The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones review

I am such a big fan of the Mortal Instrument books, so when I herd that they were making them into films I was super excited. I was straight to see the film when it came out and I personally loved it! Usually when you read a book and the film of it comes out, the film ruins the book by overthinking it or changing a lot of things making it completely different to the book; however I thought that in this case the City of Bones film was the complete opposite. It had the exact same content in the film that it did in the book but it still included new, fresh jokes and scenes and it did this without drawing the attention of the audience off of the main storyline. 

The target audience for this film would commonly be between 13-18 teenage girls (the twilight fan stereotype), however I took my mum mum, sister and 10 year old cousin (who is a boy) and they all loved it. My mum liked the romance theme in it, my sister enjoyed the magic element and my cousin liked the fast paced chase scenes. So I think that overall it has reached a whole different variety of audiences.

The characters in this film were made for the role, they looked the part and I have to give credit to the props and make-up department as they did a phenomenal job. I researched the making of the film and found out that it took at least two hours each day just to put all of the tattoos on one characters! The detail of them matched a perfect description of them in the book. 

                                                                                 

However after a couple of months I noticed that it was not getting as good as reviews as they would of hoped; plus the film cost quite a lot of money to produce so when it didn't profit as much as they wanted, the directors debated on wether to continue on making the rest of the books into films. They did finally decide to make another film however it was postponed for a year. Hopefully this extra year will give them enough time to make the second film better than the first and I will be first in line to see it.

The Conjuring review

This is my favourite horror film; for one it portrays the genre in every way, it's not a cheesy horror where a pretty girl gets spooked out by a strange noise and goes outside and 'unexpectedly' gets murdered. This film captures the slightest,most petty sound and turns it into a terrifying moment.

There is one particular camera shot that I really like in this as it is a tracking shot but upside down and from a birds-eye view, when one of the characters is rushing in and out of the house the camera stays in one place but pans up and down following the character's steps. 

This film claims to be based on a true story and at the end of the film it gives quotes and sayings from the people in real life (about demon hunting), it also shows pictures of the real people which I guess also made me like the film a bit more as it concluded the film off nicely but was still focusing on the genre of horror; it didn't have a nice little saying from the director saying thankyou to all the people that helped him through his 'journey'. 

I found the lighting in this film different to other horrors as it showed a contrast between low-key lighting and high-key lighting by some of the spooky scenes happening in the daylight, which would not normally be associated with scary things happening during the day.

This film to me kept it simple which was more effective than having lots of things going on at once in the scene with objects blowing up and car chases every 5 minutes.

Marketing campains

This is the marketing campaign task that states the similar films to me and my groups film opening and the ways in which one of the films (The Fault In Our Stars) has marketed the film. This gave us idea on how we would advertise our won film.

The ways that me and my groups film opening will be marketed is by creating film posters to go on walls, buses, London underground walls and in cinema. Also, we will advertise the film by creating a web banner which will be placed on websites such as YouTube and a film trailer which will inform the public more about the film and will make them more attracted to the film. 

Representation (Group task)

This is the prezi presentation that my group made for our film The Wish List.

Conventions of drama film openings

The genre convections for drama films are the following:

- A storyline that presents a real life situation with realistic settings, stories and characters.

- A film that portrays a journey that a character has been on in their past or in the present day.

- A storyline that is dramatic and emotionally moves the audience when watching the film. Also, something with intense social interaction.

 The genre convections for the opening scene of drama films are soft, calm music, simple credits in serious fonts, voice over of a character speaking either about their life or about something to do with them such as an interest, the title for the film shows up on the screen near the middle of the opening scene and the opening scenes are not packed with different clips, they are calm openings with little different clips. I found this out by watching films that relate to my groups film. In the film opening for The Wish List I have used simple titles, the film title comes up in the middle of the opening and me and my group have placed a voice over in the opening scene. By doing theses things we are making it clear to the audience that the film is under the genre of drama.

The scripts final draft

Issy changed the script in response to some of the feedback that we received on our first draft; the first thing that Issy did was shorten the script as it was too long, also we made sure that Soraya said the script slowly and full of emotion in her voice so that the audience could recognise the pain and feelings of this character. The feedback showed that people wanted the voiceover to start later in the opening sequence rather than straight away from the start.

