As i have previously mentioned ,i am apart of a student started company named Blue Ridge Film group and we are looking to go in to making short films and do corporate videos to finance ourselves. Our director Jim Peakman was approached by a contact that he had in Coventry City Council about making a dvd for them focusing on the types of care that the council offer for those with special needs and what types of homes are available.
He approached us and we had a meeting about the logistics of the project ,who we would need ,when ,where and what roles. Also we discussed main issues such as equipment ,pay and other neccesaties.
We all stressed at this point the importance of the professionalism that we would need to take to this project as it is a sensitive subject and also this was not being done for a mark ,this is being done for a client and we were being paid so messing up and acting like students could not happen. We are all compitant in or roles ,myself as camera man and sound and Jim Peakman as Director and Steve Ringrose as cinematographer and we are all mature students who take our work seriously.
Walking a way from this meeting it was good to see how we were taking this and that we were at that level where we could take paid work on and realistically look at the goals and se they were acheivable.
This will be a great stepping stone for the company and something that we can use for the group portfolio and if this goes well possibly lead us to other jobs with the council which will help us financially and professionally.
This film was made to piggy back on top of a large project that we were making. As we did not have time to make another film in the time that our short film was being made we decided to use the same set and write another script whist we did this.Research was made for this project the same time we made the other so the researched crossed over. some people would say that we are being lazy but we are actually being cost and time effective.By doing research for this and the short film at the same time it means that we are not limited to the time spent on each piece we have double the time meaning that more can be done.
This will be the overall look that we are trying to achieve. Unlike our other film where the overall look is sepia in this film we are going to conform to stereotype that have been in place since saving private Ryan .Cinematicley it will fit in to the type of piece that we are making and match what the audience perceives as a war film . As this will be so short we have to give the audience what it wants and knows so that it is taken in quicker than you usually leave time for.
Our existing research on script and dialogue has worked well for this piece and only a one page script was needed and it will be in a voice over.This will be an easy way to show what the soldier is writing as voice overs are used for deeper meaningful sections in emotional films such as the shawshank redemption or the green mile and not forgetting saving private Ryan.
We looked in to books to help us create the basic script.
These books we essential to us as they had written letters from soldiers at the time of the war where this was set,written letters and accounts that we could use for the film style but also for the language as we could lift it of the paper and the dialogue so it fit to the time period with out any continuity problems which would have lost the audience.
uniform pictures for us to show our costume department were also found in the books which we cross referenced with internet findings to see whether the accounts and descriptions were correct. They were which meant that the costumes could be found with a list of what was needed. we found them in a specialist hire shop.
These books were not only helpful for the script but for the set as well ,we made the trench ourselves at the national paint balling fields and shot with in a 2 hour boundries that we allocated for this film..
The script
Dear Mother,
I am writing to tell you that I will be once again heading into battle come tomorrow, and I am certain that I will do my part for king and country with great pride. One thing I am not so certain on, and that’s the shape of mankind. I have seen things here that I could never imagine another man doing to his fellow man, horrible, ghastly things that I won’t include in this letter.
It has left me questioning the changes I’ve seen within men. The most light hearted, friendly fellow can turn into a monster so easily here. I am concerned that if these men have changed, then have I? Would you even recognise me when this is all over? And when it’s all over where will we be as a race then?
I know this war will change the shape of the world regarding geography, that is a certainty win or lose. But dearest mother, whatever happens to the world, or myself, I will always remain your dearest son.
Love as always,
Ronald
t.
For this project primary and secondary research was conducted and with out either it would not have been possible.For a normal film research is important but for a period piece it is crucial and this piece proves that.
When first starting this module I didn’t know what to expect and what I was going to get out of it. Some of our first pieces of work was to go out and look at art, research theorists and put together debates. This is not me and this takes me out of my comfort zone ,if i haven’t done it and i cant blag about it then i don’t like written work.
As a Sous chef in my previous life before university it has made me a hands on person and this quality has stayed with me hence i chose a practical course. Since the second part of this module i have learnt more than at any other sage in my college or university experience. By creating a working filming group it has given me a chance to find a role and a purpose,Also by creating a group with such close working relationships it has given me the time and the confidence to ask them for help and learn of them rather than feel scared to ask others in case of ridicule.
