Film Treatment

Film Treatment

My group: Me & Ellie. M

Set in one of London’s poorest boroughs the story follows an ambitious but socially inadequate young teenage girl. Secluded from society at school and bullied by an abusive alcoholic father, this young girl feels trapped and lonely until she soon finds someone just like her. The story follows their relationship and the struggles the two teenagers face. So far we have come to three possible titles “Winds of Desire” “Days of December” and “Fates Tricky Methods”. The location in which we shall shoot for this will possibly be on a council estate, in Tottenham, Seven Sisters, and Hackney Downs or if this proves a difficulty a council estate closer to home and more accessible. We haven’t yet chosen what music we wish to use but it will possibly be a contrast in rock/indie and urban/hip-hop to show a contrast in the character and the society of her home. Films we have been inspired by are; Submarine, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Adulthood, Kidulthood and Fish Tank. Each of these films shares common themes that are presented in our film. To convey these themes in our film opening we should include similar locations, music and types of acting. There are not many props that we require for the film opening. The actress in this should dress contrastingly to the majority of people in the location (i.e. Chavs,) this will give the audience the sense that she doesn’t belong here and wants to differ herself from the community

 

Film Opening Sequence Analysis Using the style of Art of the Title

Film Opening Sequence Analysis Using the style of Art of the Title

six feet under




The use of shots in the title sequence of Six Feet under is specifically chosen to represent what the film is about. This gives the audience an understanding of what is to come but without giving away too much. The title ‘Six Feet Under’ suggest the story is about death, the 9 screen shots match this theme and show different aspects of death. Each shot doesn’t reflect main characters or storylines but shows the most common theme that appears throughout the film. In every shot there is also a lot of space between the foreground and background, this makes the title sequence not too hard to watch but quite gentle and easing as opposed to high contrasting, flashing bright busy images. The title sequence uses iconography to portray the themes of the film giving a clear yet uncertain idea of what to expect from the film.

FIRST SHOT:

The first shot is a low angle shot looking at the sky this doesn’t immediately tell the audience what the film is about but it does however give a sense of solitude and loneliness ad there is only one bird in flight as opposed to a flock. It appears that the bird is actually a crow which is a symbolic image that represents death staying to the theme of the film. In this shot it also includes the name of the lead actor/actress.

SECOND SHOT:

The second shot is more symbolic of life and death and the distances between people that death brings. It shows a hand grasping for another hand, (symbolising perhaps someone grasping for life) in between the ands is a tree. This isn’t significant at the moment but will soon become a clear logo of the film in future shots. The use of colour in this shot also highlights depression and darkness that is brought with death. In this shot it also includes the name of the lead actor/actress.

THIRD SHOT:

In the third shot the representation of death is more clearly shown compared to previous shots. It is the foot of a dead body with a tag; the location is a morgue which is another symbol of death. This shot tells the audience more clearly that the most common theme throughout the film will be death. In this shot it also includes the name of the lead actor/actress.

FOURTH SHOT:

The forth shot in the sequence is of the wheels of a hospital bed, this is another shot that can be clearly identified as being a symbol of death/illness giving a clear representation of the films main theme. The shot doesn’t include any major story lines or anything about the characters; it does however include a name of an actor from the film. 

FIFTH SHOT

In the fifth shot of the title sequence, like the previous shots it focuses on different aspects of death and illness. This time it is of an actual dead body in a morgue and gives an even clearer idea of what the film is about. By having a shot of the dead body as the middle shot it allows the audience to understand what the theme through the film is, if they hadn’t figured it out yet. The body in the shot isn’t centre but is lower in the screen making the focus of the shot the credits which are contrasted against a pale background. 

SIXTH SHOT

In the sixth shot, it also stays to theme of showing different aspects of death. This shot is a hand clasping another hand perhaps at a funeral. This is showing the pain and emotion that is felt when losing someone you love. This shot focuses on a different aspect of death compared to the other shots, showing that the film will also be dealing with the emotion and pain felt by family members and friends of the diseased. In this shot it also includes the credits of producer as opposed to previous shots which included names of actors/actresses. 

