Tuesday 14 February 2017

Pre Production Blog Posts

Week 1

This week I met with my team and we decided that we would be from Chase radio and planned to create a promotional video that advertises a local talent show. We discussed this so that we knew what production we were planning. This impacted my production as we had a rough plan of what we wanted our project to be.
Also this week I wrote up a proposal so that everyone has a clear idea of what me and my group plan on creating. This was good because it explains what I plan to put into the video, why I plan to put it in the video and how this would fit to my target audience but I believe that I need to include more detail of exactly what my video will show and why I have chosen each specific element within my video.  This impacted on my production as it meant that I had a plan of what I wanted the video to show and why.

Week 2


This week I wrote my letter for permission to use locations. In this letter, I wrote to Mr Bryant asking for permission to use the Main Hall and the Chroma Key Room. This was effective as I explained why it would benefit Mr Bryant to let us use the facilities, it was polite and gave all the relevant information. Next time I will include more benefits for Kingsmead if they allow us to use their facilities. This impacted on production as it ensured that my company have requested to use a specific location that will benefit our production greatly as it ensures that we can use different backgrounds and have a large open space to record different clips.

I also carried out a location recce where I went to each location and evaluated how well they would fit our purpose. This was effective as I was able to view a range of different locations and highlight their key good and bad points so that I can make a well-informed decision on which location would be best. This was successful as I clearly gave advantages for each location, I also gave disadvantages for each location and described what each location offers. This benefitted my production as it ensured that I chose the location that was best for my production.

Finally, this week I completed the risk assessment which was effective as I gave a list of 13 risks, I explained how to avoid each risk and then what to do if any of the risks happened. Next time I would explain each risk in more detail. This benefited my production as it ensures that the production is as safe as possible and no one will get hurt. Also, if anyone does get hurt then the injured person gets the help they need quickly.


Week 3

This week my team and I have moved on to the script writing and character building section of our production. The character building section ensures that we build a strong knowledge base of what each character is like with specific details so that we can effectively create a video that fits the director’s vision. It incorporates the smaller details about each character including about the character such as their habits, relationships and distinguishing features. It ensures that you can feel as though you know the character personally before actually meeting them. The script break down sheet is a way of breaking down what you want from each scene of your video to the smallest details such as costumes and special effects and props. This is effective as it is a way of bringing ideas together so that the script can be written with precise detail. I personally completed the script breakdown sheet for each individual scene so that I could them write out each script with precise detail so that each scene fit the directors vision perfectly. The script breakdown sheet was effective as I included a multitude of details about sections such as, cast, costume details, extras / atmosphere, special effects, props, special equipment, makeup / hair, sound effects / music and production notes. However next time I will include more specific details regarding each section. Overall I feel that my work this week was a successful contribution to my project.

Week 4

This week I wrote out the final finished copy of my script for our production. The script is an important element to the production of our promotional video because it brings all the ideas for the promotional video together so that the producer and cinematographer can effectively design each scene and bring it to life. My script was effective as it included precise detail about each character’s outfit and actions they carry out in each scene. Also, my script gave specific details about what sound clips needed to be played and when they needed to be played. Next time I will include more details about lighting.

 Week 5
This week I typed up the weekly minuets from each meeting that I had with my team regarding project progression and file completion. My minuets were successful as they effectively outline what takes place each week for the project and who completes each document.
Also this week I completed a document that shows file sharing between the group. This was important as it ensures that all of the pre production documents are stored in one easily accessible place. My file sharing document is effective as is shows me sharing the files each week which ensures that I am staying up to date with work and justifies why I shared each document.