Looking at my work from the start of the module you can see difference in stages ,from the start middle and end and see how my work has progressed.
This film lacks colour ,it has been compressed wrong ,the lighting is poor and the actual content shows no imagination. Looking back ,i can only say that i was being lazy. Any one can stick a camera on a tripod and press record then add some quotes . I was working with students then that lacked ambition and drive as so did I. But i did learn something from this ,i was ashamed and i didn’t want that again ,i was sick of creating university films and i wanted to create something that was actually good and a film that was worth watching and not just for the grade. Would i change this video ?no. it was a learning curb and something that i have learnt from and compare my work to so that i don’t regress.
At this point i started to look at others work as well as my own and see who was similar to me personally but i could learn from but not be carried by. Myself and Jim have worked with each other a lot which you could say would hinder us but we work well and ideas bounce between each other .Hence the next time we had a piece of work we worked together and created something visually better than anything we had made.
This piece even though we stared in it was created by us .We used a Z1 camera and i researched as well as gained extra skills instruction from a technician.Not that i didn’t have motivation but i found i worked better with others and we push each other to get the best we can.the others that we worked with didnt help and followed what we told them which we didn’t mind. The crane shot in this piece was the nicest shot that i had ever taken and was definitely a turning point as i started to believe in what i could do.
Following this we didn’t make anything else until we returned after Christmas and by that point i had done more research and taken cameras out at available points, this self motivated work took filming a way from being work and started making it feel like a craft ,it was the same way i learnt other trades and skills such as culinary arts If you have the mind set that it is work it will always be that way but if you look as enjoyment and a skill it makes it into a passion and helps you.
After coming back i worked on the film Dust to Dust again with Jim Peakman as we had a working relationship that produced good films
This work shows the progression in our filming skills,there is more selection in shots , a better grading,story and technique.From this point i did miss other films do to work commitments in other modules and time management is definitely something that i will work on in future.
On the other module short film ,we decided to make a group ,this group has now turned in to a production company.This enables us to act more professionally and to a purpose ,which is learning what you want to do after university which this course has taught us to .This module has pushed us and got us out the mind set of uni,there purpose was to educate us on what working for a media company would be like .I believe that i have succeeded in this module not because of the written work and films but i now co own a media company and work to a standard where i could fit in easily in the industry.
This filmwas created for the module but we have been approached by the bbc big screen to showcase it .Iwas camera man on this as well as choosing shots as this was a montage piece in itself .This shows that i have come a long way since the start of this course that i can be an active role in such a piece.
I am limiting my self at the moment as i am only working with in the parameters of my group and even though we push and learn of each other ,others could do the same and if not more for me.In future i will make an attempt to work with others whilst maintaining the position i hold in the group.This could enhance my skill and improve my cv and knowledge. this module has shown that there is no limitations except what you put on yourself.
This is my final montage except the spelling and gittering at the end.This is a proud moment as i think that this show reel is definitely something that i can use when looking at getting a job in the industry. This is one of the first pieces that i have edited and i think that it works. Of course there is things that i would change.
I haven’t fulfilled the brief given to us at the start of the montage ,i didn’t use this module to its full potential as there is no other time i will have to work on my show reel to this extent. Everything in this film is filmed ,they are all short films ,i have experimented with cameras and learnt new cameras such as the JVC-700 and the cannon 550D and cannon 5D which can all be seen through out this montage but again i say they are all filmed.
We were told to do something that we hadn’t done before and that we should experiment with all types of media.This i have not done.In future if i get another chance i will try other techniques and forms of media such as stop motion,graphic design and computer created images .This will add more to the show reel and make me look more appealing which is the point of a show reel.
I have gathered feed back on this montage which you can see on the previous blog post. i have learnt that you should listen to others and take on board criticism as it helps and you can learn .I have learnt to experiment and try as much as possible and learn all that i can.
But also to go with your own instincts.The feed back showed that the music is distracting so after this ii will experiment with that even though i did before this was finished but the fact that the song works is only my personal view so can not be truly trusted.
In this module and through the creation of this final film i have grown from a student to a media practicionaer
and my work shows that ,but it also shows i have a lot to learn ,i plan to keep pushing my self and make as much as i can as that is the key to success.
