3rd Editing Session

Within this edit, the main objective was to colour grade the footage in order to provide the look and feel I intend on achieving with my project; this is to ensure that the audience grasp a the character's emotional response as the colours within the frame enforce a particular idea on both the characters as well as their surroundings.

I decided to have two separate colour pallets for my project; used for different sequences within the film, as this would help provide my desired intentions for the key moments within the media product.

The Basement

For the colour pallet within the basement sequences, I wanted to have a blue tint over the footage as this provided the scene with a bland look whilst connoting the cold and isolated mind state the character 'Max' is experiencing.

How I achieved this look was by manipulating the RGB curves and reducing the colours red and green but the blue within the frame to given my desired look.

Editing timeline with RGB curves

Example#1 Shot before

Example#1 Shot after

Example#2 Shot before

Example#2 Shot after

The Office

For the office sequence, I wanted a colour pallet that is dull but also stylishly represents the location and the characters within them. 

Within the office sequence, I decided to have a predominantly green look for the location as it reflects the dull environment an office tends to have as there it rarely any form of energy or excitement seen by anyone there. The dull look of this sequence is meant to convey the lack of happiness within Max's life, a bleak existence as   he lives daily with nothing but negative intentions to inflict the pain and suffering onto others in order for him to gain some form of pleasure.

Example#1 Shot before

Example#1 shot after

Reflection

Overall the project is coming together very well with all of the major tasks within the edit now done. The product will be complete after some minor tweaking has been made in regards to continuity and pacing.

2nd Day of Reshoots

For the second day of reshoots, some aspects of the basement sequence had to be reshot due to lighting continuity or performance factors. This session relied heavily on our ability to recreate my actor to match exactly how he was over a month ago with the make up on his face as well as his outfit.

We used images taken of our actor (Aayush Joshi) from the first day of filming; images that had the actor covered in the blood. This was used to recreate his look in order to ensure continuity.

1st Day of Reshoots

We begin the reshoots for 'A Lost Soul' by reshooting the entire office sequence, this decision was made because it ensured the continuity with both the props and with the actors; one of the actors (Sam) had a haircut before the reshoots which then ultimately enforced the decision to reshoot the entire sequence from scratch.

We made changes to the scene, one of the most noticeable changes are towards a moment of dialogue between the two actors that involved too much harsh language and the context of the conversation surrounded on the dialogue previously spoken. This ultimately helped pacing and allowed the scene to flow more smoothly. The other changes made were around the character 'Kevin' not only did I make sure that the actor wore the correct outfit this time but I also directed him to engage with 'Max' during his rant.

Overall the shoot went accordingly, I had gathered all of the footage I intended on capturing from this sequence as I have incorporated the improvements needed to make the scene better.  

Documents in the briefcase (Props)

These are images that Max will uncover within the film as he opens up the briefcase. These images are meant to indicate to the character that he's been under surveillance for a long time; being studied and evaluated. All notions that will unfold through the story as Max discovers the reason behind this violation of his privacy. 

Plans for re-shoots

As I have now assembled a couple drafts of my project, there are sequences that must be reshot in order to perfect aspects from different sequences; lighting, performance issues and continuity are factors that are going to be corrected within the re-shoots. The re-shoots phase will take past over the next month or so where I will schedule 2 days where I will re-assemble my cast and crew where we'll spend a day to reshoot the entire office sequence and on the second day will be spent on various shots from the basement sequences.

The emergency funding of £100 from the budget will be used for catering the crew and any additional payments needed during that phase.    

A Lost Soul (Rough Cut #2)

2nd Editing Session

As apart of my 2nd editing session, my prime focus was to address the new draft of 'A Lost Soul' my amending any editing flaws that were pointed out within the feedback by my media teachers. Another aim I intend on pursuing within my next draft is to incorporate a rough sound mix by including the film's score and sound effects; this will help my progress my project as it will come closer to my final vision.

An example shot that was refined by smoothing the camera motion.

