Waterloo Road Link and brief description ....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01s9c0v/Waterloo_Road_Series_8_Episode_21/

This is a link to an episode of "Waterloo Road" which is a soap opera which falls under the category of  tv drama. The macro elements of this episode is the representation of a school and the environment which is a combination of the teachers and the students lives. This episode is about a new boy who arrives at the school but brings his troubled past with him that causes more problems at this new school. The most prominent representation is the difficulties that single mothers face.

The episode incorporates several of the different elements that defined in the previous post it has a lot of standard edits which is mainly straight cuts or motivated cuts which show a change in the action that is occurring in the same moment. There is not a vast amount of shots but there are establishing tacking and close ups. There is the use of digetic sound which includes the dialogue and there is also a lot of different props such as the characters uniforms which define them and their position of authority within the school.

I have attached this link so that there is an example of the type of clip or episode that I will be analysing in my exam.

Media Key Terms - Micro Representation

Editing Vocabulary : 

Cut : sudden change from one viewpoint or location to another. On television cuts occur on average about every 7 or 8 seconds it can be used to ; change the scene, compress time, vary the point of view, build up an image or idea.

Matched Cut: In a ‘matched cut’ a familiar relationship between the shots may make the change seem smooth ; continuity of direction, completed action, a similar centre of attention in the frame , a one-step change of shot size (long to medium) a change of angle. 

Jump Cut: abrupt switch from one scene to another which may be used deliberately to make a dramatic point. 

Motivated Cut : Cut made just at the point where what has occurred makes the viewer immediately want to see something which is not currently visible. 

Cutting Rate : frequent cuts may be used as deliberate interruptions to shock surprise or emphasize 

Cross-Cut : a cut from one line of action to another. 

Cutaway/cutaway shot (CA): a bridging intercut shot between two shots of the same subject. 

Reaction Shot : any shot usually a cutaway in which a participant reacts to action which has just occurred.

Insert/insert shot : a bridging close up shot inserted into the larger context offering an essential detail of the scene 

Fade, Dissolve (mix) : both fades and dissolves are gradual transitions between shots.

Superimpositions: two of more images placed directly over each other 

Wipe: an optical effect marking a transition between two shots. 

Inset: An inset is a special visual effect whereby a reduced shot is superimposed on the main shot. Often used to reveal a close-up detail of the main shot.

Split Screen: the division of the screen into parts which can show the viewer several images at the same time. 

Camera Terms: 

Long shot (LS): subject is distant from camera surroundings dominate

Establishing shot (ES) : often a long shot or wide shot, it sets the scene by establishing where the action is happening ; generally used as the first shot in a sequence.

Medium shot (MS) : shot where the subject and the setting are roughly in balance, so that both the person and where he/ she is situated is clear. 

Close up (CU): the subject dominates the frame;anything from the head and shoulders shot to a giant image of part of the body or part of an object like an eye or a number on a clock face 

can also have extreme close ups so one thing dominates the frame

Over the Shoulder (OTS): shot looking over the shoulder of one character for example at the face of another character

Pan: sideways movement of camera from a static position 

Tilt: up or down movement of the camera from a static position 

Track or Dolly shot : movement of camera on some kind of trolley often following a character 

High Angle: shot looking down on a subject 

Low Angle : shot looking up at a subject 

Zoom: movement of lens to go closer or moves out from the subject 

Lighting : 

Key light : a bright source that provides main lighting 

High- key lighting : bright illumination few or no shadows minimum contrast 

Low-key lighting : dim or dark lighting effects 

Backlighting : light coming from behind the subject 

Three point lighting: a common set up using three directions of light on a scene ; behind, 1 source, dimmer opposite 

Lighting from front gives a flat, two dimensional image 

Side-lighting is used to create dramatic effects 

Backlighting is used to create a silhouette 

Sound : 

Digetic : part of the drama’s world i.e. the characters in a drama can hear the sound 

Non-digetic : sound that is not part of the world of the drama it is often added later 

Parallel (synchronous) : mood effect that matches the drama 

Contrapuntal (asynchronous) : doesn’t match the action of the show 

Incidental Music : crates the mood and helps create an audience response

Ambient Sound: generates atmosphere to enhance the setting 

Themes and stings: Incidental music associated with characters and events.  

