I decided to give myself a lot of time for both filming and editing as I do not have much experience with these and wish to have as much time as possible on these areas.
Saturday, 25 October 2014
Work Timetable
I decided to give myself a lot of time for both filming and editing as I do not have much experience with these and wish to have as much time as possible on these areas.
Wednesday, 22 October 2014
Reaction to Feedback
Will it be easy to create an 'alien'? or exploding buildings?
It may be difficult but I have the software and the know-how to create the cgi. The alien may end up being just a costume which will be easy to get.
Will this story be script heavy? (Have you go too much to fit in)
Yes it will be script heavy, but I feel I will be able to fit it into 5 minutes without compromising the story.
Are you going to include any soundtracks within the short movie?
Yes but I am yet to decide on what the soundtrack will feature. I will use rock music in some of the early cells to create drama in an almost ironic way because the scenes are not dramatic.
Analysing My First Draft Of The Storyboard
What do I like?
I like my story and I think people will find it humorous when they see it in action. I also think the story is simple enough to fit into 5 minutes.
What didn't I like?
I feel as though I could be more specific with the camera angles for examples in some cases I have written 'multiple' instead of writing which camera angles will be used. I also need to decide on the sound track.
What might be difficult?
Fitting the idea into 5 minutes may prove challenging but I have some ideas on how to do it. CGI for the alien story could be hard but achievable using Adobe After Effects.
What might need to be changed?
Story may need to be shortened if it goes over 5 minutes when filmed.
Tuesday, 7 October 2014
Camera Angles/ Shots and Editing
"Tragedy is a close-up; comedy, a long shot" - Buster Keaton, Director/ Actor
The Simpsons Guy (2014)
Camera Shots
The Simpsons Guy is a 2014 episode of popular sitcom Family Guy. In the episode The Griffins find themselves in Springfield and they meet The Simpsons. I chose to analyse this episode of Family Guy because I believe it uses camera angles in a quite talented way.
In most scenes involving multiple characters a wide shot is used. This is a convention within the comedy genre because in most cases the audience do not want to see what the characters are thinking/ feeling because it is the situation that is funny. While we do want to see characters reactions to the situations, it is usually the situation that if funny. Also a reason for wide shots in comedy is because comedy usually relies on the interactions of more then one character so it is better to have them all on screen at once.
While wide shot are important it does not mean that close up shots are omitted completely. In this episode during a comedic fight scene between Homer Simpson and Peter Griffin there is a good use of close ups. These shots are used to get more detail of the fight and are very funny.
These close up shots add to the comedy by showing extreme detail of how much damage each punch does to the other character. During the rest of the fight Homer and Peter punch each other but not much damage is caused, but then according to this close up one punch can knock out Peters teeth and make Homers eye pop out.
Reaction shots can be very helpful in comedies. They are usually used when a joke is made about a character, for example in Friends whenever they would mention Ross' divorces it would cut to a reaction shot of Ross.
In the above screen shots Homer is reacting to a angry stare(left image) and a incoming punch (right image). I found these shots to make the scene funnier. I think these shots have appeal because it can be very funny to see the characters face right before/after something has happened. A reason for the importance of reaction shots in comedies is because it is a psychological cue for the audience about how to respond to the situation.
Camera Angles
Like most comedies the camera angles are fairly simplistic, most being eye level angles. But through out the episode there a few instances of experimentation with the camera angles.
Multiple examples of low angles are evident through out the episode. All but one is used for the conventional reason of showing power.
Also in the episode there are a few examples of bird eye shots but these are used to establish the scene.
All in all there is not much experimentation with camera angles which is normal within the comedy genre. I personally think this is a shame and would like to experiment more with camera angles when I make my short movie.
Camera Movements
Features a mostly static camera but does zoom in for reaction shots or conversation scenes. Early in the episode the camera does rotate for the big reveal that they are in Springfield. Also during the fight scene there quite a few moments in which the camera pans and tilts. But the majority of the episode is a static camera which fits with conventions of comedies.
I think this episode features a good range of camera shots but could benefit from more camera movements. I also think that there could have been more variety in the camera angles. Despite this however I believe the episode works and the cinematography, as fairly simplistic as it is, is well done and is more varied than some other comedies.
Editing
Through out the episode the shots are well edited together and sound is done well. The cuts in shots never feel awkward they just help the flow of the narrative. I hope to achieve editing of at least the standard seen in this episode in my own work.
WKUK - Job Interview
This sketch features a man going for a job interview but completely messing it up. Each time he does something wrong another man appears on screen to inform us what you should do in the situation.
