Scene sketches

I have decided to sketch some of the scenes to give me a rough feel of what I want. This should help me and make me more prepared when I come to film it, hopefully it will turn out like I envisage but my drawing does let me down a little bit.






Hanging scene

















Suitcase on the bed












Dropped off at the halfway house













Looking outside to see the kids











Finding the rope in the shed

Change to the script (Idea two)

Okay I have made some relatively substantial changes to my script of Breaking Point (Idea Two). These changes consist of:

• The narration will begin as usual, but with the image of a black screen, it is either the build up with images of him as a kid, or just straight into the shot of the taxi driving off leaving the character at the halfway house. It will then cut to a shot of the man throwing his bag on the bed and the door closing. The man takes a big deep in and out. He will then turn to open his bag to hear this faint sound of children playing, it will get louder until he reaches the window to see three little girls playing in the back garden, then the voice of a man and a women talking and kissing. A  shot back to the man looking out of the window, closes his eyes opens them again to a (POV) shot to seem them disappear.  It will fade out to a wide angled shot of a park, the man will slowly enter the shot from the right wearing a bright orange vest. He has a part time job cleaning litter from parks for his probation. That same sound of children will appear, he will look to the playground to see children playing in there with the same man and women. Then there will be a wide angle shot where the family disappear with him still in the frame. It fades out again, narration kicks in, its opens to the old man walking out of the shop with what seems to be a rope in the bag. Then fades to the house, as you seem him pull up his tie, dressed in a suit he steps on to a chair. Then a shot of him reaching for the rope hanging from the ceiling. It slowly works down his body until you see him shack the chair and it tip over. An outside shot of the man from behind hanging... fades out. To see the same taxi drive off, with a new man standing at the drive way. 

Learn how to use different editing software

Photoshop: How to Learn Photoshop

A huge advantage of Photoshop is you have more ways to learn it, like this page here, than any other program. So many people know it it's easy to learn just about anywhere.

The best way to learn Photoshop is to take a class at your local community college to learn the basics of Lightening Underexposed Images and Correcting Color Casts and White Balance Problems. These basic adjustments are covered in every introductory Photoshop class and book so I'll just cover them quickly below. You must be fluent in these to get anywhere with Photoshop for optimizing images.

Photoshop also has built-in help as well as free tutorial usually included in the box. All you need to do is choose how you learn best and go that way. Personally I learn best from an in-person class or having an expert show me in person. When I have a question about how to find some obscure tool or how to make a command work I just choose help from the HELP menu.

Basic Operation and Tricks of the Trade

All these adjustments work with every kind of image. That's why skilled photographers feel sorry for people who toil away with RAW files just so they can correct exposure and white balance later. You can do it all to any JPG image in Photoshop without all the hassle.

The tricks below presume you have at least a basic navigational familiarity with Photoshop. You can get that from any book or community college class, or even the built-in help!

Photoshop has been around since the 1980s when it was only used by professionals. It therefore uses terms from traditional professional photography and the commercial printing press trades. Often these terms are exactly the opposite of what you'd expect! The most obviously labeled tools are sometimes the worst way to do things, so read up below.

People spend entire careers learning Photoshop. There is more to learn than any single human will be able to master. Each of us learns what's relevant to our own work

A tutorial on YouTube that helped me on the basics

Script Number 2

SECOND IDEA

STEVEN HUBBARDO

IDEA 2

Open up with a black screen, narration

Character number one

This is a story of a boy and a girl, however it is not your usual happy love story… it is my story… and in my story we should have lived happily ever after… apart from one problem, and it was a pretty big problem. (Black Screen)

There comes a time in every man’s life, when he is forced to reflect on his mistakes… In my case there was just one that stood out. I started off life like everyone else, a kid, no worries, no cares, no problems… I did however make the occasional mistake.

Anyway, this is my story. It starts off at an early age, just an innocent looking kid running around living life to the full. (images and amateur footage as a kid) It carried on all through my school life; however I met someone, my soon to be best friend, the kindest, sweetest girl I had ever met. (All old styled footage to suggest some kind of flashback) I was to stay with her for four more years, safe to say they were the happiest years of my life.

Let’s get back to that problem of mine; to me my life seemed pretty perfect… I didn’t really want anything else in life at that point. (flashback)

It was our fourth year anniversary, I had planned on taking her out but me being me forgot to book and I couldn’t find anywhere that would take us at such late notice. Instead I took her for a romantic meal down next to the river. It all seemed fine until we started arguing. It was such a pointless argument…

Location bridge next to a local stream. No sound just pictures showing the two arguing, boy slowly getting more and more annoyed until he pushes the girl back, she stumbles and trips on the curb over the edge of the bridge and into the shallow rock layered stream.

