Friday 16 January 2009

Sunday 11 January 2009

Storyboards

A storyboard shows you how individual camera shots are used to create a ‘narrative flow’ within the sequence. Each single shot is drawn as a ‘frame’ which is annotated with brief information about the settings, actions, and camera angles, shot types, camera movements and editing notes. The different frames connect together with words or symbols that create a ‘flow’ of the images.



The pre-production of the film is when the director and production designer will discuss what look and feel they want for the film which will lead to them planning the films set and costumes. A storyboard artist will then draw up the director’s rough ideas, creating a more detailed version and adding any necessary details, action, camera and lighting directions.

The director then discusses these detailed storyboards with the director of photography whose job is to achieve the ‘look’ that they want for the film on screen. They will discuss each specific shot, analysing the composition of the scene, camera placements, camera movements, lighting and the equipment needed for each shot.



The storyboard is an important piece of information for the film crew as it gives everyone a common outline which they can work from. Production is when the filming begins. Copies of the storyboard are given to the members of the crew so that everyone knows what is required for each shot in the way of placement of lights, camera movements, movement of actors etc.
The director may change his mind about ideas stemming from the storyboard once on the set as the storyboard is only being used as a guideline for shooting.



When it comes to special effect sequences most of the backdrop are added later either by computer or matte painting so it is vitally important that actors know exactly where they should be in the shot and what they have to react to. If the actors follow the storyboards with the director they are more likely to give a convincing performance. When the film reaches the post-production stage the storyboards are used as a visual reminder of what has been filmed and in what order. They are used by film editors, especially those working on special effect films, where each effect has to be perfectly timed to match what is going on around it. Non-linear digital editing is often used as it means that films can be swiftly edited on a computer desktop, however the storyboard remains a blueprint of the original intentions for the film and provides a framework against which all the changes can be judged.
Robyn

Saturday 3 January 2009

Representation

Another key aspect that has to be taken into account while doing our project is representation of age. In this category, there are 7 main groups. These are:
· Children
· Young people
· Young adults
· 30 year olds
· Adults
· 40/50 year olds
· Elder

The group which we are using in our project is young people. Within this section there are two main images that are associated with young people. These include:

· Teens who cause trouble knife crime, asbos, rude, rebellious, drug takers etc.
· Teens who are fun – attractive and happy, aiming for success etc.


Teens as troubles
In general young people are seen as a threat by adults as they are thought to be the next generation who will rise up to take power from them, causing threatening changes to society. One great example of this is the teddy boys in the late 1950’s early 60’s. This group of young boys were demonised in the papers and accused of causing the social meltdown this created a 'moral panic.' This was the media taking advantage of a certain group (which they continue to do) as teddy boys didn’t have the power to fight back against the accusations.



Teens as fun
If a product is targeted at teens which has a negative attitude towards them it is unikely that it will succeed. However with the right technique a film producer can turn an intended negative meaning into a positive one. One example of this is the 1947 film “the wild one”. The character Johnny Strabler (played by Marlon Brando) was meant to be seen as “a social evil” that had to be “stomped out”. It was even stated in the opening titles. However, the leather cap, leather jacket and Harley Davidson attracted young people as it was “cool”. As a result the sales of all three items rocketed as American teens wants to be just like their idol. This proves that there is more than one way to respond to a text.



The money maker
However, producers and directors have realised that if they change the representation of young people then it will become more appealing and make more profits. One of the most recent examples is the “clean teen” image which has been used by the Disney channel. This is shown in such things like the worldwide phenomenon “High school musical” and “Hannah Montana" which have moved from a film (High School Musical) and a programme (Hannah Montana) into a global brand with the release of merchandise and CD's etc to capitalise on the films success. In these shows the youngsters are shown in a positive ways which is meant to attract more viewers and act as a positive role model for other children. However, some teens become hostile towards this because they see it as “too good to be true” or "fake."



Teen appeal
A new technique is creating teen characters in programmes that appeal to other teens and make them want to emulate the people they are seeing on the screen. One example of this is the E4 show “skins.” This is aimed at older teens and young people and is written by a team that are the same age as their target audience (the youngest member is only 18 years old), therefore they know what their viewers want, what their interests are, etc. The actors are the same age as the characters they are playing so the audience will find them more relatable. There is also a teen consultant that is there to ensure authenticity. The characters shown are not “clean teen” but neither are they the rebellious type, they are just portraying the reality of what goes on in teens today.


Hollie

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Media Coursework - Film production/Destk top publishing