To commence this editing session, I began by reworking on established work and refining the visual aspect of 'A Lost Soul'. This decision was made to benefit my work flow as I got the less time consuming tasks done and out of the way. The types of tasks I am referring to is polishing the sequencing of the footage based from my feedback, making decisions as the director on whether or not these ideas will benefit my story. The decision I made to the visual aspect to my film was to trim down the timings on a few shots that dragged unnecessarily in order to help the overall runtime as well as the pace of the film.

Incorporating the film's score into the edit as times was stressful playing around with multiple tracks and finding which one helped deliver the emotions I desired from a given moment from the film, but the task was overall exciting as I got to see my vision truly come to life as the sound was added to another element to the project; as audio is certainly as important or in cases more important than the visuals.

My most time consuming task within this edit of the film was to not only sync the caller's voice to the phone, but also manipulate the pitch so it sounds deeper. This was done firstly by replacing the reference dialogue I record of myself voicing the lines of the caller with the official audio record of Aayush. Once that stage was completed, I then linked the audio with adobe audition which is the software I used to edit the pitch of the audio heard within the next draft of the film.

In order to create the voice of the caller, I brought the audio into the software and duplicated the audio; the intention behind this decision is to provide the voice with a sense of the supernatural entity as he speaks with multiple voices. The reason as to why the pitch has to be deeper is to ultimately emphasis the caller's seriousness connote that the caller is of significants to the story; implying his dominants both technically within the audio but also over the character Max.

Ultimately this was a successful editing session, I am bringing my project closer to being complete; over the next drafts I'll be looking to: refine the sound mix, adding the footage captured from the reshoots and enter the colour grading stage.

'A Lost Soul' Poster (Draft #1)

This is the first edit of my poster for my project, the sole purpose behind this draft is to create a rough imagining of my vision for the film's poster. 

However I have shown my media teachers, they're delighted to see my progress with the ancillary tasks but there are major improvements that must be worked on within the next drafts.

Improvements

• Too many fonts! - I must use at maximum two different font styles, one for the tile and the credits.

• Poster Footer - This writing on the bottom of the poster has to be made smaller.

• Oblivious - "Twisted Minds" I must make it singular and mention "Twisted Mind" to justify that I alone directed the project. 

• Masking Subject better - The character within the poster needs to be worked on by editing the mask around the subject in order make him fit more organically within the poster.

Im sure other comments will be addressed by my media teachers in a later date; but for now I at least have work to accomplish on this draft.

Poster Inspiration

The poster for 'Sicario' is my prime inspiration for the poster of my project, as I find that to design of the poster is both visually stunning whilst presenting the product's story and promoting the tone and themes behind the film. This is creatively achieved by selecting brief images from the film and merging them together to create a collage of the film teasing what audiences can expect. This ultimately what I want to achieve with my poster, teasing my project's story through visual fragments taken from the product itself.

Rough Cut #1 - Feedback

After screening the first cut of my short film to both my media teachers, both of them a pleased with the overall cut in regards to its potential once it's flaws have been amended. I did receive  feedback from both my media teachers commenting on various aspects of my film; sequencing and performance issues are the main issues that my edit currently has. 

I have made two separate note sheets that address the individual comments my teachers made on the first cut of "A Lost Soul". Both contain specific notes on what feedback my teachers made regarding numerous factors of the edit and will be addressed within the next few drafts of my project.

A Lost Soul ( Rough Cut #1)

This is the first cut of 'A Lost Soul' which is a basic assembly of all the footage I had shot during principle photography. Overall this early cut of the film helps me identify where I need to progress from here in order to improve my project within the next edit. But this edit also helps me visualise all of the footage and learn what helps to achieve my envisioned tone but what else can be done to further strengthen my vision. 

1st Editing Session

To begin my 1st editing session on 'A Lost Soul' I started off by organising all of my footage into different folders in order to help manage my workflow. By breaking my film's footage down into sections, I can focus an assembling individual sequences first and then connect them all together.