Everyone experiences mistakes, some worse than others, nevertheless it happens to all of us. Most people learn and benefit from their mistakes, sadly my mistake was not one I could benefit from. (Shows the boy being handcuffed and put into the back of a police car)

And that was my problem, I was convicted for a life sentence minimum of 50 years… there is a reason why I am telling this story, first of all… (fades in to a shot of a road slowing moving up hearing a metal gate close) it was the day of my release, 54 years later and I am out of prison... you think it would be a glorious occasion but to be perfectly honest I got used to being in prison… and dare I say it I saw it as my home. I had friends in there, I have no one out here apart from this assigned helper to get me used to the outside world, arrange work and place to stay… but she doesn’t care about me, I am just a job to her…  I am nothing to everyone else. I tried to work, and live in the outside world… but I can’t do it, too much has changed… I remember reading this quote in prison, “Do not pity those that are dead, pity those who are alive and above all pity those alive and without love” All I hope now is that this letter both shows my sincere apology for (girl name and family) and raise well needed awareness for those who come out of prison to be faced with nothing.. and above all those alive without love… sadly I have decided to take the easy way out… but I hope this letter and my actions have some kind of positive effect… Your sincerely a man who couldn’t do it anymore. (Shot of a chair slowly being rocked until it turns on to its side, all you can see is the feet, twitching until they stop fade out.

As he is reading this out a journey of him walking, donating all his money to the local charity, paying for his flat to be rented out for 2 years for the 3 homeless people in the town, this is done by a shot of the 3 shaggy clothed men signing a piece of paper. Then his final journey to the post box to deliver his letter. 

Script draft 1

Idea 1

By

Steven Hubbardo

“Idea 1”

FADE IN:

Ext. Location #1 – Day: Mixture of opening shots on the main characters lane (Happiness lane).

Narration over the top (main character is the narrator).

Stanley

“There is an age old question that everyone has asked themselves once in their life time. Some more than others, but still, everyone at some point in their life have asked themselves… When are they going to die… and how? It’s rare that anyone can credibly state the day… location…hour…even the minute you are going to die. Fortunate or unfortunate, depending on how you look at it… my name is Stanley Walnut… and I am that rare occasion.

INT. LOCATION #2 – DAY: In the house, bedroom, above shot looking down at Stanley

Stanley

“My name is Stanley Walnut… and I am that rare occasion” (smug).

SHOT: (Series of various shots of Stanley, his daughter/boyfriend and his wife getting ready in the morning)

Stanley Walnut

(Walking down the hall to wake his daughter up)

“The pain of my life, waking Suzie up every morning…sadly I couldn’t see other things in my future”… (Opens the door to see her own her knees with her boyfriend standing up in with her blocking the lower part of his body)

Stanley

”Suzie wake… oh wow… (Shuts the door fast, close up of his face)

Suzie shouts through the door “Have you never heard of knocking?!”

Stanley

Stanley shouts back “What is wrong with you… at such a young age!”

Suzie

Suzie replies “I am 18 Dad… if you were a good father you would know that!”

Stanley

“A good father” It only seems that way because I have terrible Daughter” (walks halfway up the hall in anger, looks back, realises he took things to far but his stubbornness forces him to carry on walking) “If only I would have listened to Suzie… all this time… she was right”

INT. Location #3 – Day - in Stanley’s bedroom, wide shot of the room. Stanley and Grace in the room (Grace is Stanley’s wife). Grace overhears the argument between him and Suzie and decides to confront Stanley about it.

Grace

“It’s like you want your daughter to hate you!”

Stanley

“It’s like you enjoy arguing with me!”

Grace

“It’s always about yourself” Do you ever consider how other people feel Stan?”

Stanley

“Really” (Pause, heavy sigh) “What is wrong with us lately? All we ever seem to do is argue?”

Grace

“We” More like you! It’s always you! You just don’t care anymore”

(Grace storms out of the room)

Ext. Location #4 – Day – Outside of Stanley’s work Suzie sees him harmlessly getting close with another women, then linking arms, she connects the dots with the arguing between him and Grace to Stanley having an affair.

Int. Location #5 – Day – Morning, Stanley is seen leaving for work. Shot of Stanley driving away then the Gardner arriving around the corner. Cuts into the house, hallway, only natural light from the gaps in the blinds shining down on the pair (Gardner and Grace in the same room) Grace walks to the blinds all the time looking at the Gardner, as she twists the blinds she checks out-side to make sure it is “clear”. Shot from the outside of the blinds closing then fade out.

Meanwhile Stanley is seen pulling up on the road, rushing out of his car as rushes to open the front door, walks around gets right next to the living room door but quickly turns around to pick a folder off from the table in the hall. As he picks up the folder he hears a noise, as he is walking to the living room one foot at a time he opens a draw and pulls out an old looking revolver and a right handed black leather glove, then slowly creeps towards the door. As he is about to reach the door the cat rushes out from the stairs, Stan laughs to himself, looks at his watch and in a panic puts the gun and glove on the side and rushes outside.

Ext. Location #6 – Late Afternoon, Stanley arrives back from work to see the Gardner still there doing the job, zoom in shot of the Gardner and his bright green/orange gloves. Walks into the door staring like a hawk at the Gardner who resists raising his head. Stanley looks at his watch then realising he is three hours overtime.

Stanley

“I hope you don’t expect me to pay you for over time” (In a comical manner)

Gardner

“You don’t have to; it’s the least I could do, after-all your wife is very generous”

Stanley hesitates… ignores the comment and carries on walking. As he reaches the door, about to open it the boyfriend opens it; with a big hand gesture he signals Stanley that he has the right of way with his right hand. On his right hand a black leather glove.

