Wednesday, 7 July 2010

Evaluation

After finishing my project I found out that the things that went well was completing my paperwork on time. I found out that this really helped in getting me organised onto the next stage of what I was doing, e.g. the filming. This also helped when I was looking for ideas. Also I thought that the filming itself went well because I was more focused then I had been in previous attempts on other projects that I was filming. I enjoyed filming this subject matter because it was light-hearted and more fun. The other thing that went well was the editing. I found that as soon as I had uploaded the footage I knew how I wanted the final product to look. This was easer to accomplish because I am now familiar with using the Mac computers and the editing software, so it minimised my time because I knew what I was doing. I thought that the effects that I did use were appropriate.

The things that didn’t work too well was the filming itself; although the filming itself was good, I did not get the time to film everything I needed to get, because I did not manage my time as well as I could have. Also I missed a few lessons in the Mac room, which meant that I could not begin to upload the footage that I needed to edit, and this also wasted more time. The editing on the visual side was good however, I did not realise how shaky the camera was because of the effect I wanted to use (blurred) and it was a little bit nauseating to watch for too long! But the main problem I had was with the audio of the video. I did get all of the original audio off of the footage, but I really struggled wit timing to get the audio that I had planned onto the video.

The equipment that I used worked well. I did not need a tripod because I as doing all of the shooting holding the camera. This did hurt my arms after a while though. Fortunately the camera I was sing was not heavy and it was quite compact and small which was ideal for the shots I was trying to accomplish.

The locations were a little bit more tricky, a lot of pubs were slightly uncomfortable with filming but in the end I went to the swan in Crawley, it had the correct atmosphere (slightly old looking) and it was an advantage that knew that landlord, they also helped with props, by bringing empty glasses and crisp packets onto the table I as filming at. Without this I don’t think it would have looked as realistic.

The people that were going to be extras in my film unfortunately were not able to help me they did have their own deadlines to meet, however I had two other students who went with me to be in my video, and the other people at the pub were quite comfortable with me filming them, I think that this also made it more realistic because there was a mix of ages and it was closer to a real life situation.

I really think that if I had managed my time better I would have had a more professional finished product, but I am now more confident in that I do when I film and edit.

Monday, 17 May 2010

diary

Lesson 1

In today's lesson I started on the pre-production work.

I began drawing up the first draft of my storyboard and then doing the storyboard in a neater copy, so it was easier to understand. I was also thinking about what was possible to shoot and what would be more difficult.

lesson 2

I was absent for the second pre-production lesson so I will now have to go into my filming time to complete my pre-production work.

lesson 3

At the beginning of the lesson, I was still not prepared to start filming so I started on my paperwork, I managed to get my storyboard done so that I had an idea of the different shots that I was supposed to be doing.

lesson 4

After completing most of my paperwork for my pre-production I thought that I would complete the rest of my paperwork in this lesson because I am utilising my time and trying to catch up. I also am going to decide which pub to film in today.

In today's lesson also I wrote out my script.

lesson 5

In today's lesson I booked out the camera that I was going to use. I also decided that I would film the last part of my video first because it is easier to do and I don't have the rest of the crew in to help me film.

Lesson 6

today's lesson I filmed most of my scenes and I think that it went quite well. I do think that I will not need to do a lot of post production work on the video.

Lesson 7

In today's lesson I found out that left my tape with the footage on it at home. This has now set me back and I am eating into my editing time. This means that I will not be able to do as much editing as I would have hoped to do and the footage is not as long as I would have liked. However I think that I can still make a good video out of it, but it will not be as long and as polished as I would have hoped.

Lesson 8

In this lesson I finally had the chance to upload all of my footage onto Imovie HD and as I was looking through my footage I realised that I did not have all of the shots I needed, however as I was editing it, I found out that I didn't actually need the additional shots. As I began to edit I found that some of the angles were good and others could not be used, but I managed to get my video down to 2mins 17 secs, and I also added some effects and transitions. I still need to do some more editing on it, mainly on the audio front.

Lesson 9

In today's lesson I carried on editing my footage, which is looking more like an actual video. I got rid of the original audio of the video and tried to find something suitable for the soundtrack on garage band, however to no avail. I have now realised that I may not be able to get the voice over that I wanted because my deadline is in a few days and I have not finished editing the visual yet. If I cannot complete the voice over then I shall change the idea into a music video. I think that the content is fitting for the right type of song, and although it is not my primary choice of audio, it is better then having a silent video.