Improved titles

These are the titles that are going to be in our opening sequence, we adjusted them as we discovered that we shouldn't repeat and use the same name more than once.

• A production by Watering Hole Studios.
• Distributed by New Line Cinema.
• Soraya Tormos.
• Issy Payne, Jimmy Allway and Beth Gant.
• Directed by Henry Payne.
• Produced by Soraya Tormos.
• Executive producer - Owen White.
• Casting by Lucy Harding.
• Edited by Katie Harragan.
• Written by Libby Collins.
• Director of photography - Bonnie Fitch.
• Costume designer - Alex Heard.
• Music by Issy Payne.

First draft of The Wish List

This is the first draft for the film opening that me and my 

group created for our film This Wish List. 

Blog reflection 1 ~ 4th December

I have learnt how to use blogger to publish my blog and to make it look clear but fun to look at by adding my own personal background. I have used the Premiere software to create the final Juno task which I enjoyed learning about all of the different effects you can use on there. I was very proud of the finished video that I edited because it was my first time using the software and I think that I got the hang of it pretty quick. I have only ever used Microsoft movie maker to edit videos before so when I first started to edited on Premiere I was interested in all of the different features on it. I think my blog is a 12/20 so far as I have made my blog look presentable and tried my hardest in putting a lot of effort into my blog posts but I do think I could raise my mark by posting more frequently. I could try to not repeat myself when posting on my blog as it may confuse people when reading it; I could however be a bit more thorough on using technical terms when writing in detail. I think that it is fun to look at as I have a personalised background and a variety of fonts and colours to make each post look unique. I think that my learning journey is very evident and sufficient as so far I have learnt how to use a new software that is much more complex compared to the one that I am used to; I also have learnt how to post on my own blog and add labels to each post to categorise them and make it overall neat and easy to find certain things. I have learnt that I am not frequent with uploading so if I had to set myself three targets they would be:

- To upload more frequently and make sure they are all containing a sufficient amount of detail

- Explore the different representations and conventions

- Use prezi more to make my posts look fun instead of a plain boring post

Instuition

Me and my group decided that for the film we are creating the opening scene for we will use one of our own production studio logos and a real production studio company. We had a group meeting and decided that we will use either Issy's or Jimmy's logo as they look more professional.

 

This logo is Issy's logo for the production studio company that she created called Watering studios. If we use this logo we will place a fade effect so that the logo fades in and out. This will make the logo look more professional and interesting for the viewers to look at.

 

 

This is Jimmy's logo that he created called Freedom Studios. 

This logo looks the part however the contrast of clarity between the falcon and the wreath ruins the logo slightly, this may affect the final decision of wether we use this logo or Issy's logo.

In the group meeting we decided to use New Line Cinema production company.

 

New Line Cinema

New Line Cinema was founded in 1967 and has produced successful films that with mainstream and niche audiences all around the world. It is an American film studio which first started as a distribution company but has turned into an independent film studio. It is owned by Time Warner and merged with Warner Bros in 2008. It has a history of producing and distributing drama films such as The Notebook, My Sisters Keeper, The Time Travellers Wife, the Sexy and The City films and Seventeen Again. All these films were successful so we thought it would be a good idea to use it. Lastly, since New Line Cinema distribute My Sister's Keeper me and my group thought that it was the right decision to use it as My Sisters Keeper is a similar film to the Wish List.



In conclusion me and my group decided to use New Line Cinema as the distributor and Issy's production studio called Watering Hole Studios for the film opening.

Audience research

Our film would mainly appeal to females however it could also to males as well; this genre could also mean that couples got to see it as there may be a romance aspect to it. The age range for our film is 12-18 as the main character is in her teens showing a strong connection to the teenage viewers however people of all ages would also be intrigued by it. Girls may prefer to see this film as boys are more into action and sci-fi movies whereas girls prefer to connect with the characters emotions and express feelings from it; in addition films based on true stories make the audience relate to them.