Evaluation Presentation (filmed)

http://mediaframas.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/evaluation-presentations.html

This is a link to my presentation on Mr Earl's Blog....

Something Interesting....

The following year, Godard made Le Petit Soldat (The Little Soldier), which dealt with the Algerian War of Independence. Most notably, it was the first collaboration between Godard and Danish-born actress Anna Karina, whom he later married in 1961 (and divorced in 1967). The film, due to its political nature, was banned by the French government until January 1963. Karina appeared again, along with Belmondo, in A Woman Is a Woman (1961), intended as a homage to the American musical. Angela (Karina) desires a child, prompting her to pretend to leave her boyfriend (Jean-Claude Brialy) and make him jealous by pursuing his best friend (Belmondo) as a substitute.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Luc_Godard#Films

This was just interesting to show that the New Wave of French cinema also had people making films based on wars and it just kind of tied in with what was brought up in the presentation.

Another written Evaluation Presentation

Evaluation Presentation

Further Evaluation

Problems Encountered

Evaluation - Audience ; Addressing audience and typical audience

The Final Video

 http://vimeo.com/62891613

Road to Damascus

I have found this source on the internet using google image but it is kind of iconographic based on what my film is about potentailly what would be on a DVD cover.......

Start of Evaluation

Evaluation

I have now started to think about how I am going to present my evaluation and I think that a making of documentary would be quite good I could potentially include some interviews of the actors and then I would have the directors commentary and then I would also have to add in to the film shots and different scenes that were used in the film.

Another potential idea would be to have a voice over or director’s commentary over the film this would have to be quite brief though because of the fact that the film is not that long so that might not be the best but it is a potential idea.

Difficulties

Difficulties

Some of the difficulties that occurred during the filming of the project I struggled with the timing of the project I had a lot of trouble trying to get the filming done in the time that I wanted so that I could edit it in time. There were also several issues with weather as the initial shoot was supposed to be done in winter and there was snow on the ground I was worried about whether to get all my filming done in case I couldn’t re-film in the snow but then there was snow again when I reshot some footage in march.

Changes in Film

Since I started my project I have made some changes. I focused on documentaries like Supersize Me and The Secrets of Scientology and these really helped me to realise that the most effective thing would be to have a split screen to show the credits and then have an interview with a montage sequence. The split screen has news footage which helps to explain the situation that the film was based on. The idea of having the titles at the beginning of the film also helps to show that the film is based on a situation. Having the footage of the main character lying in a hostage style situation shows a similarity between The Secrets of Scientology which held images of the man in the past whereas for my film the use of black and white is what shows the past and the colour image shows the present situation. What the two colours and the use of a type of flash back shows the idea that the film is not real it shows the idea of the story of the being a story and not a real thing.

As I was looking over my research I realized that I had written about wanting to use a voice over in a part of my documentary. And instead of a voice over I used a part of a news report that introduces the film company that will make my film and then I added the interview scene of my main character and while he was talking there was a cut to different shots to have a kind of montage sequence which is a common feature of documentaries.

Another Rough Edit

What I am up to ...

So what I am hoping to do this week is to clean up the editing so that the project looks better I am hopfully going make the scene transitions smoother with cuts and fades in the right place so that the project looks more professional and so that it is a more effective and believable story.

Rough Edit

This is an example of a rough edit that I have made.

My Ident

This is an example of the ident that I am going to have on my film it was made by James Corker.

Video Changes

So I am going to post an new copy of my rough edit and these are some things that I am hopeing to change before the final version is posted:
I am going to cut the opening titles instead of fading them in
I am going to fix the audio as some of it is lost
then I am hopeing to redo the pan across the landscape so that it is steadier and I am going to fix some of the edits on the different conversations so that none of the words are cut too soon.

Scene Shot

So I have just filmed a scene of Conrad talking to his editor on a phone conversation and then I filmed a scene of Conrad's wife and his daughter talking about him and worry about whether Conrad is okay.