Week 6
This week I have downloaded the needed sound clips for my production and used screen shots to show that they are copyright free. The sound clips were important for production and had to be copyright free so that the production abides by copyright laws I also justified why I chose the specific sound clips and how they will fit into the video.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s stone Pre Production Processes

So we all do it, sit down with our friends or family and watch a film, we’re immersed it a world that’s not like our own for just a few short hours and when we finish are filled with happiness and have been distracted from our problems. However, do you ever think how much work goes into a film just so that you can sit and watch it for those few short hours? These are called the Pre-Production processes and they are everything that happens behind the scenes and on screen to make the film come alive. So today guys we’re going to talk about the magic behind the scenes of a worldwide best-selling film, Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone.
Harry Potter and the philosopher’s stone also known as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s stone is a British fantasy film based on the novel by JK Rowelling. The director was Chris Columbus and the film was distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. JK Rowling and Steve Kloves worked together to write the film adaptation to the film in an attempt to excite many young people into reading the books once again activating their wild imaginations. The philosophers stone is the first of 8 harry potter films and was produced by David Heyman. The film follows Harrys first year at Hogwarts school of wizardry and the adventures that he has with his two best friends Ron and Hermione after discovering his family’s history and his hidden magic. The iconic line “You’re a Wizard Harry!” will forever go down in history with many other epic statements from films.
Finance
When budgeting for films like Harry Potter, the Production Company, in this case Warner Bros, have to take into consideration, above and below the line costs. Above the line costs are all things that are on scene, so actors, costumes, sets and props. However, below the line costs are much more detailed and are everything that are behind the scenes like catering, insurance, filming equipment etc. However, although there are more below the line costs than those above the line, below the line costs always tend to cost less than those above. Warner Bros also had to take that into consideration when they began planning the production of Harry Potter and plan which areas of production would receive the most of their $125 million budget.
The first above the line cost that came into problems was the costumes. The designer Judianna Moakovsky had originally planned to create the quidditch robes that were shown on the cover of the American book. However, after creating the first robe she deemed it “a mess” and had to redesign the quidditch player’s costumes. This was a very costly process as it meant that the original costumes had to be scrapped, new material ordered and Judianna had to spend more time designing new costumes. Eventually she decided to put the quidditch players in “preppy sweaters with 19th century fencing breeches and arm guards." Overall 25,000 items of clothing had to be created to make the world of Harry Potter that we know and love so dearly. This would have taken a large chunk out of the budget for the film that Warner Bros would have to take into consideration.
Another above the line cost would be the set designs. The set designer Stuart Craig built all the sets at Leavesden Studios including, the Hogwarts Great hall and he based this on many English Cathedrals. This was time consuming and expensive because not only did Stuart have to build the set, which was expensive with materials and staffing people to build various elements of the scene. Stuart would have also had to travel around researching what different Cathedrals looked like to ensure his set was perfect. This would have cost money in fuel for travel. The main cost that wasn’t originally taken into consideration within the set design would be the building of Diagon Alley. This is because originally Stuart planned to use an existing old street to film all scenes that took place I Diagon Alley but after extensive research he decided to just build the set of Diagon Alley instead which was another unplanned expenditure. Although as the films continued to be made the costs of set design would decrease as sets would be re used, the first Harry Potter was very costly when it came to set design as each set had to be created from scratch using only the book and Stuarts imagination, this was a very costly element to the production of the first film.
The first example of a Below the line cost within the production of Harry Potter was the cost of the filming equipment. Not many people take into consideration when watching a film just how many different types of filming equipment’s are being used to make the film come alive. Not only were many different cameras needed to get the specific shots to create the film budgeted for, Warner Bros also had to consider the cost of the software needed to edit the film and the employees needed to film and edit. The cost of personal would often fluctuate due to mistakes from the actors. For example, many of the fight scenes in Harry Potter had to be re shot due to actors smiling mid scene. This would cost extra because more personnel would have to be paid for working extra hours.
