Group relationship evaluation

I have found working with the group has been interesting to say the least. The group originally started of with 5 members, Rory, Sue, Wasil, Amin and I; however the Media A-level specification states that the maximum members that a group can have is 4 which meant that one member from our group would have to leave to join another group; this decision left us with a difficult choice since we got along and all worked so well as a group. However Sue decided that she would leave us and join another group leaving us with 4 members.

The remaining group members work well together; we listen and understand each others ideas incorporating them into our pieces and ieas. Together I believe that we were able to produce is a high standard of work with a lot more to come.

Rough poster designs

The shots that we took yesterday were uploaded onto photobucket for editing in school, below are some brief mock-ups of what we hope to have them looking like. We drew inspiration from the movie posters that we looked up (sse below); In the future I hope to be using a more advanced programme to edit the posters such as iPhoto or Adobe Photoshop.

New camera skills developed

Yesterday we used the cameras to take pictures for the posters instead of recording. I learnt how to adjust the shutter manually and change the image affect from normal to black and white; adjusting the shutter speed will either give us a clearer and still image if it is increased the image is clearer and a more blurred image is produced when if the shutter speed is decreased.

When using the black and white affect we had to remember to white balance the camera, this is by placing a white screen (plain paper) in front of the camera as it turns on, this is so that the camera understands what white is and can differentiate the difference between colours better

Below are some of the pictures we took.

We will be using these pictures to create mock-up posters and DVD covers using inspiration that we drew from

Movie Posters/DVD Cover Inspiration

I had a look at different covers and posters (old and new) so that we could draw inspiration from these to use for our ow DVD cover and poster in order to convey the feeling of 'horror'

Old cover for a Frankenstein movie
The red font in the header is effective as it is symbolic of blood and it gves the viewer a feel of 'horror'

Saw IV cover

once again the red writing symbolises blood

As a group we looked at all of these as inspiration. In our group discussions we viewed various others. We began shooting our main character so we could create a promotional material such as DVD covers & posters. Once we finish the pictures we will create mock-up versions and then advance on them later on.

Next stage of development

Now that we have sucessfully produced both of our continuity pieces we will be focusssing on the main movie which will last 2minutes and will contain the bulk of our coursework marks. In our horror we want to capture the school empty, and in order to that we will start top come in over the weekends to film.

Continuity piece 2 finished

Today we successfully finished shooting the 2nd of our continuity pieces. The 2nd continuity piece shows the improvement in our camera skills and use of a wider range of camera shots and angles. We are currently mid-way through the editing process of the continuity piece and which I hope will be completed by next lesson so that it can be upload alongside our 1st piece and so that we can move onto our main piece.

Continuity piece 1 video

Continuity 1 completed

Today the group was split into two halves, the editing of the first continuity piece was completed whilst the second was being filmed.

Firstly all the clips were imported from the video camera onto the Mac so that the camera could be used for filming whilst the editing still took place. The first piece was successfully edited in iMovie on the Macs and will be uploaded to the main blog alongside it's storyboard very soon at a later date; we hope for the second continuity piece to be completed by the end of this week so that the editing of it can be done either over the weekend or during the next lesson of next week so that we can move onto our main 3 minute film.

Gathering of ideas

Before the lesson start today the group briefly assembled to decide on the plot for the 3 minute introduction of the main film. Amin had previously presented us with an idea and after viewing all ideas from each team member we decided to further his; the storyboard will be drawn up over the weekend and we will hopefully begin shooting mid way next week after the completion of the second continuity piece.

Continuity

Today we finished the first of our two continuity pieces; the piece shows us exercising various yet suitable camera angles and shots such as panning, tracking, canted angles etc.

However, compared to the other groups our group is slightly behind on their coursework, therefore we have decided that tomorrow the group will split into two halves; one half will be aiming to fully edit the first continuity piece and the other half will aim to finish filming the second continuity piece.

By splitting the group into two I think that we can maximize our efficiency and be able to move onto our main film piece faster without sacrificing the quality of the work.

Fruits of the Brainstorm

After the re-evaluation of our genre from a teen romance to a horror it was decided that each member go of to find inspiration for the new genre and plot from movies etc. Today the other group members and I were presented with a brainstorm and general idea or 'brief mock-up' from Amin (a more detailed explanation of his idea can be found here).

Tomorrow we will decide whether to develop on his idea or decide on another idea from another group member.

Continuity Start

Yesterday the groups finally were able to leave the classroom to begin shooting our personal productions. Our group began shooting the first of our 30 second continuity pieces. We encountered minor problems such as finding silent and empty corridors in the busy school.

The first continuity piece was not successfully finished as it requires a few more shots and then will to be edited on iMovie; I hope that all this will be accomplished by the end of today.

1st Impressions of new cameras

My first impression from using the cameras. I personally found the cameras relatively easy to use from remembering the previous' day demonstration and the quick refresher we were given before we were handed them. I think that with practice the cameras will become easier to handle.

Camera Practice

Today each group was given their cameras that we will be using to shoot out film productions with, the cameras however were to remain inside the classroom for today just to give each group a feel of how to use them.

The lesson consisted of the group members taking it in turns shooting small pieces using different shots and angles such as pedding, crabing, panning etc. this was to help us improve our shot awareness which will aid us when putting together our main piece as well as our 2 continuity pieces. The cameras we are using are the JVC Everio GZ-HD40

Angles and shots practiced in today's lesson

Arrival of new cameras

Today the new cameras that we will be using for our media film finally arrived. The class was given an introduction about the new cameras and also shown a demonstration of how to use JVC Everio GZ-HD40 hi-definition cameras. The cameras have numerous features which were explained to us as well as a demonstration of the navigational buttons such as the menu buttons. We should start using the cameras in the next lesson.

The new cameras