Production Development #1

Idea Development

While I was watching some films I was very interested in the way that they showed a text message being sent or received or a text message conversation. I thought that maybe we could include this into our production as I feel it makes the audience feel more of a part of the film but also it keeps the audience informed about what's happening or gives them clues. I thought that we could use this at the beginning of our opening sequence. As there won't be much dialogue in our production anyway it will give the audience some insight as to what might be happening. My idea was to have a close-up of the antagonist holding a mobile phone (which would most likely be an Iphone) and receiving a message, the message will then be in the space next the phone for the audience to see, if would read something along the lines "the target is approaching", "take the target out", "they know too much." I would also have the contact ID on there to cause mystery of who this person messaging them actually is. It gives the audience names but not faces, so the audience would want to continue watching to find out who it is.

Software

  Software

Editing Software:

To edit we will be using Final Cut Pro X. We chose this software because I personally have already used it to edit other things so I know how it all works. I did debate between Imovie and FCP but I can to the conclucsion that FCP had more to offer and we would do more of what we wanted by using it. With FCP it's easier to edit the clips to the duration you want them to and the effects in FCP with audio and video are more advanced then in Imovie. We also chose this software as not only do the school have it but I also have it meaning i won't have to rely on the school computers working and this way i can back up our work as we go along incase someone decides they want to log on to the school computer and mess everything up.

27th November 2015

I created some more polls on Twitter for people to answer for some of my social media research. I'm finding the results I have so far very interesting.
I'm planning on going out over the weekend to take a collection of photos of the locations we are going to be filming at, hopfully the weather will be on my side and it won't rain.
I'm hoping to have my planning and research close to or completly completed by the end of this weekend so that we can concentrate on storyboards, sound and then on to filming.

Equipment

Equipment

Camera:

This is a Nikon D5100. It has a 3.0-inch, 921k-dot Vary-angle LCD screen, in-camera Effects mode for stills and D-Movies and 1080p. 

Tripod:

The Velbon DF-41 Tripod Kit is a standard-size, heavy-duty tripod that is ideal for regular SLR cameras and video camcorders.
It is distinguished by such features as a quick-release pan head for tilts and pans, a sure-grip handle that is positioned on the left side for easy access to the main camera controls, a dual-position quick-release platform, and a geared centre platform for quick height adjustments.
Maximum Height; 152cm
Closed Height; 58.6cm
Leg Sections; 3
Weight; 1.38k

This is the equipment we are going to be using to film, both the camera and tripod are owned by me so we don't need to take anything out of media.

26th November 2015

Look at our survey results and got them posted. I have started some polls on twitter for people to answer, the questions are based on similar and different questions to the ones on our recent survey. I did some similar to see if i would get any different responses on social media. I am also working on a creating a closed survey for a focus group

Survey Responses

We constructed a survey through https://www.surveymonkey.com/ .
We did this to see what certain aspects people enjoy in an action film but also to see if there is a difference in what age enjoys what.

In the survey we asked questions such as "what aspects of a action film do you enjoy most?" We also asked them for their favourite action films and then why, some answers for this question were, "Car chases Shooting Realism Graphics Relatable puts you in the role of the character", "Action-packed, engaging story line & stunts", "They make you think could this all be possible?" "They're intense, funny and in some ways relatable! But also well edited!" We had 30 responses in total and the rest pretty much as the same thing, with the except that some said it was because of certain actors that were in it.

Looking at the screenshots to the left. We asked if people would prefer the protagonist to be female, male, if they didn't mind or other, everyone who selected other said that they didn't mind anyways. The majority of responses said that they didn't mind if the protagonist was a female or male but the second majority was male showing that a big handful enjoy the stereotypical strong male hero in action films. This hasn't effect our production much as we don't mind either however, it has swayed us towards having a female protagonist to try and get people to see females as the protagonist more and not just the stereotypical damsels in distress.

As you can see by the second screenshot, we also asked what they think is the TOP 3 most important things needed/good in the opening to an action film? As we can see by the results, humorous dialogue, a fight scene and intense soundtrack were the three that were voted the most. I was surprised to see that humorous dialogue got the most votes, I thought it would get some but not the most, this has definitely made me think about added a small amount of humorous dialogue into our opening. Looking at individual responses I found that the people who had put that Avengers- Age Of Ultron was one of their favourite action films also voted humorous dialogue and from doing some research on Avengers i know that that is a very good example of an action film with perfectly used humorous dialogue. The other two most voted, a fight scene and the intense soundtrack wasn't a surpise as they are both conventions of an action film.

