Blog.

Due to intermittent absences I have been away when the discussions between Haaris and Tom were taking place regarding the location for filming. They have decided that they want to film using the top floor of Crowne Plaza Hotel. Haaris and Tom also began the script, which I picked up on today, changing and adding parts to it, using my knowledge of the openings of British Crime films as inspiration for what I have written and how the characters are presented on screen. I also wrote voice-overs for Tom and Haaris, as our intention was to use voice-overs, as inspired by the opening of the film, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, directed by Guy Ritchie. Before starting to consider coursework, we watched a variety of British Crime Films in order to evaluate the techniques used to portray the British Crime genre. Films we have watched are:

. The Long Good Friday

. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

. Snatch

. The Godfather

. Rock and Roller

. Face

. Layer Cake

. The Bank Job

And in order to compare these to an American Crime film we watched Pulp Fiction. In addition to this, we also completed preliminary tasks in order to see how the cameras worked and how to go about editing what we have filmed and as a way to learn about the different types of shots that can be used in a producta and when best to use them.

Opening two minutes of Lock, Stock and two Smoking Barrels.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_o1UXSxTjfo

We were predominantly inspired by films such as "lock stock and two smoking barrels" and "snatch"- directed by Guy Ritchie.

4^th February

We had intended to film today but we had to postpone this due to bad weather, as we need to find a day with good enough weather to enable us to have appropriate continuity. Also today, the wind was very strong which would have meant that had we filmed, we would have had problems with the sound so we have decided to wait until the weather is better.

7 ^th February

In lesson today I drew up a storyboard for when we start filming and as a group we decided to begin filming possibly Tuesday, definitely Wednesday. Haaris noted that in order to use the Crowne Plaza hotel car park for filming as we originally intended, we would have to get permission from the Crowne Plaza Hotel. He rang them to enquire, however he could not get through to the person who was going to grant us the permission and we are still waiting for the call back from them, meanwhile we have been looking at other possible locations to film, in the event that we are not granted permission from Crowne Plaza.

11^th February

We have been given permission from Crowne Plaza Hotel to film using the top floor of their car park. However as of yet we do not have any shots, although with the storyboard and script done and the permission from Crowne Plaza, we are all ready to film and all that remains now is filming, editing and completion of blogs. The chosen day, weather permitting, is Wednesday 16^th February, and on that day we intend on getting all of the filming done, however if for any reason this is not possible, we have also set aside Thursday to complete any filming.

14^th February.

Today, during the lesson we worked on getting our blogs up to date and spoke about confirming filming for Wednesday, we will need to ring Crown Plaza again to inform them that Wednesday is the day that we are going to need their car parking facilities. Haaris checked the weather for Wednesday and it is expected to be cloudy, but not raining and not windy.

16^th February

We could not get Hamzahs car for filming as we needed, so Tom and I suggested that we go back to the drawing board to change the plot and story board to enable us to create a plan that did not involve using another car or the top floor of Crowne Plaza as it is a long way out in comparison with some other places that it would be possible to film in and there are worries around the amount of money that it will cost in petrol. Also today there were some problems with Haaris during the lesson and he didn't end up staying, which left myself and Tom, so instead of filming as we were going to, we tried to get our blogs up on to the internet, unfortunately we were not successful in this as to begin with the website was blocked, and after the technicians had sorted this out for us, there were some problems with the actual website which meant we could not upload our blogs.

18^th February.

Due to circumstances beyond our control, two people have had to leave the media course. Haaris was one of the two people to leave which consequently means that myself and Tom have now joined a completely new group consisting of Oliver and Jade as their group also lost a person. As a result this has set us back a bit time and filming wise, however we intend now to film during the half term holidays, as I will be visiting family in Hull during the holidays I will not be present, but I have asked Tom to keep me posted on what I am missing while they film and when I return I will begin to edit what they have filmed.

2^nd March

Most of the shots we need have now been filmed and in today's lesson we began editing the film. We have used a range of shots, including establishing shots, long shots, mid shots and a zoom in of a character aswell as incorporating still shots of characters which will be shown whilst a voice-over is being played. Also the characters have flashbacks in order to incorporate characterization and the flashbacks have been edited so they are in black and white to show the past tense. Also we have a soundtrack, which will be played behind the voice-overs.

4^th March

Today we shot the flashback scene for Tom and continued to edit. We have encountered a slight problem in that the shots of the conversation between Tom and Josh do not look as professional and clean as it flicks continuously from character to character which makes it look very disjointed. This was rectified today by decreasing the amount of match on action shots and having the conversation happen while both characters are in the shot.

9^th March

From our group only Tom was present on Monday and he continued to edit whilst the rest of us were absent, however yesterday we were editing again and with the exemption of a flashback for Joe and the voiceovers needing recording we are finished for filming and editing. In today's lesson we have been trying to upload our blogs to the blogger on the internet, but due to technical problems we have been having difficulties.

11th March

The technical difficulties we were experienceing have been combated so today we uploaded what we had written on our blogs onto the internet. We also recorded the voice-overs in todays lesson, though we are still in need of a flashback scene for Joe. In terms of editing, the voice overs needed editing so that they could be heard over any background noise from the product and so that the duration was correct. Also we changed the soundtrack slightly using garage band, and added titles and credits to the product.

22nd March

Our product was shown to other classes who gave us their feedback saying that they thought the transitions were too sharp, today in the lesson we rectified this and adder smoother transitions to the product. Also, we now have filmed Joes flashback and ensures that it fits well into the product along with the voice over. Last week we began evaluation questions and have started to construct powepoint presentations based on them. All of the filming and editing is now done, all that remains is to burn the product onto a disc and complete the evaluation questions.

Edited and completed product.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2P3NdKBz40c

11 April
The product has been burnt onto a disc and all of the evaluation questions are now finished and onto youtube (we put them onto iMovie as youtube does not support the format of Power Point presentation). We have spent time completing blogs and ensuring that all of the links work properly. Also we photocopied our storyboard so each of our coursework folders has one.

Evaluation Questions.