A Couple Changes

There has been a change in the way the film is going to pan out and it has been decided that to add a more interesting dynamic to the film there is going to be the addition of a few characters one of these will be Conrad's daughter who is going to decide to go to Syria herself to find out what has happened to her father. There will also hopefully be the addition of Conrad's editior so that the audience can see that Conrad's mission was made harder becasue there was little co-operation or support for Conrad going on this trip. Also with the daughter going to find her father it shows that the character is risking everything and hopefully this will promote a sense of empathy in the audience.

Script for added Sequence

An: Hey I’m worried about my dad

L: Why?? What’s up with him??

AN: Well do you remember how I told you he was in Syria..

L: Yeah … SO??

An: Well he hasn’t come back or contacted me and he promised he would.

L: He probably just got caught up or the receptions bad

An: No I know something’s wrong

L: What do you want to do about it? Huh? Go to Syria … In the middle of a civil war??

Pause

An: That’s it!! Lorna I’m going to Syria.

 

 

Update

So editing on the film has begun and changes that have been made to the rough cut is a use of black and white to show the flash back scene of the film and the use of brighter colours during the present day shots. Also I am using a split screen to show the titles and I will hope to post another example of my work soon with some changes as I work towards my final cut....

Rough Cut

This is a more sophisticated version of the rough cut a better picture of what the project is meant to be like.

Roughest of Rough Cuts Explained

What I have just posted is the very first very basic cut of my film there are obviously going to be several changes made but this is just the most basic and general direction that the film is going in......
more to come...................

The Roughest of Rough Cuts

 

Piecing the scene together ….

What I currently have managed to piece together is how the sequence will pan out and the final shot that will appear before the title which is of Conrad walking away with his dog. What I need though now is just the filling of the scene I need to get the voice over of Conrad explaining the situation and the kidnap scene. I was thinking that I could potentially have Conrad reciting something like a poem or a news article or quote that has surrounded the issue (thoughts??)

An Idea

Another issue that has occured in Syria and the other Arab Spring Countries is that a lot of reporters have been in casualties or killed and so Conrad could briefly mention this in his film to possibly explain why he has to go to Syria undercover..... ( thoughts??)

Screen Grabs

I will hopefully be able to post some screen grabs of the Secret Agent at a later date.....

Secret Agent Analysis

So last night I watched a part of a documentary called The Secret Agent and it was about a man who was an undercover reporter and went to investigate The British National Party. This was a really useful documentary to watch because it is one that is very similar to my idea and the plot for my docufiction. The opening of the documentary consisted of a shot of a man who was on a hill with his dog which was to establish to the audience the story the main character. This probably isn’t an accurate way to describe what was shown because a documentary is about establishing an idea or subject and then getting under the skin of that topic so there is no plot or anything. Yet in the docufiction the establishment of the plot and the subject of the film will hopefully be expressed in a similar manner with Conrad being shown and the audience being able to pin point that Conrad is the central character and that the story is about him. Again there was this reoccurring use of voice over was also in the documentary so it will definitely be a feature in my docufiction. I think that the voice over is used to firstly establish what the film will be about and then it also helps to create distance between the action in the scene and the narrator so that it feels like the main subject is being analysed and people are finding what is going on. The next really useful feature of the documentary was that it showed cuts between news footage of the Bradford riots I think and the man who was  explaining what had happened which is also going to be a feature of the docufiction. There will be Conrad show talking to the camera man about what will happen and then there will be a news report so there will be a juxtaposition of shots used. Another thing that was in the documentary was that the reporter filmed himself at what was obviously at the end of the day when he was in bed and just talking plainly into the camera about the difficulties that he had encountered during that day and I think that I will have Conrad doing something similar.

Plan for the Week

Plan for this week:

What I would really like to achieve this week is to have Conrad talking to the camera about what he is going to do to introduce the idea similar to the men in both Supersize Me and the Secretes of Scientology this could be done in voice over possibly while there is a shot of a news clip playing. Then I would like to shot a conversation between Conrad’s wife and the camera and also a conversation between Conrad and his wife in front of the camera. If possible I would also like to shoot the kidnap scene but this is most likely to be done over half term.

