Friday, 25 October 2013

Research - 9 Frame Opening Analysis - It's Kind of a Funny Story (2010)

It's Kind of a Funny Story (2010)


1. We hear a voice that states "It starts on a bridge." This instantly grabs our attention with many enigmas - What starts on a bridge? Who is saying this? Is it a specific bridge we know? etc. There is a low, eerie music soundtrack that is playing throughout, giving it a slightly 'out of this world' feel.

2. We are then introduced to the character, Craig, who is riding his bike along what we assume is the bridge that was just mentioned. This is done by the camera facing upwards, while tracking along behind Craig; it then slowly tilts down to reveal the character. He is wearing a big coat and a hat, which shows us that it is most likely in the winter as he is cold. The music suddenly stops as Craig's sister calls his name and there is a cut to reveal his family at the side of the bridge and dialogue continues - they are also dressed for the cold weather.

3. After some black comedy (in which Craig's parents seem to be more worried about his bike than his safety), Craig falls off the bridge. Just before we think he is going to hit the water and die, the film freezes on this frame while Craig's voice-over explains that he is dreaming it all... However, it seems more real than normal.

4. The film then fades to black and the title fades in - the titles are very simple to keep the audiences attention directed at the main story line, rather than artistic use of titles. This means there is a very little amount of opening credits, only the title of the film. There is no music playing during this, only the sound of the wind from the bridge to keep us routed to the story. If there were a number of special effects or lots of other pieces of video footage being shown during the titles, it would distract us from the simplistic, serious story-line.

5. Craig rides his bike to a hospital and there is a slow bass guitar lick that is played a few times - giving the scene a curious feel to it and filling our heads with more enigmas... What is he doing about his dreams? Is it something serious? Is it the first time he has gone to the hospital for something like this? etc.

6. The is a sharp cut to the 'Sunday' message - showing us the time in relation to the story (this is repeated throughout the film with the other days of the week). Again, the titles are basic to keep the audience concentrating on the story line rather than the artistic style of editing.

7. There is another little part of comedy in which Craig states that he wants to kill himself (introducing us into the main body of the story), then the receptionist remains calm and gives him a form to fill out... A little too calm if you ask me. We know she is definitely a receptionist due to her costume being a uniform of sorts while she is sat behind the reception desk, so Craig is talking to the correct person to help him out. This makes the scene comical, as she reacts in a way that most of us wouldn't expect (including Craig).

8. There is a high angle shot that shows Craig sitting with no-one around him - reflecting his feelings of being isolated and alone. There is no music playing, however sounds you will typically hear in a hospital are heard (e.g. phones ringing, people chatting quietly/in the distance, etc.).

9. There is a shot-reverse-shot used as Bobby sits next to Craig and talks to him. At first his costume makes it seem that he is a doctor or male nurse, but his body language and dialogue contradicts this. There are some comical moments in the dialogue, and we start to get to know both Craig and Bobby's characters a little more. We are also kept entertained by the comical moments, so we get a bit more information about the characters, and our attention is still on the film.

Saturday, 19 October 2013

Planning - Pitch for Salesman Blues

Below is a link to the video of the pitch that I delivered to the class. I also answer their questions concerning my film.

Note: I pitched the film to an A2 Film Studies class, rather than an AS Media Studies class because we ran out of time in the media lesson to do it.

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



Action Plan

Concentrate on the script to try and keep humour at the forefront of the film.
Get in contact with the cast and keep in contact with them to keep them on board with the project.
Have a look at camera shots and try to keep them consistent with industry conventions.
KEEP ON TASK!

Thursday, 17 October 2013

Technology/Planning - Facebook Group

I have created a Facebook Group to keep in contact with everyone involved in the project. This way I can easily post on it and the relevant people can be tagged and will know when I need them and what I need them for on that particular occasion.

Saturday, 12 October 2013

Planning - Shooting Schedule

10/3/14

Below is the actual shooting schedule that was used in the end. At the bottom of this post is the original one from way back in October when I started to look at filming the task.

