Producing The Ident

After researching into existing Idents and learning the main conventions of them I now feel confident to begin making our Ident. Both myself and Abigail had many idea's for our ident. Including a news paper cut out animation.Where we would cut out 'EXPOSED''s letters and take a photo of the letters every time adding a new letter. Also a 'type writer' animation, where we film the type writer when each letter of the title is entered. (Examples of both shown below-the second example made by using an online generator)

    



However, after researching into existing Idents we didn't feel these idea's would look professional enough. Even though they both linked and complimented our film, by being iconic to a kidnap or mystery, we decided to carry on experimenting with our ideas and develop these to the best of our ability.

We wanted the ident to be simple and eye-catching. With our title as the main feature. We also wanted to use dark colours or black and white to link to conventional colours within the 'thriller' film genre. To begin with we tried to put our title into Microsoft Office-Slideshow, and record the screen as we moved from one slide to another and vise versa. However this didnt look effective and didnt move as fast as we wanted it to, to give a dramatic and striking look.

 We then discovered the 'Credits' option on our Premier Elements Video editing programme, and decided it would be ideal for our ident and what we wanted to make. As it could not only be used in the stereotypical credits way of white font flying from the bottom of the screen to the top, but by varying the transitions, colours and layouts to create an innovative ident.

We firstly experimented alot with the effects on offer and then went on to use 'EXPOSED' Productions in many types of fonts and transitions. Experimenting through them and using the transitions shown in the image below.

We then settled on a bold and striking font for the 'Exposed' part and a more 'normal' and formal font for the 'Productions' section. Also as our film is a thriller, and wanting to portray 'Exposed' as the main element we did want to make the ident look 'too busy'. We therefore decided on a plain black background with white font to stand out and contrast, with iconic colours of the 'thriller' genre (iconography).

We wanted each letter to appear once at a time, and this was possible by using the 'Fly in' effect. We really liked this and was happy with the ident so far. We then inserted a 'Fade In' effect on the 'Productions' text. We want it to come in just after the few few letters of EXPOSED to both finish at the same point. To finish on a second still shot of 'EXPOSED Productions', so the audience can read it and associate back to it.

                                         

Next, after our research revealed all Idents to have music alongside them, which becomes just as iconic as the ident itself we decided to also include music. As we couldn't use copyrighted songs within our work we went on to http://incompetech.com/m/c/royalty-free/ a non-copyright free download website. We then looked through many songs, however decided on one called 'Bump in the Night'. This was because we felt this song had a Strong powering beat, with a subtle eree tone to it linking to our film. Also each beat coincidentally linked in to the beat of every letter falling, complimenting it to create an effective Ident.

Here is a link to our song: Bump in the Night

 We downloaded the song and opened it into our editing programme (Premier Elements), and inserting it into the sound section on the timeline, and finally cutting it to the length of the Ident. Ensuring the song didn't carry on playing when the film had started. This can be seen on the timeline in the image below, with the recording in one row, and the sound clip lining up in the audio row.

When I researched into short films, as well as an ident they also featured a further ident of the film's name. In our case 'PULSE'. We therefore wanted  to also extend our ident into this, to create an effective and realistic opening to a short film. For this part, the title of the film and how it is created is the full portrayal of what the audience will be watching for the next 5 minutes, setting the tone and atmosphere. Also again linking to the portrayal of what genre it would be, in our case 'thriller', so therefore needing to be spooky and obscure. We had many idea's for this also, such as using a heart rate monitor to write our the word 'pulse'. However both felt most strongly about using 'PULSE' in red text with it dripping down to give  the effect of blood. A brief draft is shown below.

We wanted to develop this idea by making the writing drip. We considered many ways to do this however painting it out and filming it seemed the best option for quality and time limitations. When producing this we mixed red paint with water, to make it more runny for what we wanted to do. We then painted the word pulse onto card, which we had covered in plain white paper to create a background. We then set the camera on the tripod and got it into the close-up slightly slanted from a directly straight shot and placed it ready. We wanted the lighting to also reflect the dark and spooky atmosphere, so we used the candles from our props, layed them out infront of the writing and decided to blow them out at the end of the ident to pitch black. For a dramatic and effective technique. Linking to things constantly jumping out or aiming to scare a viewer within the thriller genres as they are essentially 'thrill seeker's.
When we were ready to start filming we lit the candles, played the music to go alongside it (see 'Sound and Music' Post), from the laptop, then turned off all the lights in the room and started to record. Next we lifted up the box with the text on and filmed it as it dripped.
As the music changed dramatically, we used that as our point of when to blow out the candles to compliment the music in sync. Below is a few out-takes of this and our final shot.