When looking in to making my montage i actually had to take a step back and think about what the hell it was that i was a bout to do. I looked at what the lecturers actually wanted from us and what was behind the false front of a montage. What they were after was a show reel and i wanted to make something and use this opertunety to create something that i could use for professional experience and to use over the summer to get some work..So i adopted the same mind of work that i have used for all the other pieces think past the fact that it is a piece of uni work ,there was one difference this time i would be doing it alone.
i started by looking in to what a show reel is
“A demo reel, or show reel, is the motion picture or video equivalent of an artist’s portfolio. It is typically used as a tool to promote the artist’s skill, ”
So as this says ,it needs to show my skill,basically what i can do in order for companies to see what i am able to do and what i have done in the past. Its a visual Cv as there are thousands of people out there that looks like ,sounds like and has the same CV as me ,this is what makes me stand out.
I looked into some existing show reels to see how i would construct mine. Basically to get some pointers and tips and in all honesty steel some ideas.
this trailer is what we call a bad show reel ,low quality, terrible pace ,no depth or professionalism to it ,this is something i need to avoid making.
This is actually a friend of mines show reel and the amount of shots that are in there showing the variety of work that he has done actually makes the piece worth watching, gives it a feeling that you are watching a show reel so you know that you should be looking for the next great shot. And more importantly the shots are all of high quality. The music compliments the piece and so does the text everything is from different films,or different scenes from films.I will be doing my show reel in this way as i have seen where all the footage from each film is bunched together and played film by film and i think it takes away from the piece and just makes it feel more business like than artistic.
I also found this which was an on line show reel work shop basically which basically highlighted what i said above .I will take on the advice and even though i dont usually trust on line tuitions this was actually helpful. I will definitely be using a wide variety of shots and shots that compliment each other .Pace is very important and if using a song then they should compliment each other and both should enhance one and other.Not having them match would through it out of sync and make it impossible for the audience to enjoy themselves. More importantly what i learnt from the show reels above is that you should only use your best shots. To use poor quality shots is basically saying that you are poor quality. I know this is obvious but from what ive seen of other in my course…it is not.
I started by selecting all the films that i would be taking images from. I wanted a large number of films as i wanted it to showcase my work,by only having a few films that the images are chosen from it limits my piece and makes it look stagnant,that or it looks like i don’t have a lot to show and i am a lazy film maker. As i am chopping the films up and displaying all the shots in a none grouped order it gives it a better varied look and will ad to the idea of a “montague”.
The films that i will be using are.
These are all of the films that i have made or been a part of making with in the past six months for this module . There is a large selection here ,as i said before hand i didn’t want to limit myself,something that i am happy about most of these films are completely different in look and the fact that they all look dramatical will make it easier to make in to a story making my montage. As you can see these shots are of various locations and people with different grading which will give the feeling of a large variety of work.
I would use other work but there is a obstruction for this piece of work. That being that what we put in to this show reel has to be filmed for this module. We cant throw in everything we have ever made. This stipulation does not apply to the show reel that i will be sending a way to companies so after this is done i will probably go away and ad some other shots from recent work as i think that the work i have done in this module is probably some of the best footage that i have recorded.
As i haven’t uploaded any of these videos on to my personal vimeo account and have only been credited for them i did not have the original footage which meant that i had to go to all those that have uploaded the work and collect the raw footage.
For this i used the programme drop box and got the editors to send it to there which meant that i could come and go to the footage as i pleased and it didn’t take storage up on my hard drive. This has taught me that in future i should keep hard copy of all that i have been apart of as going back to the editors might not be an option in future meaning i will not be able to use it to show case my self
From this point i decided to use final cut pro as i am familiar with it. When Editing this piece i allocated a large amount of time to it. The reason being is that i wanted it to be a labour of love,for it to look beautifull, time had to be spent on the video.
I spent a day choosing the music and a further day re choosing the music ,stupidly i did not keep a copy of the failed montage for comparison but the music that i chose did not suite the piece. I wanted to choose a song that was beutifull and would compliment my work .
I chose this song because it is beautiful and it means something to me and i am a believe that all of your work should contain a personal element.This song tells of a journey and a story which i would like to come a cross in my film that this isn’t just a song but a journey through what is so far my life’s cinematic work.
I am going to use the tempo of the piece and the lyrics to cut my piece together. This will help it run more smoothly ,by doing this it will make it more entertaining and give the piece a rythem so that it doesn’t become predictable and the audience doesn’t get bored.
