After five lessons worth of filming, editing and creating our soundtrack we have finally finished our title sequence to a children's film.
Thursday, 10 December 2009
The animation
/The animation has taken the best of 3 lessons,
a majority of the problems have been caused by
a majority of the problems have been caused by
Friday, 4 December 2009
filming the live action
Today we filmed the live action part of our childrens film opening sequence. We chose to film the shots in our classroom to achieve a realist classroom setting, we thought this worked quiet well. We tried having the camera on a tripod and then hand held to find which gave us the better shots. In the end we chose the hand held take because we were able to make the camera pan easier, instead of using zoom as it went out of focus. After we finished filming we put it onto the computer to edit. In our editing we used fades at the begining and end of the shot.
Here is our finished part of the live action sequence.
We will decide at a later date whether or not to add a non digetic soundtrack.
Here is our finished part of the live action sequence.
We will decide at a later date whether or not to add a non digetic soundtrack.
Thursday, 3 December 2009
Making the Set!
Making the set
We based our animation set around a park
We cut one side out of a box and stapled the smaller sides out to give us a bigger trapezium shaped base to work with.
The grass was simply a piece of green card taped to the bottom this makes it obvious to the audience that it is grass.
We put white clouds in to make it seem more like day time then night time.
we put hills in to make it seem like a more
These photos show the making process of our set
We based our animation set around a park
We cut one side out of a box and stapled the smaller sides out to give us a bigger trapezium shaped base to work with.
The grass was simply a piece of green card taped to the bottom this makes it obvious to the audience that it is grass.
We put white clouds in to make it seem more like day time then night time.
we put hills in to make it seem like a more
These photos show the making process of our set
Story board
Shot 1
Establishing shot of the park,
a ball moves into the shot as if it has been thrown and falls and rolls on the floor.
Shot 2
Dog enters the scene and runs to fetch the fallen ball
the dog then sits looks at the camera and the shot pauses.
Shot 3
Words made of plasticine appear on screen next to the Dog this is the titles/credits.
Shot 4
Dog stands up and looks right as the boy come on screen
the boy moves over and stands next to the dog
boy pets the dog and the shot freezes again and another title or credit appears next to them
shot 5
Shot zooms into boy and dog and more credits appear
Shot 6
Boy throws the ball and shot pauses as ball is in mid air, another credit appears.
Shot 7
Dog chases after the ball then the screen freezes an actors name appears.
Shot 8
Dog runs of screen, 2 boys come on screen and make fun of original boy.
Shot 9
Shot zooms into boys face and shows a sad expression. another credit appears.
Shot 10
dog runs back on screen and boy smiles again,
boy says " your my best friend"
Shot 11Boy throws the ball and turns around
dog chases after the ball
Boy becomes distracted by answering his phone/starts texting on his phone.
shot 12
UFO comes on screen and abducts dog.
Shot 13
Boy turns around sees part of the ufo and sees a missing dog, and a ball on the floor.
shot 14
Animated shot fades out into the live action shot.
a boy is asleep on the desk with a drawing pad on the floor.
Shot 15
George wakes up by teacher telling him to focus.
George replies "sorry miss"
Shot 16
Camera pans downwards to book as he shuts it to reveal title and drawings of his dog and UFOS
Establishing shot of the park,
a ball moves into the shot as if it has been thrown and falls and rolls on the floor.
Shot 2
Dog enters the scene and runs to fetch the fallen ball
the dog then sits looks at the camera and the shot pauses.
Shot 3Words made of plasticine appear on screen next to the Dog this is the titles/credits.
Shot 4
Dog stands up and looks right as the boy come on screen
the boy moves over and stands next to the dog
boy pets the dog and the shot freezes again and another title or credit appears next to them
shot 5
Shot zooms into boy and dog and more credits appear
Shot 6
Boy throws the ball and shot pauses as ball is in mid air, another credit appears.
Shot 7
Dog chases after the ball then the screen freezes an actors name appears.
Shot 8
Dog runs of screen, 2 boys come on screen and make fun of original boy.
Shot 9
Shot zooms into boys face and shows a sad expression. another credit appears.
Shot 10
dog runs back on screen and boy smiles again,
boy says " your my best friend"
Shot 11Boy throws the ball and turns around
dog chases after the ball
Boy becomes distracted by answering his phone/starts texting on his phone.
shot 12
UFO comes on screen and abducts dog.
Shot 13
Boy turns around sees part of the ufo and sees a missing dog, and a ball on the floor.
shot 14
Animated shot fades out into the live action shot.
a boy is asleep on the desk with a drawing pad on the floor.
Shot 15
George wakes up by teacher telling him to focus.
George replies "sorry miss"
Shot 16
Camera pans downwards to book as he shuts it to reveal title and drawings of his dog and UFOS
Tuesday, 1 December 2009
Planning our idea
Location: The location for our animated part of the title sequence will be set in an animated park. We will make our park inside a cardboard box using coloured card and plastercine. We chose to use the park as a location because it is a typical place where a young boy would play ball with his dog. When our shots change into live action the location changes from a park to a classroom. This makes it clear that the boy is young as he is at school.