Camera Shots
This sketch like a lot of sketch shows uses very simplistic camera shots.
The three shots above are essentially the only shots used it just switches between them, with a few exceptions near the end of the sketch. This technique of only using a very limited amount of camera shots can be useful in my opinion but I would like to experiment more in my own work.
I am honestly not a fan of the conventional simple camera work found in most comedies (although in some the simple camera work does help) and would like the challenge this convention because using simple camera shots has connotations that you do not really know much about filming.
Camera Angles
The angles you can see in the above images are the once again the only ones used. I do not really like the lack of variety in the camera angles but in this sketch more camera angles were not really required.
Camera Movement
Features a static camera, the only time it moves is when it cuts to a different shot. I do not mind this as zoom in/ out may have looked out of place during this sketch because it is supposed to be a training video for job interviews.
Editing
As minimal as it is the editing is well done. Shots are not awkwardly and they flow well into one another.
Overall I have decided that I want to experiment more than most comedies do when it comes to camera shots/ angles. I believe that breaking these conventions will actually make the movie funnier because people wont be expecting fancy camera work in a comedy.
The Simpsons Guy (2014)
Camera Shots
The Simpsons Guy is a 2014 episode of popular sitcom Family Guy. In the episode The Griffins find themselves in Springfield and they meet The Simpsons. I chose to analyse this episode of Family Guy because I believe it uses camera angles in a quite talented way.
While wide shot are important it does not mean that close up shots are omitted completely. In this episode during a comedic fight scene between Homer Simpson and Peter Griffin there is a good use of close ups. These shots are used to get more detail of the fight and are very funny.
Reaction shots can be very helpful in comedies. They are usually used when a joke is made about a character, for example in Friends whenever they would mention Ross' divorces it would cut to a reaction shot of Ross.
Camera Angles
Like most comedies the camera angles are fairly simplistic, most being eye level angles. But through out the episode there a few instances of experimentation with the camera angles.
Multiple examples of low angles are evident through out the episode. All but one is used for the conventional reason of showing power.
Also in the episode there are a few examples of bird eye shots but these are used to establish the scene.
All in all there is not much experimentation with camera angles which is normal within the comedy genre. I personally think this is a shame and would like to experiment more with camera angles when I make my short movie.
Camera Movements
Features a mostly static camera but does zoom in for reaction shots or conversation scenes. Early in the episode the camera does rotate for the big reveal that they are in Springfield. Also during the fight scene there quite a few moments in which the camera pans and tilts. But the majority of the episode is a static camera which fits with conventions of comedies.
I think this episode features a good range of camera shots but could benefit from more camera movements. I also think that there could have been more variety in the camera angles. Despite this however I believe the episode works and the cinematography, as fairly simplistic as it is, is well done and is more varied than some other comedies.
Editing
Through out the episode the shots are well edited together and sound is done well. The cuts in shots never feel awkward they just help the flow of the narrative. I hope to achieve editing of at least the standard seen in this episode in my own work.
WKUK - Job Interview
This sketch features a man going for a job interview but completely messing it up. Each time he does something wrong another man appears on screen to inform us what you should do in the situation.
Camera Shots
This sketch like a lot of sketch shows uses very simplistic camera shots.
The three shots above are essentially the only shots used it just switches between them, with a few exceptions near the end of the sketch. This technique of only using a very limited amount of camera shots can be useful in my opinion but I would like to experiment more in my own work.
I am honestly not a fan of the conventional simple camera work found in most comedies (although in some the simple camera work does help) and would like the challenge this convention because using simple camera shots has connotations that you do not really know much about filming.
Camera Angles
The angles you can see in the above images are the once again the only ones used. I do not really like the lack of variety in the camera angles but in this sketch more camera angles were not really required.
Camera Movement
Features a static camera, the only time it moves is when it cuts to a different shot. I do not mind this as zoom in/ out may have looked out of place during this sketch because it is supposed to be a training video for job interviews.
Editing
As minimal as it is the editing is well done. Shots are not awkwardly and they flow well into one another.
Overall I have decided that I want to experiment more than most comedies do when it comes to camera shots/ angles. I believe that breaking these conventions will actually make the movie funnier because people wont be expecting fancy camera work in a comedy.
Wednesday, 1 October 2014
Ancillary Task Research
Movie Posters
I have looked at multiple movie posters and noticed some trends between them. One such trend is that when there is only one or two main characters the poster tend to focus on them. A lot of posters are just the main protagonists face.
I have looked at multiple movie posters and noticed some trends between them. One such trend is that when there is only one or two main characters the poster tend to focus on them. A lot of posters are just the main protagonists face.
