My Contributions to the production process

I looked for ideas and inspiration for our opening sequence on the internet, looking through videos on youtube and looking at images for our background and the kind of characters we could base our on, these were then uploaded to the blog.

I created the credits for our childrens film and made suitable names for the characters that the audience could relate to and were easy to remember, I added Different colours to the characters that i thought the children would associate them with.

Me and emily worked together to do the stop motion, moving and take a picture each time. It took ages to do but we worked well together to get it done and achieved what we wanted.

BBFC PG & U

The reason we need to know the classification guidlines is so that we do not use inappropriate imagery or sound in our coursework. Young children with or without parents are not allowed to see or hear things that could easily upset them, mislead them or encourage them to do bad/dangerous things at their age. A U classification is stricked on it's rules, it is simlilar to PG but they are more relaxed and free about what they showm most things can be implied but not shown. We are focusing on PG and U because our childrens film is aimed at 8 year olds and under.

Back to the future storyboard write up.

Watching the opening sequence for Back to the Future and drawing the storyboard, made me see what things were important to make a good opening sequence for a film and to give the viewer and idea of what the film is like. For example all the clocks suggest that it may have something to do with time, then the newspaper article cutouts show professors then objects like the radio, tv and toaster start turning on, on their own as well as the can opening machine that looks invented, this may suggest that there is some kind of profeesor/ inventer and likes to experiment and make contraptions..
This has helped me so that I understand what I have to do for my coursework in order to get good marks and include the right information.

Write up for opening sequence inspiration

There were lots of opening sequences, I watched that gave me inspiration, they were all different and all made me want to carry on watching, which I think is a very important aspect you need to consider when planning a opening sequence. You need to attract and interest the viewer without giving too much informationa bout the film away, otherwise they will therefore not watch the rest of the film.
One childrens opening sequence from a kids tv programme was '64 Zoo Lane' the reason we chose this to put on our blog was because it first introduced the main character and where she lived (the settting) then came the other characters were introduced with credits, the clips of each character gave away a bit about their characteristics/personality. This is what we are kind of aiming for..
Another example we found was the opening sequence of 'Balamory' a cbeebies childs programme, this too introduces each character with lyrics that told us a bit about them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiHxJPgvT-8

Josh's Evaluating Homework.

'Back to the Future' Storyboarding Lesson.


In this lesson we studied the opening sequence of 'Back to the Future' and were expected to take notes on the shot types, sound and character movement. We were then told to take what we had just noted, and create our own 'Back to the Future' storyboard. In this storyboard we included all the main features of what would be on screen if we were making the film, we included clocks, photographs, the bed, the inventions and the television. We accompanied the images with brief notations, giving additional information about the scene which wasn't included in the picture. The idea of a story board is to pre-visualize a motion picture before any filming has taken place. 


BBFC Session Evaluation.
Within our BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) lesson we learnt what you are and are not allowed to include in U and PG films. As they are intended for children there are strict rules on sex, alcohol and references to narcotics. The rules for a PG are looser than U but they're still very limited to what content they can include, in a PG references to narcotics must carry a strict anti-drug message similarly sexual activity can be implied but not shown. These concepts are vital for our work as we now know what we can and can't use in our children's film.  


Casper the Friendly Ghost - Ghost of the Town
Casper the friendly ghosts was a childrens cartoon that recently celebrated it's 60th anniversary. Created by Seymour Reit in 1939 it continued to be a childrens favorite.

Emily's Evaluating Homework

Back To The Future StoryBoard Evaluation
Within the lesson, we were asked to watch and analyse the opening sequence of 'Back To The Future' we were expected to take notes on the detail within the sequence to be able to turn it into a storyboard. Story Boards are used before every film that is produced and before any sequence for planning etc. Storyboards include detailed information in the form of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence. Instead of using the usual format for story boards, with single squares, we infact used an idea of time format, but each individually laid out. Our story board includes all of the main aspects of the opening sequence to 'Back To The Future' which relate to the following film, Such as, Clocks, Inventors Photographs, Inventions that the main character has made and also the hints as to that he has stolen the missing plutonium. By using storyboards this will help us in the future with desiging our coursework ideas such as our childrens film and music video as it will provide guidance for pre-visulisation.

BBFC Session Evaluation
Within this lesson, we were researching PG and U film descriptions and what they are alowed to include within their films. For obvious reasons, films that are intended to be viewed by children are going to have stricter rules. In a PG film, you could have rules included such as 'no sexual content', drug content must carry a suitable anti-drug reference, and if children can identify discrimination then the film will be unacceptable. This is important for us to know because when we come to making our childrens film, we should be able to identify what is suitable and what is not to be previewed infront of infants.

Wallace & Gromit - A Matter of Loaf and Death
A Matter of Loaf and Death is an animated television short created by Nick Park, and the fourth of his shorts to star his characters Wallace and Gromit. Filming for A Matter of Loaf and Death began in January 2008. This was the first Aardman film to be made using the software Stop Motion Pro. Five models were created for Gromit alone, with scenes being shot simultaneously on thirteen sets. The short aired in the UK on Christmas Day at 20:30 2008 on BBC One.