In comparison other films which include drama and real life situations in their genre are Fault in our stars, The notebook and My sisters's keeper. The notebook would be aimed more at couples as it includes more of a romantic aspect to it but it still has the more relaxed theme that has lots of feelings in it; My's sister's keeper is the film that is most similar to ours as it focuses on the dreams of a cancer patient and shows the relationship she has with her family and friends. Fault in our stars was a hit sensation with all ages and genders, this could have been because it was a true story. Whenever a film is based on a true story it automatically appeals to everyone as we all have a part of us that is nosy and wants to know what happened to these people.

Film posters

These are the three posters that my group created. The photos we used were photos that Issy and Jimmy took when they were filming on Southend pier as we thought that the setting was a beautiful place because of the sunset and that it was in an interesting place to have as a background on the film posters.

This is a poster for a bus of a London underground poster that Issy created. She added the star rating to make it look more professional.

This is a landscape film poster that would be placed on walls, and poster signs at bus stops and in cinemas.

This is a landscape poster that would be placed on bill boards and poster signs.

Issy edited the bus/London underground poster on to an image of the London underground. This is an example of where this poster would be placed.

The reason why each poster is different is because we didn't want each poster to be the same and films commonly have posters that are edited dramatically from its original image so we wanted ours to look more realistic. Also, the bus/underground poster is different as when we looked at bus posters they tended to have different things on them than the other posters. Me and my group took inspiration from these film posters:

 The majority of the inspiration for the film posters came from this My Sisters Keepers film poster. The inspiration we got from this film poster was the place where the title of the film is, the place where the important actor/actresses names are, the place where the institutions are and the fact that it has the release date of the film on the poster. Also, we got the inspiration for putting the text on the top of the poster stating that the director has directed a previous good film came from this poster. We put this on the film posters to make the film posters look more realistic and professional.



We decided to place the star rating on the bus/underground poster as we looked at posters such as the one above and found that they are on the majority of the posters to make the film look good. We placed the star rating on the poster to make it look realist and so that we didn't end up with a plank space on the poster as we tried to place the release date in the gap but the size of the font didn't look right.

Changes made

We have made lots of changes along the way to creating our final film opening. The first thing we had to change was the location as it wasn't possible for us to film in a hospital/doctors surgery, so we changed it so that the opening location would be Sophia sitting in at a photo album in her home. The medical related scenes we had to adjust so that it was outside the Walk in center in springfield so that it didn't affect any patients and their privacy. We also had to shorten the length of it as it went on for too long but we had to make sure that we kept all of the important scenes in it. From the feedback people knew that the doctor speaking was a young guy/teenager so we re-recorded the doctors voiceover with Issy's dad's voice so that it sounds more like a professional doctor. In the end of the opening sequence we made the tracking shot shorter as some people found it too boring and that it dragged on; also the telephone ringing sound had to be adapted so that the sound ran smoothly and at suitable level of sound that sounded natural in the scene.

Music research

Issy was given the task in our group to find the music that will be played in the opening scene of The Wish List. This task was tricky as the songs she liked and felt that would go well with the clips in the opening scene were done by artists that are famous. However, some of them are not well known. The problem that she was faced with is that if we used a song that was really well known, our opening for the film would be at risk of being taken down off of YouTube. To over come this problem she searched for YouTubers who have done a cover of the songs that she liked and felt that it would be good in the opening scene. The artist that she chose is Gabrielle Aplin. She chose this artist as lots of her songs are soft and slow songs which will go well with the calming atmosphere created in the opening of the film The Wish List.

She also searched sad, soft music that YouTubers had composed themselves or uploaded that were not well known songs and she found these songs.

She found these four songs as back ups in case Salvation by Gabrielle Aplin doesn't go with the opening scene. Issy chose these four clips as she liked the way they are soft, calm songs. The length of the songs are a good length as the music will run for a long time. The four songs are smooth songs and will go with the theme of the opening scene.

Risk assessment

Shooting schedule

The shooting schedule was really hard to organise as different people in our group were only available on some days and I am working on all the days that everyone was planning on going to southend. In the end we came to the conclusion that some of us would miss various scenes but we made sure that there was at least 2 members from our group present whilst filming each scene. Due to the time of year we are in, it was hard to plan when we would film the exterior scenes as it gets dark outside just after school finishes.