Friday, 14 May 2010

SWOT analasys

Strengths:

What do you do well?

What unique resources can you draw on?

What do others see as your strengths?

Weaknesses:

What could you improve?

Where do you have fewer resources than others?

What are others likely to see as weaknesses?

I think that the strengths that I do well are organizing and planning, also writing.

The unique resources I can draw on are the colleges equipment and my ability to work long hours.

Others say that I do work very quickly.

I could improve on the scattyness of my ideas and work.

I have fever recourses then others because I do not have access to any communications e.g. TV, internet, radio at my home.

Others say my weaknesses are that I am easily distracted.

Opportunities:

What good opportunities are open to you?

What trends could you take advantage of?

How can you turn your strengths into opportunities?

Threats:

What trends could harm you?

What is your competition doing?

What threats do your weaknesses expose you to?

The opportunities that are open to me are that I could keep the video that I make and upload it onto viral sites.

I would take advantage of the trends in the comedy and the upsurge in short films at the moment.

I could turn my strengths into opportunities by maximizing the hours that a I work on projects and time management

The trends that would harm me are the amount of short films on the market mine would have to really stand out.

My competition is doing some styles of comedy that I would use.

The threats that my weaknesses expose to me are that because I am easily distracted I find it difficult to pick up where I left off so I may loose the thread. Also It could be seen as a threat if I could not have access to see my competition.

Wednesday, 28 April 2010

Research

A list of the videos I looked at;

  • peep show
  • Dead ringers
  • Shameless
  • The Inbetweeners
  • the wrong door
  • 2 pints of lager & a packet of crisps

Common Features

The common features of these videos is the subject, the humor and that they are all sitcoms, however with Dead Ringers and The Wrong Door there isn't as much as an emphasis on the plot, so you could watch only a few episodes of it and still understand the gist of what’s going on.

With Shameless, The Inbetweeners, Peep Show and 2 Pints of Larger And A Packet Of Crisps, they are sit-com's and you follow the characters throughout the episodes, each of these programs have had a minimum of 3 series.

Genre Overview

The genre overview of these is;

Comedy - there is a big emphasis on the different types of comedy, but all of these have this similar trait. Also they are all British produced. The genre of the different programs is also surrounding human life and all of the mishaps that go with it, this is then turned into something humorous, e.g. dark comedy.


Elements that I might borrow for my research
examples

The elements that I might and probably will use/borrow for my research is;

2 pints of lager and a packet of crisps - I will use the location (in a pub) for my idea and where to film in.

Shameless - I would like to use the excessive amount of alcohol consumed, but only loosely in my video, to demonstrate the meaning to my video.

Dead ringers - Although dead ringers is a sketch show, the humor alone is more witty and intelligent, therefore I would like to use a similar style of comedy, however I want to steer clear of making fun out of public figures.

The inbetweeners - The Inbetweeners is about college students who are not legally able to drink and I don’t want to use that because that is not the point, but I would like to use the different scenarios idea, for example I would use the mishaps that they encounter and the scruples that they face as part of my video

Peep show - With peep show there is only a few ideas that I would use from it and that would be the way it is shot. So the audience is looking directly though the characters eye. I think that this would work very well for my video and I also like that way that you don’t actually see the character. I would like to use this idea in my video.

Monday, 26 April 2010

styles of filming research

Being John Malkovich

http://1000filma.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/being_john_malkovich_poster.jpg
Being John Malkovich is a 1999 American comic fantasy film written by Charlie Kaufman and directed by Spike Jonze. It stars John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener, and John Malkovich, who plays a fictionalized version of himself. The film depicts Craig Schwartz (Cusack), a puppeteer who finds a small portal that leads into the mind of actor John Malkovich (Malkovich).

The plot brings to the forefront several issues in modern philosophy of mind, such as the nature of self and consciousness, the mind-body dichotomy, and sensory perception.

Since its release, the film has become a cult classic.

research

after looking into different types of genres styles and subjects, i have come up with an idea that i will be making into a 3 min film.

genre
the genre of the film will be comedy mixed with the darker underlining message that i want to convey.

style
the style of the film is going to be very similar to the voiceover on e4 and a point of view/fly on the wall type of filming.

subject
the subject is about on young adult with friends drinking at a pub getting more and more drunk, the camera only looks through the eyes of the unnamed character, and the voiceover is of the characters consience telling them what they should be doing.

