Feedback

As we were editing our opening sequence, we constantly asked for feedback to make sure that our film was on point. For example the effect of the font of our title as it was to big or to small. We wanted it to be bold and in red capital letters as the colour connotes that there is blood and crime involved in this film, which creates seriousness. In order to ensure this effect was achieved, we asked for feedback. Also during the process of making the titles for our statistics, we were advised to show each fact separately so it is more pleasing to the audience's eye and make them want to read it, as it play an important role in the narrative. To solve this we used transition effects to display each fact separated as this enables the audience to easily see what is on the screen rather than a huge amount of writing we started off with before.

Granted call sheet

CALL SHEET

Production Title: Granted Production Group: Akin, Dhara and Astijus
Date: 1.12.09 Location: Upney Station
Shoot Start Time: 7:30 am Wrap Time:5 pm

Actor(s) Character Call Time Contact Details
Iman Shafi Gangster 8:00am 07983888973
Edward Obeng Gangster 8:00am 07506149364 07904106003
Matthew Parlett Gangster 8:00am 07853959921

Name Production Role Call Time Contact Details
Dhara Syal Director 7am 07949151958
Astijus Kazlauskas Camera 7am 07533873775
Akin Smith Sound 7am 02085932720

We decided to get our characters numbers as we wanted to be ready and prepared just in case they came late which they did.

Support Staff Contact Details Location
Miss Bundy BundyL@babbey.bardaglea.org.uk Media Studio/ Editing Suite
Ms Nair NairM@babbey.bardaglea.org.uk Media Classroom/Media Office
Ms Thiara Thiara@babbey.bardaglea.org.uk Media Classroom/Media Office

We took down our support staff just in case we needed them just in case of an emergency or needed to tell them something quickly.

Granted shooting schedule

Script for Granted

Shot 1: Production company title: A.D.A Productions (3 seconds)

Shot 2: Blank Screen – pause for 2 seconds - “Based on a true story”

Shot 3: Statistics (5-6 seconds)

Shot 4: We see an establishing shot of a rough area. A R&B soundtrack starts playing. High view of houses near a railway. A title rolls onto the shot “Barking, London” (2 seconds)

Shot 5: Shot of a busy main road. (2 seconds) Quick pace.

Shot 6: Long shot of a gang in an alley way then credits roll onto the shot “Sound by Akin Smith” (4 seconds)

Shot 7: Low angle shot taken in the middle of the gang, facial expressions shown. (4 secs)

Shot 8: Black background - quote is shown (4/5 secs)

Shot 9: Close up of a police line banner and credits rolled on “Camera by Astijus Kazlauskas”

Shot 10: Mid shot of the gangster’s legs and someone drops the alcohol bottle. Litter on the floor. (5 secs)

Shot 11: Wall of graffiti shown. Pan shot. Soundtrack fades away with the shot. Credits rolled on “Directed by Dhara Syal” (4/5 secs)

Shot 12: Blank Screen and sound effects of gun shots are heard (7 seconds)

Shot 13: Title fades onto the screen “GRANTED” (4 secs)

Mood Board Granted

Evaluation-Question 7

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Preliminary Brief: Film and edit a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character. A couple of lines of dialogue must then exchange between characters & match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule should be demonstrated.

Main Task: The titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes (all video and audio material must be original, produced by candidates, with the exception of music or audio effects from a copyright-free source)

Pre Production
After reading the brief I learnt that the storyboard, location recce and mood boards were important so that I will know what to do and it will be easier. I didn’t find any problems while deciding on the prelim task mainly because it was easy and already given. When it came to the main task that’s when I started to find problems because our group didn’t exactly know what type of film to create while in our prelim task it was given to us and we had already planned our cast but had to change it because we had to pick cast from the other media class.

The key lessons I learnt was that the storyboard & location recce are really important because it gets you prepared for the shooting. From the preliminary task to the main task I have learnt the basics of what to do before filming which are planning the storyboard, location reece and mood boards.

Production
During our prelim task we decided to shoot in school because it was much easier. The prelim task took much quicker than the main task due to it was in school and the shooting was simple, whereas the main task was outside school and more of a serious task meaning high quality of shots and serious behaviour towards work. The biggest difference between the two tasks was that we didn’t face as much problems as we did in the main task. The only problem we faced was coming after school to finish it of which took our own time.

The key lesson I learnt was to be quicker as we took our time to do the filming which made us slower than the others and late to get home. We decided to shoot in Upney in our main task because we needed to use a rough area that was supposingly ghetto looking and our cast were chosen from the other media class. Problems that we faced were the variety of shots because we didn’t take much safety shots which effected our digitizing. Although we couldn’t chose the type of cast we wanted we had no problem with them because we trained them plus the weather was another problem that could of occurred but we came prepared and brought a large umbrella just in case it started to rain or snow.

From the preliminary task to the main task I have learnt that location is really important because it tells your story. In location I worked differently in my main task because there were much more things to do, due to the fact we was outside and more risks could occur like weather and safety, whereas in our prelim we was inside meaning safety was provided and weather couldn't affect us. Other things I've learnt are to always remind my group about safety shots and important equipments. I feel that I have progressed since the prelim because I knew what I was getting myself into and improved by working harder.

