(click on the images to see descriptions)

Despite the fact that this is just a two minute opening to a film, the group thought about what would actually happen throughout the rest of the film. Not meaning to ruin it for anyone, but we decided that the majority of the film would be about ‘Harry’ and his battle having to deal with a terminally ill girlfriend. The majority of films about the terminally ill are about the ill characters themselves so we thought it would be a better idea to base the majority of the film on a character having to deal with it – ‘Harry’ proving the perfect example. At the end of the film it was kind of inevitable that ‘Lily’ would die, but we wanted the ending to be enlightening and hopeful, not so much depressing, giving a sense of freedom and peace to those who were around ‘Lily’, purely because now she is no longer suffering.

Oh, and although it was said having copyright was not a necesity…we managed to finally obtain it! (All thanks to Megan Habgood.)

‘GRATIS LICENCE

Dear Megan Habgood

 This email will serve as confirmation that we consent to the following use on the terms set out below:

Licensor: Kobalt Music Publishing Limited 

Licensor’s address: 4 Valentine Place, London, SE1 8QH

 Licensee: Megan Habgood 6 Earlham drive, Poole, Dorset, England, BH14 0HH

Composition: to build a home

 Kobalt Controlled Writer: Patrick Watson 45%

Production: Losing You

 Date Issued: 22^nd April 2010

Maximum Duration: 2 minutes

 Territory: UK

 Term: December 09 – April 2010

 Usage: Background

 Media: 1 x Dvd A.S.level media production 

 All other rights not expressly granted herein shall be specifically reserved to Licensor.

We grant this licence free of charge on a non-precedential basis and on the condition that Licensee receives no remuneration as a result of this use.  As this licence is granted free of charge, we give no warranty or accept any liability in respect of this licence.

Special Conditions:

1. MFN with master and/or co-publisher. ‘

Hoorah!

Overall I have found the filming of the piece extremely enjoyable and I have learnt a number of skills. Despite the many stressful occasions, i am really pleased with the final outcome, and would like to thank my group for making it such a fun and educational experience. Well done!

1. Pinnacle Studio 9
2. Audacity
3. Digital camera/video

So, Pinnacle Studio 9…although we did experience a number of ‘technical difficulties’ as they say I have learnt a tremendous amount when it comes to the editing films. Not only have I realised how patient you must be (!!!) but how to understand and use the programme, something that I was certainly not blessed with at the beginning of the course. As previously stated in my ‘Editing.’ post the group used some effects such as slide transitions, the speeding up of slides, and colour alteration to enhance our piece to the best that it could possibly be. And although we came out with a continuity error, without the three handy ways to perfect our film, it wouldn’t run half as smoothly. We had a slight problem when editing the second time round with regards to the second shot of the motion picture. For some reason Pinnacle didn’t want us under any circumstances to cut off a few seconds of the shot (it’s a little wobbly and we were trying to rid of this) but due to lack of time, and trying everything we could think of, we had to just leave it and hopefully it isn’t too noticeable. We used what is called long linear editing which is the process of selecting, arranging and modifying the images and sound recorded on a video tape whether captured from a video camera or another source. This differs from non-linear editing which is video editing which can only be performed in a sequence on the source material. I found long linear editing very handy, as it was easy to crop and change shots as we pleased.

We found it rather difficult to crop the start of the song on Pinnacle which leads me on to the programme called Audacity. We weren’t taught how to use this programme, or that it even existed, but after searching for a programme on our computer that was simple to use when it comes to cutting songs, we stumbled across this. We simply had to upload our song (which we had saved on Megan Habgood’s VLE) and cut the first 8 seconds off and save it as a new file – simple. This song was then imported back into Pinnacle and overlapped the action, which we had previously set to silent, so that all you can hear is the non-diegetic sound.

Finally, and probably most importantly, I come to the digital camera. Digital video is a type of video recording system that works by using a digital rather than an analog video signal. Being a great fan of photography and video myself, I have had experience with cameras in the past, but not in quite such a professional way…When I filmed the first few opening shots, I am not afraid to say that I struggled to keep the camera still. Yet, as time progressed, I feel the final shots I filmed are steady and effective – particularly the pan shot of the letter (obviously I used a tripod to aid me during this process!) During the filming process I also learnt about shooting in wide screen and white balance. Our film is shot in wide screen which I feel helps make the two-minute opening seem more like a professional film. White balance is the adjustment of the intensities of colours and particularly aims to render neutral colours; hence the name. It helps to make the scene seem more similar to reality and is also simply more pleasing to the eye. I had a brief idea of what white balance was in the past, but putting it to use has enabled me to see for myself what it can achieve in motion picture.