Shots Example

 

 

Here I have added two shoots of Conrad walking his dog. My original idea was to have the scene open with Conrad walking away with the dog and then have a kind of montage where we would be introduced to Conrad and then I was planning on ending the scene right before the main titles came up with Conrad walking towards the camera. My teacher suggested that I only use the shot of him walking away as it might be more affective showing him leaving his old life behind and I might do that instead.

An Idea

There is one shot in my film where you see Conrad walking away with the dog and then the scene before the titiles comes up I wanted to have conrad walking towards the camera. Ideas ??? Thoughts??

Photo Source

https://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1280&bih=929&q=syria&oq=syria&gs_l=img.3..0l10.1216.2754.0.3452.5.5.0.0.0.0.76.293.5.5.0...0.0...1ac.1.2.img.QAhshqTGuLA#imgrc=sjLQXXk7-OLitM%3A%3BREjcwU3AhHlQMM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fmedia.npr.org%252Fassets%252Fimg%252F2012%252F06%252F07%252Fmideast_syria_12037271_custom-a8ec9e2d3175967987ce55dafc0760405edf6fd2-s6-c10.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.npr.org%252Fblogs%252Fthetwo-way%252F2012%252F06%252F07%252F154535404%252Fin-syria-some-places-are-already-living-the-civil-war%3B948%3B613

This is a link to the photos of Syria...

Notes to Self

Could get some picture of Syrian people like women and children and pan over them slowly to put in between the opening titles which are explaining the situation.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/06/07/154535404/in-syria-some-places-are-already-living-the-civil-war

 Also want to have some scenes of someone talking about Conrad leaving and then some shots of Conrad talking with the person from the previous scene.

If I was to liken my documentary to any of the other documentaries that I have watched it would be Supersize Me because it is kind of made in the style of two people who wanted to document someone doing something and so they got a camera and started filming and also there is interaction in the documentary with the camera man and that is supposed to be a feature of my docufiction.

Where I am at now..

Where I am at now. So what I am up to at the minute is trying to just get a really rough idea of how the sequence will pan out so with any of the footage I am missing which will be shot this weekend or over half term I am replacing these scenes with titles just to give the general direction of what is happening. To  be more specific I am planning on shooting a conversation between the camera man and Conrad's wife and then I am planning on shooting a hostage or kidnaping scene that will show  a passage of time and will be the very opening of a sequence. After the titles have appeared then there will be a flash back to something like six months earlier which gives a kind of cause and effect feature to the film. For an example of the kind of thing I am going to make it is similar to "The Secrets of Scientology" where the documenter shows footage of what happened previously when he had tried to make a documentary about scientology. He also imbedded footage from the scientology videos and Tom Cruise and so I am hoping to have the same thing by using footage from youtube news reports on Syria.

Documentary Research

So since I changed what I wanted to make my film about and the genre it turns out that I needed to do a bit more research to be able to envision how the film would look. So my teacher sent me some links to a couple documentaries that he thought I would find helpful and I did. So….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l42UrHDx4lEb

This is a documentary called The Secrets of Scientology and what I really found helpful with this documentary was the opening it opens with a voice over while the camera moves between different shots of a man who is in a coffee shop in a London Train station so the camera moves from the cup to the arrivals board and things like that so I think that I am going to have a sequence like that in my film; juxtaposition of shots. Also the use of voice over is quite a common feature of documentaries so I might have a voice over in my documentary.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Z74og9HbTM

This is a documentary called Supersize Me and this is a documentary that has a home video kind of feel to it you can imagine that  it was just a few friends who decided to get together and try this experiment and I think that this might be useful for my film.

Production Company

I may be getting ahead of myself but I was with a friend of mine who is really good at photoshop and so we decided to make a rough version of my production company logo. So here it is .....

CCTV Sample

I had said in my planning stages that I would maybe want to have at a certain point in the film so kind of CCTV footage and this is a very very rough shot of the kind of footage that will be used to show the CCTV angle so yeah it's not much but it's an idea....

