story board 8

Shot 1 and 2, Extreme close-up.

Shot 3, Mid shot.

Shot 4, Close up.

Shot 5, Close up.

Shot 6, Title.

story board 7

Shot 1, Close up.

Shot 2, Close up.

Shot 3, Mid shot.

Shot 4, Close up.

Shot 5, Mid shot.

Shot 6, Long shot.

story board 6

Shot 1, Close up.

Shot 2, Close up.

Shot 3, Mid shot.

Shot 4, Extreme close up.

Shot 5, Long shot.

Shot 6, Close up.

story board 5

Shot 1, Close up.

Shot 2, Close up.

Shot 3, Close up.

Shot 4, Close up.

Shot 5, Establishing shot/ tilt.

story board 4

Shot 1, Mid shot.

Shot 2, Close up.

Shot 4, Mid shot.

Shot 5, Close up.

story board 3

Shot 1, Mid shot.

Shot 2, Mid shot.

Shot, 3 Long shot.

Shot 4, High angle shot.

Shot 5 and 6, Extreme close up.

Story board 2

Shot 1, close up of hand.

Shot 2, Close up.

Shot 3, Close up.

shot 4, over the shoulder shot.

Shot 4 and 5, Close up.

Story board 1

Shot 1, establishing shot.
Shot 2, mid shot.
Shot 3, Close up.
Shot 4, Close up.
Shot 5, Over the shoulder shot.
Shot 6, Close up.

Movie poster research Annotated.

The first example is a simple yet effective style of film poster, which acts like a teaser trailer, to try and entice an audience.

The second example is more energetic and contains more action with the visuals than the first.

This is a short film poster.

The short film poster is very simple yet effective. The actor is large on the poster to promote there skills and role. The title is simple font and Large in the centre, with the directors name underneath. I tried replicate this type of short film design with my poster. 

Evaluation. How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Technology played an enormous part with the entire project.
When filming my short film I used the Sony DCR-HC46E 'Handycam'. This is a simple but effective camera which offers widescreen video,hi-Fi audio and 12x zoom. I have used this camera in my As coursework and it proved effective then and worked brilliantly now.

To edit my short film, I used the software 'Final cut pro'. 

On the 'Apple IMac '. 

Final cut pro aloud me to Edit efficiently and I was able to try out new things such as key framing. This was a new and interesting technique which I learnt from my tutor. The process is: 

1. Make a text/picture in photoshop.

2. Make first Key frame in canvas window. click on the the diamond icon in Final cut.

3. Use arrow key to forward 5 frames, move shape into correct position.

4. Add key frame.

5. Move forward next 5 frames and then repeat.

This structure allowed me to create the 'Dubstep' writing which appears on the billboards in my film.

I created some of my own sounds and music by using a 'hercules mp3 e2 DJ mixer' and the DJ software'Virtual DJ'

I was able to blend and mix interesting sounds which included the eerie song heard when the Dub Zombies surround the music producer.

YouTube was how managed to upload my videos. And is a good way of seeing how many views you've got.

I used Facebook as another way to get audience feedback a way of sharing my video so others can watch.

To create my poster, I used Photoshop elements. I used an orange filter in the background. The main image of Sam, had to be cut out and put on a separate layer. To create the text I used Picassa which flowed well with the rest of the Photoshop image. 

Evaluation. What have you learned from your audience feedback?

To get a better understanding of what type of audience I wanted to accommodate to when making my short film, I made a short questionnaire about short films. Most comments that came back were ages 15-19, which made me decide to make a film which would suit that age group. Dubstep was a good way of converging towards that category.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Am47P7tqSe8FdDdvMUhkTnZIdUF0aW9GclQzdHdLdkE#gid=0

I asked for what kind of structure would best suit a short film? and most came back with simple plot. This helped
me out because I was then aware to keep my storyline simple and not include to much sub plots. After finishing a          
rough version of my short film, I received some constructive feedback from an media studies graduate. I wrote down the feedback in a list and recorded at each time where I needed to change things.

