs" the main aspects that draw me into his films are his unique narratives and his simplistic but effect cinematography.

http://patrickhughes.com.au/shorts/

initial analysis of The Italian Job

first i decided it would be beneficial to look at some openings of professional films, this would give me a look at how directors film particular aspects and how the director commonly open a film i.e establishing genre within the first minute, or just techniques the industry use to portray a particular moment or theme.

the first extract i looked at was "The Italian Job" 1969 directed by Peter Collinson staring Micheal Caine, this film is a classic and a nations favourite the film its self is in the action crime genre and is a personal favourite. The extract opens with an extream long shot showing the iconic Italian mountain landscape , the director uses the camera to pan down raveling the whole location. i have studied lots of feature films and it seems to be a common convention that a director will establish 4 things within the first 4-5 minutes LOCATION NARRATIVE GENRE AND CHARACTER by looking at "The Italian Job" the director establishes these four areas in the first 5 minutes to establish location the extreme long shots are used and as the camera is positioned framing a mid shot situated in the car the audience are shown this continued shot as the car drives up the Italian mountain side again revealing location. The car itself is an iconic sign of action it is the sports car of its era ,Lamborghini, and is bright race red all conventions that relate to the action genre which is reinforced when the pace of editing builds and the sound changes to diagetic sound, heightening the level of verisimilitude , as the car crashes suddenly, low angled long shots with mafia in the foreground as well as background , connoting size and power, are an indexical sign of danger and action and iconic props such as guns are again used to reinforce genre.

the audience for this film is very much male orientated it is easy to see that the director has engaged in this fact and used it to his advantage. the director creates this emotion of men wanting to be the characters on screen, he uses codes and conventions to represent the men in this film as cool and sophisticated which in turn creates this idol role model type cast which men want to be , which could be one of the reasons why this film is so successful!. we as the audience first see this sophisticated collected man driving the sports car, he is shot in a point of view shot putting the audinece in a situation, this situation soon becomes relaxed and pleasurable as the location is shown in its beauty and the non diagetic music is pleasing and parrell to what is on screen. this male character is wearing a smart shirt and tie donating wealth and lifestyle and then he lights a cigarette which in 1969 is a very cool habit to have again adding to the status of this man and also showing how directors when creating a film that relating to the present time would uses props and subjects that relate to the current events and subjects of the time, something i think is vital to appeal to any audience and is something i would like to add into my short film.
now the audience are in a state of relaxation, the extract comes to a climax and the car is destroyed by the mafia army, the car is thrown of the edge of the cliff, being an Italian location the director establishes a link to narrative and by having a character who is initially represented as cool and familiar killed puts the audience in a state of mystery again showing a deeper narrative. finally we are introduced to our protagonist of the film, he is represented very different to the original character but still as cool and familiar if not more familiar to the audience, the director uses a close up to introduce Micheal Cain ,playing Charlie , his exspesion is cheeky and he smiles at the camera, next the director uses a long shot reveling Micheal to be in prison which dose subvert the stereotypical hero. however Micheal with his first line of dialog shouts "cheerio lads" in a cockney accent this instantly puts him as English and creates this laddish "lovable rouge" type character he is cheeky yet sophisticated wearing a suit and creates a strong connection with the audience and being a cockney English man there is a level of familiarity with the British audience which dose put him as a idol status to the male dominated audience.

key points i picked up on:
directors establish 4 main areas in the first 4-5 miniutes - genre - narritive - character - location
directors realte to current times
semiolidgy is very important
use simple techniques and shots.
action usually use a lot of tracking and movemnt within the camera
narritive is always key to every second of the film must link.

brief

create a short film in its entirety, lasting approximately five minutes, which may be live action or animation or a combination of both, together with:

• a poster for the film
• a film magazine review page featuring the film

i chose this brief because it is a project i can get really involved with and take my time with. by working alone it is purely my own ideas and my own story which adds to the amount of work i can put into the film. film is an area that interests me and is something i want to go into as a career therefore this brief is perfect from my interests and my ambitions.