I wouldn't watch this film with the sound on it is better without...

Where I am at Now

So filming has begun and while the progress seems to be slow good things take time. What I am planning on doing next is to have the rest of what I need for my rough edit shot this weekend and it should hopefully all be ready to begin editing on Monday. It has been difficult doing the filming because of the weather conditions which have not been great with all the snow it was difficult to know what to do filming wise but luckily there has been some rain and that has gotten ride of a lot of the ice and snow which means that I can resume filming outside and not have to worry to much about the continutiy. There is also just a few problems with my main actor who is working and so sometimes there are schedualing problems but these will all be sorted and the footage should be expected on Monday so that editing can begin. What is shot so far will probably used as a montage and just different transition pieces that will really make the film look documented... So more to follow soon....

An Observation

An Observation

In the recent production of the film version of Les Miserables there are a lot of times when the camera movement seemed to come incredibly close to breaking the 180 degree rule but it did create an interesting affect. Also there was a lot of use of depth of field and how the camera would zoom in on one character and then the background would fade and you wouldn’t be able to see clearly what was going on in the background.

I am also thinking about the shooting in the snow which means that in March when there is a reshoot there might not be any snow so what to do??? So I guess what will have to be done is to shoot the scene as planned and then just try and not get too much snow in the frame.

Note to Self...

Note to Self:

Could have for the security style footage Conrad on the train station platform and have the camera on the opposite platform and then have different close ups and zooms. Could also have a shot from above on the bridge of Conrad and it is looking down on him.

Letter Head and Press Pass

Here Finally is the Press Pass and Letter Head that I made for the company which Conrad works for. They will need editing as in the letter head has to have an actual letter on it and the press pass is missing a photo but I will finish these later on.

Filming Has Begun

This is a blog post in which I am pleased to announce that filming has begun. I have mainly focused so far on a way of showing the passage of time which will give the film more interesting transitions. I am hopefully going to add some of the footage onto my blog tonight.

Revised Script

New Script Outline

Scene 1: Conrad: Help… Who’s there??.... What do you want from me??... I don’t know what you want??? (This part will be filmed in the Web Cam style so there isn't someone helping Conrad the camera is set up and he is talking into it.)

Then a transition occurs so Conrad is seen in the scene where he is still getting ready to go.

Scene 2: Robert Conrad here (the date) Looking forward to going off to a warm place and getting away from the cold winter months not sure what I am going to find feel a little nervous but I got to get out there and just see how it goes. (Agian shot web cam)

Scene 3: Conrad: Well it’s now (the date) and I have just seen the news obviously it’s terrible what’s happening out there and it has just made me really want to go and see how the people are surviving and whether there is any hope for the future. ( over the shoulder turns to talk to the person behind the camera)

Scene 4: Conrad: Hello there again it’s Robert still here I am just packing up my stuff leaving tomorrow very excited not to just get there and do my job what I have been trained to do. So yeah just going over things again make sure I haven’t forgotten anything not entirely sure what I’ll need either cause no one really knows what it’s like out there do they ?? (security footage style)

Scene 5: Conrad: Just looking over some files to see what I am going to be looking in to and what I need to take with me and just getting ready. (talking into camera helped by someone else)

Scene 6: Conrad: I am just having this final goodbye for now the next time I see you I’ll hopefully be in Syria…. Over and Out…. (web cam footage and tracking shot)

How to open the film

How to open the film?

I have recently been talking over the opening of my film and how to maintain this sense of realism that there needs to be to make the film more effective. My teacher then suggested that I should open the film by using a hostage video. As if in the film Robert Conrad would be kidnapped and then his captures would be taunting Conrad by making him film himself and give this report. This links to my research because in many crime films there has to be this connection built between the protagonist and the audience when the audience see the protagonist in a difficult situation and they then feel that they want the protagonist to succeed. It also helps show links with research because it is a time when there is obviously a crime committed against Conrad. Once the audience has seen that Conrad is in a difficult position there would be a scene transition to show where Conrad was before. It is kind of in the style of Rendition when the film opens with the end first and the rest of the film is set in trying to explore how the story ended that way. And there is this question of time and how it passes and what happened because in the film Rendition there are multiple story lines that are occurring so it is important to have some kind of time recognition. In the film Rendition the way that they show how the stories combine is that they repeat the scene and then the two scenes happen at the same time but I will probably not be able to do that but it is something worth thinking about.

