Daniel McGinley - AS Level Media

You will never guess what....

2012-12-20T14:11:00.000+00:00

We have finally uploaded our film opening to Youtube. It is now an opening rather than a trailer because we felt our idea would fit better in this format. Feel free to have a look, and please leave comments, for our future reference.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zh_jNwHhgvM

-Sorry for the delay

Wednesday 5th December

2012-12-05T10:30:00.001+00:00

So our deadline was 6 days ago, which of course we met!

We are now putting the gloss on the top of the trailer, to make it the best it can be, we will have to begin our evaluation in the next few days, with regards the project in its entirety and also the workload, and just how fairly it has been split between Michael and I.

The film trailer will be uploaded soon!

More to follow....

So here's the thing...

2012-11-27T15:20:00.002+00:00

..we have now filmed all of the trailer, we have analysed the shots we have created and what needed re-filming has been re-filmed. This included having to, twice, re-film the scene with Mr Murphy, the maths teacher.

So what is the problem you say?

We have no music to use, we have emailed many holders of copyright looking for the ideal sound to use in our trailer, as yet, nothing has been found. So we are awaiting a reply from our 'contacts', fingers crossed.

We had a bit of a headache with a small animation that we intended to use within our trailer, this was because we needed to covert the file, then the file was rejected by out editing software, which was a pain to say the least. We did though sort this out and after a painfully long wait until the animation rendered, we are a long way in to filming.

Also, sorry for the delay on video diaries, we have some filmed, waiting to be posted.

Filming is DONE!

2012-11-20T15:49:00.000+00:00

So on thursday afternoon we visited the one and only Frank Murphy to film his part of out trailer, in which he portrays a rather chilling scientist whose investigations in to the 115 outbreak have been shocking! We have successfully recorded his parts and we now have a rather great piece of film!

Following this we visited Wicksteed Park in Kettering, for day 2 of filming. We trekked through a muddy field and eventually found a lovely rendezvous point at the backside of the park. What i thought was a perfect environment to film what we wanted, despite the fact that I was covered in make up and fake blood, and we attracted some attention from passers and the local swan population. This tiny wee set we come across was a small little pocket within the woodland at Wicksteed that had a chopped tree trunk for sitting (perfect for our drinking den set) and a small boulder that acted as our table for the day. We got there at around 12pm and finished rather quickly really at around 3pm!

Following the decision from Mr S and Mrs T to extend our deadline from Thursday the 22nd of November to the 29th, we have decided to edit what we have for now, and aim to finish this on the original deadline. We will then consider what we have missed out and what we can re-film, then use the subsequent week to do so, if necessary, and then edit for the deadline as agreed on the 29th of November.

We have also created a lot of videos from the making of the film trailer and the build up to it that will be uploaded within the next few weeks, probably along with the film trailer itself, before hand we will upload our newest video diary, which is around 10 minutes long and is rather dull.... sorry about that. Hopefully that will be up before the weekend!

On this day...

2012-11-14T11:27:00.000+00:00

On this day, we set our selves the task of completing a written script for one very important and significant part of our trailer. And so we finished it off, to a poor quality, but admittedly we can't afford professional scriptwriters yada yada ...

We also said that we would, by 11:35am update our blogs... it is now 11:23am! SUCCESS!

Just to be ultra cool and professional we have a signe contract from a cast member stating we have his permission to use his image and his voice in our trailer also giving us a time and date to begin filming with him! Filming is due to begin tomorrow afternoon (15/11/2012) with Mr Frank Murphy at 1:35pm until 2:50pm, with the ability to do more recording on Friday the 16th at 2:50pm until 4:05pm

We will upload a copy of our contract sometime soon.... when the scanner decides to work properly....

Casting Disaster Averted! (I believe that is the right spelling)

2012-11-09T23:24:00.000+00:00

With the help of one, Lindsey Munro, our casting disaster has been averted, and filming is now looking very bright! We now have a cast of 4 males and a single female for our forest scene, however seemingly little, this, we believe, shall work exceptionally well.

