Production Meeting

Meeting started at 9:20am, 31st January 2014.

Peoples present, Myself, G, Katie and Maia.

 

In the meeting we discussed what shots we are going to be re filming and when we will be filming them. We have decided to re film scene 2 on mondays first lesson 9am - 10:30am. Instead of filming all the walking parts we have decided to cut them down and do the whole scene in 2 shots. Walking round the corner of the wall then fading into Reece being pushed over continuing with him being punched. 

On mondays last lesson we have decided to re film scene 5 and if we haven't enough time we will film scene 5 on tuesday. If we complete filming scene 5 on monday last lesson we will then film scene 6 on tuesday, which will be filmed in the refectory. We will all sit round the table and put the camera between two of us to film the other two. this will be a mid shot. 

On wednesday we will be recording the audio. we will be recording the dialogue and any sound effects that we need. 

And finally on the thursday we will start to put our sequence together and edit in using both adobe premier and adobe after effects.

PRODUCTION MEETING

Date: 30th January 2014
Time: 3:45pm
Present: Katie, Maia and Callum

• We took into account our rough cut feedback and that its hard to establish the change in schools, so we're going to add in a scene of a pan of the new school before Reece walks in and meets Lauren, Rizzo and Kieran.
• Some of the scenes didn't know out as good as we hoped so we'll go out and reshoot a couple (e.g. when Kiera appears)
• Add more sound effects to make the sequence more engaging and realistic
• Add more interesting transitions between shots
• Finish our special effect editing 

Appraising the Rough Cut.

Audio

The strengths of our audio is mainly dialogue but could still be improved and the punch sound effect as we didn't add anymore in. Next time we will make sure we use a microphone to record the audio as it wasn't clear. We will also use sounds for the special effects to make the sound more realistic. I will also add some background music to keep the sequence flowing when there is no dialogue. 

Special Effects

I have only 2 special effects which are the teleportation effect and the fireball effect. The teleportation looks realistic but could just do with a sound effect.
The fireball has a box around it which needs to be removed and i need to add a glow to it to make it look more realistic. I also need to add a sound effect to it.

 

ROUGH CUT FEEDBACK

Feedback from Will

Does it make narrative sense? 

It makes sense however some dialogue is sound is missing. Easy to follow and makes sense.

Do the special effects fit well with the sequence? How could they be improved?

Works well and looks good. Could use different smoke effects. A black box around the fireball. Could add some sort of glow.

Is the dialogue engaging?

The dialogue tells the story and doesn't feel like its there to full time. Some clips need the sound editing (you can hear others talking)

What do the sound FX, ambient sounds and music add?

The punch sound effect sounds really good and is in time. Not much sound FX in the clip yet.

Is it entertaining? 

The story is clear and entertaining. This bits where dialogue stop slightly confuses it.

What would you do to improve the sequence?

More detail to the special effects such as adding a glow to the fireball hand and removing the black box. Add new sounds in where you can "go" signal.



Feedback from Dana


Does it make narrative sense? 

Yes, the talking goes with whats happening.

Do the special effects fit well with the sequence? How could they be improved?

The disappearing effect flows very well but with the fireball you can see a square around it.

Is the dialogue engaging?

Yes, it is very clear and the dialogue used in the bully scene draws you in.

What do the sound FX, ambient sounds and music add?

The noises used in the bathroom scene work really well. It creates the environment of the place they are in.

Is it entertaining?

Yes, I thought it was really good. The bully scene was quite realistic and tense.

What would you do to improve the sequence?

Try not to have the dolly stand and cut out the directors voice.

STUDENTS V ZOMBIES ROUGH CUT

Discussing Problems with Our Project.

At the beginning of our lesson, each member of "Team $wag" wrote down a problem they thought we had within our project. 

One of the main problems that was said was that we had trouble with the angle of the camera in the way we would film a section of a shot then move the camera to carry on filming and it would look out of proportion and wouldn't flow. To resolve this we are going to re film scene 5 tomorrow and make sure the camera is where we need it to be a keep it running instead of keep stopping and starting.

Another problem we picked up on is eye contact with the camera. To resolve this we are going to use a point of view to look at when we are filming.

Production Meeting.

