FMP - Final Statement/Review

REVIEW OF FINAL MAJOR PROJECT (FMP)

Student Name: Matt Dickinson         Pathway:Media Production

Final Major Project Title: Hardships

You will need to submit this evaluation with your full project hand in 

1. Briefly describe the final outcome of your project and the progress you have made, and if applicable how it differs from your original Project Proposal:

For my FMP I have a made a teaser and extended look trailer for a fictional film which I have written. The trailers can be used as an insite into what I imagine the film to look like and used a pitch to secure funding to complete and create the full length feature. My original plan was to make a single trailer on the concept of a few friends coming up with first file sharing business however this has progressed ultimately into both a love story between three characters while the business is under police investigation for child porn distribution. The film completely expands above the original idea into a number of different spirelling problems that the characters are forced to deal with. 

The first idea was include but used it as a platform to excell the real story off. Allowing the characters to rise what they dreamt and fixated is fun to watch but not exciting, it isnt until they are thrown obstacles that threaten to put them in a worse position than they originally started do we really start to enjoy a story. This is what mine progressed from and too.  

2. What methods have you used to show how your learning has effected your project eg FMP Blog/ FMP Plan/ sketchbooks etc, and how has this helped with development of your work:

One of the most important things that aided me in the creation of this project was my notebook, not sketchbook. I kept this on me almost at all times because of its small size and already messyness meaning I wasnt scared of worsening it. This acted as my physical mind, containing multiple on line scribbles that to anyone else means nothing but allowed to keep document of any new information and remind at later dates. 

It allowed me to be 100x more organised and creative as if I was unsure about anything at a moment in time, flicking through my notebook usually sorted the problem. Once I was sure of ideas, certain of information, it then found its way into my sketchbook. This meant everything in my sketchbook was directly linked to my actual project and there was no "waffle" or waste of space (something I hate). As a perfectionist I then found myself proud of my sketchbook. 

My blog was great to reflect upon my work so far. I found that once actually writing out what I was working on into a post, that things really started to set in. It gives you a chance to think about certain things again that you may not consider at first and helped me remind what stuck out a significant/potential lead versus a page filler. 

3. List the targets met (from the original FMP Plan and any that were added later):

Create a trailer and understand the fundamentals of a film trailer
Successful manage and direct a team of people on set
Learn what makes a successful script/narrative
Create an engaging storyline based on primary and secondary research

4. Reflecting on your overall final major project, please discuss any developments which have contributed to the final outcome:

The biggest development of the story was defintely during the development of the script, changing the storyline to based more around a love story and the downfall of a business rather than the rise of a group of college kidsd doing things they were never able to do. I should say it was a hard decision to make to completely change the dyanamic and flow of the story hwoever it wasnt. As soon as it hit me I instantly knew that it was actively going to make a more interesting 'ride' for the audition. It allowed me to look into so different scenes improving the variety of actions I could write to the story, opening more doors. It did set me back as I spent a longer period of time writing the scenes but resulted in a better film, and better trailer. The trailer wasnt all about parties and success but no had tension, paranoia, hate and love; all emotions that can keep the audience on the edge of the chair the whole film. 

5. Please state what advice you received from others during your FMP, and discuss what you found particularly useful: you should refer to group reviews, one-to-one tutorials and feedback from evaluation groups

Get as many opinions as possible. This completely changed my project for the better. If I hadnt seeked feedback from my tutors and peers not only would I have never found the new storyline but trailer would still be my cut. WIth every new cut that I showed it improved and still could improve if I was to keep showing it to new people. Narrowed minded is not a state of mind to put yourself into especially in the creative industry, its through networking and bouncing off other people do we find the greatest pieces of work. 

6. Key points to take away – things to change about my approach (give at least 2) eg improve time management, what skills you have developed and how this will affect your future course/career and things to continue doing and to build on (give at least 2). What are you going to do next year?
(NOTE – you may find it useful to refer to this document at the beginning of your next self managed project.)

From this project i can definitely say that I found what I thoroughly enjoy doing, and what I want to carry on doing in the future. I have finally learn the importance of time management and how much of difference planning can do to maximise the amount done in a single day. I have also learnt successful how to record sound with a Boom for dialogue and how much of an improvement it is from mounting the mic on the camera like I usually have. My FMP has taught me alot that I can now take forward into my Film Production degree that I am planning on studying at Arts University of Bournemouth

FMP - Bibliography

Bibliography 

Websites/Online Articles 

Sean Parker. (Internet). 2014. The Biography.com website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/sean-parker-20906371 (Accessed 2014).