Research Channels

BBC3

The channel is aimed at 15-34 year olds, and competes with other digital channels including ITV2 and E4.

In 2008 it reached 26.3% of 16-34 year olds in digital homes — the channel's highest ever such reach and above that of E4, ITV2, Dave and Sky One.

Meanwhile, Its share of the audience during its transmission hours is 2.6% among 15-34 year olds, and 1.7% among all individuals. BARB, the official ratings agency, averages out BBC Three's viewing figures over 24 hours even though the channel only broadcasts in the evening, giving a distorted sense of the channel's viewership. Despite several official complaints from the BBC, BARB continues to publish figures which the BBC argues are unrepresentative. Nine million people watch BBC Three every week.




(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_Three)

Dave

Dave (formerly UKTV G2) is a television channel broadcasting in the United Kingdom and Ireland and is owned by UKTV.

The channel is available on Satellite, Cable, IPTV and Freeview platforms. A timeshift service with the name Dave ja vu (a play on the phrase déjà vu) is available on the Virgin Media, Sky Digital and Freeview platforms. It was originally called Dave+1, and launched on Freeview on 22 January 2009 under this name. However, it was renamed on 24 February 2009, to "strengthen the brand's positioning as the home of witty banter." This service launched on 1 November 2004 with the name UKTV G2 +1. At first UKTV G2+1 timeshared with UKTV Bright Ideas meaning it broadcast from 6:00am to 6:00pm.

The output of the channel is mainly comedy from the BBC with some shows produced inhouse. A fair amount is similar to the comedy output of UK Play/Play UK before that channel's closure.

Some shows available on Dave include Mock the Week, Top Gear, Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, Red Dwarf, Bottom, Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, QI, Have I Got News for You, The Catherine Tate Show, "World Rally", Whose Line Is It Anyway? and Little Britain.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_(TV_channel))

E4

E4 is a digital television channel in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, launched as a pay-TV companion to Channel 4 on 18 January 2001. The "E" stands for entertainment, and the channel is mainly aimed at the lucrative 15 - 35 age group. Programming includes US imports such as Friends, The O.C., Smallville, Veronica Mars, The Cleveland Show, Glee, The Sopranos, What About Brian?, Desperate Housewives, 90210, Gilmore Girls, One Tree Hill, Scrubs, and British shows such as Shameless, Hollyoaks, Skins, The Inbetweeners and Misfits. Some of the imports, e.g. Desperate Housewives and Ugly Betty are screened on E4 up to one week ahead of their Channel 4 broadcasts. Its most successful broadcast to date was on 9 January 2003 when an episode of the hit U.S. series Friends pulled in over 2.4 million viewers. E4 uses the voiceover of Peter Dickson to advertise its programmes.

E4 has become somewhat notorious for its strange promotion campaigns, initially narrated by the infamous ‘voice of E4’, the late Patrick Allen. Since Allen's death in 2006, the similar voice of Peter Dickson has been used. Trailers often make use of dry humour and phrases which, at first, do not appear to make any sense. Past examples include:

  • “Big shiny films in your dinky little home!”
  • "Coming To You, Straight into Your Telly Box"
  • “Second chance Sunday — not just a bunch of repeats, honest”

    Programme trailers sometimes have the narrator repeating things that characters have said, such as, in a trailer for Ugly Betty that includes one character asking Betty "Why are you crying in the bathroom?", the narrator immediately asks "Why is Betty crying in the bathroom?!". And on another occasion he says "Oh No! Kerry Katona must be double booked." commenting on a cameo by Victoria Beckham. Sometimes the narrator appears to interact with the characters of the programme, especially notable in recent trailers for Miss Match and What About Brian.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E4)

Wednesday, 21 April 2010

research

looking at the relevant styles of film;

I thought that it would be a good idea If I looked into the style of filming that I wanted to do and use what is already been made to get inspiration in my own work.

I like the idea of having a sort of conscience style of film, as in it is not the character that is speaking, but the narrative is by the characters conscience or an inanimate object in different scenarios.

I think that I will look into the different videos/sketches that have a similar theme to this, also I think that I would benefit from looking at the dry satirical humour that I may be using.