This is my one before final piece which includes my other film which is text.As i used this opertunity to use my weekly word as my montage credits to combine the two.
I gathered feed back on this so that i could develop the work in to something better. By getting others to look at the work it can become a greater piece as your own eye is biased to your work.
“Shot selection is great, pace is good too but I’m not a fan of the music.”
“The music lets it down”
“Soon as I heard the song, I actually smiled and couldn’t stop smiling. You’ve edited it well and the shots look beautiful. It looks like Alton is on a journey and he’s Hercules ”
“However I’m not sure if this song is showreel-ish because as soon as I heard it, I associated it Disney’s Hercules. But you’ve gotta love Michael Bolton 🙂 Also the text at the end, you’ve spelt beautiful wrong (spellcheck)”
“It is a good montage, quite emotional to be honest, but with that change at the end with the title, it will be mega :)”
At this stage i do not want to change the music as that will mean that i need to change the whole piece but it will be something that i take on board for a future cut. The spelling will be changed and the title scene will be made smoother.
I am now a part of a filming group “Blue Ridge Film Group ” which we have set up following the work and the quality of the work that was produced from with in a separate module in university except this one which is short film.
We decided to take this group further and use it with in other aspects of university and filming requirements ,to use this as a training and learning Plato.We would use this work to create a working bond between one and other ,learn each others strengths and weaknesses and create work that could go towards a group show reel.
This week were given the word light.
We were shown in lecture a technique involving moving lights to create an image
Even though this is impressive i just had visions of everyone sitting in there rooms with there mobiles or laptops creating the same thing or doing pale imitations of what they had seen with in the lecture ,which was like what was produced most weeks.I did not from the start think about doing this idea as I did not think that I could do anything on a grand scale ,which is the only way that i would do something that involved lights to this effect as its the only way to make something look impressive and worthy of my show reel.
I was more interested in the other video that was shown in the lecture.
What light is used for and the way that it can effect a piece. By lighting a scene or shot in a certain way you dont need actors or shots ,the mood can be set. and the video above was helpful and gave me a greater understanding of some type of lighting methods.
We had a group meeting consisting of myself ,Jim Peakman ,Steven Ringrose ,David hanna and Rochielle Parkes. We sat and did the usual chat and brainstorm but with in minutes Jim (the director of the group) pitched an idea involving a small mockumentary involving a projectionist and following him in the day of the life scenario. We all agreed with in seconds of it being said that this was what we wanted to do.
Our obsticle was the location of where to set the piece. As the producer of the group it was was put in my hands to get in touch with the companies that we had all decided upon trying.
We got in contact with the electric cinema who have a working projection room and after seeing it it was perfect for the shots that we wanted but even after haggling and getting the best price it was still 150 an hour. The second in line was the Warwick art centre who i had recently filmed a film festival in ,they again would charge for the room and due to other budgeted productions we did recently we could not pay.
At this point we looked in to what was at hand ,such as the graham sutherland building at coventry university.This we were also turned down due to the fact it is partly a storage room and health and safety wise they could not clear it. Finally we found the Dome at the top of the Ellen Terry building and set up correctly with a projector then it would suite the piece.
I took it in hand to create the set ,but once we set the scene and saw wat could be captured and the size of the image we saw that it was not needed. overall the set worked well.We decided to use Jim Peakman who we do use in alot of our films. We decided to use the Cannon 550D as it has more of a cinematic look and again ,like other projects we have used it for it would be good for the depth of field that we wanted to get whilst shining the projector on his face.
We decided that we wanted it to be a voice over because it is more documentary like and also easier to edit. Another factor was that it gave us more options to create shots that were beautiful.
We did have technical problems whilst setting the projector up as we had not used it before ,and once it was set up ,creating the light on Jims face to show the projection well but also his features. I played a large role in this piece ,along side Steven ring rose. I was camera man again and he was Cinematographer together we shot the whole piece . I did plan and suggest a lot of the shots which i was happy about as on other pieces we had selected a formal director so that stage was left to him. I decided upon shots that were visually nice and could be put in to a motague /sequence of a documentary which i have studied previously.