Int. Location #7 – Morning, Grace and Suzie in Suzie’s bed room. Suzie call’s Grace in to discuss what she saw with Stanley and the other women, but she manipulates it to go against Stanley.

Grace

“So what is it you want dear?”

Suzie

“Well, I was off on my lunch break walking past dad’s work... and I saw him with another women... they were holding hands, he even gave her a quick kiss before they crossed the street...”

Grace fuming with rage ran out of the room to see if Stanley was there but Stanley had already left for work. She then runs to the draw Stanley had visited previously to get the gun, she pulls out another one of the two identical handguns but finds one was already missing. There was also only one glove so she picks it up and puts it on her left hand. Still shot of her looking at the gun... fade out.

Int. Location #8 – Late afternoon – Stanley appears home after work, he enters the house to find all the lights off, walks to into the living room and stares at the family picture, remembering how close they were.

Shot’s of the mother driving aggressively with the gun by her side, then to another shot of some unknown character holding a gun walking through the hall way.

Stanley

“They say just as you are about to die you’re life flashes before your eyes in a few seconds. First of all that is not true, it is much longer than a few seconds, in fact it drags out for quite some time... for me I saw many things, the first time I built a tree house with my dad on a bright summers afternoon, the first time I met Grace in a local co-op... She was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen... But it was family photo that remained in sight for the longest, remembering how happy we were together, how excited the family were to get our first picture together as one... My heart filled up uncontrollably to the point that I felt it was going to burst. I had so much anger that it went so wrong... but all I could see was the beauty in life, the breath-taking beauty... I couldn’t help but smile... my heart, my soul, and my body... all overflowing with gratitude... one day you will realise what I mean... One day...

Unknown character seen holding the gun behind Stanley’s head...

Bang! Gunshot fade to black hear body hit the floor.

Shot to shot list

Opening shot- Planning to have a shot of the sky, wide shot, setting the scene. Then to slowly move down to reveal the protagonist of the film
Second shot- Straight into the house, close from behind shot
Next shot- quick shots from different angles of putting suitcase down and unzipping, POV, over the shoulder and many other shots.
Next shot- from behind man walking to the window
Nest shot- POV shot looking out at the children
Next shot- POV and over the shoulder shots of the man in the shed
Next shot- All close up shots on the build up to the hanging

Brain Storming for Ideas

Decisions

Ben Willingsworth, boy who could never make his mind up, from big to small he could never make a decision… he would outline 5-10 pro’s and con’s each way for every single choice, whether it is selecting what kind of chocolate he wants or buying different clothes. It got so bad his mum had to pick and lay out his clothes to stop him being late every morning. So ideas of him making choices… picking what clothes to wear, what food to eat, what drink to consume all of that shizen, so think of a script, write it and go with it, build it up for the car hitting scene, sees the man is red but needs to get home, decides something this big will help him improve himself so decides to cross and bam…car hits him…

“There is an age old question that everyone has asked themselves… some more than others, but still, everyone at some point has asked themselves… When and how are you going to die…? It’s rare that anyone can credibly state the day… location…hour…even the minute you are going to die. Fortunate or unfortunate, depending on how you look at it… my name is Ben Willingsworth… and I am that rare occasion” fade in on face lying down on the bed.

“My story if quite a simple one, I live in a four bedroom house, oldest sibling with two annoying little brats”

Kid one “Hey Ben…

Ben: “what?”

Kid one “What clothes did mum pick for you today hahahaah”

Ben “And that is what I deal with… pure immaturity… and I know what you’re thinking… I am a teenager and my mum still picks my clothes… but there is a reason for it, I have been born with this problem where I can’t make decisions”

 From an early age I had this thing; some people call it a problem but I prefer a thing. Either way I was soon to realise how problematic it could be. When I was younger it was deemed as cute… (Shots of him at a young age not being able to decide what packet of crisps to eat, mum thought it was funny so decided to film some amateur footage of me and my problem). Looking back on it, it was rather cute, however as I started to reach my teens the problems started. I could not make a single decision. I was supposed to be entering the age of independence… I couldn’t even decide what food to eat before school. I would end up sitting there for hours just looking at the cereal boxes. My mum attempted everything, buying only one brand… but it just kept getting worse and worse. 

How film posters are represented in popular culture

Film posters can be represented in popular culture in many different ways. Obviously you will see film posters in the area of a cinema, they advertise their goods to attract people to come and watch the movies. But do all the big hit movies get that place on the wall around the area of the cinema's. As the cinema's are businesses they aim to attract as many customers as possible, to do this they must feature the most attractive or most popular films within the showcase of film posters. You will always see the most attractive, big budget, hollywood block-busters in the showcase for film posters. This is just the way they are represented in popular culture. Sometimes the film posters will be accompanied or integrated with cardboard cut outs of the main characters of the movie.

This is an example of a cinema displaying film posters.

However film posters can be represented in different manners, they are also on sale to the public enabling the public to appreciate and buy their favourite films posters. They can use this to serve as a reminder to the feeling's felt whilst watching the movie, it is also used to appreciate a certain actor/actors with posters dedicated just to them in the feature film. Stars such as megan fox would be seen in a seductive pose to seduce and attract consumers to watch the movie and buy the film poster. 