How to make the film:

Start with the webcam and Conrad talking into as if he is terrified and then pause or cut the scene to the titles a caption which says Road to Damascus and then go straight into the footage of Conrad preparing himself for the task ahead.

Could use the Blair Witch Project style of filming have a kind of found footage section and add a voice over onto the footage.

But could still have a time lapse that would show Conrad going to bed and then see the sun rising on the next day the day that he is going to go away on.  http://www.ehow.com/how_2317274_make-timelapse-video-digital-video.html

http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/how-to-make-time-lapse-video-ultimate-guide/

Note to Self:

Person of interest American TV show which shows surveillance footage and interesting idea potentially for my film. Could also have the man walking away into the “sunset” with the dog.

A little more Information

Where I am at now:

I have recently added onto my blog a little preview of what the film is going to be about. What I added was shot on a web cam to show that there will be this way that Robert Conrad will be documenting himself and that what the audience sees is very personal and it is all about how he is feeling the emotional preparation for what he is about to do. This is different to my research because in the films that I watched there is usually the idea that the audience has a hard time relating to the character because they can never really get inside the characters head. It could be considered that what the audiences sees is the equivalent to Michael Corleone’s conversations with Kay where that is the only real time when the audience can have a better understanding of who Michael is.  

What I am going to do next is this weekend I am going to hopefully work on my filming and different experiments from shooting the footage from different angles and just getting lots of shots of Robert and his monologue style of conversation.

Easy A Shots

These are a few shots of the film Easy A where the main character is documenting herself on a webcam. I have added these to kind of show the kind of different angles that I am going to use when showing Robert Conrad who at times is documenting himself. This idea of also holding up signs to show what the character are talking about might also be used in my film by the reporter holding up different news reports that I am going to potentially print out and use to show that this is the scenario that Conrad is reporting on but also to show maybe the people who Conrad is trying to report on....

Basic Footage

I have just added a little snip bit from my film in which Robert Conrad has introduced himself and told the audience how he is feeling. This is just very rough basic shot and it was just so that people could see a kind of style that the film is going in.

Basic Footage

News Link

http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/01/14/syria-army-using-new-type-cluster-munition

This is a link to a news article that kind of inspired me because it is really interesting and it has the reinforced idea of the Human Rights issues in Syria this kind of weapon controversy could be what Robert Conrad is trying to report on in my docufiction

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21192100

Since starting the filming and the research of this project it turns out that more has happened on the situatuion that the docufiction is based on and so I thought I would add this article as another one to help with the topic of this docufiction. Also in the film Conrad was going to get kidnapped later on in the film and so this article could show maybe a basis of one way Conrad got kidnapped and event to base that on for the docufiction.....

http://archive.org/details/911_and_the_British_Broadcasting_Conspiracy

Website about a documentary made to do with the BBC coverage of the 9/11 problems and the conspiracy theories that surround them. Also this would maybe be one to watch because it is about the war on terror which touches with what I am trying to do. What will be shown in the docufiction.

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/watch-online/

This is a link to a site that has many different documentaries and they are broken in to categories should look at the war and military ones and then the ones that are about people also there are some about conspiracy theories which might also be worth looking at.

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/inside-iraq-the-untold-stories/

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/exit-afghanistan/

Worth looking at this one too potentially because it is about the people of Iraq so the victims stuck in the conflict which is what Conrad is trying to do in the Docufiction.

The second one is also similar to the idea of what life is like in a war zone.

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/life-death-war-zone/

This is a link about a documentary which is about the medical care in Iraq and I think is meant to show what it is like to live in a war zone which is what Conrad is talking about.

Supersize Me (watch opening to show how to establish content for something.)

Catfish worth looking into maybe to show what it is like to document someone…..

