CONSTRUCTION: SELECTING FONTS

When selecting fonts on iMove we had to make sure that they would fit our genre of psychological thrillers. Therefore we felt that our text should be easy to read and quite simple but professional.

Firstly we looked at Footlight MT Light. This is because it looked similar to the one that we had used in our poster and film website. However we felt that this text was too thin and not bold enough for our opening sequence.

Next we tried Arial Hebrew. This was a lot clearer than the previous font however it wasn't what we were looking for, as we had previously looked on The Art of the Title we had a specific look we were going for.

Finally we decided to use Hiragino Kaku Gothic. This because it is easy to read yet isn't a boring font. We feel that the use of having the names of the crew and cast larger makes the titles look more professional like the ones on The Art of the Title. We decided to use a light font colour as our filming is quite dark as we wanted this effect. Therefore each word stands out boldly. 

CONSTRUCTION: FINALISING THE IDENT

We created the ident using iStopmotion and then put the video onto iMovie. I edited this clip by firtsly slowing it down to 45% of its original speed. This is because it needed to be longer. 

I then added a sound track from iLife Effects which is the sound effects and music which comes with iMovie. 

Finally I added text which enters and leaves the screen effectively and makes it look like an ident. This text says 'Hot Air Productions."

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FINAL IDENT

RESEARCH: THE ART OF THE TITLE

Now that we are getting closer to finishing our film, I researched The Art of the Title for ideas on fonts and to discover fonts that professional film openings use.

I have collated my research on a Prezi.

CLICK TO SEE MY PREZI 

CONSTRUCTION: RECORDING THE DOCTORS VOICE OVER

In our lesson we needed to find someone with a suitable voice to record our voice over. We needed a doctors voice therefore we decided to get a drama teacher to do the voice over.

We recorded the voice over straight onto our film, whilst it played so that it was clear where it needed to begin and end. We had to make sure that there were gaps in specific places so that the timing was spot on. The recording of the voice over was successful and it makes the story of our film a lot clearer.

This is what was said in the voice over:

"Mrs March,
We have received back your fertility test results, but I'm afraid its not good news, you are unable to conceive and carry a child naturally. No wait Mrs March! Come back!"

We planned this scrip prior to recording which shows that we have good planning skills and are organised.

CONSTRUCTION: EDITING

After filming additional footage we have decided to edit our film so that it looks more attractive but also so that our film opening time is cut down to the length it should be. 

When editing I used the technique which I used previously called "cut away" editing. This technique is two clips of video put on top of each other and then the opacity is decreased. 

I feel that this footage goes well on top of each other as it suggests that when she opens her filming all of her memories of what she has captured and remembers from war is coming back to her. Although she is only focussing on one image it reminds her of what she saw at war. 

UPDATING MY TRELLO

I have updated my Trello so that I stay up to date with what I have done and what I still need to do. I have managed to move across five things since I have created my Trello which shows that I am up to date with my work and what needs to be done.

CONSTRUCTION: ADDING A SCENE

After watching our film over we felt that it may not be clear to the audience that the protagonist is a war photographer, therefore we have filmed additional footage which makes her profession clear. 

We felt that this filming went well and really brings our film opening together.

I took an image showing the props that we used to film this scene so that it suggests to the audience Susan March's job. The camera suggests that she is a photographer, when we see the label on the folder it becomes clear she is some sort of war photographer working on a documentary for the BBC. All the images inside the folder also suggest this.

CONSTRUCTION: RE FILMING THE GIRL AND HER TOY

Today I filmed an additional scene of the young girl and her toy. We needed to add this footage in as the audience needs to see an instant link between the girl holding the toy and the toy being on barbed wire. Therefore this shows a code of danger, as the little girl seems inseparable from her toy yet they are now separated. The visual code of barbed wire is also very starling for the viewer as this image is usually seen as dangerous and something to be cautious of.


ADD SCREEN SHOT

CONSTRUCTION: RECORDING THE LULLABY

Today in our lesson we have recorded the lullaby of Hush Little Baby which will go on top of our instrumental soundtrack. We went into the schools recording studio which meant that we had a quiet surrounding and it also meant there was an echo. This gave an atmospheric noise to the voice which we though was necessary to create a thriller effect.

Georgina sang the song multiple times to make sure that we had the best one to go onto our film.