If you look at this film poster you can see that Megan Fox is used as the protagonist in this poster, it is appealing to the people that appreciate the beauty of a women, along with the seductive post and slight view of her breasts, it all add's up to be a successful attraction to see this movie or buy this film poster. Some people will buy posters like this to both appreciate the movie and appreciate the actors involved (Megan Fox's breasts in this case) this is smartly "abused" by the film as they know people (in particular boys) like to see this kind of semi-nudity in a film and film poster.

There is still other ways that film posters are represented in popular culture, they are printed on to t-shirts so you can wear, show and appreciate the film poster and serve as a reminder to the love of that film. It is particularly successful when the film poster represents some sort of comic outlook. Or in the case of transformers, an attractive actress on the front revelling slight semi-nudity. As a young teen, having a well renowned attractive figure with partial breast showing is a popular choice. For this reason it makes it successful in the popular culture. However they are not always in production, the most popular is that of movie super heroes. Everyone appreciates their childhood superhero on a shirt, it is seen as comical and dare I say it "cool".

What are the common conventions of the film poster?

A common convention to do with film posters would usually include a clear conveyed message to the audience, its basic aim is to attract and appeal to the audiences interests. It will usually combine an appealing picture with a key phrase or word in the movie, some movie genre's give clues to the plot in the film poster, to interest people that see it as a challenge. However many film posters also play on the actors they have in the movie, they will put emphasis on big and famous actors. For example, if you went to see a John Wayne movie, you would go because of John Wayne, sometimes you might not even know the name of the film but the shear fact that John Wayne is starring as the lead role is enough to convince you to go. There are some basic rules for when it comes to designing a poster. Too much text is not advised, an overload of information will be ignored by audiences walking by, you need to attract the audience with a gripping picture or big feature actor. The most text used should usually consist of a key phrase or key words and the usual credits along with the name of a big actors is they are present. Unclear structure. If key elements such as objectives, approach, conclusions, or perspectives are missing, everyone who is not an insider on your subject will not understand why your poster is relevant. The poster has to be relevant to the genre to theme of the feature film. Inappropriate structure. Many people blindly apply the standard structure of a written report, thereby using their poster as a sort of miniature article, which almost automatically leads to a lot of text. There is no standard structure for a poster, but the normal conventions use only necessary text. Poor figures. Some figures may be real puzzles, with incomprehensible legends, secret codes, small lettering, and cryptical captions, etc. In the terms of common conventions you would try to use readably font and figures.vInformation overload. Many presenters overload their posters with too many data, and greatly overestimate the time that the average visitor is willing to spend on the poster. A common convention is too only use necessary phrases and words, you need to attract your target audience, making them read long sentences will not do the job, visual attraction is the easiest and most effective method for increasing interest in the certain feature film. The common conventions attempt to attract the audience without having to explain what is featured on the poster, no one is there to present the information so you have to make it clear, attractive and stand out compared to the rest.

Progression of my Idea's

Idea 1
Okay...... one boy, one girl, wife and husband, potential neighbours and a Gardner. Boy in the age bracket of 18-20.. girl younger, about 16-17. Wife and Husband have a clear problem in their marriage. Very evident when you look at how they get ready for school/work. Boy and girl talking over skype or  in person, undecided as of yet! The girl shares all her problems about their family breaking down, and has suspicion of her dad cheating on her mum, when in-fact it is the other way around. suspscion first arose when she saw her dad leaving work early with another women linking arms, but she does that with everyone and nothing was meant by it, children are known to have minds that start to kick in, and imagination linked the linking of arms with the hostlilty at home.. the only possible outcome was an affair ( In her mind that is) She will show this by talking to her boyfriend about it, and generally being negative towards her dad. The wife is then seen with the gardener, she is seen to eye him up and down and attempt to suduce him with various poses and pouts. Or conversly the gardner is seen to make gestures that would suggest an intrest her, long stares waiting for eye contact with a cheeky wink. Something a long them lines to enforce the potential for an affair. With all the attempts seeming to fail she gives up. A scene of her by herself in her room, talking in the mirror telling her to invite him in, have an "innocent" drink, when in fact she know's that will develop into something else. In terms of the gardner, he decides to approach the wife, ask's for a drink smoothly and politely. After that he goes in to return the cup, they stare at each other for a few seconds.. then rush in to each other, very fast and swift movements, picks her up and carry's her into the bedroom.. fade out. Fade back in to see them out of breath covered by bed covers, reasonably sweaty, she looks so satisfied as if she had been depreived, the lack of intercourse between the wife an husband  is suggested at the start when he woke up early to masturbate in the toilet when his wife was asleep. There needs to be a shot of the gardner at work, with stand out gloves, trimming the plants with a close up of the draper, this will become important furthur down the line. The connectiona and emphasis of these items are key to understand the final plot, the boyfriend and the gardner have the same gardening equipment, I may do introducing shot's, one shot being a dicsount offer of the gloves and drapper together in a buy no one could resist, introduce the main items early on. Anway the two people will wear and use the same gardening tools, the boyfriend will wear them when using them to practise his favourite hobby.. gardening.. and obviously the gardner will use them when working at the main house. The daughter tells her mother about her theory of her husband cheating on her.. in a fit of rage either steals the gardening equipment off the gardner, or they agree to deal with him, she maybe gives the gardener a propostition, if she kills him they can be together.. either way it looks like the husband is going to die.. the question is how and who? I may use the gloves as the main item, they both think to use that to prevent finger prints, I am still debating whether to use a gun or the draper, the draper would seem to be more messy, and the gun is a bit to cliche, but the gun seems easier to use and create on screen, with the help of some effects, it just needs to be believeable. I also debating on having a narrator, like the husband speaking from hindsight, knowing that his deaf is near and speaking about it. At the moment it seems like all my ideas are muddled up, I need to lay and plan out all of my ideas and make some sort of achievable but effective storyline.