Production meeting started at 11:20am, peoples present, myself, Georgina, Katie, Maia. 

The schedule of last week we completed all of the scenes up to scene 5. Which leaves us with 3 More scenes to shoot. We have decided to film as much of scene 5 as we can today and have decided to move location to inside the front of reception instead of outside due to all the background noise and people walking past and the different angles. 

On Wednesday the 22nd of January, we have decided to start putting the shots together and practice the visual effects. Myself (Callum) will not be present during this process due to medical reasons.

for the rest of the week, we will be aiming to finish all of the shots from all of the scenes so that next monday we are ready to do audio and complete the final rough copy of our 2 minute sequence for the 29th of January.

comparing matte painting

Comparing Matte Paintings.

On the two cards above, the one on the left represents the wikipedia definition of matte painting and the one on the right represents the definition from "The Digital Matte Painting Handbook".

Both of the cards give off the same information about matte painting and all that is different is they are worded differently and say different things.

When you look at them you can see that they do have their similarities in the way the Wikipedia definition says its a "Painted Representation" and the Handbook defines it as a "Painted Image"  Another difference is that the Wikipedia definition tells us that a matte painting is a "painting of environment that would be to expensive to create or visit" and the Handbook says matte painting was used "instead of building a set or carting a mountain range"

Although these two cards have their similarities they also have their differences. The hand book explains that a matte painting is "A sheet of glass between the camera and the scene filmed" which wikipedia does not tell us. Wikipedia tells us that a matte painting "Allows film makers to create the illusion" where this is not stated in the Matte Painting handbook. 

Health And Safety

Health And Safety

- Don't go on the roof
- Climbing on things
- No skateboarding on things
- Take care filming on stairs (use filming sign)
- No liquids on floors (especially corridors)
- Take care outside with weather conditions
- Be aware of other people
- Risk assessment

Casting Notes

Casting Notes

Students vs Zombies

Henry - Bully

I am looking to cast a boy, aged around 16/17, for the part of 'Henry' in 'Students vs Zombies'. He will need to have short hair, a british accent, a slight build, and over 6'0.

Potential actors for the part - alternatives -

• Charlie - short ginger hair, 6'3, british accent
• Matt - short brown hair, 6'2, british accent

Matt fits the part better because he is better at acting the bully and being intimidating.

Reece - Nerd

I am looking to cast a boy, aged around 17, for the part of 'Reece'. He needs to have short hair, be around 6'0, and has to have a british accent.

Potential actors for the part - alternatives -

• Callum - short, mousey brown hair, 6'0, british accent

Callum is suitable because he has the suitable acting experience for the role.

Lauren - Indie/Hippie

I am looking to cast a girl, aged between 16 to 18, for the part of 'Lauren' in 'Students vs Zombies'. She will need to have long hair (or be willing to have extensions put in), a british accent, and she needs to between 5'0' and 5'4 in height.

Potential actors for the part - alternatives -

• Georgina - long brown hair, 5'3, british accent
• Katie - mid-length ginger hair (will wear extensions), 5'1, british accent
• Maia - long brown/ginger hair, 5'1, british accent

These actors all potentially fit the part because they meet the requirements of the character casting note and have the relevant acting experience to fit the role of the character.

Rizzo - Fashionable/Glamorous

I am looking to cast a girl, aged between 16 to 18, for the part of 'Rizzo'. She needs to have medium-length brown hair, and should be 5'3.

Potential actors -

• Georgina - long brown hair, 5'3, british accent
• Katie - mid-length ginger hair, 5'1, british accent

Georgina is most suited for the part because she is taller and has the most relevant acting experience.

Kiera - Chav

I am looking to cast a girl, aged around 17, for the part of 'Kiera'. She needs to have hair that can be easily tied up, and should be around 5'l.

Potential actors - 

• Katie - mid-length ginger hair, 5'1, british accent

Katie is the most suitable for the part because she was the most successful candidate as she had the best accent for the role.

Peter - Bully's friend

I am looking to cast a boy, aged between 16-18, for the part of 'Peter'. He needs to have short, blond hair, a british accent, and should be around 5'11.