Coming of Age



Coming of Age is a British situation comedy written by Tim Dawson produced in house by BBC Productions and aired on BBC Three. The show takes a direct look at five sixth form students, Jas, Ollie, Matt, Chloe and DK, who are living in Abingdon. Their lives rotate around the fictional Wooton College, their bedrooms, and as they're always getting thrown out of the local pub, Ollie's garden shed. A pilot was originally aired in 2007, followed by the first series in 2008 and a second in 2010.

Coming of Age is set in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. Elements are filmed on location in Abingdon with the exterior of Wooton College being the Cassio campus of West Herts College in Watford. Most of the show however is filmed in front of a live studio audience at BBC Elstree studios.

There have been 15 episodes of Coming of Age broadcast so far. There are number of differences between the pilot and the subsequent series. Most notably, Alex Kew and Amy Yamazaki, who played Ollie and Jas in the pilot, have been replaced by Ceri Phillips and Hannah Job. Also, Dani Harmer originally played Chloe, but was replaced by Anabel Barnston. As well as new sets, the theme tune also changed, from "Steady, As She Goes" by The Raconteurs to a specially written piece by Birmingham band Kate Goes and Richie Webb.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coming_of_Age_(BBC_TV_series))

2 Pints of Lager And A packet Of Crisps



Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps is a BBC sitcom created and written by Susan Nickson. It is set in the town of Runcorn in Cheshire, England, and revolves around the lives of five twenty-somethings. The show was first broadcast in 2001 on BBC Two; its final episodes to date were two special episodes shown in December 2009.

Although Two Pints is largely comedy, it sometimes, especially at the end of a series, becomes more dramatic and serious. Such storylines have included Janet and Jonny's split, Jonny's shooting and Janet's imminent departure as a cruise singer.

Will Mellor has described the show as being "driven by sex and alcohol" and the show is known for its adult, sometimes scatological humour, mostly involving references to sex and private bodily functions. Vulgar language is also used, except that the word 'fuck' is uttered only in the last episode of each series.

BBC Two broadcast the first series, BBC Choice screened series two but was re branded as BBC Three shortly before it screened series three, and has shown the first run of each new series ever since. BBC Two also repeated the show, though only once, previously shown every Thursday.

Series four ended with Jonny being shot by armed police, and viewers were asked to vote, by text or phone, on Jonny's fate. Series five began with a funeral, which was revealed to be that of Donna's mother, Flo.

The Archer is The Waterloo pub at 88 High Street in the Old Town area of Runcorn, near the canal, and for the series is renamed after the series first script editor, Paul Mayhew-Archer, who was later replaced by Jon Brown. The Waterloo is only used for the exterior shots whereas the interiors are recorded in the studio at BBC Television Centre in London.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_Pints_of_Lager_and_a_Packet_of_Crisps)


The Wrong Door



The Wrong Door is a comedy sketch show, first aired on BBC Three on 28 August 2008. The programme is the first comedy show in which almost all of the sketches have a CGI element. As such, it was produced under the working title of The CGI Sketch Show The show also contains strong language, adult humour and toilet humour.

(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wrong_Door)

Shameless



Shameless is a BAFTA award-winning British drama television series set in the fictional Chatsworth council estate, Manchester, England. Produced by Company Pictures for Channel 4, the first seven-episode series aired weekly on Tuesday nights at 10pm from 13 January 2004. The comedy drama, centred on British underclass and working class culture, has been accorded critical acclaim by various sections of the British media, including The Sun newspaper and Newsnight Review on BBC Two. Shameless is one of the most successful recent British TV programmes.

The programme was created and, at least initially, mainly written by Paul Abbott, who is also the programme's executive producer. Much of the series is based on Abbott's own experiences growing up in Burnley in a situation similar to that of the Gallagher children.

Shameless is noted for having a style very different from other British comedies. A "moving camera" shooting technique (employing few masks or filters) is employed. The show’s interiors are filmed on staged sets and occasionally on location. The music is composed by Murray Gold.

Each episode begins and ends with a narrative voice-over by one of the characters highlighting the themes of the episode. The opening and closing voiceovers are often humorous in nature, as the point of the episode has already been shown.

The commentator of each episode is normally the one on whom the plot focuses. This was much more prominent in the first two series, where a plot revolving around one character would normally prevent any other prominent sub-plots involving other characters; in series three, co-abiding plots revolving around different characters are more common. However, unlike many shows, these plots are not entirely separate and the plots always support each other to the episodes' conclusions.