Above is three posters from three different genre movies yet all the posters are basically the same. They just are the main protagonists face. This is quite an effective poster choice especially when the movie features a big star (like 'The Grey' poster up there) because it shows the audience who is in the movie and sometimes people go to watch movies with big actors because of the actor. Also a trend with these kind of posters is that the movies title will be near the bottom of the poster and will be the largest writing on the poster.
I like this style of movie poster specifically for serious drama movies because it is my opinion quite powerful to just see the characters face. I think it allows us as an audience to see clearly who is in the movie and based on expression what kind of character they will be.
Another kind of movie poster I noticed mainly in Sci-Fi/ Superhero movies is when you have an image of multiple people with the main character front and center.
This is my favorite kind of movie poster because I think they usually have great artistic value. They are usually very spectacular looking with lots of special effects this kind of poster works great for movies that are going to be blockbusters/ sci-fi movies.
Something that nearly all posters seem to have in common is to have the title be in bold large writing that usually appears at the bottom of the image. Some posters also feature tag lines at the top/bottom of the page while some omit this detail altogether.
Movie Reviews
Magazine movie reviews follow a fairly similar layout of having text/ a rating out of 5 stars/ a few screenshots from the movie.
Most reviews follow the same pattern of telling us a bit about the movie (plot/director/actors) they then proceed to tell us the reviews opinion on the movie. Most will list a few positives before moving on to the negative.
Here is what I found the be the general layout for movie reviews obviously there are variations but this seems the basic layout.
Genres Of Comedy
Comedy comes in many forms and I personally prefer deadpan, improv, sketch and dark comedy. I have decided to compile a page listing some of the most popular kinds of comedies and their definitions.
3. Dark Comedy
1. Sitcom
Definitely one of the most popular forms of comedy, notable examples include Friends (1994), Big Bang Theory (2007), How I Met Your Mother (2005), Two And A Half Men (2003), The Office (both UK and US versions), The Simpsons (1989) and Red Dwarf (1988). Sitcom feature scripted dialogue that will create thematic and usually relatable situations. Sitcoms will feature characters that share the same common environment (usually a home or a workplace) with humorous dialogue.
The Simpsons is one of the most successful sitcoms of all time. Due to the fact it is a cartoon it can keep the exact same cast of character no matter how long the show lasts for. While in other sitcoms such as 'Friends' they had to deal with the cast ageing and change the show based around it.
2.Parody
Parody features a recreation of a previously existing work but in a comedic manner. A popular parody is 'Scary Movie' which recreates the plot of Scream which actually plays around with the expected conventions and clichés of horror movies. Parody does not have to completely recreate a existing work but merely reference it in some sort of comedic way.
In this scene from Toy Story 2 there is a parody of the iconic T-Rex in mirror scene from Jurassic Park.
3. Dark Comedy
Dark comedy deals with more disturbing subjects such as rape, drugs, death, addictions and war. This kind of comedy is found in media such as Breaking Bad and Psychoville. This kind of comedy does narrow your audience because some people feel it is inappropriate to joke about the subjects that this comedy deals with.
Breaking Bad, one of the most successful shows in recent history, would regularly feature dark comedy. It would usually joke about drugs/ murder. A humorous example is when Walter and Jesse are trying melt a corpse with acid and they accidentally melt a hole through their bath and floor and gets bloody-mush everywhere.
4. Improvisational Comedy
Improv comedy is a type of comedy in which the actors/ performers have to come up with the dialogue on the spot. This kind of comedy can be great depending on the actors ability to think of jokes in rapid succession.
This Is The End (2013) is a scripted movie but 80% of the dialogue in the movie was improvised by the actors.
5. Sketch Comedy
Sketch Comedy are like smaller version of sitcoms but last only a few minutes and are usually preformed live. Sketch Comedy in my opinion can be one of the most funny kinds of comedy because a sketch show will usually feature multiple sketches and each will be suited for different humor types.
The Whitest Kids U'Know (WKUK) are one of Americas most popular sketch comedy groups. They had a tv show from 2007 - 2011 and have a movie in the works.
While there are multiple other forms of comedy these five are the most important to me. I feel that these five are the ones that I enjoy the most and will probably be most inspired by for my work. If you would like to read about the many other forms of comedy click here.
The Whitest Kids U'Know (WKUK) are one of Americas most popular sketch comedy groups. They had a tv show from 2007 - 2011 and have a movie in the works.
While there are multiple other forms of comedy these five are the most important to me. I feel that these five are the ones that I enjoy the most and will probably be most inspired by for my work. If you would like to read about the many other forms of comedy click here.
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