They also identified the strengths and weakness of TIME TRAVEL KILLS which are detailed below:
Strengths:
-the film fits into the genre of satire and sci-fi
-the film is slightly thrilling and horrific which appeals to the target audience
-the film uses steady camera shots at a high definition, and are all in focus
-the camera work and editing successfully engages an audience
Weaknesses:
-the film is slightly long and boring at some points
-some of the acting is slightly weak, and breaks the illusion
-some of the special effects appear very cheap and overly 'tongue-in-cheek"
-some of the shops have a very low resolution
-the sound at times is too loud and ear piercing and causes discomfort to the audience
-the film at time has very poor lighting due to the lighting being provided by a light bulb.
Suggestions for improvement:
-the scene for the office worker travelling through time should use special effects provided by high quality software such as Adobe Aftereffects which can be used to create very professional sci-fi effects.
-if the film was up for a re-shoot, professional lighting would be used in order for the films lighting to be more controlled
-the sound would be re mixed through sound editing software like Adobe Audition
-professional actors would be sourced for the character "Time Travel Man" in the case of a re-shoot
Monday, 11 June 2018
LO4: Focus Group Feedback
Here is the shot of the focus group watching my product, the group consisted of other people from my CDM class, since they are the target audience, this group consisted of Frazer Mclean, Joshua Grey, Jacob Wylde, and Matthew Frost.
They were the people who helped me come to the conclusion of my film's rating.
Thursday, 7 June 2018
LO3: Setting Up Equipment:
The following two pictures show me setting up a 4K Camera, on top of a tripod with a turning head to create steady camera movements.
Tuesday, 5 June 2018
LO4: Proposal for the certification of TIME TRAVEL KILLS
Time Travel Kills definitely aimed at a higher audience, typically males aged 15 to 25 years of age, and the film contains references to drugs, and one scene which contains very strong peril since it is suggested that a character is murdered to death with a baseball bat, which is a very gory concept. Therefore I would propose that the film's rating would be a 12 due to these references and dark ideas which are created in the audio visual product.
BBFC states that a 12 could contain an infrequent drug use, and although the character isn't taking a drug known to our reality, it could be interpreted as a metaphor for perhaps a hallucinogenic drug, since the time travel pill is taken orally in the same way most hallucinogenic drugs are taken. The "drug" however is not glamorised, and would actually more likely put the audience of wanting to take any sort of pill.
BBFC again states that a 12 can contain an amount of psychological and horrific threat, just as long as the entire film doesn't focus on a horrific tone, which I think is a fair descrition of my short film.
BBFC also states that the violence can only be gory when justified, however the violence in my short film is never gory at all, and instead leaves the gory details to the imaginiation.
BBFC states that a 12 could contain an infrequent drug use, and although the character isn't taking a drug known to our reality, it could be interpreted as a metaphor for perhaps a hallucinogenic drug, since the time travel pill is taken orally in the same way most hallucinogenic drugs are taken. The "drug" however is not glamorised, and would actually more likely put the audience of wanting to take any sort of pill.
BBFC again states that a 12 can contain an amount of psychological and horrific threat, just as long as the entire film doesn't focus on a horrific tone, which I think is a fair descrition of my short film.
BBFC also states that the violence can only be gory when justified, however the violence in my short film is never gory at all, and instead leaves the gory details to the imaginiation.
LO2: How meaning is created in the visuals
The narrative of this project is as follows, a bored office worker decides to take a time travel pill, it briefly takes him to a reality where he gets murdered, and then he is taken away from that reality back to his own, where he realises he has travelled back in time. What he doesn't realise that he has now made a glitch in all his different realities, meaning that when he gets murdered in one reality, he suddenly all his other realities vanish too.
This is a fairly complicated narrative therefore it is important that the footage I captured clearly communicates the narrative. I am going analyse some of the shots I took when filming this project.
This is a fairly complicated narrative therefore it is important that the footage I captured clearly communicates the narrative. I am going analyse some of the shots I took when filming this project.
This shot tells the audience from the begginging of the narrative, that the office worker is bored of the dull life he leads, which is proven further when the office worker recklessly takes a pill which messes with his existential well being.
This shot makes more sense once the narrative has finished, yet at the beggening of the narrative, the audience takes it as a nothing, just simply a fault of the computer, however at the end of the narrative, the audience realises that the glitch actually represents a glitch in time, and although the computer may be slightly damaged from the time travel intereference, the real damage has taken place in the office workers reality.
This shot shows that the office worker is beggining to develop strange obsessions with the normalist of things like a flame. The flame slows down in this scene, suggesting to the audience that there has been a shift in time.
This is the shot that shows when the office worker makes his fateful decision to take the pill, the salesman's character is actually positioned slightly higher than the office worker, suggestion to the audience that he is fully in control of the situation, and aware of the chaos he is about to cause the office worker. The symbolism of the candle being on the office workers side could also be a foreshadow of the turmoil which is about to coming, which could be considered hellish, since the candle could be linked to hell fire like imagery.