Shawn Fanning. (internet). 2014. fundinguniverse.com website. Available from:
http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/napster-inc-history/ (Accessed 2014).

Chris Grant (Internet). 1998. pintday.org website. Available from: https://web.archive.org/web/20100601181412/http://pintday.org/whitepapers/ftp-review.shtml (Accessed 2014)

Stuart Dredge. (Internet) 2014. theguardian.com website. Available from: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/apr/11/riaa-mpaa-megaupload-kim-dotcom-piracy-lawsuits (Accessed 2014)

Stephen Garret (Internet) Jan 2012. Filmmakermagazine.com. Available at: http://filmmakermagazine.com/37093-first-impressions/#.U4IyTvldV8E Accessed 2014. 

Jonny Elwyn. (Internet) Feb 2013. premiumbeat.com website. Available at: http://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/editing-a-film-trailer/ Accessed 2014. 

Shan Carter (Internet) Feb 2013. nytimes.com website. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/02/19/movies/awardsseason/oscar-trailers.html?_r=0 Accessed 2014. 

Dan Schoenbrun (Internet) Jan 2012. Filmmakermagazine.com. Available at: http://filmmakermagazine.com/37093-first-impressions/#.U4IyTvldV8E Accessed 2014. Bottom of page.

Lynsey Macdonal (Internet) Sept 2011. roobla.com website. Available at: http://roobla.com/2011/09/16/what-makes-a-good-movie-trailer/ Accessed 2014. 

Visits

Tate Modern 8:04:14

Haward Gallery 8:04:14

British Film Institute 9:04:14

Books 

Ante, Spencer (May 2001) "Shawn Fanning's Struggle," Business Week. p. 197.

Mckee, Robert (Jan 2006) Story. UK. Regan Books. 

Vogler, Christopher (Dec 2007). The Writers Journey. UK. Michael Wiese Production. 

John C. Harsanyi & Reinhard Selten, 1988. A General Theory of Equilibrium Selection in Games. MIT Press Books. The MIT Press. Edition 1, volume 1, number 0262582384.

Mercado, Gustavo (2013) The Film Maker's Eye. New York. Focal Press. 

Bond, Simon (2012) Simple Scene Sensational Shot. East sussex. Ilex Publishers. 

Youtube Videos

Danow1955 (Jan 18, 2014) What makes a good trailer? (youtube video) Accessed 2014. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whxyC5NT0uQ

Overturefilms (Dec 8th, 2009) The Crazies - Trailer. (youtube video). Accessed 2014. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7w9uWFIMBs

Paramount movies (May 1st, 2012) Cloverfield - Trailer. (youtube video). Accessed 2014. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1XEriXzNik

Paramount pictures (June 16, 2013) The Wolf of Wall Street Official Trailer. (youtube video). Accessed 2014. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iszwuX1AK6A

Don Jon Movie (May 23rd, 2013) Don Jon Official Trailer. (youtube video). Accessed 2014. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2A63Ly0Pvpk

Hollywoodstreams (May 10th, 2010) Inception Trailer HD. (youtube video) Accessed 2014. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66TuSJo4dZM

Movieclips (Sept 2nd, 2011) The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Official Trailer. (youtube video) Accessed 2014. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5X-hFf6Bwo

Movieclips Trailers (Jul 31, 2013) Lone Survivor Official Trailer (youtube video) Accessed 2014. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoLFk4JK_RM

ENTV (Jul 31, 2013) The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Trailer (youtube video) Accessed 2014. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGWO2w0H2V8

MOVIECLIPS Trailers (Dec 19th 2012) Pain and Gain Official Trailer (youtube video) Accessed 2014. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEQ8jyvmYtw

VISO Trailer (Aug 12, 2010) Enter the Void - Official Trailer (youtube video) Accessed 2014. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKRxDP--e-Y

Documentares

Downloaded (Documentary) 2013. Directed/Produced by Alex Winter. VH1. US

Free to Play (Documentary) 2014. Produced by Valve Corporation. Online. US

Films

Filth (2013). Directed by Jon S. Baird (Motion Picture). UK. Lionsgate. 

The Social Network (2010). Directed by David Fincher (Motion Picture). US. Columbia Pictures

The Spectacular Now (2013). Directed by James Ponsoldt (Motion Picture). US. A24

Warrior (2011). Directed by Gavin O'Connor (Motion Picture). US. Lionsgate.