Time
Scene Description
Int./Ext.
Day/Night
Location
Characters
SHOOTING DAY 1
1.00pm – 2.00pm
Mark walks up to the door, presses the doorbell, waits, then leaves when no-one answers.
Day, ext.
Guy’s house
Mark
3.00pm – 4.00pm
Mark walks up to the door, presses the doorbell, homeowner answers the door and tells him he isn’t interested.
Day, ext.
Stuart’s house
Mark, homeowner
SHOOTING DAY 2
2.00pm - 2.30pm
Mark walks up to the door, presses the doorbell.
Day, ext.
Connor’s house
Mark
2.30pm – 2.45pm
The angry homeowner doesn’t have time for anyone to come to the door, so rushes to dismiss him.
Day, int.
Connor’s house
Angry homeowner
2.45pm – 3.00pm
The angry homeowner quickly tells Mark to go away, then Mark has to turn and leave.
Day, ext.
Connor’s house
Mark, angry homeowner
SHOOTING DAY 3
6.00pm – 7.00pm
Mark walks to the door, knocks. When the homeowner arrives, she tells him that she isn’t interested and he has to turn around and leave.
Night, ext.
Abby’s house
Mark, homeowner
SHOOTING DAY 4
11.00am – 12.00pm
Mark walks up to the door, an old woman answers. She has trouble hearing him at first, then waves him away as she has been warned not to buy things at the door.
Day, ext.
Sam’s house
Mark, old homeowner
SHOOTING DAY 5
1.00pm – 1.30pm
The sounds of a doorbell and someone coming down the stairs, then they open the door to Mark standing – dialogue.
Day, int.
Natalie’s house
Homeowner, Mark
1.30pm – 2.00pm
Mark has the door slammed in his face and he turns around and leaves.
Day, ext.
Natalie’s house
Mark
SHOOTING DAY 6
10.15am – 10.30am
Press in on Carol, “repetitive and boring”, Mark sits up behind her.
Day, int.
My house
Carol, Mark
SHOOTING DAY 7
9.00pm – 9.30pm
Mixture of POV shots as Mark – drinking with friends.
Night, int.
The Cricketers (local pub)
Mark, a number of unnamed friends
SHOOTING DAY 8
4.00pm – 5.00pm
Noddy shot of Mark as he performs monologue.
Day, int.
My house
Mark
SHOOTING DAY 9
3.15pm – 6.00pm
Recording music soundtrack.
N/A
School music room
N/A





12/10/13

This is a rough shooting schedule, the exact dates haven't been confirmed yet, but will be shortly.

Time
Scene description
Int/Ext
Day/Night
Location
Characters
SHOOT DAY 1
10.00 – 10.30
Montage part – walks to houses and gets rejected, so has to walk away again. Filled with many different angles and slightly different situations for each house.
Ext.
Day.
Adam’s House
Mark, homeowner
11.00 – 11.30
Abby’s house
12.00 – 12.30
TJ’s house
1.00 – 1.30
Jake K’s house
2.00 – 2.30
Connor’s house
3.00 – 3.30
Jake W’s house
4.00 – 4.30
Guy’s house
SHOOT DAY 2
11.00 – 1.30
Opening scene – exchange dialogue between Mark and homeowner. All in a few shots, but camerawork and character must be right.
Ext.
Day.
ZoĆ«’s house
Mark, homeowner
SHOOT DAY 3
11.00 – 3.00
Final scene in garage – dialogue between four characters, so chemistry and camera angles need to ‘feel’ right. This will most likely be run a number of times.
Int.
Day.
My converted garage
Mark, Adam, Cameron and Dan
SHOOT DAY 4
Times subject to availability
Scene at the bar – short piece of dialogue (to be created shortly), this will be run a number of times and shot from many angles due to the fact that it won’t be heard and is still part of the voiceover/monologue section.
Int.
Day.
The Concord (local pub)
Mark, Carol

Friday, 4 October 2013

Planning - Animatic

I have finished the animatic for Salesman Blues - this should help when I pitch my idea to the class and will also give me a good idea of how my film will look.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtRx-mN9KkA