LO3: A final film showing high levels of technical and creative comptency
The final short film:
PREVIOUS VERSIONS:
00001_3 from George Allan on Vimeo.
00001_4 from George Allan on Vimeo.
TIME TRAVEL KILLS from George Allan on Vimeo.
Original glitching video:
glitchy titchy from George Allan on Vimeo.
LO3: Linking audio to visuals and applying audio effects
Once of the main parts of my short film that required audio effects was the scene where the power cuts. When filming the origonal footage, the footage just changed to dark with no sound signifying a power cut at all. However I was able to source a sound that mimics a power cut from the website Freesound.org, called Power Down, which can be found here:
https://freesound.org/people/peepholecircus/sounds/169994/
Using Adobe Premiere, I simply added the sound underneath the footage in a position which linked up with the visuals perfectly, the screen shot of the position can be seen below:
https://freesound.org/people/peepholecircus/sounds/169994/
Using Adobe Premiere, I simply added the sound underneath the footage in a position which linked up with the visuals perfectly, the screen shot of the position can be seen below:
Another piece of sound I need to include, was the sound of the computer glichting along side the visual of the computer glitching, in order for it to seem more realistic, as if it is a real glitch and not just a video playing on the laptop which I animated.
Due to an error with the recording camera, there was one piece of footage where you couldn not hear the office worker typeing. Therefore I had to source the sound of someone typing on freesound, and then link it along side the visuals of the office worker typing. The problem is, in the final edit, you will notice the change in sound to the other scenes where the office worker is typing.
LO3: Applying appropriate visual effets and transitions
The most difficult visual effect to create in this project is the last scene which shows the different dimensions of the office workers possible realities, including the one where he gets murdered. The visual effet shows many different versions of the same shot, surrounding the origonial shot and then panning out slowly, including the shot from his murder scene. To achieve this effect, first I layered all the shots over each other on the time line:
In the screen shot above, you can see that these pieces of footage have been layered over the top of each other, to achieve the effect that the camera is taking a step back from reality, and is seeing all the possible ones, I had to first of all work out the position f the final stage, by editing the position and scale effects under Video Effects and motion.
These were manipulated for each individual shot that was layered over each other. The value of the scape gets lower further along the scene, however there is no way to explain how the positon values correlate to the progress of the video.
The effect took a long time to create, and still isn't perfect in the final cut because it was so difficult to create, however it made a very visually pleasing shot, which links to the the genre of satire/sci-fi since it is portraying an existential nightmare at the end of a film, instead of a re-establishment of an equilibrium.
Another effect I created on Adobe Premiere, was scene which transitions between the office worker taking the pill and waking up in the dimension where he gets murdered. This effect was a very simple process to make, I simply layered the candle footage over the footage of the cat clock, which you can see in a screenshot below:
I then lowered the opacity of the candle footage, in order for both of the pieces of footage to blend together in an eerie and artistic way. You can see how I lowered the opacity in a screenshot below:
The candles give the visual a psychedelic aeststetic which links into they type of visual style I am trying to mimic from Black Mirror, since they focus on creatin spectacle, and it is also a clear meaningful representation of both a change in time and a change in dimension. I clearly connoted this by speeding up the movement of the eyes, to show that time is shifting. This was competed by changing the speed and duration setting, which can be seen in a screen shot below:
These were manipulated for each individual shot that was layered over each other. The value of the scape gets lower further along the scene, however there is no way to explain how the positon values correlate to the progress of the video.
The effect took a long time to create, and still isn't perfect in the final cut because it was so difficult to create, however it made a very visually pleasing shot, which links to the the genre of satire/sci-fi since it is portraying an existential nightmare at the end of a film, instead of a re-establishment of an equilibrium.
Another effect I created on Adobe Premiere, was scene which transitions between the office worker taking the pill and waking up in the dimension where he gets murdered. This effect was a very simple process to make, I simply layered the candle footage over the footage of the cat clock, which you can see in a screenshot below:
The candles give the visual a psychedelic aeststetic which links into they type of visual style I am trying to mimic from Black Mirror, since they focus on creatin spectacle, and it is also a clear meaningful representation of both a change in time and a change in dimension. I clearly connoted this by speeding up the movement of the eyes, to show that time is shifting. This was competed by changing the speed and duration setting, which can be seen in a screen shot below:
LO3: Offline Edit
Offline Edit Unit 5 from George Allan on Vimeo.
The offline edit shows that the aqquired footage is already successful, since already untouched the footage tells a slight narrative which is understandable to watch.
LO2: Footage in the style of chosen genre:
The genre of my short film is satire, and in particular the satire of a new sci-fi like technology in a dystopian world in a very similar yet less sophisticated to the series Black Mirror, who's films are made in sci-styles, however the narratives are usually very darkly funny. You can see that my footage has been influenced by Black Mirror, for example the scene where the office workers computer is glitching, looks very similar to the type of visuals you would see in a Black Mirror episode.