     

My main focus within this edit was to assemble all of the footage along side with the animatic ; this is to ensure that the pacing and sequencing of my project following according to my plan. However, the slight alteration I have made to the edit is by extending the office sequence of my film to test out all of the footage I've captured.As well as for editing the footage, for the sake of the first cut I have included a reference soundtrack to help me and testers understand what the emotional intention is behind a particular sequence.

     

      

After assembling the first cut of the film, I screened it and immediately identified areas that must be re-edited in order to refine the visuals or pacing; but recognising potential re-shoots to be made. Overall the first editing session was a productive moment to recollect where I currently am with the project but to also progress from here and where to head in terms of development. 

Summary : Wrapped on Shooting for 'A Lost Soul'

To summarise the overall shooting process for 'A Lost Soul' lasted three days; I found that it went smoothly as I was able to capture all of the footage that I planned to get within the time we had allocated to each set.

We did encounter a few technical issues during filming; however they were able to work around them and come to a solution, despite some of them resulting in me sacrificing lighting styles due to the short power supply we had on set. But I was ultimately able to find a compromise with the cinematography of my film since the lighting didn't come on as harshly on my actor's face, culminating for a cleaner look at the actor's appearance and expressions. 

I'm ultimately extremely proud of how the footage has turned out as well as the performances from my actors; I am extremely excited to begin assembling the footage together and will have a rough cut soon.

Third Day of Filming

Directing Sam and Aayush for the conversation scene

As I had prepared myself for today's shoot by booking out the office for the day, this put my mind at ease knowing that we would not be interfering with any work going on around us. 

I am pleased to say that the third and final day of filming went phenomenally well as I captured all of the footage that I intended on capturing, despite most of the footage will be only featured within the director's cut of the project; it does offer the edit a lot more footage to utilise in regards to character development and story arches. We did however, decide to cut out lines of dialogue from the office confrontation between Aayush and Sam's characters as we felt that the scene can be trimmed down to flow more neatly but with the same emotional charge the script had.

Overall we concluded the shoot on a high note, all of us leaving the set satisfied at all of the great work we had accomplished that day; I am eager to leap into post-production and edit the shots together and compile a rough cut of 'A Lost Soul' which I will then identify all the various qualities the footage I shot has and begin to further construct my vision.

Soundtrack Finalised!

I have purchased a royalty free soundtrack for my project and will be used for the score within my short film. This soundtrack has the exact tone I want for my project as it creates a chilling sensation as you feel the need to anticipate the suspense.

I look forward to mixing the track along side with my later edits of  the footage and achieving the emotional tension I desire within the soundtrack of the film.

Second Day of Filming

Within the second day of filming for my project, I continued from where I left off on the previous shoot. This was to ensure that myself and the actor can keep an awareness of what is needed within the scene and the character. 

Overall, the day was a complete success as we wrapped all of the basement sequence. I did encounter a few difficulties during today's shoot as we did not have the correct prop documents within the briefcase; I had to substitute a few shots that involved revealing the working documents and change them so that they don't show the content, instead just imply what it is through dialogue. I did reach a compromise and settle on the alternative shots that still achieved the emotional intention that I wanted.   

Collaborating through the actors first line of dialogue  

Another creative decision that was made during today's shoot was to substitute the confetti sequence where Aayush's character would toss a pile of paper into the air, this decision was made to focus our efforts on his performance and to deliver the story to the best of our about without visual stimulus. I will re-visit the confetti sequence during the reshoots; overall the second of filming went well and I have wrapped up on the basement sequences, looking forward to shooting the office scenes and completing principle photography on 'A Lost Soul'. 

First Day of Filming

Behind the scenes on "A Lost Soul"

Today I began filming for my short film, within today's shoot we filmed the first half of the basement sequence in the film. The first half of sequence has no dialogue which means that the actor must act solely on his body language and facial expressions. 