At this point the footage ad voice over was given to Rochielle who actually created two pieces one with music and one with the voice over.This part of the process i was not overal apart from apart from suggestions on the day of filming. I liked this project as i did set ,camera man helped with lights and and helped direct.
At this point it was time to show our work in the lecture to gather feedback which is highly important.As without critisism you can not improve your work and being close to the piece you get tunnel vision so if anything is wrong ,because its yours and your so close to it ,you will not notice the problems.
This copy as you can see has the voice over and is actually my favourite out the two and received better feed back .Jim especially as the actor was worried that on screen was children and you could just see a grown man with a very questionable voice and hobby watching them and smiling. We are known for creating comedy pieces and pushing the boundaries but that is not what this piece id=s about. What started as a mockumentary actually ended up being a dramatic piece.When shown this was not seen and picked up which was great and we were very pleased with.I think the voice over gives more depth to the character and gets you involved rather than the second piece.
I had particularly favourite shots such as jims face when highlighted,the out of focus to focus shots also helped st a mood of creativity and a cinematic feeling and the story is about a man who has dedicated his life to films so it fits in easily. When looking there is parts i would change like all things i would possible get some different shots as they are all egual length from the camera ,either a crane or track could be used to add to the variety.
the second version was a good version.The music added to the piece and created a flow as well as atmosphere. The music gave the overall piece an emotional feeling due to the style of the music and the characteristics of the singer.i think it helped the pace and carried the piece nicely.I do prefer the other version as i think it suites what we were after originally.As it was pointed out this is a different film and having two edits does show what you can do with footage that it isnt always cut and shut and that by pushing yourself and trying other things you can achieve more with what your given.
Rather than just treating this like a piece of university work we took it upon our selves to treat work as the film group always does .As professionally as possible.Overall was a good piece of work and we achieved in what we set out to make.something beautiful.
This is our first piece that we have been set for the 260mc montage project.Each week i will be given a word and from that word we have to do some type of piece that is inspired / directed and based upon that word. This does give us a limitation but it teaches us to work to a deadline and to work to specifics and to set briefs.It is a challenge for us to go out and work on our skills and try and create something using our imagination and to be artistic.MY problem with this is ….can you teach someone to be creative and artistic?
I think that we are going to be seeing a large number of videos that look very similar and that also look like everything were shown from the lecture. Im going to try and deviate from this and actually make things that are individual to me and that push the meaning of the word and what it means / surrounds it.
Our first word that has been given to us is the word WALL . Now ,i know what you are thinking because i was thinking it to.
The first things that came to my mind was the meaning of the word which is bricks and cement and the things that surround us,we were told that one of our restrictions for the week was for us not to film walls,sought of obvious.Also what came to mind was the great wall of china,the Berlin wall and the film WALL-E ,and since i cant film walls and i have a week so learning animation to that level is definitely out the question.
The wall you shouldn’t cross -social No’s ,and wat our society holds as a no like burglary, murder , paedophilia,rape,theft,fraud etc and do a montage of what you shouldn’t do.
Closing yourself of- your own boundaries that you with strictyourself in.
A physical wall – from the saying like hitting a brick wall ,show people hitting the wass ,academic, work,love ets.
Quitting.- the wall that you hit when you are quitting something ,such as smoking,drinking,drugs and show what people suffer from when they are quitting and the wall you hit when you want to come back of quitting.
Self disiplin -the walls in which you surround yourself in when training and fighting for something ,or when your dieting or just the will power to not drink and smoke when others around you are.
Knowledge – Have books all with the word wall in the title or the author and see a student building the wall as his essay is being built and when they hand it in you see the wall coming down.
Mime – Use a mime to show the walls and boundaries within your own mind and what you put up and how you stop yourself from doing things because its wrong. I would have the mimes wall get smaller each time he restricts himself from not taking chances like learning or experiencing or taking a chance on a girl etc.
I have decided to go a head with the idea of the mime as i think that it has the most potential of being beautiful and it shows imagination and it is something different to what everyone else is doing or has thought about.
I went away and thought about how i would make this that would be technically and visually stunning ,i didnt want to just go out ,get someone who would be able to mime for me ,a costume and then stick him in the ellen terry as that shows no effort .