Project X (2012). Directed by Nima Nourizadeh (Motion Picture). US. Warner Bros Pictures.

The Prestige (2006) Directed by Christopher Nolan (Motion Picture). US Buena Vista Pictures and Warner Bros Pictures.

The Place Beyond The Pines (2012) Directed by Derek Cianfirance (Motion Picture). US. Focus Features

The Bang Bang Club (2010) Directed by Steven Silver (Motion Picture). South Africa. Paramount Pictures.

12 Years A Slave (2013) Directed by Steve McQueen (Motion Picture). UK. Fox Searchlight Pictures and Entertainment One

Dallas Buyers Club (2013) Directed by Jean-Marc Vallee (Motion Picture). US. Focus Features.

Body of Lies (2008) Directed by Ridley Scott (Motion Picture). US. Warner Bros Pictures. 

Inglorious Basterds (2009) Directed by Quentin Tarantino (Motion Picture).  Germany. The Weinstein Company and Universal Pictures. 

+

Short Term 12
Charlie St Cloud
The Kids are all Right
Ip In The Air
Only God Forgives
Coach Carter
50/50
Perks of Being A Wallflower
Limitless
Looper
The Great Gatsby 
Captain Phillips
Into The Wild
Gravity
Escape Plan
Welcome to the Rileys
Thank You For Smoking
Anchorman 2
The Proposal
500 Dyas of Summer
The Lucky One
Disconnect
Out of The Furnace
Now You See Me
Chronicle
Warm Bodies

FMP - Personal Evaluation

At the end of the seven weeks I am very pleased with the outcome. It exceeded my expectations I had when I started the project because realistically I thought I was setting myself up for a massive fall, but wanted to prove not only everyone around wrong but also myself that I could do it. The final outcome is a lot different from the original ideas I had, but better. I think the the seven weeks show the progression of a basic idea into a blossoming project that could be taken a lot further in the future. Film is one my deep passions and my ultimate aim in life, this project is just one stepping stone to getting there. 

Making this trailer and writing this story has been a huge learning experience. I now have a much deeper appreciation for the fundamentals of story writing and the whole production tasks that intertwine to create a finished film. Doing this project on my own has made me do things I never considered when making a film, from drawing very basic on the spot concept arts to show the actors the picture for the film I had in my head to drawing it out a time schedule to the shot list to maximise the efficiency of the shoot days. I struggled most with the planning because of the sheer size of the project (number of people, shots, scenes, locations etc) but it has taught me many lessons which I take with me whenever diving into a new project.

The filming was a great experience. It felt great to have a large portion on set all looking for your guidance on what they should do. In theory it should feel pressured but honestly I felt the opposite as it was one of the few times in the project where I could completely determine the fate of the product. Audio is something I usually stay well clear of and let other people take care of it but this project forced me to take control of it. This was good because it forced me to look into recording audio properly, teaching me a number of new things to maximise my output. It resulted in me recording the audio both directly into the camera via a shotgun mic mounted on the top of the camera and separately using a another shotgun mic on a boom connected to a H4N zoom to get a crisper sound for dialogue. 

Editing was a struggle in places. Usually I enjoy editing because for all my past projects I worked with linear straight cut scenes which allows me to get large portions of footage sorted in short amounts of time. With the trailer though it was extremely frustrating in places, I found myself constantly re positioning things and spent hours deciding over the length a shots against the importance of them. I have a new found respect for trailer editors because for a whole film, I can imagine having to shave my head to avoid me ripping my hair out over frustration. On the other hand it was overly rewarding in places. There were many times I found myself running around where I am living in excitement because something finally clicked just as I wanted it too. If there was anything I could take away from trailer editing, it is that patience is key and playing safe doesn't work; take a risk and it could pay off dramatically. 

If was given a few more weeks for the project, I think I would look into filming some more scenes/re-filming some bits with the actors. There are some shots that I feel I didn't get the best out of what was available. This would allow me a greater diversity in the trailer amongst shots, on top of what was already there. I would also look into some visual effects that I could add to maybe hint at a more high budget films, playing with the concepts of fire/car crashes all that shot from certain angles could make it look realistic without out me doing any actual damage. 