The first day of filming was a success as I was captured all that I planned to shoot on time; it was very exciting to see my vision finally coming to life which actor 'Aayush Joshi' executed his role brilliantly so far, adding more humanity to the character as his expresses the character's pain and suffering. During the shoot we did however encounter some technical difficulties as the extension lead malfunctioned, meaning that we have to utilise the limited 2 sockets we had access to on location. These sockets where placed in the oddest places but we had to make do with what we had as the lead running from our equipment was short as well. I ultimately decided to light the set by facing the light against a wall and relying heavily on the white walls to bounce the light to the shot in order to then diffuse the light extra equipment to achieve the look I wanted. 

Another technical fault that surfaced was with my dolly slider, this was meant to be used for the establishing shot. This shot is a rotating pull-back shot, the rigging broke and I had to find an alternative method to achieve my shot. At the end I decided to shoot the establishing shot with a go-pro at a wide frame in 2.7k; the rotating pull-back effect will be digitally inserted within post-production. 

Crew discussing the next shot

First Still of Aayush Joshi as 'Max O'Connor'

Overall, production has begun smoothly on "A Lost Soul" with two more days of shooting left to complete, this has been a great start and currently on track to wrapping up the main unit of principle photography until re-shoots take place in the coming months.

Production Booklet

This is a folder that I will have on me during the shoot of my project, it will contain important documents regarding productions on set. These various documents will be all to help minimise complications during shoots and keep me focus and organised in order to get what I want and how I envisioned it. 

Having these various documents on me at all times will aid my thought process and set as well as reminding myself as to what I need to capture for my footage.

Documents:

• Equipment list
• Prop List
• Script
• Storyboard

Props (Documents) - DELAYED!

Within the script, there is a briefcase that contains various pieces of documents regarding the business Max works for as well as a range of personal information regarding numerous of his staff members. I am currently in the process of assembling images and editing them, however I am set to begin shooting in less than a week and will not be able to have the props ready for the shoot. 

I have decided to shoot the sequences that require the props with reference documents and work around with the actor to get reaction shots. Later on in the production when the props are completed, we'll reshoot those sequences with the props included.

"Spider-Man 2" Review (Analysed)

In regards to the design and layout of my film review, this magazine review for "Spider-Man 2" is to some extent what I want for my own magazine review do appear like. 

The design and placement I found in this review to be very effective as it appears to be well organised whilst utilising those visual elements I depiction within the foundations of my analysis within film reviews. As this review utilises the various fonts and colours to distinguish the range of information the review is presenting such as highlighting the tile, age rating and the final verdict by emphasising it through bold and black fonts.

Another aspect of this review I am fond of is the placement of the prime image as it not only has given me ideas as to what type of still image from my media product to use as this will set the reader's overall expectation of my product, but the overall placement of the image seems neat and visually appealing.

Ultimately, I found this review to be extremely informative as to how I was to design the layout of my magazine review in order to present my content in an organised and yet engaging manner that readers will find to be of industry standard. 

Coursework - Reflection

As of this moment I am very pleased with the progress made on my coursework, this is due to the development of my short film which most of the planning and pre-production has been completed. Filming for my project will begin within a week. In regards to my research, I have done a lot of analysis as to what is expected within a product of short film. There are still a few loose ends that need to be dealt with. These bits are gears towards the a few more textual analysis of short films and reviews. 

"Pirates of the Caribbean" Review (Analysed)

This is an empire magazine review for "Pirates of the Caribbean" and I found this to be a informative piece of text as I gather research on film reviews. This I found to be insightful as it develops on my pre-existing research from the "Contagion" film review.

Within this review, I found that the ways in which the graphic designers have utilised the various visual points such as fonts and images as I found it to be too messy within this example; ultimately making it seem to overcrowded and unprofessional. 

They all allow the readers to be informed on various aspects of the film, guiding their attention towards quotes and images. However there is so much to be seen and the vast amounts of font sizes makes the review in it's entirety seem visually unappealing.