At this point in time it is time where i look at my weaker areas and use these words to improve them ,in this circumstance it will be a good way for me to work on lighting .
ive Decided to look into lighting and i will create a sequence where extras will walk up to my mime and present him with an opportunity and each time he turns it down the light set up will change .the mime will show his world getting smaller and that can be re illiterate by the lights and the final opportunity will be ignored and you will here FUCK IT and the lights will saturate the camera meaning he has broken free from his limitations.
Looking back I was a little ambitious, i was trying to improve one of my skills but to use the location ,which was the photo studio as well as get a mime. i have learnt from this as i am now on the second week and I am a week behind now and with another week to create it wwill be difficult to plan and catch up even at this stage .#
I have decided to do the saying ,hit the wall in physical training i was inspired by the film what women want.
I would do the same type of shots of the advert in the clip above but i woud have his voice repeating over and over again ,you can do it ,then have him stop dead like he hit a wall and him say ….CAN I then have it fade to black. this would be a lot simpler to film and also would be acheivable in a day /half a day ofd filming then the same editing. the story is to the point ,simple and sticks to the criteria .hitting a wall
When i started this module I was after a good mark, I wanted to make something that would get me a first and that was all i thought about it. I have grown so much through making this short film and I know it sounds ridiculous to say that but I truly believe that I have.As a student ,a film maker and in confidence this module has been essential to what I will make in the future.
We set out and one of our motos was (and there were many) this is not a student film ,for this project we are not students and it will not look like student film in the end. ill say it now ,we succeeded, we made the first thing that that I can look back at and want to show people that I made it. I started this module dubious ,my best other mark and film has been a documentary , I have always loved films and filming but didn’t know where to start, this is where I have started.
when at the start of this module we had to choose a team this was easy for me ,i had previously spoke to Jim ,Dave and Steve who i had worked with in previous projects and whos work I knew was at a high standard and Dave Barnett was known to Jim as a hard worker so he was also invited to work with us.This was a good team and everyone brought something different to the table,i was the weakest except for Dave B technically ,something that i was open about and the group responded not with putting me in a non technical job or by putting me down for this fact they replied by helping,teaching running over things with me that now when filming im very compitant and confident in my work not only for short film but all my videos. The groups dynamics were good everyone worked,no one slacked and when it was time to play we played but when it was time to focus and work there was no hesitation.
Technically i am far more advanced then i was before ,i have learnt three new cameras,the JVC-700 the cannon 550D and the cannon 5d ,i have learnt to understand all the things that used to baffle me ,such as apiture ,iso,shutter speed etc and that came from inside my group and the will this project gave to push myself. I now understand the use of different lenses and why i would use them.The benefits of being compitant technically and not just scraping through has made a dramatic difference.
I have learnt to coordinate with others and listen and react.I have never worked in such a big group,on the day of filming there was the 5 main group members ,two people helping with the set ,which were Nicholas Urmston and Jason Kurmoo also we had charlotte whitaker helping whoo is a contact of the director,the two actors and the unofficial 6th member of our short film and finally our two actors. Working with so many others made me realsie what a small cog you actually are to a film and how every role is crucial with out a single member that was there that day it would have hindered us. I have learnt to grow respect for roles within filming and am now actively learning more and more and pushing myself to make my weaker areas my strongest.
something that i have picked up is an approach to filming and the way i was before and the people i worked with before i want to leave a thing of the past. We are all acting like a member of a company not a numbered group that goes to uni. The group that we have created has gone on to now be a official company and we will work together on all uni and non uni projects which we have been doing and also taking the way in which we work iinto them projects and the improvement that it has made to all of our work is highly noticeable.
Are there aspects of the film that i would change? yes .are there parts of the production method i would change? yes.
what i would change in the film is that at one point the filter does not match and there are some shots that do not fit together such as the standing up and sitting down in the second trench.But that would be it ,there is a learning curb on each shoot and that is ours to take forward ,more direction and a bit more planning is needed.
What would I change in the production process? it would be that I want to be more involved in more of the process as I think my involvement was a lot in the pre production,good through out the filming but after i was limited , I know a producer would have more to do on a professional piece but in this in post production i was left twiddling my thumbs. On the next project i will sit in and assist in other areas to help my own understanding.
All in all a great module and i was told by a previouse lecturer Ken Fero to get in to a group of like minded people and get out there and start planning and making things .I plan to take that advice with blue ridge film group.