SEVENTH SHOT

The seventh shot in the title sequences is darker compared to the other shots. It shows a dark creature climbing onto someone’s bed; this could represent ‘Death’ taking his victim. This can be seen as the creature is hidden from behind its hair. This could also show the darkness and evil that is thought when a loved one is taken. The title sequence is starting to show darker aspects to death as compared to the shots before which was more emotional and showed lighter aspects. In the shot it also includes credits to the crew members.

EIGHTH SHOT

In the eight shot of the title sequence it shows a gravestone in a cemetery with no name, however on the grave stone there is the name of the director, this indicates it is one of the last shots of the sequence as the director always ends the credit list. The grave stone is one of the most symbolic and iconic use of representation to portray death. This is why it is the last shot in the sequence. The shot is also in sepia compared to previous shots which are in colour with low saturation, all these factors show the emotion and depression that is caused by death

NINETH SHOT

In the very last shot of the title sequence is the name of the film, with the tree seen at the beginning of the title sequence. Below the tree is where the title is located almost like a coffin under the ground, this is also showing the audience what the theme of the film is. The ninth shot is edited in low saturation, high contrast but still in full colour.

Preliminary Exercise Evaluation

Preliminary Exercise Evaluation

For this task is was in a group of three; Me, Beth Grey and Dan Greenall. We created a short scene using; Hollywood editing, shot reverse shot, count down to filming, hyperealism, rule of thirds and match on match action. all of which are vital to creating a piece of work that flows and doesn't look unprofessional. 

Overall I believe we did a good job of our preliminary exercise even though we made a few mistakes we were able to recognise these and change them when we film our film opening. We correctly used all the necessary techniques, however one of the rules we had forgot to apply was the 180 degree rule, which means you are not allowed to film over the 180 degree line, we did this, it wasn't that noticable but we will remember not to do it in future as it did make our work look a little strange for some of the shots. we used hyperrealism when the door was closed as we moved onto a different shot which didn't include the door slamming so we edited in. this made our work flow, this is also match on match action with sound as it carried on through the shots.Apart from them all the other shots were steady, and used appropriate camera angles. The editing worked well and the whole piece ran through smoothly. The scene ran for exactly 30 seconds which it was the required time, we cut each shot precisely so that the the entire piece would run over no more that 30 seconds and no less. One shot that I believe we did well during editing was when one of the characters was walking through the door we filmed them walking, and then them opening the door and then them coming through the door and another shot of them walking across the room. this was all edited well as the shots were time correctly and we used match on match action to ensure the shots flowed smoothly. most of the sound according to plan there was some loud background noise and and some extra noised caused by chairs and footsteps that were not wanted however it wasn't noticeable and made the piece look realistic. we used bridging to overlap the sound from one scene to another to make them flow. If we had more time for this exercise we would have shot the shots with unwanted sound again.there was also silence in some shot where we used slow motion however the absence of sound worked as it builds tension before Dan spills the dirt and crumbles. 
Overall i believe our preliminary exercise was good as we used most of the required techniques and showed a clear understanding of editing..

Preliminary Exercise final cut

Preliminary Exercise final cut

This is our final cut...

Shooting for our Prelimary Exercise!

Shooting for our Prelimary Exercise!

My Group: Me, Bethan Gray and Dan Greenall



Beth filming for our preliminary exercise with Dan (left) and me acting (right).

Hey fellow bloggers!!Today we filmed for our prelimary exam, we filmed a short scene soon to be edited. Our short scen envolves a girl wo has discovered her boyfriend has cheated on her, we tried to build tension with the use of shots and close ups. When it comes to editing our short scene we will use hollywood editing and hyperrealism. This will make our scene look professional as they some of the many techniques used in the film industry. Some of the other skills and technique swe have used far are:

1. Shot reverse shot
2. Hollywood editing
3. Count down to filming
4. 180 degree rule
5. Hyperealism
6. Rule of thirds
7. Match on match action

The name of the different shots we user are:

1. Point of View Shot
2. Over the shoulder shot
3. low angle shot
4. high angle shot
5. tracking shot
6. extreme close up shot
7. close up shot

The software we will be using to edit our short scene will be Adobe Premiere Software, we will be using to shote we filmed yesterday and add the extra sound effects and change speed/duration. If we wish to we may also had some music to the scene to give the scene a polished finsih.