Ultimately I found this review to have influenced how I should approach organising and laying out my film review as despite these visual elements being a great tool to influence readers to be engaged to my review; it also can have negative implications if it is not handled correctly and will lead to potentially loosing readers.

"Jurassic World" Review (Analysed)

Link to the "Jurassic World" review

Todd McCarthy has produced a review on the hollywood reporter for the summer blockbuster "Jurassic World" that goes into extensive details regarding the history of the product as well as the different areas contributed by the cast and crew.

The review commences with a lengthy paragraph discussing the hellish history that this project faced for years being in development as the studio attempted with two sequels following the cinematic acclaim that was the 1993 picture by the legendary 'Steven Speilberg'. However they have been unsuccessful to recreate that scene of wonder; I found this to be a great way to build the reader's expectations towards the critic's thoughts and opinions of the film as he indulges them with a history of the long process the creative team behind the media product has went through in order to deliver this to the public; a creative technique to provide the readers with a some what appreciation for the hard work that has gone into the project, regardless of the outcome of the quality of "Jurassic World".

As the review continues and delves into the criticism of the overall product, Todd McCarthy addressed what he enjoyed and appreciated what the film-maker and the screen-writer of the film by emphasising on their ambitions to disregard any other Jurassic Park sequel that existed other than the 1993 instalment. Continuing on to talk about the film's plot and bringing up the various character as well as the actors and actresses who play them; leading onto his thoughts on their executions and performances.

Todd McCarthy's review of "Jurassic World" was very well written as he builds his thoughts on particular elements regarding the construction and execution of the film, leading into other areas and allowing his writing to flow smoothly and keeping the readers informed, entertained and engaged. This is something I hope to be able to replicate within the writing of my own review.

"Guardians of the Galaxy" Review (Analysed)

Link to the "Guardians of the Galaxy" review

Robbie Collin has written a simple but effective review for Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy", he begins his review by delving into the franchise 'Marvel Studios' has created with their cinematic universe and explaining how "Guardians of the Galaxy" fits within their established brand. This was a useful technique to provide the readers with an insight as to how this media product found it's purpose and intentions to be created as well as explaining the overall premise behind the story and the type of world audiences can expect to see.

Once critic Robbie Collin has established what the film is to the readers, he then delves deep into the execution of the product by analysing the film-makers style and writing in comparison to the other film-makers and films within the same franchise; comparing the ways in which they're similar and addressing areas in which director 'James Gunn' has succeeded in terms of constucting an entertaining narrative with engaging character as well as a sense of escapism and humour. 

This review was effective as it was straight to the point and addressed elements that the general reader could understand in regards to film-making whilst providing them with a background to pre-existing media products that can justify the film's purpose.

Ultimately, the way Robbie Collin was constructed this review has provided me with this notion to wonder what exactly should I include within my own review as I should figure out whether or not I should present information that the general public can understand.

Cast & Crew - Interview Question

During production for my short film, the cast as well as myself (the director) will be asked questions regarding the project through an interview styled format. The intension behind this decision is to express and share the thoughts and opinions of the cast and crew on the various creative choices being made within the product.

Questions for the cast

• What is it about the story that grasped your attention?

• What qualities about your character do you find interesting?

• What do you hope to bring to the character? 

• In what ways does a project of this genre in particular, challenge its codes and conventions?

• How will audiences be engaged with the film?

• What do you hope to achieve with this film?

Questions for the writer/director

• What inspired you to do this project?

• In what ways does a project of this genre in particular, challenge its codes and conventions?

• How will audiences be engaged with the film?

• What do you hope to achieve with this film?

This will ultimately help re-enforce all that has been discussed throughout the stages of pre-production regarding the overall intention of the project. All justified by the cast and crew of the short film, providing viewers with a further insight as to how and why I have chosen to approach the project with a particular vision.

"Contagion" Review (Analysed)

Within this analysis, I won't necessarily be analysing the review itself but focusing on the ways in which this review has been laid out with the magazine; this will inform my research into film reviews as my own will be design to be featured within a film magazine.