Expect updates :)

Weather Forecast for Filming - Day 1

2012-11-09T10:57:00.001+00:00

Here is the weather forescast for Tomorrow afternoon! We are extremely happy to say, it SHOULD be a relatively nice day, with a bit of sunshine, but not too much. Hopefully, this will work to our advantage, in terms of lighting.

What is element 115?

2012-11-08T11:15:00.000+00:00

Atomic number 115
Atomic mass unknown
Electronegativity acoording to Pauling unknown
Density unknown
Melting point unknown
Boiling point unknown
Vanderwaals radius unknown
Ionic radius unknown
   Isotopes unknown
Discovered by Scientists from the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California in 2003

Health effects of ununpentium

As it is so unstable, any amount formed would decompose to other elements so quickly that there’s no reason to study its effects on human health.

Environmental effects of ununpentium

Due to its extremely short half-life, there’s no reason for considering the effects of ununpentium in the environment.

This is a few extracts from: http://www.lenntech.com/periodic/elements/uup.htm
The information show contains a statement claiming it isn't worth researching the element becuase of its extremely short half life, meaning there is no obvious effects on the environment, or to the human race. The key here being, no OBVIOUS effects.

Another website: http://www.chemicool.com/elements/ununpentium.html claims that element 115 is harmful due to its high level of radioactivity.

There is a lot of information I have left out here, reasons being:
A. There are 2 web links if you want any more information
B. I dont want to give too much away
C. I'm probably boring the hell out of you.

Fore those reasons, I will end this post. Sorry for boring you lot.

Just for you...

2012-11-08T11:03:00.002+00:00

Here is a link to our limited array of outtakes from our Preliminary film trailer, KIDNAPPED. There are few but, ahh well, it has been made, it shall be used.

http://youtu.be/8dgEFOcp45Y

Enjoy.

Questionnaire Analysis

2012-11-08T11:01:00.001+00:00

The results for our questionnaire are back and have been sorted out, and the results are below...

Q1: How old are you?

For this question, most of the answers came from people aged between 12 and 16, giving us a rough estimate as to who our target audience is. Six people were also aged between 17 and 21, meaning we could expand the target audience up to the 18+ boundary, allowing more gore and other things to be used.

Q2: What sex are you?

For this, half of the 20 asked responded with male, and 8 said they were female. This is quite an even number, so it means we should consider making sure that the trailer can appeal to both. Also, for some strange reason, 2 people said they were 'Other' or 'Prefer not to say'. Incase they were being serious, we shall consider them too, though there is likely no validity in these responses and they were merely jokes.

Q3: Do you consider yourself to watch a lot of films?

This one was a tie between 'Yes, I watch films frequently' and 'I watch some films', both receiving 8 each. For this reason, it can be presumed our viewers watch a fairly decent amount of films and will therefore be likely to watch this film too. Thankfully, no-one said that they never watch films, so that shouldn't be an issue.

Q4: Are you generally a thriller fan?

Simple yes or no answer for this one, and luckily over half responded with 'Yes'. 12 people asked said that they consider themselves a thriller fan, meaning our target audience should enjoy the genre they are watching.

Q5: If not, what other genres do you prefer?

The next most popular genre was comedy, which is no surprise really. Then there was horror and romance, which were both tied, and the third most popular was musicals. Every other option got one vote or none.

Q6: What conventions of these are particularly attractive?

For this, one person put that there would needs to be 'edge of your seat' action to make it interesting. This is a good point for most genres, including the thriller genre. Another convention people thought was attractive was love, feelings and emotion. This may be true for other genres, but not for the thriller genre so cannot be used. Other things said were all pretty relevant- Plot, direction, mystery- could all be used effectively in our final piece.

Q7: What is your favourite title in the thriller genre? (i.e. Taken, Die Hard, Eden Lake, Batman etc.)