Props: During our animation the props that will be used will be a ball and a U.F.O. These props both have a narrative significance as the ball determines the characters movements and the U.F.O plays a big part in the storyline of the film. When our clip changes into live action the main prop will be a notebook that has the title of the film on the front cover, then inside it has a picture of the dog and a random doodle of aliens.
Costume: The costume will be kept fairly plain throughout our clip.
Need to make: setting- a cardboard box with a blue sky and green grass.
Things to make out of plastercine- a tree, a bench, a boy, a dog, a sun, a phone, a ball, a U.F.O, speech bubbles, lettering, two extra boy characters.
Props: During our animation the props that will be used will be a ball and a U.F.O. These props both have a narrative significance as the ball determines the characters movements and the U.F.O plays a big part in the storyline of the film. When our clip changes into live action the main prop will be a notebook that has the title of the film on the front cover, then inside it has a picture of the dog and a random doodle of aliens.
Costume: The costume will be kept fairly plain throughout our clip.
Need to make: setting- a cardboard box with a blue sky and green grass.
Things to make out of plastercine- a tree, a bench, a boy, a dog, a sun, a phone, a ball, a U.F.O, speech bubbles, lettering, two extra boy characters.
Friday, 27 November 2009
We have decided to make our film a PG certificate.
We have chosen this certificate because,it gives us a larger range of themes which we can include in the film opening.
Certificate PG (parental guidance) means if the child is under 8, parents can make the decision whether or not the child is allowed to view the film, as they contain more adult themes then a U . In a PG film there may be some discrimination, but it is only used for educational purposes, the overall message needs to be positive. horror and violence is allowed to be present although only for a short duration and quickly needs to be resolved by a positive representation figure.
We have chosen this certificate because,it gives us a larger range of themes which we can include in the film opening.
Certificate PG (parental guidance) means if the child is under 8, parents can make the decision whether or not the child is allowed to view the film, as they contain more adult themes then a U . In a PG film there may be some discrimination, but it is only used for educational purposes, the overall message needs to be positive. horror and violence is allowed to be present although only for a short duration and quickly needs to be resolved by a positive representation figure.
Thursday, 26 November 2009
Matilda opening analysis
Title and credits: The opening sequence started with credits and a title that was kept simple and bright by using block colors. The text was like a child's writing which highlights the fact the target audience is children.
Introducing characters: At first it introduces Matilda as a baby, the shot begins with an extreme close up of her eyes which signifies the narrative. When camera shots are on Matilda there is non-diegetic music that is calm and happy, which works in comparison to the change in music when the camera shots focus on her father as it changes and...... The characters are also introduced by the narrator who gives us some information about their characteristics, this also establishes the narrative. Dialogue is also used by characters that inform the viewer of the names. You also get an insight to the attitudes of people to the fmily as the children on the street are running in fear of them, in particular the father, "Harry Wormwood".
Establishing the location: the location is established by the voice over, "they lived in a very nice house in a very nice neighbourhood, but they weren't very nice people". there is a extreme long shot which shows the entire neighbourhood, also their house.
Sound track: sound track is mainly non diegetic music which is kept simple and upbeat using the same range of instruments, but changing the pace and tone of the music depending on the character which is shown.
Capturing the viewers interest: The interest of the character is mainly captured through the voiceover as he creates a mystery around Matilda by giving us hints about her intelligence.
Genre: Matilda is an example of a pure chidlrens film as it has a strong moral throughout, about how children should be treated. If you had to pinpoint a genre, which it is difficult to do as it contains many, however it would be adventure or a family film.
Tuesday, 17 November 2009
Definitions
Match on action: this occurs with an action, such as opening a door, beginning in one shot. In the next shot the camera, now indoors, would photograph the person entering the room and closing the door, allowing us to see the action from two different perspectives.
Shot reverse shot is a technique where the camera shot shows one character looking at another character (often off-screen), and then the other character is shown looking "back" at the first character, for example in conversation. Since the characters are shown facing in opposite directions, the viewer assumes that they are looking at each other. This is also used to show a reaction shot.
180 degree rule is a concept which helps keep continuity editing consistent. It sticks to one imagery line and cuts through the middle of a scene, from side to side. The rule is that you only film from one side of this line, as to not disorientate the viewer by changing their perspective.
Shot reverse shot is a technique where the camera shot shows one character looking at another character (often off-screen), and then the other character is shown looking "back" at the first character, for example in conversation. Since the characters are shown facing in opposite directions, the viewer assumes that they are looking at each other. This is also used to show a reaction shot.
180 degree rule is a concept which helps keep continuity editing consistent. It sticks to one imagery line and cuts through the middle of a scene, from side to side. The rule is that you only film from one side of this line, as to not disorientate the viewer by changing their perspective.