Potential actors - 

• Alex - british, blond hair
• Sam - british, brown hair

Alex has been cast as Peter because he is blond and has the relevant acting experience.

Paul - Bully's friend #2

I am looking to cast a boy, aged between 16-18, for the part of 'Paul'. He needs to have short, brown hair, a british accent and should be around 5'11.

Potential actors -

• Alex - british, blond hair
• Sam - british, brown hair

Sam has been cast as Paul because he has brown hair and has the relevant acting experience for the role.

Zombies #1, #2, #3 and #4

I am looking to cast four zombies, of any age, two girls and two boys. They need to be at least 5'6 and have to be willing to have lots of make-up on and can play a persuasive role as a zombie.

Potential actors -

• Alex - british, short blond hair, british accent
• Sam - british, short brown hair, british accent
• Katie - ginger mid-length hair, 5'1, british accent
• Georgina - long brown hair, 5'3, british accent
• Callum - short mousey brown hair, 6'0, british accent

Even though some of the actors are under the required height, they are considered because of their convincing zombie acting skills.

costumes for characters

 

Name of actor: Katie Turner
Name of character: Kiera
Height: 5 ft 1
Hair colour: Ginger/Red
Eye colour: Blue
Accent: British/English
Style: Chav
Costume: White flat peak cap, white oversized man's t-shirt, grey Nike jogging bottoms, white Supra high-tops, and hair tied back.

Name of actor: Maia Creed
Name of character: Lauren
Height: 5 ft 1
Hair colour: Brunette
Eye colour: Green/grey
Accent: British/English
Style: Indie
Costume: Floral top, black leggings, white converse, brown fringe bag, denim jacket, lipstick, and hair in a plait.

Name of actor: Georgina Horne
Name of character: Rizzo
Height: 5 ft 3
Hair colour: Brunette
Eye colour: Blue
Accent: British/english
Style: Fashionable
Costume: Wavy hair, bold makeup, white vest, blue cami, necklace, black leggings, bracelets and boots.

Character Outfit

Health and Safety

Contingency Plan

Nuisances

Remembering the script - Spend time revising it at home, in frees and in-between shots 

Arguing about how we look in the video - just get on with it, theres more important things to do.

Recording sound effects -  Record them and just get it out of the way, use your mouth to make noises or an object if need be.

People messing around - Tell them to grow up and take it seriously.


Minor Problems

Myself going away on 12th Feb - Work hard to complete what we need by the 12th Feb.

Finding the right background music - Spend free time researching and listening to what will fit best.

Someone we need might not be here - Ask someone else if they don't mind and are not busy. 

After effects / Premier / Adobe Photoshop editing - Watch tutorials online.

Lighting - Stand near a light source.

Making sure actors from other groups are available when we need them - Inform them and make it clear to them when we need them.

Effects looking realistic - Keep trying and follow the tutorials carefully.

Locations might be too busy to film in - Find somewhere else that looks near enough the same. 

Bad Acting - Be more enthusiastic and practise more.


Major Problems

The weather - go to an alternative location or film another day 

Lose footage - Film in frees

People not being here (Main character)  - film another shot where they are not needed and film them when they are back 

Commitment - threaten to kick them out 

Finding costumes - Discuss ideas, think and look in your own free time.

People being ill - ask them if they can come in just for part of the lesson 

Getting the sound effects and music - Use a microphone and get it done quickly 

How to get the kitchen scene done - ask politely if we can use the staff kitchen.

Not filming the shots and completing the task in time - Make it priority and film in lessons and in your free time to make sure it is complete.

Casting Notes

Casting Notes

SCRIPT TITLE NAME- STUDENT VS ZOMBIES



Henry: I am Looking for a teenage boy who has greenie blue eyes who is willing to play a male role who can exaggerate due to the character having a super powers. 

Production Meeting

              PRODUCTION MEETING 

Meeting started at 11:15. People present, Myself, Georgie, Katie and Maia. We discussed several things during this process. This meeting was to organise a schedule for filming and different parts of the film were creating and to try and fit in everything we need to work on up until the deadlines we have been given. 

Dead lines:

13th January 2014- The day we get the camera and start to film
29th January 2014- The rough copy of the film deadline
30th January 2014- Feed back and working on what needs to be improved
14th January 2014- Final piece deadline

We have worked out a schedule that enables us to complete all the work need to be done up to this point. 