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/ground-zero-syria/

This is a documentary that is actually about Syria which would be worth looking at. It is about the Rebel forces and how they are fighting and then how there are civilians trapped in the kind of cross fire but still have to carry on and survive.

Easy A - Idea

One film that I have recently watched is Easy A and this is at first probably a really random film to mention but I do mention it because the film is about a young girl and something that she did then she documented on the internet as a kind of web blog which I thought was clever and the style of that web confession thing is a lot like my film the moments when Robert Conrad is talking to the camera those moments would be like the character Olive in Easy A.

Edited Script Outline

An important part of the crime genre films and often documentaries is the idea of exposing a different side to every story and so this is why I have added the different articles because these are all both about what is going to happen in the film but also the motivation as I have said there could be this theme of rivalry between two reporters and each competing for the top spot. So I have added the use off the articles into Box 3 on my story board because this will be a part of the conversation in which Robert will be surrounded by different news sources and how he is going to react to these different situations...

Lyse Doucet - Rivalry

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/correspondents/lysedoucet/

This is the same articale that was posted a few minutes ago and this focuses on the reporter and gives her credit and says that she has a kind of reputation what could be brought up in the docufiction potentially is that the reporter is trying to defeat the woman and be able to be her equal...

Press Pass

This is a picture that is taken from the internet and it shows the style that I used to make my press pass which I will hopefully be able to add soon but there is problems loading pictures on to the blog. This press pass is important because it is a piece of iconography of the journalist and that it allows access into different places but the audience must ask whether the places that the character gains access to are really worth getting the access for.

Another News Story

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20824292

This is another article that is quite a bit older than the some of the other articles which shows that sometimes for certain parts of the world especially the western world there is a loss of interest in different news stories which could add to the characters motivation the fact that they are doing something that no one else is doing and that people have lost interest in even though it is an on-going and just as important event.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21007519

But then there is the issue that it is not the same subject being talked about there has to be a completely new angle as if people don't have as much interest in the conflict itself maybe but now there is more a focus on the people because there is problems with human rights which is something that there is an element of in my DOCUFICTION so it will be interesting to try and involve a small aspect of the journalists empathy for the people.

News Articles

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/syrian-military-attacks-near-damascus-death-toll/1/242211.html

As the topic that I have chosen to make my film about is quite a current one I have decided that it would be useful to look into current news stories so that my docuficition can have some elements of truth and so I found this article that was just written today that shows some of the deaths that have occured and it was written close to the source of the action also because my film is about a journalist this makes up a large part of the characters persona so it is important to see what the journalist kind of gets up to during the day. Also this article is about the death of children and innocent people and so this could help to show that this unneccasary death of innocent people is the motivation for Robert the character to go out and give a voice to the people....

Docufiction Link

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Docufiction

This is a link to a wikipedia page that my teacher pointed out to show research about Docufiction which is the type of film that I am going to make.

Docufiction

Docufiction

This is just a post to say that the type of film I am planning to make is a  docufiction not a real story.

Cinema Verite

http://www.parlez-vous.com/misc/realism.htm

This is just another page that has some research about Cinema Verite which is the kind of more technical aspect of the film making because I am making a fictional film but with the influence of a more documentary style.

Documentary

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Documentary_film

Attached is a link to a wikipedia page that is about documentaries and the history of them. It is very interesting because it shows that there a forms of documentaries that have an active invovlment from the director and then there are some which are about how the documentary is just an observation of something and it can be relatively basic like someone getting on a train or someone leaving work.  There is also a part of the page that talks about the French influence of documentaires.

An Idea

An idea I had is that in my film I could have a scene where there is a bit of filming that turns into a still image so there is a contrast between the two. And the image would move from one person’s hand to another right at the end of the scene to show that there is more to this journalists commentary then meets the eye.


( Updated on January 31st 2013)
Also something that I would potentially like to experiment with is kind of horror film footage. The idea of like the Blair witch project and that there is found footage or a film crew that has gone into film the events and then there is interaction with the film crew which kind of breaks the boundary of having different film and it being an imaginary thing with little interaction with the audience to having a form of interaction making it more personal and realistic.