Idea 2: Quite simply, and old man reflecting back on his life, seeing all his mistakes, all of his moments of "glory.. but one mistake that stands out, one mistake that changed his life completely.. one mistake he can apoligize for as much as he likes but never can the damage be undone. He will narrate that opening something a long them lines, then it will fade out. "But before all of that, I was living quite a good life, I had an alright job, loving family life, in an average 5 bedroom house" A girlfriend for 3 years, 3 months and 15 days. It was her/ his birthday, she on the over hand was not as rich, in fact she lived in a bungalow 2 bedrooms, just her and her mum. To make matters worse her and her mum never really saw eye to eye, they would fight and argue all the time, the anger caused by the family problems reflected on to the realtionship until it got to a breaking point, it just built and built up, usually the boy could take it but on that day he found out he didn't get into the uni he wanted to go to, and he missed out by 2 marks for one of his subjects, he tried and tried but the university would not accept him. He felt like all his hard work was for nothing, he had never had such a bad feeling, it slowly turned into rage, his girlfriend came round to try and comfort him but he had gone to his quite spot near a local stream, he saw it as his only safe place when his anger built up, his girlfriend turned up as he saw it rudely, it was his spot and he was not happy about it, he tried to walk away as he could feel his anger building up, she grabbed his arm to hold him back and try to talk to him, in his fit of rage he pushed her, not that hard but hard enough to make her stumble backwards, as she was stumbling she trips over a low part of a bridge and back flips off the bridge.. the boyfriend races over to see if she is fine.. to be greeted with her empaled body lying still on the streams bed, a metal pole has pieced through her abdomin, as she layed there all you could see was the water slowly turning red with one tear falling down her right eye. The shot will then fade out back to the old man.. he will also have one tear coming down the right eye, "I could always deal with the life sentence... I could always deal with the pain of letting people down.. I could always deal with the hatred forced upon me for what I did.. but I could never deal with the image of her.. laying there.. so still... the one I loved for so long.. just laying there.. all because of me.. how can you learn to deal with such a thing? Still after all this time.... how many times I have sorry will never make up for what I done...I can only see one way out of this..." camera slowing zooming out to see a noose.. then him standing on a chair.. then him wobling the chair until it falls.. he just hangs there... fade out.

What kind of influence do film posters have?

Film posters can have a variety of different influences on a film and audience. On the film it can be a good way of advertising the movie, you can make a viewer laugh, cry, or simply just interest them with a good effective poster. They can also be quite popular with the fan cult following the certain movies. For the average person, the trailer and film poster has the potential to influence their choice to choose that certain movie. When visiting the cinema you either know what movie you want to watch, or you can use the film posters as an incentive to your decision. A successful advertising campaign uses film posters as a key incentive to watch or buy the movie. A film poster is usually the first form of advertising a movie produces, it is the first real insight into the movie. It can give a strong idea of what and who the main protagonist is. It will also give a good idea to genre of the movie, if it is an action motion-picture, there will traditonally be some kind of action looking scene on the front, either that or something that screams out "serious action".

To serious fan cults, obtaning the iconic film posters is a must, influential film posters such as the 1975 big hitter "Jaws".

Film posters are also appreciated in their "attractiveness"

Learning how to use photoshop

As I was new to the most of the adobe software, I thought I would make a start with Photoshop as that was necessary for creation of both my ancillary tasks. I used the website http://www.adobephotoshoptutorials.com/
it allowed me to get used to the basics and more! It built confidence in my Photoshop skills and I felt confident to try new things within the software. I would recommend the website for its wide variety of videos and aid to build up your skills in the Photoshoping world.

Research on how to use effective shots

I wanted to remind myself on some good camera shots and how to use them effectively. I visited many websites and learned a variety of new shots that will hopefully help me when it comes to the filming of my project. I hope to integrate as many shots as I can in my movie without make it look unnecessary.
 List of shots

• Extreme Wide shot: used to set the scene or shot (establishing shot)
• Very wide shot (yes there is a difference)  The subject is visible (barely), but the emphasis is still on placing him in his environment
• Wide shot: 
•  The subject takes up the full frame, or at least as much as comfortably possible.
• Mid shot:  Shows some part of the subject in more detail while still giving an impression of the whole subject.
• Medium up close shot: Halfway between a mid shot and a close up.
• Close up:  A certain feature or part of the subject takes up the whole frame.
• Extreme close up: Self explanatory really
• Cut in:  Shows some (other) part of the subject in detail.
• Cut away:  A shot of something other than the subject.
• Over the shoulder shot: Looking from behind a person at the subject.
• Point of view shot: Shows a view from the subject's perspective.
• Two shot: A shot of two people, framed similarly to a mid shot.