CLICK HERE FOR THE SOUND CLOUD

CONSTRUCTION: CREATING OUR IDENT

Today we made our ident using stop frame animation. It consisted of us taking a photo and then moving the hot air balloons up and down as real hot air balloons would. We have finished this part however we will add a title on iMovie, which will be HOT AIR PRODUCTIONS, as we feel this would be more effective. 

I created an Animoto with all the images taken of us whilst we were creating the animation.

CLICK HERE TO SEE MY ANIMOTO



Creating our Ident

UPDATING TWITTER AND FACEBOOK

We have updated our Twitter and Facebook with more tweets and status'. This is so that we keep our followers up to date and promote our own film. We have made status' to create a buzz by doing a countdown. We also added a gallery to show our fans and followers "sneak peek" images of our opening.

We have also written tweets to do the same thing and created a #HushLittleBaby which means that our film can be found by many people and can trend therefore getting us more support. This is a successful way to attract our target audience as they are likely to use Facebook and Twitter regularly. 

CONSTRUCTION: MAKING A TRELLO

In class today I made a Trello to organise all of the tasks that we still need to do to complete our film.

I will move each thing across once it has been completed, into the done column. This will allow me to monitor the work I still need to do and see the achievements I have already made.

CLICK HERE TO SEE MY TRELLO

CONSTRUCTION: THINKING OF A PRODUCTION COMPANY

After I found it challenging to use After Effects we thought that we should think of other ways of making an ident. Therefore we thought of the idea to use stop motion animation to make ours.

We decided that we could use some wrapping paper with images of hot air balloons on. We would cut out one of these images and capture them moving. The name of our production company would be Hot Air, as this is what keeps the air balloons afloat and also suggests that we are what makes our film good.

CONSTRUCTION: FEEDBACK

We decided that because we were close to the ending of our film that we should ask another student for feedback. We got a small focus group to watch our film twice through to give us their opinion on what is good and bad about our opening. The good points were:

• The filming is successful with different camera movement.
• The narrative is clear due to the successful editing.
• The music went well with the filming to create suspense.

The points which she suggested we improved were:

• Add sound effects of guns over the war photography to create a better sense of trauma.
•  Adding in a scene with the toy doll and the little girl so at the end we know the girl is in danger as the doll is on the barbed wire.

We also got other feedback from other audiences who said good points were:

• We had clear thriller codes in our opening which create suspense, enigma and tension
• The editing is successful at creating a sense of anxiety.

The feedback given to improve were:

• Decrease the brightness of the red during the park scene
• Adding a voice over, which we were planning on adding anyway to improve the narrative and help the audience to understand better. 

CLICK HERE TO SEE MY PREZI

EDITING: DECIDING ON TITLES

In our lesson today we have been deciding on the titles. Georgina and I have made a video explaining our decisions for these titles and why.

EDITING: ADDING SOUND EFFECTS

Today when editing I began to add in sound effects. Firstly I added war noises which created a sense of trauma. This went on top of the war photograph sequence and on top of the montage of the protagonist and the doll. This suggests that what she is doing is reminding her of when she was at war and the trauma that she witnessed. This sound effects we got from a clip on You Tube.

Another sound effect I added was heart beats at the beginning to create suspense and the audience instantly feel anxious about why there is heart beats. We soon found out as a voice over comes on the top to explain why the protagonist was so nervous. This sound effect was from the iMovie options under iLife Effects.

Another iLife effect we added was of a little girl laughing. This laugh is extremely chilling as it is placed on top of the war noises. It would give the views a chill down their spine as normally laughing children and war are not something you would put together. However we did this to make the audience feel anxious and give them an adrenaline rush as they would have no idea why these two noises have been placed together.

Finally we added a noise at the end, as the child is kidnapped. This noise is an unsettling noise and we added it to suggest menace and that something awful has just happened.

CONSTRUCTION: FILMING THE ABDUCTION SCENE

After filming the walk home I filmed the abduction scene. We firstly did a shot where we see the young girl putting her way her scooter and we notice that her mother has now gone inside and left her out alone. As the young girl turns around we see on her face that someone is there and then the protagonist walks into the frame almost bribing the young girl walk towards her. We then cut to a shot of the close up of the kidnapper and the young girls hands as they walk into the distance.

RESEARCH: CHOOSING MUSIC

After researching music on You Tube we have narrowed our choice down to two options. The first one was slightly horror like as it was a piano music but it also included sound effects such as squeaking doors. Although we did not choose this music it can be heard here.