(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shameless)

Dead Ringers



Dead Ringers is a UK radio and television comedy impressions broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and later BBC Two. The programme was devised by producer Bill Dare and developed with Jon Holmes, Andy Hurst and Simon Blackwell. It starred Jon Culshaw, Jan Ravens, Phil Cornwell, Kevin Connelly and Mark Perry. The principal writers are Tom Jamieson and Nev Fountain. Other writers have included Simon Blackwell, Jon Culshaw, Jan Ravens, John Finnemore, David Mitchell, Richard Ward, Jonathan Morris, Colin Birch, Carl Carter and Tony Cooke. It was revealed by star Jan Ravens that the BBC quietly cancelled the television run in 2007 after five years of broadcast.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Ringers_(comedy))

The Inbetweeners



The Inbetweeners is a BAFTA-nominated English sitcom about a group of teenage friends struggling through sixth form at school. Written by Damon Beesley and Iain Morris, the show was originally produced for the digital terrestrial television channel E4.[4] E4 originally aired the first series in May 2008, and Channel 4 also broadcast it in November that year. The series, set in a typical suburb of outer London, follows Will (Simon Bird), who left a private school to go to Rudge Park Comprehensive due to his recently divorced mother's financial troubles.

Joe McNally, writing for The Independent, commends an "exquisitely accurate dialogue, capturing the feel of adolescence perfectly" and Will Dean of The Guardian comments that the show "captures the pathetic sixth-form male experience quite splendidly".

The series is often contrasted with E4's successful Teen drama, Skins, commentators noting that The Inbetweeners satirises what teenage years are more frequently like rather than what you would wish them to be.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Inbetweeners)

Peep Show
http://wikicomic.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/peepshows1.jpg
Peep Show is a British situation comedy starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb. The programme is written by Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain, with additional material by Mitchell and Webb themselves, amongst others. It has been broadcast on Channel 4 since 2003, with the sixth series aired in 2009 and a seventh series commissioned for 2010.[1] Stylistically, the show uses point of view shots with the thoughts of main characters Mark and Jeremy audible as voiceovers.

Peep Show follows the often sexually-frustrated lives of two men in their late twenties and early thirties, Mark Corrigan (Mitchell) and Jeremy Usbourne (Webb). Having met while at the fictional Dartmouth University together - they occasionally refer to themselves as 'The El Dude Brothers' in reference to their student days - they now share a flat in Croydon, South London.

Mark was, from series one until the beginning of series 6, a loan manager at the fictional JLB Credit (JLB Credit entered administration at the start of series 6). Mark is the more financially successful of the two, but is extremely uncomfortable socially and pessimistic about nearly everything. Jeremy, who at the start of the first series has recently split up with his girlfriend Big Suze, now rents Mark's spare room. He usually has a much more optimistic and energetic outlook on the world than Mark, yet his self-proclaimed talent as a musician is yet to be recognised, and he is not as popular or attractive as he would like to think himself.

(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peep_Show_)

Research

different types of comedy

the different types of comedy that I looked into for my idea were;

Dry humour

Deadpan is a form of
comic delivery in which humour is presented without a change in emotion or body language, usually speaking in a casual, monotone or very serious, solemn, matter-of-fact voice and expressing an emotionless, archly insincere or artificially grave demeanor.

dark humour

The purpose of black comedy is to make light of serious and often taboo subject matter, and some comedians use it as a tool for exploring important issues, thus provoking discomfort and serious thought as well as amusement in their audience. Popular themes of the genre include murder, suicide, war, barbarism, drug abuse, terminal illness, domestic violence, insanity, nightmare, disease, racism, disability (both physical and mental), chauvinism, corruption, and crime. By contrast, blue comedy focuses more on crude topics, such as nudity, sex and bodily fluids.

slapstick

Slapstick is a type of comedy involving exaggerated violence and activities which exceed the boundaries of common sense[citation needed]. These exaggerated depictions are often found in children's cartoons, and light film comedies aimed at younger audiences.

(http://www.wikipedia.org/)

examples of comedians;

  • Jack Dee
  • Jimmy Carr
  • Frankie Boyle
  • I think that the type of comedy I am going to lean towards is a satirical type because I think that using a higher brow comedy will give me more of an opportunity to base my video around an actual storyline instead of basing it on humour alone.

    The Inbetweeners | Larks at the Park | E4

    Tuesday, 20 April 2010