For this, most people said the movie Taken was their favourite thriller film, and it got half of the votes. Batman got 4, and Die Hard, Usual Suspects and the Raid all got 2. For this reason, the filming style could be based on that of the Taken movie.

Q8: What conventions of a trailer influence your decision in watching the film?

Most people (oddly) said that the use of sound is what influenced their decision the most, meaning we would have to take care in making sure the sound used is attractive to the audience. Use of light and the mise-en-scene also influenced people's decision, so this will need to be taken into account too.

Q9: What is an important element to a thriller genre?

Suspense was the unanimous winner here, winning well over half of the votes. For this reason, suspense needs to be a key element in the trailer, which shouldn't be a problem as it is a zombie film and suspense is therefore easy to create.

Q10: Do you prefer a Thriller to adhere to or oppose the typical convention? (Such as stereotypes etc, please detail your preference)

Most people said that they preferred it to oppose normal conventions of the Thriller genre. This actually opposes what people said about suspense, as suspense is a typical convention in the Thriller genre, yet most said they want to oppose these conventions. However, I think suspense will still be used as it is a good thing to use in a zombie-themed movie and could be used for a chepa scare at least once. We'll have to oppose the typical conventions in some other way.

What is it all about?

2012-11-08T11:00:00.001+00:00

We have to a conclusion as to what our (basic) storyline will be! It is subject to change but it will almost certainly be based around a Zombie-based video game, in which many of the dead are brought back in a zombie-like form by the element Ununpentium, which has the atomic number 115, and so our film trailer will be known as '115', at least as a working title.

So hear is a real sneak peak in to our ideas as to the film. Rather than the element being discovered by Nazi Germany as in the game, our film will show the discovery of the full characteristics of element 115, as to date no realy chemical experiments have been carried out, as carried out by a British Government Lab. Following a similar story with regards the game and its affects on the human brain.

We will attempt to follow some of the local stereotypes regarding the teens of northamptonshire and especially Corby. For those that don't know, Corby teens are seen as yobs that care only for drinking in the 'Wessy' on a Friday night and terrorising the general public throughout daily activities. We will start by using this stereotype to our advantage and using the local woodland to start of film trailer. Without giving too much away we will see our eventual heroes in their fight against the outspread of element 115's effects, and the heartbreak of losing friends along the way.

We have discussed the option of attempting a first person view of the first signs of the infection spreading, possibly thorugh Cinema Verite. Though we do now believe this might be difficult.

We intend on using a voice over actor, who has already been cast to narrate the entire trailer in a Newscasting Format, in which we will shows early seens of the outbreak and the first warnings from the local anchor.

All of our ideas are subject to change, as with all films, however we feels as though '115' is our prefered title. The final plot will likely be submitted to the public following the writing of a script.

Casting Disaster!

2012-11-07T22:39:00.001+00:00

Okay, so we had planned to cast around 9 people to appear within our film trailer (including Me and Michael) 6 of which were male, 3 female, with us due to start filming in 3 days, we have been left only a guaranteed 4 cast members, as we are waiting to hear of the availability of our actors.

Having been told to apply a bit more ruthlessness to our production, we need to really crack down on delays such as this, so if people can't get back to us, casting will have to restart! (FINGERS CROSSED!)

Review of Media Prelim Task

2012-11-05T10:52:00.002+00:00

Kidnapped is the original film (trailer), Written and Directed by Michael Navarro-Marin and myself. This was our first ever film trailer both individually and as a pair (DanNav), therefore our editing has a lot of room for improvement, but we both agree that this was a fair first attempt. Using Final Cut Pro for the film clips and Motion and for the opening credits. Though this was our first attempt we feel that we grasped the basic concept of the programs rather quickly, and in the end after a lot of toggling about we produced a fairly good trailer with the use of music and transitions.

At first I personally felt that the trailer was rather poor, but with a bit of consolation from Mr Seston I was assured that we had done rather well for a first attempt and that a lot of first attempts end up similar to ours.