0:25- Title music needs cropping (currently 4 secs)

0:31- Text positioning (maybe colour? )

1:10- End Hip Hop Music

1:16- Trim 'Next'

1:37- Add more ellipsis- no fade

1:38- Scratch noise ( separate black page)

1:58- Cut ' They don't listen'

2:08- Adjust cue of music to second headphone

2:23- Adjust music level to low and extend till fade out

2:25- Extend 'wake up music loop'

2:47- Trim just before button press.)

2:47- Adjust music to button press.)

3:22- Lower music as he leaves room

3:32- Trim TV Dubstep announcement (take out)

3:39- See above adjust length of reaction shot( increase song volume)

3:59- Trim shop entrance and then jump cut

4:18- Cut shop leave scene

4:22- Establishing shot adjust image edit to song drop

4:50- Trim look up to straight to the point, octopus and above

5:06- Edit sound to fade in

5:23- Repeat the head spin sequence

5:36- Take out Wobble 

5:45- Mashup- the end - quick cuts/ Chaos!

5:51- Trim last headphone shot

5:55- 'NOO' blackout end the music and add weird sound

5:56 Louden the Gasp

END- Expand title length

This again was a huge help towards finalising my main product and making it the best that it could be.
I created another small questionnaire on audience reaction after they had watched my short film.https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Am47P7tqSe8FdDdvMUhkTnZIdUF0aW9GclQzdHdLdkE#gid=0

The first Question I asked was 'What did you think of the short film?'
The answers that came back were:
'brilliant'
'It was good, great concept'
'Really good Dan, great idea!'
'Loved it :D'
This Question feedback showed that they seemed to all enjoy the film.


The second question 'Did the story and characters work?' Came back with all the answers as yes. This showed that I was successful with my chosen plot structure and my choice of characters worked well.


The next Question was 'What areas of the short film did you like?'
The answers that came back were:
'camera and plot both brilliant and they all work well together'
'the acting'

'The music is edited brilliantly and the colours when dubstep takes over'

'The Plot, different camera angles and the actors :P'

The feedback for this question showed me that my film was very positively received and everyone who filled out my Questionnaire liked it. It also helped me see that my film accommodated to my chosen target audience and the different decisions I decided to make paid off.


'The things that could be improved?'
Things that I needed to improve on was the key-framing, better locations and the pace of the film. I agree on all of these comments however given that the context is a short film which are conventionally Low budget and independent, my film was made like this.

I added My Short film to Facebook and had 4 likes. One comment said 'Love the concept'

This type of media (Facebook) has aloud me to see feedback on my short film in an interactive way.

Having Audience feedback is a really brilliant way of helping me shape the outcome of my coursework. It help make my short film accessible to my chosen audience and It helped me improve many aspects of my work.

Evaluation. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

When I first started to plan my idea for my main product, I was originally Going to have a film about a retired DJ, who is strapped for cash and decides to return to the music industry but finds that its a lot harder to fit in with the modern music scene. But after many attempts to draft a decent storyline and script I decided to change my idea. The Theme would still be Music, but a totally different story. When trying to draft the script for my first idea, I was listening to some Dubstep, the interesting heavy baselines, and futuristic sounds, make the genre of Dubstep a alien and unique form of music. I thought that this could make a good idea for a short film.

The story was Dubstep had taken over the world. After a heavy night drinking, a man wakes up to find that this has happened. But after some feedback, the story was seen as being too weak, with only a middle and no beginning and end. I looked at having the character being in the music industry and wishes that the world is dubstep. This then gave a moral to the story, 'the character's wish becomes a nightmare ploy'. And then I thought  about putting a twist at the end, have the audience think that the world is back to normal but something is shown at the end to show that it wasn't a dream. 

With the script and storyboard finished I was ready to film. However on the day of filming, many of my actors had to turn it down and only two were available. when filming the Zombie teenagers scene, the actor playing the lead character(the music producer) didn't really connect with the script and I felt that he wasn't the right choice for the role. 

The First scene in the video on the right, was the original actor.

Frustrated with how the filming went, I Then decided to change my idea, feeling that the Dubstep theme wouldn't work. In my early stages of planning, one of my other ideas for a short film was an  apocalyptic theme, where only a few humans had survived a cataclysm event. I drew out a new storyboard and was to film straight away.

But something made me change my mind again and go back to my Dubstep idea and film again but with a different actor. 