Overall I have thoughly enjoyed making this project, and it has been my favourite video that I have worked on to date. I owe a lot of thanks to everyone who gave inspiration to kick start ideas around the film and that provided me with favours in the actual production. This project has provided me with skills and confidence I can take into further projects allowing me to a lot more than before. 

FINAL PIECES

Teaser Trailer 

Extended Trailer

FMP - Post Production

Post production was across a few different programs; Adobe Premier Pro, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Prelude. I avoided using Adobe Speed grade for colour grading because of the unnecessary lengths of time it takes to use the software for a very similar final result. Adobe Premier Pro was used to base edit all the footage, all of the other softwares were 'extras' to this. 

I prefer to use Adobe Premier Pro (PP) because of its interactivity with a lot of the other Adobe software. For example you can render compositions straight from After Effects (AE) into PP's timeline instead of having to render a separate file and import like you would if you were using another 3rd party software. This saves a lot of time in longer projects. The layout may not as user friendly as Avid or Final Cut but compared to final cut it allows you to do so much more, it is a more industry standard piece of software in comparison. When working premier pro I used 4 video and audio channels which I layered different clips upon each other. The audio channels made use of the layering more effectively as I can manipulate the sound to blend in more effectively this way. (above)

I used Photoshop to produce all the titles which were then animated in premier pro. Photoshop wasn't used a great deal as titles can easily can created in after effects itself however there are a much wider range of options for things to do in photoshop visually for still images. However I wanted to keep the graphics very simple and bold to make it easy for the audience to read as they wont be on screen to long. It would be pointless if I spent a lot time making the graphics look nice but at the detriment of it taking that extra second to read. 

After effects was then used to animate these or any other special effects. For all of the titles I wanted some movement to make it look natural to the trailer but not enough to make it distracting from the actual text so all the graphics were animated to scale up slowly and enter with flare. 

I then also animated some different effects for the opening titles, such as the mountain drawing itself out or the magnified glass focussing in and out. Al these small features are barely noticeable in the actual cut but without them it can make a big difference. Its these small features that people don't consciously pick upon that make the difference between amateur and professional. 

I finally used after effects for a few other small things such as further stabilising any shaky footage to be dead still when I didn't use a tripod or steadi-cam. I can track small features each frame and rotate/position the rest of the footage around that point in the composition so it appears stationary. (above)

Prelude was used to transcode the footage. Using a C100 it films in AVCHD which means that the audio and sound gets produced separately and transcoded together. I colour graded all the footage in Premier pro as well. Colour grading can make a huge difference for something that doesnt take a long period of time. The great thing about premier pro is it gives you access to alot of different options. I mainly use a three way colour corrector, this allows me to change the colours in different layers of the picture. The shadows, mid tones, highlights can all be extended or compressed or tinted etc. This allows me to whiten lights and correct complexions. I then can also alter the levels to brighten or darken areas of the photo. There are a few other effects I can take advantage of, but below is just an example of the power of colour grading. 

Ungraded

Graded

FMP - Equipment

The equipment for my final major project was a massive element I had to consider. As I filming a trailer for the audience to believe what they are seeing in front of them is potentially real they will expect a certain quality, and there is only so much someone can do in post production. It is better to as much when filming so the quality doesn't get reduced when in editing. 

For the main camera used to film the trailer I used a Canon EOS C100, one of the entry level broadcasting cameras. It films no where near the quality of some of the broadcasting cameras, still filming at 1080p at only 30fps, however has a full frame sensor and a handful of other features that make it notably better than my SLR (Canon 60D). For example it also films in a cinema mode which flaten the image to allow for cleaner, more versatile, grading in post production. It also has an in built Natural density filter allowing me to always use the lowest possible F-stops when filming, reducing grain in my image which was something I was so keen to remove.

I then had a handful of lenses to use to film, however found myself only using a few. I wanted to use a lense with an incredible wide aperture to reduce grain so the majority of the trailer was filmed on a 50mm F/1.4 or a 20mm F/2.8. This allowed me to always keep the grain to as little as possible something that watching a film, you would not expect to see. I also had access to more wide angle lenses and some telephoto lenses, however both of these lenses are full frame lenses. This means I would be able to film on the full frame sensor of the C100, something that not all lenses are able to do. 

















For sound I used a few things. Firstly I used a Rode Shotgun Mic directly attached the to the top of the C100 which recorded audio directly in the audio channels of the footage, so all the footage had a good level of sound. 