A few picture examples

Point of view shot

Extreme wide shot 

Research into the Film Review Ancillary task

For the film review, I wanted to get some background information on the conventions of a film review. This ranging from the layout, format, color etc. I visited a wide variety of film reviews to get a diverse look at what the similarities are and the differences among competitors in the market.

Similarities

• All seem to use columns in their layout choice, it is effective in many ways, easy and concise to read, reasonably attractive on the eye and it has a certain professionalism feel to it.
• Most are very formal in their writing, never any slang or loose phrases. Tends to be very strongly opinionated but with an element of fairness. Some film reviews could simply make or break a film just on the vast majority of voters.
• Pretty much all of the sites with have a rating for the film, whether in stars (Empire) or tomatoes (Rotten Tomatoes). Either way there will be some form of rating system present in the film review.
• Pretty much all of the films reviews have shots or the film poster in the review, maybe to break up the text with a bit of visual attraction. Seems like a good idea rather than boring the consumer with facts and figures. Hit them with something from the movie, a teaser and they would most likely be more incline to digest both the review and the film.
• They all seem to include some facts about the film, who its star's, how long it is, director, producer etc.
• They also tends to include the release date if not already released in a certain country.

Differences

• Admittedly some were very formal and factual, but that was not always the case, other websites offering a much more qwerky take. Example (Rotten tomatoes) Effective and funny, very modern and could see why it would appeal the younger generation. 
• Not all the film reviews include images of the film.
• Not all the film reviews provide details on all the elements of the film, some just include big named actors, director, release date and other facts that have been chosen to solely entice the consumer. 

I could go on about many differences and similarities between the film reviewers, but the whole point of this task was to get a general understanding on how and why people use film reviews and how useful they really are. The task has helped me to understand the normal conventions they use, for example facts about the movie is a must, an overall rating, columns seems to be both formal and digestible, the review doesn't have to just be formal, plain, bland, there is an audience for effective, funny and still useful sites such as Rotten Tomatoes.

An example of the Rotten Tomatoes rating system

  

2.	100%	King Kong (19

Broad to do list

• Not in order!
• Finish script and finalize it.
• Get actors/actor.
• Find suitable locations.
• Research for the magazine poster and film review
• Organize props, actors, locations and booking for a camera.
• Organize shot by shot list and diagrams if necessary.
• Organize solid dates when everything can get done.
• Print out the script for the actor/actors
• Draw scene sketches for a rough idea
• Locate sound effects and soundtrack if necessary
• Find a voice for the narration, maybe the actor
• Get some inspiration for film poster and film review
• Get some inspiration on the certain genre of my film
• Learn more about the use of different shots
• Learn more about how to edit and use different software

Examples of a few film posters I have looked at.

The Dark Knight

When I first saw the film poster for The Dark Knight I was instantly drawn in, not only does it appeal to my love for the Batman franchise, but it suggests some serious amount of action in the film itself. The burning ash floating down, the on fire batman logo, the smoke rising from the building all gives the feel of an action packed blockbuster! With the great cast with the likes of Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Micheal Caine and Morgan Freeman it is hard to go wrong. The names on the poster are key to grasping certain audiences that appreciate these well respected actors, its obvious that the movie is trying to play on that fact by mentioning these big names on the front of the poster. But in comparison to the rest of the poster, the names only take up a small percentage of the room. The poster seems to put more emphasis on the Batman franchise itself rather than the actors present in the movie, the complete opposite to the John Wayne films. The iconic Batman image is evidently present as in all the Batman films, it would struggle to be a Batman movie without that logo, however it has been developed over time and in this case set alight to suggest that this is a very action packed Batman movie. This is also reinforced with the line "Welcome to a world without rules" this most likely being the first line someone reads as it is at the top. It gives a clear indication of the whole big action packed Batman movie. All of these little things add up to produce a mouth-watering poster fundamentally emphasising the action blockbuster style of the movie.

The Dark Knight produces also "abused" the fact that it was Heath Ledger's last act by making posters solely focused on the joker (Heath Ledger) this is questionably unethical as it is a sensitive subject, but it can also be seen as appreciation towards the great actor. So there was not much opposition to the use of Heath, playing on the fact that it was his great last act. However this poster is not just there to highlighting Heath's last big act, it plays a crucial role in advertising a main character in the film. It also has the famous quote the joker says "Why so serious" this quote is very popular across the Batman fan base and most people that watched the movie, many people attempt to imitate the way it was said and became a popular quote in society with those that watched the film. The red blood writing is also highlighting some blood is involved, this suggesting some kind of action is going to take place, Batman is renowned for his serious face during the movies, this quote suggests a quote said directly to Batman during a potential action scene or some kind of face off between the two. The long bloody smile is also iconic in this film, the joker uses this is a malicious way to make people smile permanently.