Within this review of "Contagion" featured within the 'Empire' magazine; this first initial element that will catch the reader's attention is the large image placed within the top half of the double spread. This implies that it is designed to be seen as it states exactly what the media producers what readers to know regarding "Contagion" in order to potentially lure there attention towards the review. The image is that of quarantine zone, implying elements as to what readers can infer from the story.

As for the rest of the layout, the graphics designer has incorporated other visual content to help readers grasp the initial content of the review through the inclusion of star ratings and clever puns "Flu-ray" all utilised to feed the readers with as much visual information as possible. In regards to visual content, the manipulation and differentiation in fonts help highlight key point as well as quotes to the reader; acting as a form of guide as to where to reader particular type of information regarding the film.

Overall, the analysis of the ways in which this review has been laid out within the magazine has ultimately informed my knowledge as to ways in which I can guide my readers as to what I want them to look at through visual points such as: colours, fonts and images to sway their attention to where I want it.    

'A Lost Soul' Cinematography and 35mm Film

For my short film, I have some ideas as to how I plan to shoot my project and present in through cinematography. My main desire is to have the film look gritty, something that is well presented in 35mm film. Despite the fact that shooting my media product in 35mm film is out of the question due to the cost and specialised workforce needed to capture and process the footage; my film will be shot in digital at 24fps. However I intend on emulating the 35mm look by adding grain elements within my footage by adjusting the iso to deliver grain within my footage ever so slightly without it tarnishing my footage but instead acting as a visual asset. 

David Fincher's "Seven" shot in 35mm Film

Christopher Nolan's "Interstellar" shot in 35/70mm Film

Christopher Nolan's "Batman Begins" shot in 35mm Film

David Ayer's "Fury" shot in 35mm Film

These are examples of media products that have been produced in 35mm film, the film-makers have used it as either a visual convention for their genre but in some cases as a stylistic preference. The aesthetic 35mm film provides can be used to add grit to the visuals due to the organic quality the picture provides. This is something I want to simulate within my project.

Production Budget

For the budget of my short film, it will be spent primarily on equipment due to most of the props and other pieces of equipment I already have access to from previous projects. However the budget will be spent on a list of equipment as they'll be most relevant for shooting within the basement; enabling me to capture my vision as well as making the creative process easier through back up files and addition recording options.

Set Budget = £350
Emergency Funds = £100 (For Re-shoots)

List of equipment

• New Microphone = £75 BOUGHT

• Mic Pole = £29.99 BOUGHT

• Lighting Gear = £45 BOUGHT

• Light Reflectors = £7.45 BOUGHT

• External Hard Drive (Footage Back up) = £ 45 BOUGHT

• Stabiliser = £17.15 BOUGHT

• Dolly slider = £50 BOUGHT

Total = £269.59 

"Steve Jobs" Review (Analysed)

Link to the "Steve Jobs" Review

For this review on the website "screen rant" of Danny Boyle's biographical film "Steve Jobs", writer Ben Kendrick has contracted a review that follows a conventional structure as seen before in other reviews I have analysed.

This review begins establishing the reader with an insight as to what the film is about. This introduction also teases the readers to what the writer Ben Kendrick thought of the film. 

Throughout the review, Ben discusses the basic plot of the film whilst addressing elements of the film such as the actors or actresses when their characters are brought to the review; elaborating on their roles within the narrative and discussing the effective of their performances.

Ben Kendrick then goes on to discuss the overall structure and execution of the film regarding the direction and writing; as to how both director "Danny Boyle" and screen writer "Aaron Sorkin" have collaborated to bring their vision of Apple CEO 'Steve Jobs' to life.

This review ultimately helps enforce this convention of structure of  creating a film review as this form of recreating and telling a story as it has a beginning, middle and an end. This is something that will inform the structure of my own film review.  