Production images of making the Ident:
                                           

Here is a video clip of our final Ident. I am very happy with the outcome and think not only does it suit our film but is effective and professional.

Research Into Idents

For our short film we had to create a production company to go alongside it. For this we decided on 'EXPOSED' productions. This was because we felt it was engaging and striking, also being simple enough to be remembered and used in many ways. It also reflected on our film and the type of film it is, in our case, 'thriller'. We did consider many other idea's through using a thesaurus and simple brain storms, such as; Danger, Revealed, Tormented, Twisted and Base Productions, however were both happy with Exposed. As we researched into short films, and thriller short films, all appeared to have some sort of Ident at the start. Therefore to follow codes and conventions, and to make our film look as realistic as possible we have decided to make one. However before we go on to produce and Ident I feel it nesseccary to carry out some brief research and planning into Idents to ensure ours follows conventions, looks realistic and we know what we are going to do before prodcing it.

Ident definition

Station identification (Ident or Channel ID) is the practice of radio or television stations or networks identifying themselves on air, typically by means of a call sign or brand name. This may be to satisfy requirements of licensing authorities, a form of branding or a combination of both. As such it is closely related to production logos used in television and cinema, alike. -Wikipedia

 

Above are some of the most famous Idents within the film industry. All show similarities of that it is based around the production name, is some sort of animation or edit. 

I really like the first one, as the simple colours and quirky animation makes it humorous and effective. It also reflects the type of films Pixar make, as it is innocent humour, linking to their target audience of children, through Walt Disney films.

The second includes a strong and bold Music song. Of which can be automatically associated to their company. Also the logo/name again is the main feature standing out. The gold hints at a prestige reputation.

The fourth starts with a scenic cloud shot, going into the logo/title. Again the starts could link to a prestigious reputation. And the music compliments the animation movements.

The fourth again features the name as the main element. The music again is easily associated to the company, and the 'shine' animation on it makes it look desirable. 

After doing some basic research I now feel confident in making my ident, ensuring the title/logo is the main feature and their is an 'iconic' music that compliments the animation.

Editing

To edit our film we used Premier Elements, a editing programme available from our school system. We chose to use this as it had the best tools for what we needed and was more suitable for a larger film as this rather than, movie-make (what we made our animations on).

 

In the image above, I have circled the process of how we inserted our files into the programme ready to edit. This was easy and quick to do.

Here is a print screen of our 'sceneline' and 'timeline'. The top image is the scene line. We used this when we wanted a clearer look on what is in each scene, using images of the scenes to narrate our film. This was good for when we wanted to ensure we had everything in our film, including images as well as video clips, (something I will mention further on).

The bottom image is the timeline. We used this when we wanted to see more of the duration of the scenes rather than what was in them. This was also an easy way of recording how much time we had left within our 5 minute limit, and to ensure each scene follows onto the next straight away.

As mentioned above, our film included both images and video clips. For example in our establishing shot of the row of houses, revealing the characters house. We felt like the final pause on the characters house wasn't long enough for the audience to establish this as important, and wasn't enough time for the audience to properly see the house. We therefore took a print screen of the final frame, and inserted it was an image in the next scene for a duration of a few seconds. This created a longer pause on the house, of which a viewer wouldn't even tell the difference or notice what we did.

 To insert our music into the film, we had to first convert the files we downloaded, into files that the editing programme accepted. After we did this we then used the same way as we would video clips, by going 'organise', 'get media' and 'files and folders'.

It was easier to keep track of what music we inserted by using the 'timeline'. This was because it showed us our film in layers, of visual and audio. Of which we could layer music over the video's diagetic sound of replace it for it and vise versa. In the image above I have circled the establishing shot on the timeline. As you can see here we deleted the sound from the video clip. This was because the sound was of noisy cars and passing people of which overpowered the shot and would be distracting for the viewer. It also made the film look unprofessional. We chose not to insert any other sound here and to just leave it as silent, linking to other conventional establishing shots.