The picture shows the first actor, who was then replaced with Sam ,
who you see in Planet of the Dub.

My Main product combined with my poster and review worked really well. They each assist each other well and help bring my idea come to life.

The way in which brings the three texts together is the use of Dubstep. The music genre is seen throughout, with the speakers in my poster and The name of my short film 'PLANET OF THE DUB'. The word Dub would let the audience know that Dubstep is involved. The music and colours in my film all relate to Dubstep. I have represented the Futuristic surreal world of Dubstep within all the three media texts, as the neon bright colours are found in the poster and in the review colour scheme.

The poster 

As you can see the poster colour scheme reflects the colours in my short film. The Use of the Sam on the front is a good way of promoting the actor, which is usually shown in short films. The speakers and title, again, tells the audience that the film is about Dubstep. And the use of my distribution in the right corner, is a way of promoting the company.

The Review

The colour scheme used for the review is a light blue which reflects my chosen target audience, which is 15-29. A dull colour would not attract this age group. The Still I chose from the movie in the top right corner, was a good way of showing the films visual aspect, (the purple filter) but it also links in with the poster. Sams facial expression is a mixture of confused and annoyed, which is similar to the review still, as he is walking in shame of the Dubstep world, which he ultimately created, holding is head in his hands.

The links at the side of FACEBOOK and TWITTER, is there to show that this is still an independent film and you can connect with  the film and review company 'World' in a social network.

The different texts help promote the film and create a good sense of production.

Evaluation. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Planet of the Dub is my own view of the current media society that we live in. The character of the Music producer, is stubborn, selfish and ignorant. In seeing that Dubstep is the new 'craze' within the public, he coldly turns down the people who have talent just to please the masses. This happens often in the industry, when a new and popular sound hits the charts, many artists and producers begin to see this as a way to earn big money.

My film also touches upon the areas of originality and Authenticity. When the Music Producer goes into the Dubstep world, everyone is only listening to Dubstep and its the only genre of music being played. The producer then starts to hate this ideal world that he wanted and soon realises that his greed and following of the masses has created a discomforting society of unoriginal features. The second area that I showed in my film was the Influence of technology within society. The scene towards the end, where the 'Zombie' like teenagers, wearing the headphones was meant to be a small reference to the seclusion and anti social behaviour that is created when listening to music wearing headphones. You now start to see footballers walk off the the coach wearing headphones to suggest that their journey has been an anti social one. Headphones can be seen as a barrier between connecting with daily life and young people have grown up plugged into music. I was trying to capture a 'what if scenario' where everyone is wearing headphones and loose all form of communication.

I believe that my short film was quite a interesting concept to choose. The use of Dubstep as a foundation for the story worked really well and was refreshing. From the feedback from my questionnaire, Short films aren't really common to the ages of 15-19years because they are a niche art form. However by incorporating Dubstep, which is a genre of music associated with teenagers, I was able to challenge the usual stereotypes of short films thought being only available to people in the film and art industry. Dubstep pulled in my chosen target audience of 15-30 years because they could understand some of the references I put in my film. 'Now its like walking through a Skryllex video!'And maybe by them watching my short film, this may encourage them to watch other ones.

The conventions of a Music film is used in my film. I wanted to have music constantly playing throughout the film. The music starts off as being very normal, with the use of Hip hop and pop. then gradually the Juxtaposition of the Dubstep kicks in. With heavy basslines and alien sounds. I wanted the audience to feel uneasy when watching because the Dubstep is a form of hypnosis. Eventually the music goes back to peaceful at the end and I chose Greig's Morning mood, because its a very warm and comforting song.

The outfit that the music producer wears is a black suite. This is to show that he is wealthy and has power within the industry. The rest of the characters are seen wearing average normal clothes, to highlight the social hierarchy between them. The location of the studio was to highlight the music aspect of the film. with the keyboard in the background behind the producer. The Exterior shots of the High rise buildings, were meant to give the impression that the record company is set in a city. Which linked in well with Dubstep  because that was established as a genre in the urban environment of London.
To make the Dubstep world stand out from the reality in my film, I wanted to change and play around with the colours, this turned out to be a good visual aid for my film as the audience is thrown into the strange world with the main character. I chose purple as the 'Dubstep colour' because its a very vibrant and in your face colour. The music genre of Dubstep has a very futuristic feel about it. I wanted to put the sounds of dubstep and bring them to life visually. The neon purple was a good way of visualising the futuristic sounds to make it seem alien to the audience.