The film is probably more aimed at females as it follows a love story and let’s face it, men would rarely sit down and watch a tear jerker of their own accord. Therefore, similar to before, the posters could be placed in female magazines. Also the fact a young, sensitive male is present in the film would attract girls to see him as a symbol of desire. Perhaps not a sex symbol, but definitely somebody that girls would long to have, further attracting them to the film. This contrasts to the fact ‘Lily’ is not presented as a powerful, attractive, provokative female; something that would usually attract men to a film.We carried out a mini questionaire to see whether the opening of the film had a big impact on who people think the film is targeted for…

After watching the two minute opening of the film, who would you recommend the film to?

• Women – 5
• Men – 2
• Either – 3

After watching the two minute opening of the film, what age range would you say this would attract?

• 3-12 – 0
• 12-20 - 5
• 20-30 - 4
  
• 30 + – 1

So thankfully, it seems as if our original age certificate and target audience is portrayed convincingly through our two minute motion picture, phew!

‘Titanic‘ – Paramount – grossing $600, 788, 1883, 265

‘Ghost‘ - Paramount – grossing $217, 631, 3061, 766

‘Pearl Harbor‘ – Buena Vista – grossing $198, 542, 5543, 255

Numbers that I personally cannot comprehend! Nevertheless, Paramount is an American film distribution company owned by the media conglomerate, Viacom. Likewise, Buena Vista is an American company involved in Walt Disney Films. The fact that our film is British would play a huge role in the distributor, and so such huge American Companies may not be adequate. However, when looking at British film distributors such as Pathe and Working Title, neither have really played a huge part in the distribution of this genre film, which leads me to think that an American company, such as New Line Cinema, who distributed ‘My Sister’s Keeper’ would be a better option. The fact New Line Cinema is an American company would also mean that the target audience would be larger bringing in a more impressive profit.

With regards to posters, adverts and where the film is likely to be advertised, the audience would play a major part in this. We have already said that our film is a ’12′ certificate, and so i would say the film is largely aimed at around age 12-25, yet still hopefully enjoyable for older generations also. This means that advertisements at bus shelters and in the cinema would be perfect advertising spots.

Megan Habgood kindly made a very brief outline of what the poster could look like (as above.) The red of the title being representative of the blood indicating ill-health contrasting to the white colour of the slogan representing innocence. immediately the audience notice the film is about somebody with a terminal illness due to the presence of the costume, and the slogan highlights how everything is not as it seems, in hope that the audience will want to watch! It is not only one poster that would be produced but film distribution companies also tend to release a number…perhaps seperate ones of the characters. The more posters, the wider the audience!

A trailer would also be necessary, as well as perhaps a teaser trailer, both giving basic info. on who is in the film, the genre etc etc. As ‘Never Coming Back’ is an emotional film, it obviously wouldn’t be necessary to show the trailer during advertisements before a child’s animation film, whereas if there was another emotional drama showing in cinemas, it would be a perfect time to show the trailer before hand, as the people watching the film would be the sort to be attracted to ‘Never Coming Back.’

Due to digital distribution the film may also be shown on the internet after it’s release, hopefully combatting piracy. And it may also be shown on television, preferably not around christmas as ’tis the season to be jolly’ but at another time during the year, perhaps shortly after its release on digital channels, such as Sky, and because it will be so close to its release, it should hopefully be very popular.

(Click on images to view descriptions)

The costume subverts representation of women as objects of sexual desire in the majority of other films, as ‘Lily’ is not attractive and doesn’t wear feminine revealing clothing. With regards to gender, Gauntlett believed that people tend to follow what is expected of their gender because it is what is reinforced by the world around them, and when thinking about ‘Harry’ as the sensitive, caring male we can see that this is true due to the abundant rise of the metrosexual male in modern society. After that little digression…the use of props also helps with the repsentation of the terminally ill. We have used medication and blood capsules as clear indicators of who she represents. As with props and costume, certain camera angles depict her as a representation of somebody with an illness. Perhaps the most obvious being the shot of her on the floor at the end of the two-minute piece. Her lying on the floor shows her vulnerability and lack of power. She herself is a clear representation of the thousands effected by terminal illness which will perhaps help raise awareness in society.

The movie also represents young teenagers and the love relationships formed during this age. It may seem rather cliché to involve a love story in the film too, but our group felt that if it was made aware ‘Lily’ had close relations with somebody, the loss of her battle would prove even more poignant and emotionally demanding for the audience.

The relationship between the two characters in ‘Never Coming Back’

A love relationship between two young teens is also formed in ‘My Sister’s Keeper’

‘Harry’ and ‘Lily’s’ love relationship is shown indirectly through the scrap-book, letter and dress. Even though ‘Harry’ is not seen in the opening of the film the whole two minutes is the leading up to ‘Lily’ getting ready to see him, therefore proving him to be a very important character. Obviously, the couple’s relationship will (if the film were to continue) develop throughout eventually leading to an outcome. But nevertheless, even in the opening of the motion picture the audience may begin to notice the representation of young teenagers and their relationships with lovers.