The one that we did choose was found when we researched "thriller film music." It is called The Carnival. The sound of it sounds almost like a children's music box which relates to the theme of our opening, however it is also slightly creepy as the music is slow. The track seems to be made with a xylophone and triangle which together go well and have a thriller like effect. This music can be heard here.

We chose this one and when searching to see if it was copy right free, we found that we must credit the person who posted this music.

CONSTRUCTION: FILMING THE PLAYGROUND AND WALK HOME

I filmed the scene where the protagonist is in the playground. To explain what I did I have made a Piktochart

CLICK HERE TO SEE MY PIKTOCHART

CONSTRUCTION:MAKING A TWITTER, FACEBOOK AND FILM WEBSITE AND POSTER

We decided that we would make a Twitter, Facebook and an official film website and poster which are always a film would be marketed and promoted.

Our different ways of promoting our film can be seen and explained on this slide share.

CLICK HERE TO SEE OUR TWITTER

CLICK HERE TO SEE OUR FACEBOOK

THIS IS OUR FILM POSTER

THIS IS OUR FILM WEBSITE

RESEARCH: SUITS OPENING

In lesson we looked at the Suits opening as we remembered that there were scenes that were slowed down and then sped up again which makes the viewer feel nervous and frantic. They do this in many different points in the opening but one section is when there is a close up on the bike as he peddles slow and then his movement is sped up. It makes the viewer feel almost slightly out of place.

 We watched this opening and liked the idea of this and decided we would try and do something similar in our opening. 

RESEARCH: DECIDING ON A SLOGAN

Since we have been creating a poster to promote our film we thought that we must put a slogan into it to attract audiences.We only wanted it to be short and effective to promote our film and create enigma.

When searching for ideas we had a huge variety of suggestions however the best was a line from the lullaby Hush Little Baby, which is the name of our film. The end line is "Your mama loves you and so do I." We felt that this fits perfectly to our plot and also makes people wonder who and why this is our slogan. It suggests a kidnapping as the woman is brainwashing her.

RESEARCH: FILM POSTERS

We are looking at ways to distribute our film. One of the main ways to distribute is P&A. This includes posters. Therefore I am going to research professional posters to see what type of things they have on them and see how they show the genre of the film in the poster. 

I have compared thriller and romance posters bellow. 

These posters are clearly thriller as you can tell by the use of dark colours. These visual codes signal to the target audience that it is going to be a dark one: not a bright and happy one. You can also tell because of the people in these images. They both look mysterious and it is quite chilling how they are staring straight at you. These are very different to romance posters, which are bellow. 

With the romance genre is is clear that they are romance due to the image of couples and the brighter colours. Although these are different genres they both have some of the same information on them that the target market need to know.  

All posters have the name of the film, some cast or crews names, when the release date is, a star rating and it can include some sort of slogan. 

I feel that my information and research helps me to understand what we need on our poster to make sure that it is effective at attracting our target audience and supplying them with the information they need and will want to know. 

PLANNING: MARKETING TECHNIQUES

Today we discussed the ways that we were going to promote our film. The ways that we decided were different ways of social network. Therefore we have decided that we will make a Twitter, Facebook and a film website. To go with this we need P&A, furthermore we have taken a shot from our filming to be the poster for our film. 

We have chosen this specific image however we did have more than one to choose from. We chose this image as you can see the barbed wire along with the toy clearly, and the way that the toy is almost stuck on this wire. It is showing something potentially dangerous contrasted with something innocent which our film is potentially about.  

RESEARCH: USING AFTER EFFECTS

Today I decided that I would try to get to grips with After Effects. I needed to do this in order to make an effective ident to go at the beginning of our film. I spent a whole lesson trying to understand After Effects by watching videos on Video Copilot. I knew that I should choose a tutorial which is the smallest length in time as I knew that this meant that what I was making was slightly easier than a video that was longer. I managed to begin to make a small clip however it was not as successful as I hoped.

CONSTRUCTION: TOY ON BARBED WIRE

In this lesson we went out to reconstruct the war image which we had filmed. We placed a doll which Connie had made on barbed wire. At first we had to take a few photographs to use for our poster. Then I did a variety of different camera movements and filmed the doll on barbed wire.

At first I panned from left to right. However I felt that it was better tilting from down to up as the image got darker because of the sun as the doll came into frame. I think that this gives a chilling effect as the viewer will now be certain that something horrific has happened to this child, as this toy will have been seen in an early scene with the little girl holding it.