Screenshot from Black Mirror Episode 2 Season 4:
Screenshot from Black Mirror Episode 2 Season 4:
Screenshot from my own short film:
You can see that including a glitch in the short film gives my film a very dystopian aestetic, which Black Mirror successfully manage to create.
Another satirical film I pastiched was Barton Fink, and although Barton fink isn't related to sci-fi there is a scene which inspired me to use candle light as the lighting in the scene where the Office worker is murdered, since the Coen Brothers did the same thing in Barton fink.
Screenshot from Barton Fink when a detective gets murdered:
Screenshot from my own film when the office worker gets murdered:
I think the satirical genre likes to use fire as lighting for death scenes, because it gives the scene a very hellish appearance, almost as if the murderer is sending whoever is being murdered to hell, which is a satire of religion in itself. The Coen Brothers are very good at creating a terrifying villian yet also creating a character which you will happily watch the villain murder, I tried to mimic this style by making my protagonist come across as slightly pathetic.
I also satired the time travel genre successfully in my short film, with the inclusion of the famous cat clock from the film Back to the Future. The cat clock gives my short film a very comical aethstetic and is a direct homage to one of the original time travel films.
Screenshot from Back to the Future:
Screenshot from my own footage:
LO2: Following safe working practices:
The only potential risks there were in the Church building were tripping over the huge amounts of wires they had for their sound system, however that risk was secured by attatching them to the ground and binding them together in compressed places, which meant that none of the cast or crew had any tripping accidents.
A potential risk could have occured during the shoot with the candles, since one of the flames form the candle could have lit onto something like a curtain, this however was avoided by keeping any flamable materials as far away as possible from the flames. A bucket of water was kept close by in case of the fall of a candle, which may have set fire to the carpet.
The risk of tripping over any tripods/filming equipment was solved easily due to the mimimalist cast and crew we had (made up of only three people) since no one was ever getting in each others way due to the large amount of space we had.
A potential risk was when i climbed up an old ladder to replace the church clock withe the back to the future styled cat clock, which I found was very shakey and old. This risk of me falling and breaking my neck was reduced by the rest of the cast/crew who held the ladder steady as I climbed up it.
Another risk to the whole process was the transportation of all the expensive equipment required for the photoshoot, which some people may have tried to attack the cast and crew in order to steel them. This problem however was resolved by the equipment being transported seperately a few days before hadn by car.
A potential risk could have occured during the shoot with the candles, since one of the flames form the candle could have lit onto something like a curtain, this however was avoided by keeping any flamable materials as far away as possible from the flames. A bucket of water was kept close by in case of the fall of a candle, which may have set fire to the carpet.
The risk of tripping over any tripods/filming equipment was solved easily due to the mimimalist cast and crew we had (made up of only three people) since no one was ever getting in each others way due to the large amount of space we had.
A potential risk was when i climbed up an old ladder to replace the church clock withe the back to the future styled cat clock, which I found was very shakey and old. This risk of me falling and breaking my neck was reduced by the rest of the cast/crew who held the ladder steady as I climbed up it.
Another risk to the whole process was the transportation of all the expensive equipment required for the photoshoot, which some people may have tried to attack the cast and crew in order to steel them. This problem however was resolved by the equipment being transported seperately a few days before hadn by car.
LO2: Following shooting script/storyboard
As you can see in the images below, during the shooting of the project, I decided to stick as closely to the pre production planning as possible, however there are certain shots which I decided to change for the better of the final film.
LO1: Shooting Schedule
Shoot 1:
Need to capture all the footage of the first half of the script. This should take around 6 hours to complete, the required cast for this shoot is George Allan, Caleb Davies and Oliver Zwaard. This should be completed on the 12th of December 2017 by 6 PM. It is suggested that the shoot begins at 11 AM on the day, in order for their to be an hour of prep of set.
Shoot 2:
Need to capture all the footage for the second half of the script. This should take around 8 hours which is slighly longer than the first shoot because the second half of the script involves more action and dialogue, the required cast for this shoot is George Allan, Caleb Davies and Oliver Zwaard. This should be completed on the 17th of January 2018 by 7 PM. It is suggested that the shoot beings at 10 AM in order for their to be atleast an hour of prep of the set design.
Need to capture all the footage of the first half of the script. This should take around 6 hours to complete, the required cast for this shoot is George Allan, Caleb Davies and Oliver Zwaard. This should be completed on the 12th of December 2017 by 6 PM. It is suggested that the shoot begins at 11 AM on the day, in order for their to be an hour of prep of set.
Shoot 2:
Need to capture all the footage for the second half of the script. This should take around 8 hours which is slighly longer than the first shoot because the second half of the script involves more action and dialogue, the required cast for this shoot is George Allan, Caleb Davies and Oliver Zwaard. This should be completed on the 17th of January 2018 by 7 PM. It is suggested that the shoot beings at 10 AM in order for their to be atleast an hour of prep of the set design.
Monday, 4 June 2018
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They also identified the strengths and weakness of TIME TRAVEL KILLS which are detailed below: Strengths: -the film fits into the genre ...
