Main task Film production logo Reserach and development

Now we could fully get into the task of preparing our film introduction of a genre we in particularly like. I decided to stick with my selected genre of doing a Si-Fi film. I knew it was going to be fairly tricky doing this genre by myself but I was up for a nice challenge and hope I can pull it all off.


Firstly we had to design a production logo for the intro of our film before it starts. We looked at current film producers logo's and made notes about how they fit into specific types of genres. Some key film producers logo's I have looked at some of the key producers logo's such as DreamWorks, Disney and 20th Centaury fox. When I looked at them I found a key link which showed that all of them have dark back grounds with bright lettering to make it stand out more for the audience. However this would not be ideal because my film is quite dark in terms of its genre and by having a light background and lettering it wouldn't be able to enhance its effect in striking fear in the audience


















However one logo stood out which was the Warner brothers logo.


This logo is very interesting because it has two different appearances depending on the film's genre and mood setting. It has bright cheerful colours to show that the film is a happy feeling one and is often a children's film. But when a darker film is shown its appearance becomes much darker and more decayed and less attractive. This contrast shows that this film is more evil and darker if the film producers logo is darker and more sinister appearing. I decided to take this inspiration for my own logo which would be darker and more sinister looking compared to that of the other ones. So with my ideas and research ready I could start on designing my own production logo.

The standard light and brightly coloured logo




The darker for a more sinister feel to the film

Now I could finally start on my own production company logo at the start of my film intro. I decided to take my inspiration from the warner brothers more darker looking logo to enhance the feel of the genre of my film.

As this uses darker colours I decided to go for dark black background but I thought of having just a plain black background wouldn’t be eye catching enough as they have some sort of background detail present as well. Soon I found a black fur coloured background which I selected because it enhanced the effect of the genre and also mentions about what the film is about through the added effect of the black fur of being a Sci-Fi Film.

After this I decided to think of a suitable name for my company, which as first was really difficult as I had no idea on how I could potentially make it look spookier for the viewer’s when the title came up. Soon I came up with a good idea of using my initials JDC as my production company calling it JDCooperation. I decided also to add in the fear factor of the Sci-fi Horror genre by adding 2 eyes into the logo were the O’s would be to increase the feel of the genre as the warner brothers logo did with their darker version

Now I could finally start on my own production company logo at the start of my film intro. I decided to take my inspiration from the warner brothers more darker looking logo to enhance the feel of the genre of my film.

As this uses darker colours I decided to go for dark black background but I thought of having just a plain black background wouldn’t be eye catching enough as they have some sort of background detail present as well. Soon I found a black fur coloured background which I selected because it enhanced the effect of the genre and also mentions about what the film is about through the added effect of the black fur of being a Sci-Fi Film.

After this I decided to think of a suitable name for my company, which as first was really difficult as I had no idea on how I could potentially make it look spookier for the viewer’s when the title came up. Soon I came up with a good idea of using my initials JDC as my production company calling it JDCooperation. I decided also to add in the fear factor of the Sci-fi Horror genre by adding 2 eyes into the logo were the O’s would be to increase the feel of the genre as the warner brothers logo did with their darker version.

The eyes that I used in my production logo

My standard film production logo














My spooked up version for my film intro


Finally after my production logo’s we’re completed I can start forming the basis of how my film opening would be shown, and allow me to start filming it.

 

Film Genre presentation

After we completed our preliminary task we now started to prepare for what our main task was going to be. Firstly we had to perform a presentation about a film genre of our choice and the key elements that define it. For mine presentation I decided to focus on Science fiction films with the Alien subgenre linked back into it. It is also one of my favourite genres too so by knowing some key examples of films around this genre I could get some decent information.

In my first slide I talked about the basic techniques we can find in this type of genre. Normally this genre contains out of this world creatures that often try to kill us. Normally it has very tense moments and a few jump scares during the course of the film to heighten the audiences fear factor. Lastly I mentioned that usually the characters are at conflict between each other as their instinct to survive takes over.

Next I talked about who the target audience was and why it was based on this figure. I explained that I think they should be at least 15 or over because they contain gore, graphic violence and strong horror in some of them. Its also good for this age group because it is full of tense moments, dramatic twists in the story and plenty of action.

After this I talked about how the characters have a key role within this genre. I explained that usually the main character is the one who is followed in the film and usually the one who survives the ordeal at the end of the film. Other key characters found in this genre are ones that are venerable to show the weakness' of individuals in these situations and also feature the opposite of a person or a group of people wanting to kill the creature and show they're the top predator. Normally these characters fall first or are primary targets for the creature, increasing their risk of being killed.

Next I explained about some of the key features within the genre. I mentioned that mostly with this kind of genre not all of the creature is shown on the screen, but rather small detailed sections of it are instead. In some cases the creature may not show its true form at all for example if it was a parasitic creature or shape shifter. However the only time we may see the creature whole is at the end of the film when the main character confronts it.