In the image above, shows a technique we used alot when editing which was to enhance the size of the scene cutting allowance, meaning we could be more accurate with where we cut the scene to. This meant we could be more precise, ensuring our cut shots were to of high quality to add to the realism of our film.

In the image above shows the audio of our film. This was something we used to measure our sound and ensure it was 'smooth' when cutting between scenes.

Overall I feel using the programme itself was easy and simple, with many options and tools for us to use to enhance our film to how we wanted and of good quality. However we did have a few issues with the system crashing on several occasions, and trying to transfer our film into other files to be put on disk. But we used the programme successfully and are very happy with the outcome.

Producing the Short Film: Fourth Filming Session

As we were editing our film, with the shots we have from our first, second and third filming session, we realised that to be within our limit of 5 minutes we wouldn't be able to finish the story as we initially planned.

 As shown above, in our storyboard we planned for the victim (girl), to go and meet her friends, then introduce one of the characters to have a video camera and show film through that (a typical group of teenagers filming each other). This was to use a third aspect into the film, with the other two being the two dual narratives. Also to end on a 'broken camera' effect of fuzzy black and white. However we didn't do much planning for this after realising we wouldn't have enough time in our film. We therefore had to skip this and go straight to the chase scenes. We were confident with our choice and actually preferred this idea, as it would add to the weird obscurity we wanted to create as to keeping the viewer guessing as to what happens next. Also because it makes the scene more of a dramatic surprise as it will suddenly cut to it.

Linking back to our time scale planning, we had to film this scene at night, as to show continuity of the girl being followed throughout the day. Also because the last scenes we filmed were already dark, so to go back to daylight in the film wouldn't keep continuity. The dark setting will contribute to the 'thriller' theme, creating a nail-biting atmosphere.

We therefore decided to still use our planned local park setting' just in the evening. However when we got there another problem occurred that it was so dark we wouldn't see anything at all through the camera. Even with our torches the light wasn't strong enough to establish what is going on through the camera. We had to use our initiative on the spot, as filming time was precious. We walked around and decided that a near by carpark beside the park would be suitable. The carpark has much stronger lights and created the perfect balance of light for our shot. Below is an example of how dark our first attempts were, and too unclear to use in our film:

We began with some shots of the girl walking in the setting, to set the tone, and to create a build up to the next scene. We then filmed the stalker chasing the girl. This was done by first Myself holding the camera, and running behind Miranda as she ran away, the a shot of the victims feet running, done by Miranda holding the camera herself and filming her feet as she ran. We also wanted to get a shot of her looking back in fear as she ran. The breathing, panicking and footsteps were all emphasised in this scene, we really encouraged the actress to become as frantic as possible. Making the scene highly dramatic and also realistic in that that is how someone would react if the were being followed. We also experimented with the surrounding settings as spur of the moment, recording the actress in a telephone box, of which created a really nice, colourful shot. Below are examples of both:

Overall this was a very successful final filming session. I am really happy that we have cut out some of our planned story (see synopisis), as it makes the whole film more dramatic and mysterious, leaving lots to the viewers imagination.

Producing the Short Film: Third Filming Session

After filming the main basis of our film in the first and second filming session we began to put our chosen clips into the editing package. However as we were doing this we realised we didn't have our planned 'Establishing shot' of the road panning to the houses (a strong convention within all films to establish the setting straight away). Also I personally felt the footage was missing a more scenic shot, something which could be used to build tension even more within the film, yet balancing through such a visually effective shot.We therefore decided to do our third filming session, something we did on the day of deciding as we didn't need to organise a date with actors. We only needed the tripod for the panning shot and second shot.

However doing the shot wasn't as easy as we thought. As I filmed the film, doing the establishing shot took a very long time. As we wanted to begin the film from the middle of the road point of view, to create an effective symmetry within the frame, then going on to pan to the house, this meant we had to constantly wait till the road was clear and try and take the shot as quick as possible. Which essentially took a very long time. The house we used as are setting is the only house with a front light on in our shots. This was really effective in engaging the viewer into our setting and making it the main focus. Below are some of our shots:

We then decided to use the bridge in our second shot, as it was interesting and ranged within our existing shots. However as we already had a shot of the train coming to the platform we had to take one of a train leaving it. As it was reaching mid-evening as the establishing shot took so long to do, the sky became a really nice colour as the sun set, creating the scenic shot I wanted in the film. We waited with the camera on stand by on the tripod until a train came. We only took one shot of this as we were happy immediately with what we had. The birds within the shot also were luck, however added to the beauty of the shot, of which contrasted to the eree situation going on. Below is the recording of the shot:

Overall this was a successful filming session as we got the two shots we aimed for, however was definitely the most difficult shot to take so far!