Emotional dramas depend on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes to hopefully provoke some form of emotion or sadness from the audience. Looking back at my research on ‘Atonement’, ‘My Sister’s Keeper’ and ‘Titanic’ it is easy to see how our group has managed to incorporate emotional drama conventions which can be seen in such films. For example, all three of these major selling films have blissful non-diegetic sound in the opening titles; in ‘Atonement’ the repetitive sound of a type writer layered over simple piano notes, in ‘My Sister’s Keeper’ again gentle piano notes helping to depict the emotional atmosphere of the film, in ‘Titanic’ the famous ‘My Heart Will Go On’ by Celine Dion plays, and in our own film ‘Never Coming Back’ gentle piano notes and soothing delicate lyrics can be heard – \’To Build a Home\’ by The Cinematic Orchestra.

However, not everything we have produced in our motion picture reflects what can be seen in the above three films…simply because we did not have the budget and time! For example, emotional dramas dont tend to be hard hitting untill the latter part of the film. In ‘Atonement’ and ‘Titanic’ the chaos and sadness only really begins halfway through the film (yet it is not to say that it is developed through the opening sections.) Whereas with our film, due to the fact we only had two minutes and wanted the audience to be hooked straight away, the sadness and upset begins immediantly. However even though this is the case, the storyline for the rest of the film is not yet revealed to the audience.

I am extremely pleased with the slow moving close up shot of the letter ‘Harry’ has sent to ‘Lily.’ In the majority of emotional dramas, slow paced shots are often used to reflect the sadness and meloncholy tone of the atmosphere. If the shots were fast moving and quick, the mood would be much more happy-go-lucky. In ‘My Sister’s Keeper’, although not at the beginning of the film, slow moving shots of the protagonist looking through her scrap book whilst in her hospital bed are used to show how supportive her family are around her. The idea of the letter in ‘Never Coming Back’ also shows how supportive her boyfriend is which to a certain extent makes the ending of the two minutes more hard hitting as there is a strong relationship presented between the couple – relationships formed being a key feature in emotional dramas as proved in the three films discussed.

With our preliminary task in mind our group set off, camera in hand to a suitable setting in which we could show a number of technical conventions asked of us in the task:

• An establishing shot – a shot to set up the a scene’s settings or its participants.
• A close up – a shot which tightly frames a particular object/person.
• Match on action – this is the cutting from one shot to another view which matches the action and pace of the first shot which creates an impression of continuity although the shots may have been filmed at a completely different time.
• Shot reverse shot – where one character is shown looking at another character (often off-screen), and then the other character is shown looking back at the first character.
• Long shot – a shot of depth which shows both the characters and the location.
• The 180″ rule – refers to an imaginary line which cuts through the middle of the scene from side to side with respect to the camera. If the line if crossed it may cause disorientation and confusion for the viewer.

These above conventions enabled us to get a strong feeling of the things we should be doing and looking out for when we filmed our opening sequence of new fiction film. Practice makes perfect!

(Click and scroll through the above images to see descriptions.)

During the progression from this task to our full product I feel the group has learnt an outstanding amount of things. Firstly, we have learnt the importance of continuity. Due to this being the first time that we had used a camera some of the shots are a little jumpy, yet without this practice our group would not have realised the great attention continuity called for.  In our final piece there is one major error of continuity and that is the shot in which ‘Lily’ walks out of her bedroom and goes to walk up the stairs. Unfortunately it proved a bit of a pain that fact that Megan King’s bathroom is downstairs…the group wanted to follow the stereotypical layout of a house with the bathroom upstairs as this would probably seem more obvious to the audience so we made it look as if ‘Lily’ was walking upstairs to the bathroom when in reality the bathroom was downstairs. Because of this if you look very closely the background and flooring of the room ‘Lily’ opens the door to walk out of is different to the room she leaves when about to walk up the stairs, purely for the reason they are completely different rooms! (and I very much accidentally forgot to close the door after me, oops) Obviously this is a bit of a nuisance, but the group felt as if it wasn’t overly noticeable (after showing it to a number of friends, none of them noticed after being asked – yay) and so there wasn’t really that much point in the hassle of redoing it. We have definitely learnt our lesson for next time though! Although this is something that could have been avoided overall I think the piece flows from one location to another well and the cuts between the scenes aren’t too abrupt or surprising. Also, this task allowed us to grasp how to use ‘Pinnacle Studio 9′ and without it I think our group may have felt as if we were thrown in at the deep end, but with a little practice we managed to work out and most importantly understand how the programme worked. Similarly, we not only learnt a number of camera angles from theory lessons but putting them to practice during the preliminary task helped us to realise what would be easy and difficult to film during the filming of our overall piece. All in all, a very helpful task!

I think the fact we stayed and worked as such a strong group definitely helped us pull through the annoying factor of our film being deleted so late on into our course, especially when it had been completed the first time with plenty of time to spare. I feel very proud of our final piece and would like to thank the two Megan’s for everything they have put in. Well done all round!