Textual Analysis - Maze Runner

Opening Scene

The Maze Runner film is a 2014 American  science fiction action thriller film directed by Wes Ball. The film is the first instalment in the Maze Runner franchise. The story is based around a sixteen year old boy named Thomas who in the opening scene awakens in a rusty elevator with no memory of who he is, only to learn he's been sent to the middle of a maze, along with a large number of other boys, who have been trying to find their way out of the ever-changing maze. This story goes through the adventures of Thomas and how he try's to escape the labyrinth. This film was released on September the 19th 2014 and has a running time of 113 minutes. This film earned over 348.3 million pounds in the box office and is distributed by 20th Century Fox. This film is based on the book series from James Dashner.

The film starts of showing the distributer of the film- 20th Century Fox. From this logo the audience can identify this film as being from Fox, the audience can then relate this to pervious films Fox has distributed and compare the films together. The sound track from this scene also gives a sense of familiarity to the audience.

After the opening credits the audience are then greeted with a pitch black screen. This black screen connotes mystery because the audience doesn't know what is happening in the scene. Another part from this scene is that there are various diegetic mechanical noises is the scene, these mechanical noises bring tension to the audience because they cannot identify the sound to a picture which then could make them confused and wary to what is going to happen next.

The audience are then shown this shot of the main protagonist in some sort of rusty lift. In this scene there is also not much light coming from anywhere except for some artificial light so it connotes that this scene could be set underground. In this scene it shows the main protagonist first waking up in this metal cage completely unaware where he is and he is shown to be throwing up. The only sounds to be heard are that of the confused protagonist waking up and the sounds of the lift gradually going up. From this the audience can see that the protagonist is in a sticky situation because he doesn't know where he is and he cannot get out. In this clip it also shows Thomas to be quite dirty, this connotes that he couldn't have washed himself for awhile because he has been trapped in this cage, also his face appears to be quite damp along with his clothes which connotes that it is very hot and cramped in that environment. Another thing about this scene is that it shows a mid shot of the character which shows his position within this shot, it shows how he just woke up and focuses on what state he is in.

This then cuts to a high angle shot of the character which shows his surroundings within the lift. The audience can then clearly see lots of supplies in the background. These supplies could connote that the lift is taking these supplies to a destination where the main protagonist will then survive off them. This scene also shows the protagonist hunched over looking below his, this could suggest that he is confused about where he is and wants to know what is below him. It could also suggest that he wants to know where he came from because of his amnesia he cannot remember the previous events so he is trying to get an answer by looking down. After this Thomas then stands up and finds that the lift is going faster and faster, I know this because the mechanical sounds become more harsh and the lift is shaking more showing that the lift is going faster. As Thomas gets up he also notices more noises within his setting. The diegetic sound is coming from a pig that is trapped in a crate, Thomas then springs back to the other side of he cage after seeing this pig. He probably over reacts because he has amnesia and all he knows is that he is trapped with a foreign species that he is not familiar with.

Thomas then begins to scramble to the top of the crate to see of a way out. While this is happening it shows a close up of his face while he is screaming 'Help'. This shows his distress and confusion over this situation and his need for help. This could define Thomas as the princess character because the princess is in distress and in need which Thomas is replicating. While he is shouting for help it then cuts to the top of the lift which has been closed off, this causes Thomas to panic because he believes that he is going to crash into the wall. Thomas then falls down onto the floor which is then accompanied by a red light that goes over the shot. This connotes danger and that something bad it going to happen to this protagonist, this gets the audience to think about the consequences, This red light then progressively changes to green which shows that the issue could have been resolved. The scene then again goes completely black which also creates even more tension because the audience doesn't know what is going to happen to this character, the only sounds to be heard is Thomas's frantic breathing which shows his distress.

The metal doors are then immediately opened to show blinding light. This connotes that the lift has know gone up from underground and is know facing the bright sun. Now you can fully see the protagonist. He is shown to have his clothes drenched in sweat, this connoted that the anxiety of confusion has effected him and has caused him to panic within this container. Thomas also try's to cover his face from the blinding eyes because he cannot see through the light. As he lowers his hands many shadows appear within the shot, this then cuts to a group of people surrounding the container where Thomas is in. The people are also shown to wear similar clothes to Thomas which could connote that they come from the same place. The main person within this group then volunteers to open the cage and get Thomas out. He refers to Thomas as a 'Greeny' which could suggest his ranking within the group, it could suggest the lowest rank because he is new. Thomas is then thrown onto the grass where the group of people look down upon him while he is stuck in the foetal position confused and distressed. Finally Thomas tries to get up and run away from the group but ultimately fails when he falls onto the grass.

By my group member Honesty Bradshaw