However, this still does not mean we have produced the perfect trailer, some things are still there that I would like to change, for example fight scene between Michael, Lijo and Jullian (Uncredited) I feel we could have repeated the scene to test new shots and re-direct the scene to give ourselves a variety of options that we could choose from in our real trailer. Also, with a bit more tweaking I think our transitions (including audio) could have worked better and the cut off time of the background music could have been better, but like I said it was our first time.

A mistake was made in the editing of the closing credits, this is evident from the beginning of the credits when the music is due to begin along with the credits but a major glitch has forced the sound to start later in the credits. Because of this the video last a little longer than it was originally due to. This mistake has been acknowledged and will (hopefully) not be repeated.

Overall, I, and indeed we, believe this was a successful project, considering it was our first, the viewers must think so too as we currently have a total of 42 views on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHV7HFu5IgQ&feature=g-all-u

Storyboard for our Preliminary Film Trailer

2012-10-31T11:28:00.002+00:00

Here is our storyboard, this was used to create our prelim film trailer that can be seen on further down the page! Watch it, it is rather good :')

Filming in progress (SIGN)

2012-10-31T11:25:00.004+00:00

Here is an image of our FIP sign, we decided to make one when we filmed our very first video diary when we were interrupted by some gentlemen wondering around our filming area!

Though it is very simple, it is (other than a camera) one of the most useful pieces of equipment we have.

Early Version of Final Trailer Storyboard

2012-10-31T11:23:00.002+00:00

this is an early rough version of our final trailer storyboard, please excuse the poor quality. What you can see if a basic version of our ideas put into scenes, such as a woodland scene involving young Corbyites drinking in the woods, which of course, for those that do not know, adheres to a stereotype of Corby teenagers.

2012-10-12T08:48:00.002+01:00

So here is our Prelim, there are a few week points in this short film, but ahh well, there's room for improvement, yada yada yada.... Enjoy.

Video Diary: Episode 1

2012-10-11T09:49:00.001+01:00

This is the first of our Video Diaries for our AS Level Media thriller film trailer project. Expect many more.

Research for Film Trailer

2012-09-26T10:58:00.001+01:00

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GK6D6HX

Please, click on the link above to fill out a questionnaire regarding our Media AS Level work, we would like some information from our 'audience' regarding genre, convention etc.

Limitless (2011)

2012-09-25T12:22:00.005+01:00

Limitless, based on the 2001 Alan Glynn novel, The Dark Fields. Following the unplanned meeting of a former friend, struggling writer Eddie Morra is offered a nootropic pill (a memory enhancing drug), which later becomes known as NZT-48. Claims suggest this pill has the ability to give its user the ability to access 100% of their brain rather than the normal 20%. Nonetheless this is a movie and nothing ever goes right, the pill has its side effects as Eddie begins forgetting things, and time begins to skip in his head.

There are many feminist/marxist views and theories to consider in the trailer alone. Firstly, to analyse an obious Marxist theory, Eddie starts the trailer as a nobody, he has no money, he is sruggling with work and all others look down at him. He his pretty much what some typical people might call a patheric excuse for a man, he has no power over anything at all. Eddie takes a risk to help pick his life up by take the pill as offered by a friendly counterpart (drug dealer). One opposition to the Marxist theory here is that Eddie is clearly going to overcome his betters rather than equal them.
A typical view also of the struggle from lower class to higher class for Eddie is that he had to cheat to become the best rather than earn it, similar to views shown in films so as 'This is England' where violent gangs use violence to overcome the superiority (government and higher classes).

the objectified female, stereotypically blonde.