Planned 'Director's Cut' for my short film

I have decided to extend the script for my short film by including additional scenes and extended sequences, allowing the story and it's characters to be further developed in order to provide the audience more information as to the diegesis of the product; all will in fact be included within the director's cut of my short film.

The pre-production for the short-film will revolve round the theatrical cut of the project and in regards to shooting, prime focus will be to gather footage scenes for the theatrical cut then following complete shoot on the theatrical cut; shooting will begin on the additional scenes. 

Ultimately priority will be given to the theatrical cut of the project in order to ensure that I deliver the product to the best of my ability; after completing the prime cut, then all of my undivided attention will be focused on assembling the director's cut of my short film.

Dogme 95 Film Style - Research

Dogme 95 is a film making style what was created by Dutch film-makers; Lars von Trier, Thomas Vinterberg, Kristian Levring and Søren Kragh-Jacobsen in 1995. The sole purpose behind this style of film making is to preserve a raw form of producing visual stories, in order to produce a film of this style the directors had to follow 10 rules:

• Filming must be done on location. Props and sets must not be brought in.

• Music must not be used unless it occurs within the scene being filmed.

• The camera must be hand-held; filming must take place where the action takes place. 

• The film must be in colour. No special lighting. 

• Optical work and filters are forbidden. 

• No superficial action (No murders, weapons, etc.)

• No temporal or geographical alienation.

• No genre movies.

• The aspect ratio must be 4:3, not widescreen. 

• The director must not be credited. 

 This is a documentary that discusses the impact of digital cinema, particularly how it has affected the evolution of film-making and cinematography; challenging the way directors of mediums such as films engage with their audience. at (16:07) the documentary has a segment on 'Dogme 95' discussing how this style impacted the industry but also specifically how cinematographer "Anthony Dod Mantle" incorporated the style within the film "The Celebration".The segment elaborates on Mantle's reasons to why he wanted to shoot in this style, what creative freedoms did it offer him and how did it benefit the product.

This style of film making initially had my curiosity as it gave the story an organic feel to the project as it consisted primarily on in camera techniques and minimal equipment, causing the entire product to be driven by the performance from the actors. This would be an interesting factor to bring more emphasis towards the relevance of the characters within my short film. However there ultimately was too many technical implications that I encountered with this style that I felt would add more complications to achieving my vision as well as an overall visual preference and style. This is all due to the need to manipulate particular shots within post-production in order to connote a certainly meaning or emotion; most importantly I'd like to present my short-film in an anamorphic aspect ratio in order to provide it a far more professional and cinematic look.  

Animatic

This animatic for my project 'A Lost Soul' includes sample audio from both myself and my friend Aayush who demonstrate small segments of dialogue between the two characters within the film. The purpose behind this is to test pacing; in addition to the dialogue, I've included sample tracks in order for myself and other viewers to understand what emotions are being portrayed within a being sequence.

What I learned from my animatic is that the overall pacing for my short film is fine, however there are some issues regarding the transitions between a few shots. What I then realised is that within those transitions, particularly with the sequence surrounding the briefcase; I must simply take a master shot instead of taking the scene from multiple angles.  

Overall I have found the animatic very insightful as I have learnt what works and doesn't work in my project, now I can progress to the filming stage knowing what I must do to execute a more cohesive story. 

"Chappie" Review (Analysed)

"Chappie" Review Link here.


Chris Hewitt wrote a review on Neil Blomkamp's "Chappie" for Empire,  this was in fact a well rounded review that addressed all of the relevant areas of criticism a film review must address.

This review bares a well written structure that opens the reader with an insight towards "Chappie" and the film-maker within the opening phrase whilst following it within an introduction teasing his thoughts of the media product. Through his negative implications of the director third failed attempt to rekindle his talent; readers learn immediately that the product is a disappointment. 

The review does incorporate any images from the product, but instead within the different paragraphs decides to elaborate on his opinion of "Chappie" by depicting issues with the narrative and the film's overall message and ideas as it fails to follow the continue with the political statement seen within the film's opening. Chris Hewitt then elaborates on this further by discussing on how the film-maker failed to even go through with his own style seen in his other media products.