At first im not going to lie we rushed straight in to how we were going to distribute the film because we didn’t want this film to be a student film,another wasted chance,something that sits on face book and on you tube and collects dust. Were at a point in our education where we need to start thinking about what comes after university ,hence the reason we started our own company but more importantly this is the perfect time to get ourselves noticed.We have spare time, access to equipment and backing and help from the university so if something is going to get done,it needs to get done now.
We decided that we wanted to showcase our work ourselves as well as put them up for others to display for us. We looked at a local source,the Herbert Art Gallery to look to do a viewing weekend and try and attract other local film makers such as our fellow students and local short film makers which some members with in our group already know. We will be doing this but in months to come ,we will be sending round our work first to try and attract some attention to it first ,there would be nothing worse than to rent out such a great space and then see it empty for the entire weeknd and our film to be ignored.
We spoke to some lecturers and asked for some advice on how and where to display our work ,we know that just our film will not be big enough to draw the attention needed to justify showing it alone so others will have to be shown with it or we can piggy back of theirs. we were told to contact Richard woods at Roots for shoots and we have sent him an email and an answer phone asking for a meeting and whether it would be possible for help to show our films in events that his company are organising and also help us create some media attention.Also on our mailing list is the warwichshire and coventry film society and Richard Helms at the Big Screen in birmingham.
By contacting local societies like this it is a good stepping stone to get us attention and feedback before we send our work of to film festivels which could be crucial if we want to see and=y financial or recognition gain out of it. Also we will be working and filming round the local areas as we are based here so being in connection with such people could open doors for us as well as it is local ,they are looking for local talent and we are looking for someone to find us,what more could we ask for.
We are also speaking to the organisers of the Godiva festival not just for us but to have a tent displaying short films for something for the crowds to do in between acts as there is nothing of the sort and it couyld be a way of displaying local talent .
Theses were some generic sites that we looked into and they were help full and did have some interesting insight for us to work from.
We understand that their is many distribution sites out there but a lot display very amateur work which we believe our work is not so we will be scrutinising who can show it.hopefully if only better sites with good reputations show our work that will send a message to the standard that we want to be seen at ,we don’t want to be the next university company that stop trading after a year because it simply didn’t work. And reputation and distribution is key to that.
There is the simple method of sending it to every festivel and competition that we can but we are goin to select which we does and it to and which will be beneficial and which our genre fits in to.By over exposing the work and saturating it it mighttake something away from the piece and the popularity but yet again any press is good press.We will be sitting down and discussing what comes next within the next few weeks as so many options are open to us.
One thing that already has happened is that bbc big screen has approached us about using our work including castles in the air (our short film) and displaying them.The fact that it was them that approached us and not the other way around has really given us the push to get out there and show are film and see what comes from it.
For us to be prepared for marketing we need to be ready in all aspects including distribution and advertising. This poster was taken from still that were taken on the day on the cannon 550D. Again this was a task given to rochielle,we say given it was requested by her. This will be sent of with all press kits and this will be an excellent way to show the film and the high level of standards that it is at,it is important to think about this as we will be sending it to many short film festivals and having it shown where we can and an advert/poster is one of the oldest forms of getting attention an d spreading the word and attracting people to see a film.
Again this is done to a high level and ads another string to the bow of the film and to the blue ridge film group.
We decided at an early stage to bring on board Rochielle parkes and she has helped through out ,on the day of filming ,in post and pre,she has done the poster (which you will see in my next post) but also we have made her apart of our company.She put herself forward to design and make our logo and that is something we decided that it would be good for her to do.
She is ver artistic and has a great sense of professional pride and standard.Also title are sought of her trademark and she loves to make them.We gave rochielle a basic outline of what we wanted and she came back to us time and time again with changed and improvements.
This was the basic outline and the overall picture that our logo would bb based around.
This was the next stage in the logo,this is with out sound,smoke and final animation and also youtube has compressed the image.
A 3d element was added to it to make it look more professional and stand out ,also to make it look more impressive.
A change in colour was made to suit the film and ad depth to it .
The overall look is of a higher standard and the logo doesn’t look as retro and it looks more impressive and cinematic.
The overall look of the logo now that it is finished it just needs to be uploaded in HD .It is a very impressive logo and we are all deeply impressed and is the logo we will use for all future projects.
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