My poster is more of a spoof poster than anything fitting in well with the Comedic side of my film. I took the style of the 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' DVD cover (I've already spoofed the name 'Planet of the Dub')  and put my own take on it.

The speakers in the distance were meant to represent the power of Dubstep, which overwhelms the Music Producer in my film. I chose to put over exaggerated sized speakers, for anyone who hadn't seen the film, they would then know that 'Planet of the Dub' is a film about music. I chose to use orange and purple as the main colours. Orange, the colour of fire and flames, is meant to show the destruction and pain that is running through the Music Producer's head when he enters the Dubstep world. The purple is the reference to the strange neon colour filter that appears in my film. Although the main characters head being the centre focus is a homage to 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes', its also to show that he is the focus of the film. This is his story, his journey, and I wanted to establish this in my film.

With my Review, I researched movie reviews on the website 'Empire'. The reviews always have a small synopsis on the film and a verdict which sums up what the the reviewer thinks of the film. The main review is the key of the page as it addresses some of the plot, information on the film and personal opinions. On the right of the page on Empire, it includes a section called 'Film details'. This includes key information about the film such as certificate, Cast, Directors,Screenwriters and running time. I included this in my review. I put a small still from my film, which doesn't give away too much of the plot but highlights a key aspect of the film. I chose the picture I used because it shows off the purple neon, visual aspect of the film. The main character has his head in his hands, which shows that he is in trouble.

Analysis of a film Review.

I looked at 'EMPIRE' reviews, which are one of the biggest movie reviews in the industry.

My review up close

REVIEW

The short film ‘PLANET OF THE DUB’ is a Unique form of  story telling. It combines interesting visual styles with smart humor and a clever concept.

Daniel Widdowson, the creator and Director of ‘The Setup’, has  broken away from action chases and gun showdowns and has bought a new flavor to the table. The idea and concept is refreshing  as we have never seen Dubstep in a film before.

He seems to  be telling the audience that  Dubstep is now growing rapidly in our music and culture . SPOILERS. The scene where the Brain Dead Zombie like teenagers  are  wearing headphones listening to music, is a small reflection of society. Kids are becoming more and more engaged with technology.

The strange neon, purple visual style used throughout the film is a clever aspect to pull the audience  in this surreal, futuristic Dubstep world and is a small reminiscent of the 1982 film TRON.

Sam Oakley plays the part of a grumpy producer well  but the rest of the characters are forgettable and unimaginative. The script is very poor and laughable at times but the film is a good visual spectacle, with a great soundtrack.

VERDICT

A smart and quirky short film which will Sure to please Dubstep Fans and anyone who is new to the genre

Film review

Story board Animation

My Film Poster

The Poster contains many references to my film such as the symbolism of the speakers which represents the music aspect of the film. The tagline 'THE BASE DROPS' is a small reference to the Dubstep genre.The drop is the point in a track where a switch of rhythm or bass line occurs and usually follows a recognizable build section and break. In Dubstep, the drop involves a full bass line and commonly a "wobble" bass or "vowel" bass accompanied by a strong shuffling beat. 

I used Photoshop elements to create the background colours, 'Orange and Purple blend'. The orange is a symbol of destruction, which is going through The music producers mind when he see's the world as just Dubstep. The purple represents the neon colours and filters which I added to my film.

I edited The photo of the main character on Picasa and added in a purple filter to match the film. The expression on his face is meant to represent the state of confusion happening in the film.

Out-takes of PLANET OF THE DUB

These are my out-takes from my short film. The first scene was initially what my film was originally going to look like. My main character had to be changed due to scheduling conflicts and I added in my Dub Zombies to create more of a tense atmosphere.

Final Cut of Short Film 'PLANET OF THE DUB'

Feedback and Changes Needed

I received some feedback from a Media studies graduate, who watched my short film and highlighted the key areas where I needed to change or tweak.