Throughout the rest of the review, Chris Hewitt goes on to discuss the other areas within the film such as; style, performance and concepts with the same structure within his review. Culminating for a well justified review that provides the reader with all of the essential elements regarding "Chappie" and the criticisms that follow it. 

This has informed my research in regards to what needs to be addressed within my own film review as I recognise all of the different areas that need to be addressed regarding: direction, characters, style, editing and performance. However the most important element is the structure of the writing, I must ensure that I follows the same principle as if it were a story; it has a beginning that teases what is to be expected, the middle and an ending that concludes all of my thoughts with justification.

Poster Analysis (Summary)

From the ten posters I have analysed, I have examined the ways in which these different media products have promoted and teased their stories within their posters through selective images and texts in order to imply various themes, ideas as well as characters audiences can expect to see from those media products.

The knowledge and understanding I have gathered from the analysis of these ten posters will inform my creativity when designing the layout and design of my own poster for my media product in regards to how I place the images within the poster, as well as for what images and text to include so that the audience can infer the story behind my media product. An example of I a poster that I have found inspiration within my research was the poster for "Ruby Sparks" in regards to the way the poster utilises selective uses of words in order to convey a particular notion regarding the film's characters and story whilst hinting at audiences expectations for a film of it's genre through the justification of the images the poster presents. Every aspect within my poster should provide a particular duty regarding aiding the promotion of my media product by teasing it's characters and story, justified through the research and analysis I have done on the posters on ten real media products.

"Gone Girl" Review (Analysed)

"Gone Girl" Review Here.

Justin Chang has written a review for "Gone Girl" that features in "Variety". This review was very thorough regarding his criticism over the various elements of the film; addressing all that the reader should be informed through its well structured review. 

Throughout this review, there is a clear structure in regards to the way the Justin Chang has broken down his criticism of "Gone Girl" as he opens with a brief statement discussing the film's overall premise; following with an introduction to his review as he established his basic thoughts on the film.

With his review, Justin Chang utilises different fonts in order to visually distinguish the difference between the information behind the cast and crew; followed by a entirely font for the review itself. This allows for a significantly far more presentable review as readers can recognise and then categorise the different content to read.

As for the review itself, it was very explicit regarding the way Justin Chang has allocated separate paragraphs to address a particular area of the film. Within the review, he addresses areas such as: David Fincher's direction, film's editing, performances and the dynamics within particular scenes.

On the most interesting aspects of this review is how Justin Chang as integrated the other media products the film-makers has previously made; comparing what elements the film-maker has continued to infuse within this media product.

Overall this film review has informed me regarding my knowledge and understanding of film reviews, as I should include the past media products that the cast and crew have previous produced. This should be included within my own film review in order to provide reader with an insight to the film-makers involved but also to compare the film-maker against their existing work in order to identify areas they flourished or failed.

Nightcrawler - Poster (Analysed)

The poster for "Nightcrawler" does an interesting job at teasing the viewers what to expect from the story,style and narrative within this media product.

From this poster, viewers can infer that this film will in fact have a dark tone as this is enforced through the poster's use of lighting and colouring; presented an ominous tone as the poster shows  nightlife throughout the streets in the background in addition to the excessive use of lights to emphasis the lack of visual clarity in the night and implying this dark and mysterious nature of what goes on out on the streets in the night.

As well as learning the tone of the film, viewers can also learn about the story's lead character; the man seen in the foreground "Jake Gyllenhaal" as credited on the poster. From character's body language, viewers can infer a great deal about him; from the way he stands with his arms hanging by his side as well as the blank expressions on his face, this tells the viewers that the is something off about this character, a darkness in side him he cannot express but is lurking inside him.

Another way in which the poster teases the world audiences can expect to see within this film is through the tagline on the poster. "The city shines brightest at night" by using an oxymoron, implying that the night allows you to see the city and it's people in their true form.