We have discussed the fact that we need to book certain times with characters in the script that are not part of the group, so it fits around there schedule.

The first few days of the first week we have decided to work on the special effects, the filming and the computer special effects. This is due to the fact that we all need as much time as possible to get the special effects perfect and because there the main part of the piece, they need to be as good as they can be. The special effects will take the most times.

In the group we need to still decide the costumes needed in the piece. But because theres not enough time to get the costumes organised in lesson time we will get together out of the lesson on a free and plan the costumes for the piece. 

The audio we have decided to do near the end. So we can incorporate the other special effects sounds. With some of the shots the audio will be in the shots. 

Because we have 56 shots we need to work fast, organised and we all have to focus. This is because if we don't the rough copy will not be completed to then me analysed and we won't know what to improve on to make the work better. 

Improved Images

This photo has been improved by blurring the background and making the character the main focus point. It has also not been taken with the character in the center of the photo which means it hasn't broken the rule of thirds.

This photo has been improved by taking the un needed posters and displays from the background which as a result give you more focus on whats going on.

This photo has been improved because it has been taken from a different angle and as a result of this there is no clutter in the background which give you more focus on the characters.

This photo has been improved in the same way the previous one has been by taking the photo from a different angle so nothing pointless and un wanted is in the photo.

This photo was improved because of the cluttered background in the original photo. In this photo there is no posters in the background and not so much clutter as such which allows you to focus on the characters and get a clearer idea of what is going on.

We improved this shot by taking it from a different angle because in the original it was breaking the rule of thirds rule as the character was in the middle of the shot. In the original shot the character was also staring a the camera when he should of been looking at who he was having a conversation with. Another reason why we re took this photo was because the original photo didn't give the views much of an idea of what was going on and where it was taken and how it linked to the story.

Bad Images

This image isn't very good because it is central which is breaking the rules from the Rule of Thirds. The image would look better if the background was blurred. The background is it's quite busy so its taking the focus point away from the character. Also another bad point is that the character is looking towards the camera.

The problem with this image is that its got too much space under the characters, this could be improved by being cropped more to get rid of the pointless areas surrounding the 3 characters.

This image could be improved because it needs to be cropped as it has our work folder in the background as well as bin which isn't needed. Also it's breaking the rules as it is central so not using the rule of thirds.

This is a bad image because it needs cropping because there it to much un needed space. There is also posters and wall displays that either need to be changed or moved from the view of the camera.

This is a bad photo due to the reason that there are posters in the back that need to be taken down or replaced.

This photo could be improved by moving the folder which has no reason to be there.

Good Images

GOOD IMAGES.

This photo is good because it used the rule of thirds as I am on the left and my reflection is on the right and I am avoiding using the middle.

 

This is also a good photo and has been taken well because it is filling the frame and showing there is a lot of space to move in.

This photo is good because you can clearly identify what is going on and it isn't breaking the rule of thirds rule.

This is a good image because even though my face is central the background is blurred which gives more focus on the character.

This a good over the shoulder shot as it shows clearly that 2 characters are having a conversation and it is using the rule of thirds rule well as we have avoided the middle.

This photo again is good because it is using the rule of thirds as again we have avoided using the middle and you can clearly see whats going on.

P1 VFX Footage

Working Between Premier and After Effects.

First Step.

 - Click on File
 - Click on Export  
 - Change the format to Quicktime
 - Change the Preset to Custom
 - Change the Video Codec to 'PNG'
 - Click Export

\

Second Step.

 - Highlight the clips that you want to move to After Effects from Premier 
 - Right click on them
 - Scroll down to Replace with after effects composition
 - After Effects will then open with the clips from premier.

    Third Step.

- Go onto Premiere Pro
- Move Premiere Pro over to the right so you can see both programmes
- Go to the project panel
- Drag and drop the sequence into after effects



Fourth Step.

 - Save your work on Premiere Pro
 - Go onto After Effects
 - Double click on the Project Panel
 - Select Premiere Pro Project
 - Import as Footage
 - Click on Open
 - Choose your footage from dialogue box which comes up