Introduction

My name is Thakshana Yogeswaran and I am a media student at The Latymer School. My candidate number is 9179.

I am working in Group 3 with Gift Emesi (9044), Angela Chen (9025) and Monica Aghadiuno (9365)

In order to view my work please click on the 3 labels on the right named A2 Research and Planning, A2 Construction and A2 evaluation.

Group 3 - Music Video

Inside Panels

Inside Panels
Our Digipack, top left - back, top right - front, bottom left - inside panel, bottom right - inside panel (CD)
This is a link to our website, click the image above to enter our site

Tuesday 14 October 2014

Big Hero 6 Case Study Introduction


  1. Film genre and type of production?

    Big Hero 6 is an upcoming American 3D computer-animated action-adventure superhero-comedy film. It is a high concept event film and is a massive blockbuster. It uses loads of VFX and CGI which is both expensive and impressive. It features superheroes from comics by Marvel Studios which Walt Disney have made into a film. Rated PG for action and peril, some rude humor, and thematic elements.Official Website
    IMDB
    Wikipedia
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  2. What's the film about?.
    This film is about the special bond that develops between Baymax, a plus-sized inflatable robot, and prodigy Hiro Hamada. When a devastating event befalls the city of San Fransokyo and catapults Hiro into the midst of danger, he turns to Baymax and his close friends adrenaline junkie Go Go Tomago, neatnik Wasabi, chemistry whiz Honey Lemon and fanboy Fred. Determined to uncover the mystery, Hiro transforms his friends into a band of high-tech heroes called "Big Hero 6."     
        
    .
  3. Global and UK release dates? Where and what formats?
    .
    Big Hero 6 will premiere on October 23, 2014 as the opening film at the Tokyo International Film Festival.
    It will be theatrically released in the United States on November 7, 2014.
    Before that it will feature in a number of film festivals in the USA; the Philadelphia International Film festival and Austin Film festival on the 25th October 2014, the New York International Children's Film Festival on the 26th October 2014, the Savannah Film and Video Festival on the 27th October 2014 and at the Hawaii Film Festival on the 1st November 2014. It will be released in the UK on the 30th January 2015.
    A positive effect of a prolonged release would be that if loads of people liked it then there would be a positive word of mouth and therefore more people would want to go see it at later dates in their country.
    It will be globally released in around 54 countries.
    IMDB
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  4. Nationality of the film?.
    .........................................................................................................................................................

    American
    IMDB
    Wikipedia
    .
  5. Institutions behind the film's production and UK/US distribution? Where are they based?.......                                    
                                 
    - Based on a comic written by Marvel but Marvel have no creative input into the film itself  as the comic has been adapted to suit a Disney audience. Disney and Marvel have  a symbiotic .relationship.
    - Produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and Walt Disney Pictures
    - Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures have offices all over the world and they will distribute the film globally as Disney is a vertically and horizontally integrated company.
    Wikipedia
    Marvel
    Official Website
    Article
  6. What's the film's production budget?
    .
    The production budget for this film is $165million as it is a big budget film and all Disney animations have very high production budgets as it costs loads of money to make and it's also a high concept blockbuster film.
    Wikipedia
    .
  7. Any connection with other films?
    .
    It can be related to all other Disney animation films such as Frozen and Wreck It Ralph as they will probably use the same animation techniques. The film is also based on a comic by Marvel Studios so there is some interlink there.
    Wikipedia
    Walt Disney Animation Studios
    .
  8. Who's the director?..
    ...................................................................................................................................

    Don Hall and Chris Williams are the director of this movie.Don Hall is known for his work on 'The Emperor's New Groove' (2000), 'The Princess and the Frog' (2009) and 'Tarzan' (1999). Chris Williams is known for his work on 'The Emporer's New Groove' (2000), 'Bolt' (2008) and 'Mulan' (1998)
    IMDB

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  9. How has the film been cast?
    .
    There is a real ethnic mix in the casting with people from various different backgrounds being cast. There are really no big name Hollywood actors in this film because it will be predominantly animation so you'll only here their voices so it'll allow Walt Disney to spend more on the making of the film. The actors may be recognised by American's as some of them have acted in US TV. The main characters are played by Ryan Potter as Hiro Hamada, Scott Adsit as Baymax, Jamie Chung as GoGo Tomago, Genesis Rodriguez as Honey Lemon, Damon Wayans as Wasabi and T.J. Miller as Fred.
    Official Website
    IMDB
  10. Core audience? Secondary/tertiary markets?
    .
    The core audience for this film would be mainly kids all across the world. The secondary audience could be fans of Walt Disney films or someone who likes a good comedy/adventure/action combined film. Also in that catergory would be fans of the Marvel comic. The tertiary audience would be parents who are taking their kids to watch this film and as their is a Japanese influence in the film maybe fans of manga.
    Wikipedia
    Official Website  .