Another point in the trailer, there is a clear power divide between men and women, for example, the men in this trailer are all very powerful, excluding the original state of the male protagonist, Eddie, besides this the male antagonists/protagonists tend have a lot of money and authority such as the character of Carl (De Niro). However the women are normally objectified throughout the film as sex toys, and typically have no other use in the main plot, in one scene of the film Eddie is taken back to a hotel room by a tall Swedish blonde (How Stereotypical!). This is likely to suppose that there are no authoritive female figures appearing in this film and that they are only really 'USED' in certain occasions. This does though go against some female stereotypes as there is no 'Damsel in distress', though it does adhere to the stereotypes of women being objectified for sexual purposes whilst male characters remain in authority throughout.
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THE_hhk1Gzc <<The Trailer

Stereotypes - and the Representation of Gender in Film

2012-09-20T11:33:00.001+01:00

Feminist Stereotypes
-Vulnerable
-Defenceless
-Inferior to men
-Blonde, slim, attractive etc
-Nurturing, or motherly instincts
-Emotional/Sensitive
-Jealous
-Naive

This list shows a small amount of the strereotypical 'labels' that are given to women when it comes to films. Typically films with a male director portray women as objectifiers, such as the James Bond series. Each Bond film consists of at least one 'beautiful' women that is everytime 'seduced' by the mighty Bond.

As with Bond films, the typically male, protagonist is to save the female and save the day in all. These males tend to be courageous, non-caring, arrogant and normally rich, charming men, like Bond.

For representation of characters to be meaningful, the audience needs to somehow relate to the character and possibly there needs to be a shared recognition of people, such as situation and ideas. All representations therefore have to be relateable. A good example, including female representation may be found in St. Trinians.

In this picture that I have found via Google Images, each character is given a small biography, each of which places the characters in to their own individual group. The text in this image may appear poorly, therefore, from left to right;

The Trustafarian (or St. Trinianite) - The rebllious character that shuns her upper class status. A cigarrette and dreadlocks complete her 'devil-may-care' appearance. Can be found looking embarrased, shopping with her 'mummy'.

The Chav - Not the girl to mess with, identifieably by her mini skirt and Essex riviera ran. Found to be shopping frequently.

The Geek - Her sensibly fuzzy hair style, granny spec and her face devoid of make up, in a stark contrast to her contempories. Can be found in the library.

The Emo -Cool, young, subset of the goth movement. Looks as though she carries the worlds worries on her shoulders. Can be found in the internet, in chatroom.

The Posh Totty - Won't hesitate to use her own cunning wiles to get her own way, she heads up the most popular gang in school. She's beautiful and she knows it. Can be found pouting in the mirror.

Referred from http://ellymoohanmedia.wordpress.com/2011/11/16/stereotypes-in-st-trinians-film/

Live Free or Die Hard

2012-09-19T21:43:00.001+01:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVJ8VeTk9Ps

Live Free or Die Hard

The latest instalment in the Die Hard saga featuring Hollywood 'hard man' Bruce Willis in that renowned role John McLean, the in-law outlaw. Again John has taken it upon himself to be thrown in to the middle of a terrorist battle, this time however, unlike the previous Die Hard films, John is fighting a more internet based criminal, a mass computer hacker that is "Doing the world a favour" this shows his seriousness, and perhaps means that he is a man you shouldn't take lightly, and that this antagonist McClane is going against could be his toughest yet. The quote "Is your country willing to pay?" is also very serious, and reflects the antagonists thoughts on what he is doing. He also says that he's "doing world a favour." Again proving the previous point.

This teaser begins with the norm for this type of film, the voice ,of what appears to be, the male antagonist. The uncommon thing in this is that the antagonists face is shown from the very beginning, possibly signifying the lack of fear, this tells the audience that the antagonist sees no need to hide and he wants to be recognised as the man with a mission. Typically, the antagonist seems to be an upper class, you can see this in the manner in which he dresses, his good posture and his manner of speaking. This is stereotypical as the antagonist tend to be a rich and powerful male, as with other Die Hard Films.