This is the list.

0:25- Title music needs cropping (currently 4 secs)

0:31- Text positioning (maybe colour? )

1:10- End Hip Hop Music

1:16- Trim 'Next'

1:37- Add more ellipsis- no fade

1:38- Scratch noise ( separate black page)

1:58- Cut ' They don't listen'

2:08- Adjust cue of music to second headphone

2:23- Adjust music level to low and extend till fade out

2:25- Extend 'wake up music loop'

2:47- Trim just before button press.)

2:47- Adjust music to button press.)

3:22- Lower music as he leaves room

3:32- Trim TV Dubstep announcement (take out)

3:39- See above adjust length of reaction shot( increase song volume)

3:59- Trim shop entrance and then jump cut

4:18- Cut shop leave scene

4:22- Establishing shot adjust image edit to song drop

4:50- Trim look up to straight to the point, octopus and above

5:06- Edit sound to fade in

5:23- Repeat the head spin sequence

5:36- Take out Wobble 

5:45- Mashup- the end - quick cuts/ Chaos!

5:51- Trim last headphone shot

5:55- 'NOO' blackout end the music and add weird sound

5:56 Louden the Gasp

END- Expand title length

Rough Cut of Planet of Dub

This is my first version of my short film. After some feedback, I went back to edit some scenes.

Locations

The Block of flats and courtyard will be the main location for my short film. The flats have a Modern feel which assist the theme of Dubstep well. The surrounding buildings also look futuristic.

SCRIPT

My Short Film Script

'Planet of the Dub'

ACT 1: The Movie opens with  Three artist hoping to make it big in the music industry, by auditioning for the top record label 'PESTDUB INC'

 Medium Shot of main character 'The Music Producer'

'The Music Producer'

Next!

First artist enters room

First Artist

(Raps to a Hip Hop beat)

The Music Producer

Look your good but your not what we're looking for on this label, Dubstep is the way forward. I'm sorry.

NEXT!

Second Artist, a girl group, enters the room

The Music Producer

When you're ready

Girl group

(Sings to the music producer)

The Music Producer

Look that was awful, if you want to make it big, do something Dubstep. Thank god they're gone. I wish people would learn that Dubstep is the way forward. Shift over, I fancy listening to some Dubstep.

Puts headphones on and Dubstep plays. Eventually the music producer falls to sleep.

ACT 2: The Music Producer wakes and listens to the radio but the only type of music playing is Dubstep.

The Music Producer

What the hell!

He walks outside and a strange Brainwashing Voice is heard.

Dub Voice

Welcome to Dubstep world, where everything is a hundred and forty beats per minute...let the wobble bass free your mind.

The Producer phones up his friend to get answers on what is happening.

The Music Producer

Ab, what's going on? Why in gods name is everything Dubstep? What do you mean its always been like this? Since when? Just yesterday I was listening to Hip Hop and real instruments... now its like walking through a Skryllex Video!

All of a sudden Zombie like boys wearing headphones surround the producer.

The Music Producer

I'll call you back. The Whole world is Dubstep, NOO!

ACT 3: The music producer wakes up from a dream and puts the radio back on , which plays classical relieved he goes to get some fresh air.

The Music Producer

Please tell me that was a dream

Phew!

Never want to hear Dubstep Again...

Audience Type

The type of Audience I Think that my film will accommodate with, will be 13-30 years. This is because the music genre DUBSTEP, is a relatively new style of music and has a big fan base with a younger audience. I may put in a few Pop Culture Dubstep references in my short film, which might not mean anything to a older audience.

My Film Distributer

I will be using the same Film distribution logo that I created Last year. 'Ciel' means Sky in French. The Sky is a free atmosphere and this is what Ciel pictures is all about. It accommodates to any genre of film because its an independent company. This type of Distribution works very well with a short film because short films are considered to be free and independent.

Film Structure

ACT 1
Main Character expresses' his views towards Dubstep and and suggests that its the best genre of music in the industry.

ACT 2/Agent of Change
Main Character falls to sleep and wakes up in a world where only Dubstep exsits, he begins to hate this ideal world which he wanted and wants things to go back to normal.