Post production & feedback
For are prelim task we acted & filmed a classroom scene. I don’t think anything could have been done differently due to it had to be done in school. While doing so we faced numerous problems like no free class rooms and students walking in and out meaning taking our own time after school. We also had an issue in which one of the actors couldn’t make it so one of the cameraperson had to act her role. Another thing in our prelim task was that we didn’t include theme music but dialogue. From all this I learnt what types of shots are best, due to the feedback from our teachers.

Our main task was producing an opening sequence of a independent film in which we had to chosoe the roles of the cameraperson, director and soundperson. My role was the soundperson and I found it very challenging because I had to choose the best soundtrack and fun because it was enjoyable while it lasts.

The things we could have done differently are taking more safety shots. This was because we sent our cast early instead of taking time to take plenty more types of shots. Another problem faced was time due to we had to meet up 6:30 in the morning and some cast members came late. The sound we used was a hip hop beat. From our main task I learnt that it’s best to be prepared and always listen to instructions made by teachers and also how to film a successful crime drama.

From the prelim to the full product I feel that I have learnt a lot more about films than I used to do and I can now easily tell what the genre of a film will be about by watching the opening sequence rather than before. The whole product has aswell got me focused on films now for example when I watched District 9 even though it's a blockbuster I was looking out for certain camera shots, movements and angles aswell as continuity. Getting feedback was also important because it let us know if our film looked our genre, if it would appeal to our target audience and imporving our project.

What I have progressed in from the prelim task is being able to set up the Cannon XH A1, Winshield System and using the Adobe premier correctly which has satisfied me as next time I wouldn't need any help.

Evaluation- Question 6

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

From our product I learnt quite a few things about media technologies which I didn't know during our preliminary task. For example I didn't know how to use the ‘Rycote Windshield System’ which I then used in the product including the editing software and camera.

My part in the product was sound in which I used numerous equipments which taught me all about it. We used the ‘Rycote Windshield System’ which helped me to pick up clear sound have clear sound. The best thing that I learnt about it was that I didn't need to put the battery inside and the hairy handy is only used while filming outside just in case it rains or snows.
Another piece of equipment that I used was the ‘Senncheiser K6 Headphone’ which was the good microphone because it picked every sound which was good so that the sound which wasn't needed was removed. The headphones that I used were called ‘Senncheiser HD 205’ which was used to pick sound and to make sure the sound levels were accurate. This was important to use while filming so I will hear unwanted sound and tell the cameraman to cut. 'XLR lead' was plugged in the camera in channel 1so that I could be able to hear.

Something changed while we did our product which was we didn't keep with the 'Digetic sound' of the vehicles and trains that went past but rather used a 'Non digetic sound' which was the soundtrack. From this I learnt that the sound you may not always turn out the way you want it and you can easily change your mind.

At first the whole sound equipment was difficult to operate until I kept on doing it then I found myself setting it up with ease. Other things I learnt was knowing how to handle and look after the equipment properly for example putting the lacy tape around the wires so that it doesn't get tangled up and putting the stick down on the floor rather than leaning it against the wall so that nobody will trip over it. I was also told not to leave it unattended so that it doesn't get stolen.

I also learnt a few things about the 'Cannon XH A1' for example how to take certain shots and angles in which I saw Astijus do who operated on the camera. This camera is really expensive and so before we did the task I thought what was the point in using it when there are so much cheaper cameras to use until we used it and then I knew that the Cannon XH A1 carries high definition meaning the best quality of images. When the camera was used it was placed on the tripod so that we could get still shots and so the camera wouldn't be moving around. The camera was also clipped on the tripod for safety reasons so that we don't trip over and break it and so we can put it in the correct height that we are.

'Adobe Premiere' was used to connect our film and edit it. On the premiere we were able to put our shots, sound and everything else that we recorded onto it and make some changes. To make all this happen a 'Lacie' was plugged into the hard drive and then the camera onto the hard drive. Using the Adobe premiere helped me a lot because before I wasn't good at using it but I watched Astijus and Dhara and so learned.

During our editing process certain things were used to make our film much better and interesting. One of these was the music used. The soundtrack used was at the perfect pace and rhythm and needed no editing. Title and credits was also edited which included the colour, fonts and style. We kept on changing these so that we will see which ones are best suited to our film and which ones stand out, as well as still, crawl & roll. The razor tool was used to cut out unnecessary things that were in our shots. The technology helped us achieve our effects due to there was so many types of effects to choose from and so we used multiple of choice to make it more attractive. Although the Abode premiere went well we did face some problems with the soundtrack as when we saved it and went of it wasn't there any more. But later we managed to save it automatically.

We had faced problems while on the Adobe Premiere many of which was digitizing. Digitizing is collecting all the shots from the camera and stored on the software. The problems we faced were that we didn't take enough safety shots when making are opening sequence and it became slower than we thought it would. However we learnt how to create credits making it faster by pulling the duration of the shots.

What I learnt from the technologies from the process is that they are all very important in order to make your opening sequence fantastic. You need the Windshield System for collecting good sound and witnessing bad ones, the Cannon XHA1 for collecting high quality images and the Adobe Premiere for editing cutting shots. The standout key for me is the editing part because I learnt more than I thought I would have learnt which was how to get & create the design, fonts & colour as well as making the duration of the shots longer. Skills I picked up were being able to use all the technologies correctly and putting them back the way they were.