I then had a separate Sennheiser 416 Rife Mic, mounted on a boom and though an XLR cable recorded sound into a H4N Zoom recorder. On the shoot days Ryan helped me with holding the boom. The boom allowed me to get the Mic as close the actors as possible to record a crisp clean dialogue while still being out of shot. This meant I didn't have to worry about being close to the actors when filming. 


When filming the camera was usually mounted to a Glide-cam, for stability. I used a Flycam 5000 which is a lightweight glide-cam for SLR's and any camera/combinations weighing under 12KG. This was perfect for the equipment we were using as it was easy to detach and shoot without quickly and when set up correctly completely stabilised the footage. 

The scenes that involved me having to sprint after characters or lean out of a moving car would usually be unusable but due the steadicam it removed all shake and when held stably produced extremely similar shots to dolly or fully automated steadicams.  I added a quick release plate to the top to allow me quickly detach the camera and film completely hand held or mount to a tripod in a matter of seconds. 

I also had a few other things to help me on the shoots such as a paglite C6 kit which are portable flights. I also had my SLR flood light. But these were rarely used unless we were indoors and needed a little more foreground light. I tried to film all the scenes as light as possible because it is easy to darken an image in post and keep the quality constant but lighting an image successfully is hard in post. I then also had a fluid tripod with a fluid head and head phones etc to hear the channels correctly preventing peaking. The majority of the kit was borrowed the CLR. 

FMP - Film Narrative

After a lot of research and experimentation I started to develop on my idea and create the film narrative. I already knew I wanted to create a story around a group of teenagers that discover the first file sharing website, as I wanted to capture the roller-coaster someone goes through from having nothing to having everything. However when talking to my tutors, Tom said that it is too nice and reminded me that needs to be obstacles for this character to overcome. I needed to discover what the character was and what he wanted to get too and then make him come across things that make it difficult to get there. The books 'Story' by Robert Mckee and 'The Writer's Journey' By Christopher Vogler reinforced this.

There I got to work. I wanted the character to be no one incredible special but no one too under privileged to make him relate-able to the mass majority of the audience, as there are times in all our lives where we just fit in. I wanted him to be the "crowd of the hallway". One of the things my tutors told me was to harness from past experiences to make the work and subject more authentic. Therefore I based the story around One boy in a group of closely knitted friends. He wasnt the most popular person at school, wasn't overly rich, didn't have a cinema worthy social life and like most teenage boys is unlucky with girls. This gave him plenty of things that he could improve upon. Things he would naturally aim for then; increased popularity, wealth, partying and obviously a beautiful girlfriend. These were all my end things that I wanted my character to have, and the way he would get there is through the development of this online business. The story was rapidly growing at this point and I had all the foundations to build the structure of my story. 

All I had to do then is link in characters to these objectives, build a chronological path for these objectives and then add in obstacles or 'oh fuck' situations to make the film entertaining. The hardest thing was creating the obstacles. After talking to my tutor the idea sparked of having something threaten to not only bring down his business and chances of the 'high life' but actually reduce him to having a worse life than previously. I didn't want him to die so something unlawful that could leave him in prison.

I started to experiment with ideas and situations that would mess about with his chances, but none stuck out as being thrilling and dramatic enough to shock the audience and produce that 'oh fuck' situation. I then started looking at taboo subjects that really pushed the boundaries of morality and hit a light bulb (metaphorically). As the business is built around file sharing, what if a file was to go trending that was so sick and shocking it would attract the attention of the police and force them to do something about it; child porn. Child porn is not a popular topic to speak of, even when mentioning in public to friends involving this project I could physically see them cringe. There have been cases of child porn on social networks such as Facebook and twitter and caused a debate on the whether the site should remain circulating. So imagine what would happen to the owners of a site already pushing the law by breaking copyright agreements and making money off that.

Not only was this a big obstacle to overcome but it could potentially spark other problems within the film/obstacles to overcome. Characters getting in accidents etc over the paranoia of thinking everyone knows they own the site such as car crashes or fights. I then wanted to mess up the relationship that the main character so desperately wants. Looking back at the friendship interviews I conducted with people one of the main things that repeated said to push the boundaries of a friendship is cheating. A friend going or getting with a another friends 'partner'. This was easy obstacle then, have character A's girl cheating on him with one of character A's friends. 

This causes were disruption with the storyline and the relationship strings that are built between people. Once I had the ideas fully developed, I began to produce a flow chart of scenes and ideas. After several attempts I managed to complete one, which I went to draw a timeline from.