Shot list

The shots that will be in the opening scene that me and my group are creating for our film The Wish List will include the following.

• Close up.
• Match on action.
• High and level angle.
• Tracking shots.
• Pan left and right - in close up shots and long/medium long shot.
• Tilt down - first shot (medium long shot)
• Long shot.
• Extreme close up.
• Medium longshot.
• Extreme long shot.

We are using a variety of different shots to show our skills in creating videos. By using different shots and movements in the shots we hope to create an effect which will make the opening scene look like a realistic film opening rather than just a film opening that was made by students and to make the film opening more interesting to watch. 

Timeline of opening

 This is the timeline for the opening scene which I created. It shows what scenes come first, how long the scenes last for, when the music stops and starts, when the titles show and how long they show for.

 

 

 

Class feedback and peer assessment

Feed Back For First Draft

All of the film openings were presented to all of the year twelve classes and the year thirteen's.

In the feedback I got was some valuable points and some bad feedback. The feed back me and my group got was:

• The doctors speech didn't flow and it didn't sound like an older man. Get someone else to do the doctors speech with more enthusiasm rather than being really boring. Rehearse line as the dialogue sounds like you are reading from something.
• Take out the last scene as it is not needed or cut the walking scene as it is too long. The ending is a good ending and makes it seem more like a film opening. It also makes you ask more questions about what is happening and what is going to happen.
• Add music to the ending clips of Sophia walking as it makes the ending boring without the music. This will make the ending have the same mood as it did at the beginning of the film opening.
• The voice over of Sophia needs to be redone as she needs to talk slower to present that she is sad and to portray her emotions to the audience. It needs to be more heart felt.
• The titles are to quick so it is hard to read them. Make them longer and maybe change the font and the titles transition and they are boring.
• The shots do not join very well so edit them using transitions. Use more effects.
• The flash backs were lovely and beautiful. The lens flare effect is beautiful and the voice over and her looking back at her memories is a lovely idea. The phone call volume is too loud and quite granny. The voice on the phone should sound more convincing and should be rehearsed. Walking scene at the end is long without music and it makes us ask questions like "is she okay?" "What's wrong with her?"

Me and my group have taken the feed back into account and are changing the opening scene by making the titles longer, having music throughout opening, re-recording audio and making start later on into the opening. Her are some of the feedback sheets we got back.

 

Our group pitch

After watching all the film pitch's that the members of my group made, we voted on who's we should use. This concluded in using Issy's film pitch for the film opening as we thought that it was an interesting idea which no one will have a similar film opening to.

Storyboard

This is the storyboard for the film opening. Soraya drew the drawings then Issy filmed it whilst Jimmy described what will happen in each shot, Issy also edited it on Premier as we took too many videos.

Synopsis planning

Scene one 

Sophia in her present day home sitting at her dining room table. She is looking through a photo album that contains photos of Sophia showing her growing up. There will be different shots taken at different angles to make the opening scene look more interesting.

Scene two 

This scene (flash back) will be Sophia and her friends at the age of twelve and thirteen years old. The scene will start with a match on action clip of one of Sophia's family members opening the door to the dining room (past house) holding a birthday cake. Once the family member enters the dining room he or she will place the birthday cake on to the dining room table in front of Sophia. Sophia will be surrounded by her friends with balloons all around them.

Scene three 

This scene (flash back) will contain shots of Sophia and three of her friends at Southend on a day out. One shot will be of Sophia and her friends on Southend Pier of them being happy. Another shot will be of them on Southend beach - laughing and enjoying themselves.

Scene four 

This scene will be of Sophia in her present home having being interrupted by a phone call. Sophia will answer the phone call and find out from her doctor that her tests result have come through.

Scene five 

This scene will be of Sophia walking outside the doctors. It will be a tracking hot of her walking until she goes into the building.

Characters in opening scene 

Sophia, a family member, Sophia's friends ( at age 12 and 13), James, Anna and another friend, and Doctor Bell.

Props

The props we need in our opening titles are:

-Photo album filled with baby photos

-A mobile phone

-A birthday cake

-Balloons