This film poster is Pineapple Express, a comedy made by Seth Rogan. Seth Rogan is well known for his comic methods of entertainment and is quite successful in connecting with the audience. He has this certain essence of "loveablity" surrounding him. This film poster is quite comic in itself, there is smoke in the background and knowing Seth Rogan is a comedian and features weed in a lot of his movies, the chances are the smoke is something to do with the weed. His face also enforces the idea that the smoke is weed, after all his face is in weed terms "monged" both eyes quite small but one smaller than the other, and the big cheeky smile are all well known effects of weed, the laughing/smiling at anything stage. This film poster also uses previous big comedy hits such as Superbad to advertise the product. Stating that it is "From the guys who brought you Superbad" this is another technique films use to advertise, using previous hits to gain reputation for the new movie, the audience will also know what to expect from the movie. In this case a bundle of stupidity, laughs and most likely to involve drugs!


Compared to The Dark Knight the film poster is almost converse. It is different in pretty much every way apart from advertising the actor/actors name's on the front of the poster. Both of the posters are clear example for the differences in genre. The comic poster is very laid back, nothing confusing, a few questions answered. But if you watch Seth Rogans movies you would quite quickly understand what the poster is suggesting. Conversely The Dark Knight is quite clearly going to involve some kind of action scene most likely involving a building blowing up as seen in the background of the poster. Both posters give a clear indication of how the traditional action and comedy genre's represent their work in the form of posters. Actions predominately involve some kind of explosion in the background. Comedies usually involve some kind of comic picture on the front, in the case of Pineapple Express it is Seth Rogans "stoned" face.

Who reads magazine reviews?

Magazine reviews can be viewed in two main ways, either online or out of the magazine. Other devices such as phones and tablets can be used but ultimately it uses the Internet as a provider. But who actually reads the magazines reviews? To state the obvious, lovers of film are most likely to read the magazine reviews maybe even contribute in the review in some way. But it is not as simple as that, some people read magazine reviews to find out if the movie is worth watching, no one wants to spend money of a film that is rubbish, to confirm that the movie is worthwhile people use magazine reviews to get the details on the movie and the overall rating usually out of ten. However some people may just read the review after the movie to see if people agree, if some people are touched by a film, they like to research it and people can use magazine reviews to get a more in depth view of the film. Some film reviewers get a sneak peak or early showing of the film, this would also be appealing to certain people that want to find out more about the upcoming movie they want to watch. Overall there is a very diverse variety of people that read magazine reviews, some just because they want to see if the movie is good, or just because they want to get a sneak peak at what the movie is like before general release. Either way magazine reviews are popular for the many services it can provide to the consumer.

Does a bad review ruin the films chances?

The success of a film is determined by many factors, good reviews being a key factor in the success of a film. If there is a substantial amount of bad reviews about a movie, it is quite obvious the film is bad or simply aimed at a small target group. If a film gets the odd bad review, it usually has an effect but not a substantial one. If a film gets a huge amount of bad review the chances of more people seeing the film is quite low. Really it all depends on the franchise of the film, if it is known, famous actors/crew and another big factor being good reviews. No one wants to go to the cinema and waste nearly ten pounds of a film that is poor, especially in times of huge amounts of deficit. Many people use film reviews to one, make sure it is a good film by looking at the rating. Then seeing if it is appealing to their taste and need at the time. Even if a film has got a bad review, but has a great cast, some people will see the film just because of the cast. For example, the John Wayne films were arguably bad movies, but because John Wayne was in the movies it was an instant hit. Big well loved actors can easily make or break a movie.

This is a perfect example of how John Wayne would sell the movies even if they are mediocre films.

However not every film is graced by the presence of a big, well loved star like John Wayne. They have to rely on other ways to appeal, such as film reviews. Film reviews can easily make or break a film, however they can also portray the film in a completely different light to other reviews. All reviews are going to be diverse and appeal to a certain group of people, its a well known fact that not everyone has the same taste in film. But there is a majority holder known as mainstream films. Big hit action movies are listed under the category of mainstream films. Most big budget films will  include some element of mainstream ideology. The aim to please the masses.

Many films have a diverse reviewing opinion, for example "Real Steel" has had mixed reviews on a huge variety of different websites. On the likes of IMDb the movie has a 7.4 rating, this is a respectable rating and its created by thousands of users voting for the rating, this is also quite reliable as it gives a wide opinion of many people, instead of a standard review in a magazine developed by one person or a team of people.

Steven (started something I couldn't finish)

This short film is based around a limited page of quotes to inspire us, issued by my teacher.

Ideas..

Well, I am planning to update this post with every single idea I get and develop a select few. My plan is to challenge instead of conform, make it different in some manner. Maybe go for the mixed up scenes or twists in the plot, either way I want to make it mine, unique in some fashion.