Producing the Short Film: Second Filming Session

Our second filming session was were we filmed most of our short film. We completed all the bedroom and train scenes, and also some shots of the stalker following the victim. For this session we filmed for the whole day. We got to Miranda's house (the first setting) at 1 o'clock, prepared the bedroom and set up till 2, then began filming. We ensured the actress was wearing the same clothes to keep continuity, and we also reflected our plans for the 'stalkers' costume into his outfit. We also made sure we had all the correct equipment and props. And had to laptop available to play the sound/music.

The first scenes we shot were the ones of the 'girl' getting ready, we filmed details such as doing her hair or going through her wardrobe to create a 'real life' effect, in the style of some sort of home video or documentary as we followed her every move. Below is some of our footage.

In one of the shots we wanted to really be creative and think outside of the box. We decided on filming her going through her clothes not only from the outside but from the inside of her wardrobe. For this I had to empty the bottom and squeeze in. We thought this was a really effective shot for our idea of 'secret camera' or 'home video', giving hints of her being watched right from the start. Building up tension immediately, conventional for a 'thriller'. We also kept the music playing to keep continuity (see Sound And Music post). Below is pictures of the production of the shot.

Once we had enough bedroom shots we then went on to film the 'stairs' shots. This was something we had featured in our story board right from the start, a shot we both wanted to do again linking to the effect of documenting her every move, of which becomes so 'normal' and realistic it makes the viewer start to come up with their own crazy ideas of why and what will happen. Below are some shots of this:

After filming the stairs shots we went on to film the character leaving the house, and going to the train station. This is where we first introduced the second character. We used a shot from over the shoulder of the character to not reveal them straight away, this would keep the mystery and the 'fear of the unknown' for a viewer. We also used a point of view shot to show how the person is watching the victim.

After introducing the stalker into the scene we then had to ensure every shot after was in some way the stalker following the victim. We therefore including some shots on the platforms, from both the same platform side and also the opposite to create a variety of interesting shots for the audience, also making it look more professional having a range of angles. We ensured we had shots of the stalker following the victim onto the train and constantly watching them. Building up suspense and tension throughout. Below are some images of the production:

We Also filmed the 'Cut shot' in this filming session. This was a 2/3 second film of a train at high speed of which we wanted to use as a transistion between the two narratives. Shown below:

As we were filming for the whole day it was gradually getting darker as we were filming. This was something we wanted to portray to show the time scale (see Planning For Filming post). Our final shots for the day were of the stalker following the victim, also some reaction shots of the victim being 'paranoid/worried'. Below are some of our recordings:

Over all this was a very productive filming session with little problems occuring. I am excited to choose what clips and see the footage being edited into the film, in the next stage.

Producing the Short Film: First Filming Session

Our first filming session took part in Abigails garage, one of our planned settings for the film. We decided to film the second narrative shots first as the setting was easily accessible and we only needed one actress for these shots. Also it was during a school week in mid winter, and as we wanted to film some other shots in day time it would be too dark to portray this after school hours, therefore waiting and doing this instead.

As planned we used the make-up and paint to create a bruise on her face, messed up her hair and ripped her tights to make it look like she had been in a struggle and got her to wear the decided costume. We also decided to film some of our Ident in this filming session, as we had the suitable equipment and setting.

Below are some images of production from this filming session.

After researching into films of the 'thriller' genre, one of the conventional techniques we came across was that a 'reaction shot'-close up of a characters face to portray their expression- is usually used at the start of a scene when something has suddenly changed within the plot. As this was a whole new narrative we wanted to use this technique in our work, opening on a reaction shot, to express the fear and surprise from the character to the situation. Below is an image of the production of the shot and some a take of it:

                                       

 Below are some video clips of what we recorded in this filming session. Some of which we plan to use in our film, and others that were 'takes' or practices, or generally not suitable.

Overall this was a sucessful filming session. We experimented with different types of lighting to ensure we had clear and atmospheric shots when we come to upload them into the editing package.