The Knife that Killed Me Case Study Introduction



  1. Film genre and type of production?.The genre of the film is a teen thriller/drama and is being produced by a small British independent company in Yorkshire with a low budget. It is rated a 15 due to reference to oral sex, violence and swearing.
    Green Screen Studios
    IMDB
    BBFC
  1. What's the film about?

    “The Knife That Killed Me” is a compelling journey through the memories of teenager Paul Varderman as he reflects on the events leading to the fatal moment his life is cut short. Paul moves to a new school and becomes involved with ‘The Freaks’, a group on the periphery of school life, those who don’t fit in: scene kids, emo kids, indie kids. Outsiders.At the same time he attracts the attention of the schools twisted and manipulative bully, Roth. When Paul delivers a message from Roth to the leader of a gang at a rival school, it sparks a dangerous feud.Faced with growing pressures from both groups, Paul must decide where his friendship lies, a decision that may cost him his life.
                        
    Themes: Teen gangs, rivalry, knife crime and peer pressure.
    IMDB
    Wikipedia

    .
  2. Global and UK release dates? Where and what formats?
    .
    - Screening at London Independent Film Festival on Friday 18th October 2014.
    - Multi-platform premier at the National Media Museum, Bradford, Museum of Science &    .Industry, Manchester and Frank's Cafe, London on the 15th June 2014.
    - Screening at Alice Nella Citta Rome film festival from the 17th-19th October 2014
    - LEAP charity screening at Notting Hill Picture House on the 23rd October 2014
    - UK release date: 24th October 2014
    - Global release date : no theatrical release but available for online streaming
    - Format: Video on demand (VOD) and DVD.
    - Screened at Coventry Literaru Festival in June 2014
    - Online premier - July 2014
    - Question and answer session at York Picture House cinema on the 27th July 2014
    Facebook
    Official Website
    .
  3. Nationality of the film?.
    British - small independent national film
    Localised to one region - Yorkshire
    All British crew
    Kickstarter
    Newspaper Article

  4. .Institutions behind the film's production and UK/US distribution? Where are they  based?..
    ....
    - Produced by Green Screen Studio
    - Produced by Green Screen Studios
    - Universal Studios,based in the UK (UK distribution)
    - Focus Features, based in Hollywood, owned by Universal Studios (US distribution)
    - Distribution by GSP Distribution (Yorkshire based small scale distribution)
    - Stealth Media Group, based in Brighton (World distribution)
    Stealth Media Group
    Green Screen Studios

  5. What's the film's production budget?The film had a budget of £3million and it was financed by Gloucester Place Films who are  a part of Matador Pictures.
                                                
    Kickstarter is a campaign to help fund small independent creative projects from films to art. This film raised £20,094 by 283 backers for their premiers.
    Kickstarter
    Wikipedia
    .
  6. Any connection with other films?Based on the best-selling novel by Anthony McGowan. The film was shot in a green screen studio and uses similar styles and techniques (the green screen) to other films such as 'Sin City'
    Amazon
    Marcus Romer's Blog
    York University

                                                        
  7. Who's the director?..............
    Kit Monkman and Marcus Romer. Marcus Romer also wrote the screenplay for the film.
    Marcus Romer is the artistic director of Pilot Theatre and is a published director, playwright and actor.
          

  8. How has the film been cast?
    .
    The film is cast with predominantly British actors who aren't that well known or are slowly gaining recognition. The main actor is Jake McMullen who was in Waterloo Road so some British teenagers might recognise him as he has a national reputation for British TV.
    IMDB
    Wikipedia

    Jack McMullen
    .
  9. Core audience? Secondary/tertiary markets?
    .
    The core audience for this film would be British teenagers/young adults (16-24 year olds) The secondary audience is likely to be fans of the book as well as fans of small independent films. Fans of the teenage thriller/drama genre and people who like small independent films. The tertiary audience would be the local community as the film is Yorkshire based.
    Fan Site.
    Wikipedia

Thursday 2 October 2014

Continuity Task Evaluation


This is the continuity sequence that my group filmed and edited. 

1. Who did you work with and how did you manage the task between you?

I worked with Angela, Eddie and Mario. I feel like we worked really well as a group because we all had an input in the final product and everyone listened to each others ideas. We all contributed to the idea and the narrative of the sequence as we all agreed on a particular genre, comedy. Eddie drew out the storyboard while we all contributed and dictated what he should draw and write. He also filmed and framed most of the shots. Angela wrote out the shot list in the shoot order that we planned to do and any props we needed to make the shoot day as efficient as possible. She also directed the shots and did the clapperboard. Mario and I were actors in the sequence but we also helped with the pre-production. I wrote out the script and helped Eddie frame the shots that I was not in. We split into pairs to edit our sequence and I was paired with Angela. We shared out the editing task and worked really closely in order to get the match on action as good as we could.