1. Idea 1: Okay, basic plot, boy and girl talking over Skype or some kind of web communication service, girl jokes about wanting her parents killed as they have upset her somehow, boy takes it literally and decides to take on the challenge of killing the parents, but how to do it is the question. There is also a lot of tension between the mother and father, mother even decides to cheat on the husband with some other man, the man however could be a suspect to the murder. 
2. Idea 2: I want to express something close to me, something that actually means something, but I am lost for how to express some kind of problem or feeling. All I know is that I want to do something personal to me. 
3. Idea 3: I have always wanted to express the talented but somehow impaired in his talent, for example a blind guitarist, or a deaf pianist. Something along them lines. But musical instruments have been done before, I want to do something different, something close to me... 
4. Idea 4: Something completely random, not much point to it, but it is successful in its own right. Something weird or crazy.. along the lines of this boy that has an imaginary friend even though he is nearly an adult, then when he is finally made to face his imagination he breaks down.. 
5. Idea 5: Something a long the lines of family, that has always been a close thing to me and many. How to show the importance of family without the normal deaths is the question.. I would like to stay away from all the traditional dying and trying to deal with it kind of stuff.. yes it happens pretty much 24/7 but everyone knows that, I want to try something new, put emphasis on something new...

How are short films consumed?

Short films have a diverse market. It ranges from Internet websites (BBC film network) to live film festivals (Berlin film festival). They can also be consumed from extras of DVDs However compared to feature films the market is considerably smaller than that of shorts. Shorts are occasionally broad casted as a filler when a feature film is too long for the designated time slot. Short films are a typical first stage for new filmmakers. However, professional actors and crews still choose to create short films as alternative form of expression. Short film making is growing in popularity as equipment becomes cheaper and more amateurs are making films. Shorts are also growing in schools, they are accessible due to the cheap equipment, not too long and can be respectable even at a low budget. Most schools in the UK either create short films in their media studies, or they create a music video, but recently the short films have grown in popularity in schools.

Examples of quite big successes in short films are big companies such as Disney, when they acquired Pixar in 2005 they started to make big hits such as Goofy. Also Dreamworks Animation often produces a short sequel to include in the special edition video releases of major features, an example of this is on the DVD release of classic Warner Brothers films such as "The Adventures of Robin Hood".

Examples of a few shorts I have watched for inspiration

                                                                      Big Society.

Big Society
Big society is a genuine masterpiece, it has a brilliant mix of comedy with a real life need in the world. The punishment of littering may have been a tad too much, however the importance is still relevant. So the short expresses some quality comical scenes with a mix of a real life importance in the small six minutes and forty eight seconds running time. The acting was superb, the seriousness of his face, talking, body language made the punch lines so much better. The film was very engaging and in terms of mise en scene the setting, props, lighting and camera angles it was all very effective, for example the diary type speaking into the camera works well with the comedy genre giving a sense of slight madness, and to do what he was doing a slight hint of madness is necessary. The way he used his facial expressions was very effective, widening and closing eyes when being serious made you question the seriousness of the situation.The film has just been nominated for the Grand Prix at Encounters Film Festival, which we are all very excited about. It means the film is eligible for a BAFTA. Big society is about an officer in the British army who has developed a controversial new approach to tackle the anti-social behaviour he sees on the streets.


The View: Is a short poetic film that centres around a bench overlooking the British coastline. During the film we witnessed the poignant moments in the lives of the location's fictionalised frequent visitors. Who are each there for different reasons. The film carries the narrative through start to finish. I thought The View was very unique, hence why I picked it to talk about. It is a brilliant combination of poetry and film. The mise en scene was sublime, the soundtrack, camera shots, setting, costumes and props all worked so well together. You get a real feel of the emotional connections with the location and the different people. The music and narrating sound was in perfect harmony, neither too loud or too quiet, it almost gives goosebumps listening to how harmonic the sounds are. The speed is also essential for the overall feel of the short, it sets the scene perfectly with a thought provoking opening shot of the bench. Instantly you question why, where and how is the bench significant. The sound of seagulls and waves crashing in the distance creates a relaxing stimulus suggesting the short is going to be slow and more along the lines of a serious piece. The scene with old man proposing not only signifies love, but it fits in well with the words of the poem "A life time spent alone" suggesting this is the first time he has found real love, and it is never too late to find it. The very vibrant red the old lady is wearing also suggests strong love between the two. Then it goes to a shot of a young couple, the boy holding what seems to be some old fashioned alcohol flask. The disinterest in his face also supports the need for alcohol as maybe times are bad between the two. This is also backed up in the words of the poem "But hope is dashed when I see pain on the face of the young" This again enforcing the feel of the alcohol and the disinterest being linked with the unhappiness in their faces. "But I am aware in my vulnerable self that at times we all must run" As this is said the boy is drinking from what seems to be the alcohol, this is reinforced by the words as traditionally people run to alcohol in times of need. The boy then leaves the girl with her crying, with the words "But as a sunrise soon follows a sunset" This suggesting what they thought was a good thing, soon turned out to be bad. "Hope is always fresh in the face of the young" That is the end line of the poem. This is a very powerful sentence, after all the people, young and old, all the love, hate, disappointment after everything, hope is always fresh in the face of the young. I really enjoyed this movie, not only was it thought provoking, it was simple and very effective! I believe this short will stay in my mind for quite some time, as a reminder to never give up  hope, no matter what the situation.. never give up hope.

  

All the Festivals & Screenings The Views has been in since its release in 2009.

Cannes In A Van, 2009

End of the Pier International Film Festival, 2009

Swansea Bay International Film Festival, 2009

Edinburgh International Film Festival, 2009 (Videoteque only)

Encounters Film Festival, 2009 (Videoteque only)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/films/p00kvk62 Link to The View