Props

For my film I have made a few props. I made a mock press pass and a letter head thing which Robert Conrad would need for his preparations to go to Syria and things he would need for his visa application.

Passport

https://www.gov.uk/browse/citizenship/passports

Here is a link that shows what needs to be done to get hold of a passport. This is important to my film becasues the man is going to be trying to travel to Syria and it will be done legally so there needs to be an explanation of the character preparing to go with the legal documents needed. The fact that the character is entering the country legally is to explain to the audience that the character is the protagonist and that he is not the antaagonist. It also shows that everything in the film began above board and legal but it could so quickly change once the reporter arrives in Syria. The idea that the journalist might need to escape a certain situation but he won't be able to without the passport because it would be illegal or perhaps it might show that one of the people the reporter meets needs the passport to get out of the country and they potentially steal the document which is a sign of betrayal in the film which is common to the crime genre because in the genre there is for example the Godfather where Freddo goes against the family and suffers the consequences or The Good Shepherd where the professor is the traitor and he suffers the consequences which does not sit well with the protagonist.

Syria Visa

http://www.syriapath.net/misc/syrian-visa/

This is another website that has information on traveling to Syria.

Syrian Visa

http://www.visafirst.com/en/gb_syrian_tourist_visa_faq.asp?usr_ctry=236#faq2

For my film I need quite a bit of factual information so that the film is accurate and believable. My teacher suggested that I look up what would need to be done to get a Syrian Visa and so here is a link about the frequently asked questions on what needs to be done to get the visa ....

Script Outline

Box 1 - no speech just background music 

Box 2 - Robert Conrad introduces himself and describes the work that he is doing ....

Box 3 - Robert looks at the news reports and mutters to camera man that what is happening is terrible what happens at this point is that Robert is looking at the news clips but he also  looks at different articles that are written online and from perhaps the newspaper he works for....

Box 4 - Robert talks into camera about what the preparations he had to make where passport etc. 

Box 5 - Robert is talking and explaining what he is packing 

Box 6 - Robert looks at his files and sees that there is research to be done 

Box 7 - Robert says his good byes 

Box 8 - Again another time to say good bye 

Production Companies

Production Companies :

Paramount - The Godfather 

Paramount - Four Brothers 

Imagine Entertainment - J Edgar 

Universal - The Good Shepherd 

Weinstien Company -  Lucky Number Slevin 

Anonymous Content - Rendition 

Goskino - Battleship Potemkin 

What my research has shown is that the production companies that make the films that I researched are all relatively big and well known production companies and if they aren’t then they are not as well know companies which  is kind of ironic it is almost as if the production companies range from two different sides f a spectrum. The film that I am basing my film on is called Invisible Children which is not one that I have put up an analysis of but will hopefully be able to get done it I can find the film and it does not have a listed production company so if my film where produced it would probably be through an independent film production company rather than through the typical large scale production companies.

Title

I posted on my blog a few days ago that I could really do with some input into what I wanted my film to be named now my research suggested that I should go with a one word title but then Mr Earl suggested that I name my film Road To Damascus and even though it’s three words long I think that it is a brilliant title so that’s what I am calling my film Thank You Mr Earl  

Blog Evaluation

Blog Evaluation 

I as went and looked over my blog again I have realized that I have got the basics down I have my storyboard and a rough layout of the scenario which is what I needed to have on. Now I don’t have on my blog a script and this is because I am making a fake documentary so it needs to have a kind of natural feel about it so later on I am going to a layout of what will be covered in each of the different scenes and I am going to lay it out as the storyboards are covered so the numbers will correspond to the storyboard. 

Another thing that I think I need to clarify is what production companies make these kind of  films that I have been researching and so I am going to add a blog post about that later too. 

Again I am also going to try and add some more pictures and possibly videos to my blog so that it is a more multi media set up rather then as text heavy as it is now. 

I am also going to try and start filming soon so there will hopefully be some footage for people to see.

As it stands I think that there is some improvements to be made on my blog but I think that I am generally on the right line .....