This is the trailer for 'A Matter of Loaf and Death'

Another video that we have gained inspiration from

Final Chracters For Childrens Film

Back for childrens film

This is our back ground that we intend to use for out children's film. Brodie Drew all of the back ground but when we got to college we discovered that it would not be dark enough to show up on the camera sufficiently so Josh coloured it all in using felt tip pen to give it a more block colour effect.

Character names for our childrens film

Credits for Our Childrens film

         

These are going to be the characters that we intend to use throughout our film.
As you can see i tested both felt tip and coloured pencil and i personally believe that the coloured pencil is better quality as the felt tip pen is very 'block colour' effect.

We are basing our background on this setting, graveyard with castle/church. this is a place you'd most likely to be scared or find scary characters.

Inspiration For Childrens Film

Inspiration for our children's film, we chose this because we liked the idea of the way they introduce the characters, it gives the audience a sense of their personality.. Its funny and appropriate for our target audience.

National Treasure

PG films

Brodie (:

Homework, Nania..

The very start of the film there is a war going on so it is action/adventure set in quite away back during world war 2, I can tell this from the warship planes that are dropping bombs, it starts loud with a lot of action going on. Also by the clothes thats they are wearing and the style of their house plus they are quite well spoken. As a result of the war they have to evacuate and move to a different area, the music and sound then becomes softer and sad as they leave thier Mum and travel further and further on the train they become more worried and upset when they see children being rejected by new carers when they see the looks on their faces. They fear they will be outcasts and have no fun.
The impression i get on the characters is that the oldest boy, Peter has to look after the other 3 and is like a father as their Dad has gone to war, the next is Susan she is sort of like a Mum and be sensitive and comfot them all, then Edmund he seems to disagree with his siblings and is quite vulnerable, Finally Lucy, she is quite caring and worried about things, she is the youngest and is intreeged by everything and brings about the mysterious. 

Mysterious music is played when Lucy enters the wardrobe and there is then a sense of uncertainty and becomes scary when the strange legs walk across the screen creeping up on her, but then once they take a look they see that its not so bad and become friends this is shown by their facial expressions in a close up shot and also one of them holding hands meeting eachother, there is then a use of ...................... in conversation..

The guy that Lucy meets, Mr.Thomlus seems scary at first but then they become friends and he takes her away to his place, but then again seems a bit weiry and cautious acting strange by locking the door and playing a weird tune almost hyptnotysing her, the music is very mysterious and becomes louder and scary, it builds up and suddenly drops and lights all go out..he then seems vulnerable and upset that he has betrayed her..

Emily's Elf Opening Sequence Analysis

Elf – Opening Sequence Analysis
By Emily Blatchford

This film uses actors and several CGI animations alongside them. The film ‘Elf’ has a genre of adventure but also contains a little mystery, which will automatically appeal more to the target market of children as they are able to follow a story and make guesses as to what will occur within the storyline. From the viewers position the opening sequence introduces a large amount of the narrative which provides us with plenty of information about the story line. The automatic engagement of the audience from the introduction of the film is very effective, especially on children because it is filmed in a storytelling fashion. The characters are made to seem a happy and friendly because this will help to make the children feel comfortable right from the beginning of the film. I would describe the atmosphere as happy, fun, and cheerful because from the very first shot you can tell that the film is going to be a pleasing one. The music helps to create an atmosphere by using its christmasy use of bells along with an additional jolly tune. The first scene is of an animated book which dissolves from the title screen ready to be opened revealing the storyline to the film. Continuity editing is certainly used in the first sequence of shots and it is very smooth with sharp, clean cuts. The transitions from shot to shot are almost un-recognisable because they are so quick and well edited. Most of the sequence uses linear editing up until the point where the clip changes and goes back in time, this shows a possible distortion effect, however the order of events is still very clear to the viewer because of the storytelling aspect, which makes it more understandable. The atmosphere is most definitely set thanks to the non-diagetic sound  that is played throughout, which gives a light hearted feel as it gives clues towards the narrative, and helps to set the scene. There are many special effects used at the beginning of the opening sequence that include CGI, this contributes so much to the quality of the whole film and makes it more enjoyable and appealing to the viewers. All of the shots used are extremely complex yet effortless making the sequence flow easily.  The opening sequence to the film ‘Elf’ is an excellent one as it clearly introduces the narrative and sets the scene for the film. The way in which so many shots have been included in such a short space of time has been exceptionally cleverly edited which creates a fast pace and makes the clip flow extraordinarily well. The music which was used conotates Christmas and this sets the atmosphere for the film excellently. I believe that from the clip I have analysed, this film would appeal to all children and seems to be a typical children’s film.

back tot the future story board

Back to the future story board

Prelim Task

We as a group were asked to make a film that included several shots that we had learned about in the previous introductory lessons. These shots included; 180degree Rule, Shot Reverse Shot and Match On Action. 

 We encountered some problems when it came to editing as we realised we were missing a few clips. We don't think we transferred them from the camera to the computer with the rest of the clips, so we are missing a couple.

We demonstrated all three of the editing shot order techniques such as Match on Action, Shot Reverse Shot and 180degree Rule. The only transitions we used were Cuts, and we used the original sound. We didn't demonstrate any over-layed audio, or any editing techniques.

By completing this task, we as a group will gain help from the resources used, such as; the use of the camera and the use of final cut to edit our final presentations. This will help us when we come to do our coursework as we will already know how to use the equipment and we will be able to produce better quality work as we now have the knowledge needed.