I worked with these three people; Angela, Eddie and Mario.


2. How did you plan your sequence? What processes did you use? What theories did you try to take into account?

We planned our sequence collectively as a group, all sharing out the work that needed to be done although we did make all the important decisions like the narrative, dialogue, action and framing of the shots together. We tried to incorporate the three main theories listed in the brief; match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180 degree rule. We used a variety of different processes in order to plan our sequence efficiently. We did a rehearsal the day before which meant all of us knew the narrative and action really well.

Storyboard. 





One of the processes we used was a storyboard. It was a very helpful process for us as it meant that we all knew how the shots should look which made the job easier for all of us. It also meant that if any of us had forgotten a shot we could refer back to the storyboard and figure it out. It also helped a lot with editing as it told us what order to put our shots.







Shot list and shoot schedule





Another process we used was a shot list and shooting schedule. This meant that on the shoot day we could easily shoot the shots in a logical order according to their location. This made the job so much easier as we didn't have to waste time on the day deciding when to shoot the shots. It saved us a lot of time and meant that we had more time filming which was more important.








Script







We also used a script which aided the efficiency of our shoot day as Mario and I both knew our lines and there wasn't many retakes of the shots. 










3. What technology did you use to complete the task, and how did you use it?

Canon HF G30 and shotgun microphone



We used a Canon HF G30 to film the shots and a shot gun microphone for the audio. Eddie did most of the filming work with the camera and Angela did the sound check.






Adobe Premiere Pro
We used an editing software called Adobe Premiere Pro to edit the sequence. We had to re watch the shots then choose the ones we wanted to use in our sequence. Then, we had to cut the shots we took using in and out points and place them on the timeline. We also used the razor tool to cut some of the shots in between. For the audio, we adjusted the level of sound so that it was consistent throughout.




4.What factors did you have to take into account when planning, shooting and editing?

We had to take into account a lot of factors. When we were planning we had to consider our location as we were shooting in a school and there were factors such as the bell and school children walking around that we had to plan around which I feel we did really well. We also had to take into account the lighting, framing, sound, dialogue, action and camera movement. When shooting we also had to take into account location and as there was also another group filming we had to take into account the times that we took our shots as in the middle of some of our shots we could see the other group in the background meaning we had to re-film those shots. Whilst editing we really had to consider our match on action as it had to be as near to perfect as possible in order to avoid a jump cut. We had to cut and match our shot/reverse shots for our conversation as well so we had to take into account the timings to get a perfect match. We also had to take into account the 30 degree rule which meant that we couldn't use our master shot as much as we wanted to as it was too similar to the conversation shots which would've broken the 30 degree rule and the continuity of our sequence.


5. How successful was your sequence? Please identify what worked well, and with hindsight, what would you improve/do differently?

In my opinion, I think that our sequence was very successful as it followed the brief exactly and we used the three main techniques they asked us to use well. Our sequence had match on action, used the 180 degree rule and the shot/reverse shot effectively for the conversation. We edited it well and the main aim of this task was continuity and I think that our sequence flowed really well and had a good narrative structure to it. We also used a lot of genre signifiers so that the audience could identify it easily. In hindsight, I would like to film an extra two-shot of the conversation as in our sequence there were a lot of shot/reverse shots continuously and having a two-shot in the middle would have broken it up a bit and made it a bit more easy on the eye and more enjoyable for the audience. I would have also drawn a neater storyboard which would have made it easier for us to read and understand. 

6. What have you learnt from completing this task? Looking ahead, how will this learning be significant when completing the rest of your foundation coursework, do you think?

  • I have learnt loads of continuity techniques such as the 180 degree rule, the 30 degree rule, shot/reverse shot and match on action. 
  • I have also learnt that it's always good to film some extra shots even if you weren't initially planning to use them as they may come in handy when editing. 
  • The master shot is vital as you can cut back to it whenever you need.
  • Planning is a very important step in pre-production as it makes the shoot days so much more easier and you can use your time more efficiently for filming.
  • I have also learnt lots of editing techniques such as the in and out points, using the razor tool and how to get the match on action as near to perfect as possible. 
  • I have learnt how to avoid jump cuts and breaking vital rules such as the 180 degree rule and the 30 degree rule. 
All of this learning will be significant to the rest of my foundation coursework as the brief is to film an opening sequence which means I have to use the continuity techniques in order to aid the narrative flow of my sequence. I also have to use the pre-production skills that I have learnt to make the filming as efficient and easy as possible.