The protagonist of the entire Die Hard series, John McLean, fans of the previous three films will remember his typical character, the humorous, cocky and arrogant hero, similar to the antagonist, McLean fears little, such as in this film, jumping on to a jet plane whilst it speeds down a highway in an attempt to attack the pilot. This shows the shear will power and devotion, this point is further proved when the main plot of this films comes in to play when his daughter is held hostage, he puts it on to himself to chase down the terrorists, claiming "He will kill all of them".

A major similarity between antagonist and protagonist is the determination shown, however in different ways, the antagonist showing determination to do America a favour, with John, the protagonist determined to stop him.

Touching on Marxist theories, John seems to be a middle classed American citizen, in comparison to the protagonist, that as stated before, seems to be a richer, upper class citizen. This may suggest the struggle in the attempt of overthrowing of the upper classes, however not the search for equality.

In the antagonists opening speech, you can see McLean walking through a door in slow motion. This clearly indicates he is the main character. The character of John McLean is very 'old-school', by this I mean he sticks to the olden way of practice, for example where his opponent uses very high-tech computers and technology to his advantage, John remains keen on using only guns, cars and his fists.

Feminist theories are also covered in this film, as another of the films antagonists is a strong, devoted female. In the few moments you can see her in this trailer. This may be seen as a positive expression of female equality. She is seen showing some authority as she steps away from a helicopter, indicating her wealth, with a good posture and emotionless facial features. Strangely though one scene that is leaked in this trailer is one showing the normally strong antagonist in a weak position, laying on top of a moving car driven by McLean. This may show her as weak, as many women are portrayed in media works this adheres to stereotypes regarding gender.

The trailer also shows the female antagonist using a very 'high-tech' gadget, this implies she may have been given authority. We can only assume the authority is given by the male antagonist, this therefore adheres to stereotype.

The daughter of John, is shown as a little more stereotypically female, as she is found in danger, she is found in a weak position appearing to have been kidnapped by the male antagonist. This juxtaposes the position of her father, John, as he is never found in a vulnerable position or in one that he cannot fight his way out of. Also adhering to the stereotype Johns daughter relies purely on the male protagonist to save the day.

The soundtrack throughout the trailer is frequently loud but it fits in nicely with the mise-en-scene. The trailer shows John killing several 'villains', with a very well known tune played over the action, implying the 'action' is a regular thing to John.

2012-09-12T10:35:00.004+01:00

This blog will be used as a storage database of my AS Level Media Studies work. Work will mainly be based around Thriller movies etcetera etcetera..

2012-09-11T15:58:00.002+01:00

Bear with, this is my first real analysis....don't expect too much...

The dominant colour in this poster is a greeny-blue. The colour can be seen to represent the statue of liberty also the typical colour to be linked with aliens is Green.

The tagline 'Something has found us' has a lot of importance in this poster. At first glance a viewer can tell that the city is in danger, but looking deeply in to the tag line you can discover more. The word 'Something' suggests that a non-human or unidentified object is the subject, and again written in green suggesting it may be an alien.

The use of the word 'Us' then brings the audience closer to the drama as it is indirectly addressing them.

The producers have used some strong imagery in this poster, the latter of the information can be found in the foreground with the Statue of Liberty, a signifier of peace and freedom that has been destroyed suggesting that the peace has been broken. The image also gives a clear indication that the location of the film is New York city. The statue ,standing in the foreground, would be the first thing a viewer sees, a curved line is shown in the water, starting from the base of the statue leading up to the city in the background it is clear that a major disaster has occurred within the city as you can see smoke rising and buildings having been torn apart.

The title is written in a simple font that is very clear however it is still rather distorted, it gives off a green glare, again relating to the alien theme as the glare is something that often can be related to unidentified flying objects. The viewer is made to feel a slight feeling of mystery from the title itself, the name 'Cloverfield' appears not to have any relevance to the genre, it gives nothing away, it is an extremely unusual name creating a sense of curiosity.

2012-09-11T15:56:00.002+01:00

Here is a post......