ACT 3/Resolution
Main Character wakes back into reality, to find everything is back to normal.

PLOT

My Basic Plot for my Short film will be a What if? scenario.
A grumpy and rude Music producer believes that the world should all be listening to Dubstep and thinks that its the way forward in the music industry. However one day, his words turn on him when he wakes from a nap to find that the whole world has indeed changed to Dubstep!

What is Dubstep?

Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London, United Kingdom. Its overall sound has been described as "tightly coiled productions with overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns, clipped samples, and occasional vocals.

Rhythm

Dubstep rhythms are usually syncopated, and often shuffled or incorporating tuplets. The tempo is nearly always in the range of 138–142beats per minute, with a clap or snare usually inserted every third beat in a bar.In its early stages, dubstep was often more percussive, with more influences from 2-step drum patterns. A lot of producers were also experimenting with tribal drum samples, an example being Loefah's early release "Truly Dread".

Wobble bass

One characteristic of certain strands of dubstep is the wobble bass, where an extended bass note is manipulated rhythmically. This style of bass is typically produced by using a low frequency oscillator to manipulate certain parameters of a synthesizer such as volume, distortion orfilter cutoff. The resulting sound is a timbre that is punctuated by rhythmic variations in volume, filter cutoff, or distortion. This style of bass is a driving factor in some variations of dubstep, particularly at the more club-friendly end of the spectrum.

My final idea

For my final idea for a short film, I have decided to go with a music themed concept. I have recently been listening to the radio and watching music channels and one thing that I have noticed is that The genre of music 'Dubstep' is slowly becoming more and more popular. I thought that this weird and interesting new sound would make a good foundation for a film. What if Dubstep became so popular? that it took over the world.! This idea was going to be a cool, fun and unique.

My Short film ideas and concepts

I had three ideas for a Short film.
Idea 1: I had an idea of a post apocalyptic setting but with a different take. A setting where the whole world had turned into forestation and only a few humans remained alive. Two friends, travelling through the woodland trying to survive, stumble upon a lost girl who tells them that there is a last human sanctuary left beyond the wilderness. She must get there to find her Father and asks the two friends to help her there.

Idea 2: An old retired DJ and Music producer decides to have another shot at the music industry but it isn't as easy as it seems.

Idea 3: A series of short stories set in the Town centre.

My Short film ideas and concepts

I had two ideas/themes

Analysis of 'Strangers' short film

Strangers is an excellent short film about diversity and discrimination in religion and race.

The film displays and excellent use of symbolism such as the star of David, The Islamic writing on the newspaper and the SS tattoo on the the man's head. Each of these signs immediately tell the audience about each of the characters differences.

The lack of dialogue is substituted by close ups on the characters faces to create a reaction and to create tension. The tight areas of tube train creates a claustrophobic setting . Quick cuts and pans highlight that the atmosphere has dramatically changed when the Neo- Nazi's walk on the train. The close up shots between the Jew and the Muslim are slightly off centre and could be said to be a cantered angle. This is to show the distance between the two characters.

Strange chanting music is heard as the Nazi's enter the scene this is to make the audience feel edgy and nervous to relate to the main characters. The film is very simple yet conveys a strong message.

Conventions of a Short film

The obvious convention in a short film, is of course the length, which can last from 5-50 mins. Many short films can give the director and creator the independence and artistic freedom to express themselves. They are usually low budget and contain a stable and fairly straight forward story, although in recent times their have been a few exceptions.

The Actors that star in short films are normally unknown and up and coming stars.

Short Film Three- act Structure

There is a Paradigm that most screenplays follow. A paradigm is a conceptual scheme, it holds the structure together. A screenplay follows the three act structure that holds screen plays together. According to Syd Field, Screen plays follow a three act structure and can be divided into three parts: Setup, Confrontation and Resolution.

Act 1 comprises the first quarter of the screenplay.
Act 2 comprises the next two quarters of the film.
Act 3 comprises the final quarter of the film.
The three acts are separated by two plot points. A plot point, often called a reversal, is an event that thrusts the plot in a new direction, leading into a new act of the screenplay. Later screenplay gurus have built on fields theory by stating the plot point 1, which leads into act 2, is the moment when the hero takes on the problem.