Next I started to talk about some of the key aspects of the films such as sound, camera work and special effects. For camera work I mentioned that only small close up shots of the creature are shown. Extreme close ups are used just before someone or something is about to be killed by it and low shots or mid-shots are used to what the creature is doing in terms of movement. For special effects I talked about in modern films that mostly SGI is used, but in older films the creature was either animatronic robots or people dressed up. For the gore, fake blood and fake organs were used to further increase the fear factor. With the sound used I explain tense music is used to build up suspense but silence is also used strongly as well. The sounds of the creature are often recordings of people that are then edited to give them a more alien feel. Some of the modern films still o this but its becoming quite rare now.

After this I gave a few good examples of films within this genre both old and new to show a complex evolution of this genre over the years. I then explained my personal views on why this genre was enjoyable for me and why these films are clear examples of what I enjoy in a film. Finally to finish off I showed 2 clips from Si-Fi Alien films, one from The Thing(1982) and Prometheus(2012). However I had to put up a warning on the PowerPoint because the first clip featured a gory and slightly disturbing and distressing scene for some faint hearted viewers, saying that if anyone did not want to watch the clip they could do so.

The Thing clip (1982)

 

 

 

 



Prometheus clip (2012)

 

 

Over all I think this presentation went very well and people now know a lot about the Si-Fi alien genre of films. Below is my link to the PowerPoint and I hope you enjoy it!

 



Prelimanry task filming

Now we could get onto doing our filming task. We had our script and cast ready and all we needed to do now was make the task.

We originally decided to film our task off site in a park so it could add suspense into the scene and make our clip look more interesting for the viewers. However due to lack of timing and not being able to meet up too film the task we decided instead to film it somewhere near the school. We dawned to film it in the small garages near the school to add a feeling to the lives of the people in the area and that its common to find drug dealing in rough areas like these. However although the location was good we soon discovered we had a problem, there was no doors for a character to walk through so we decided instead to film our task outside the school grounds near the sports hall.

We soon found the ideal location to film our task where we could get some good shots of our characters as they came towards each other and exchanged their dialog within the scene. I took pictures of the locations we were going to shoot at before the we started our main filming itself. Here are some of the pictures of where we were going to film.

This was the area where Dan and Tom sit on the bench and exchange their dialogs

 

 

This was the bench which Tom walks up the stairs on the way to the bench

 

 

 

This is the door in the sports hall where Tom walked through at the start of the scene.

 

 



For our filming we would start off in the sports door where our drug dealer, Tom. would walk through the door outside. The camera would be at shoulder height and allow Tom to walk into the shot and then cut once he disappeared outside. This is used to give off a sense of curiosity for the audience as they watch the start of the scene.  Next we decided to film Tom walking up the two sets of stairs to the bench where Dan, the guy who is the innocent person in the film, is waiting for him. We recorded these shots down low so that only his lower legs and feet where visible as he was doing so. This was used to create suspicion about what this guy is doing and why he hasn't had his face shown yet.

In between the two scenes where his feet are shown we see the guy on the bench, Dan, looking in front and behind him and craning his neck as though he is looking for someone. For this shot we used a mid-shot so we could see in full detail what the boy is doing and who he is looking for. We also express his feelings in the shot with body language because by showing his body positioning as well as his facial expressions, it helps capture the characters feelings in a more direct way for the audience as they watch, wondering what is going to happen next.

After the second shot of Tom's feet we decided to use a set of very interesting and composed shots in the scene. The first shot we used was a mixed shot showing a close up of Dan's nervous face in the foreground as the primary focus whilst in the back ground Tom, slightly blurred out, can be seen coming up the last of the steps towards Dan on the bench. We used this shot to capture the nervousness of the Character on the bench in more depth by showing his face in more detail with a closer shot of his face, and with Tom walking in the background it blurred out it gives the audience the understanding of why he's nervous and agitated. After that the next shot was a two shot showing Dan sitting on the bench looking at his feet, then Tom walks on and sits down next to him, fitting the two characters perfectly within the same frame. This shot is used to show the emotions between the two characters, Dan who's low and looking down on the floor and not making eye contact whilst Tom is sat upright and expecting that something is going to happen now he has arrived.

Finally at the end of the clip we show a close up of the two characters as they exchange their lines, Dan, still looking nervous and uneasy looks up quickly and says "have you got the stuff?". Then the camera switches its focus onto Tom using the same shot and replies with "Of course I have" with a slight smirk on his face after he says so before the screen cuts to black ending the scene. These shots are used in a way to signal a cliff-hanger about what is going to happen next and adds interest and curiosity after the scene ends.

Once these clips where complete we edited all the scenes in place and instead of adding music, we added only a Non-Diegetic heart beat sound effect to enhance the suspense further as he the characters meet and exchange their Dialog. However we discovered a key problem as Tom's line at the end of the film was quite that the audience could not hear it very well and we tried to make it louder but this did not work. Eventually we had to end the clip earlier buy cutting out his line so the screen cut to black just before he was about to speak. We also used a wide range of transitions in the clip to build up tension and curiosity even when the shots where changing from one to another.

After weeks of preparing and planning and lots of timing filming our task was completed and here is our finished product in the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxwQhun0Gis