Another example of a below the line cost that Warner Bros had to consider was the cost of hiring places to film. Over the course of filming, the production team had to move up and down the country so that they could get the most perfect and realistic shots. Harry Potter was shot in places such as kings cross station which would have to have sections cordoned off for filming. This would be a very costly expenditure as Kings Cross station is usually busy all day so by parts of it down, the owners lost copious amounts of money. The cost of renting areas to film would be very expensive and take a large chunk from the budget.
 The budget of the production of Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone was a very successfully planned aspect of the Pre-Production process. This is because the given budget was large enough to provide sophisticated editing software in turn meaning that the editing team could effectively create the fantasy world of Harry Potter. An example of this sophisticated editing software being put to use within the film would be in the close up of Voldemort’s face on the back of Professor Quirinus Quirrell’s head at the end of the film. This clever editing technique accompanied by the high pitch synchronous sound builds tension and fear within the audience as they are scared by the image of a Voldemort’s face on the back of Professor Quirrell’s head. This would not be possible without the high budget which facilitated the editing software used to create the image.   
Time
Harry Potter and the Philosophers stone did not take as long to film as you would expect. Overall the film took 11 months to make. 7 months of filming and 4 months of editing. However, the filming took longer than Warner Bros had originally anticipated, this is due to child labour laws. At the time the main cast of harry potter (Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint ) were only children aged between 11 and 13. This meant that they could only be on set for 9 hours a day and they had to take a 15 minuet break for every hour that they worked. This meant that the original schedule had to be revaluated 
The second issue that Warner Bros ran into when filming which caused a setback with timings was that some of the fight scenes has to be re filmed due to some of the actors smiling in the first shoot. This would cause problems as it meant that the filming would take longer than originally expected and this would cost more money.
There had to be constant hair, makeup and costume checks throughout filming due to the sheer physically challenging nature of the film. The film used many close up which required an extensive attention to detail with the actor’s hair, makeup and costumes. This would have taken up extra time as it meant that the actors kept having to stop and check their image when filming scenes for the film.
Special Effects supervisors has to be constantly present on set so that they could ensure that the filming taking place could have edited the way that they had originally idealised. Therefore, this meant that often there had to be retakes due to the filming being unsuitable for the appropriate editing to take place later on in production. This would have affected the original time scheme given as the retakes would take up extra time that the production company did not originally plan for.
There was a vast series of editing that had to be done to Harry Potter due to the film being a fantasy film. The main edits taken place were sound effects, editing voldermorts face to look the way that it did, editing the green screens to have the correct backgrounds, they had to edit in affects to the wands like sounds and lights, fixing lighting and editing imperfections and making the mythical creatures look realistic for example the three headed dog fluffy. These vast different forms of editing that took place when producing the film took a long time which also had to be scheduled when Warner Bros were planning the production of the film. Overall the film took four months to edit which is over half the time it took to film.
The time scale planned for the production of Harry Potter and The Philosophers Stone was also an effective element of the Pre-Production of Harry Potter. This is because the given time frame allowed the camera crew to take various retakes of specific scenes in order to make them look as realistic as possible and let the audience immerse themselves within the wizarding world of Harry Potter. One clear example of this would be in the final scenes of the film where there is a close up of Harry being strangled by Voldemort. This scene would have taken various re takes so that Daniel Radcliffe could make his facial expression as realistic and lifelike as possible so that the audience would be so immersed within the film that they feel sorry for Harry and scared for him. This wouldn’t have been possible without the time scale being long enough to ensure there was room for retakes.
Personnel
The director of Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone was directed by Chris Columbus he  is a well known for directing loved films like Home Alone (1990), Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), Mrs. Doubtfire (1993). He had never worked with the young and upcoming main actors and actress Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson but immediately had brilliant chemistry with the young stars and the is expressed brilliantly throughout the film. Chris Columbus is known for funny child friendly films and did not disappoint with Harry Potter, creating three young aspiring wizards that we could all find our own way to relate to and grew up with. He ensured that everything was made to his vision, working closely with Stuart Craig the set designer to ensure his set was perfect. For example, originally they planned to film on a back street of London for the Diagon Alley scenes but none of the streets fit Columbus’ vision therefore they had to build a set that then would fit his vision for the scene.
The producer of Harry Potter and the Philosophers stone was David Heyman. A producer is a person responsible for the financial and managerial aspects of the making of a film. Although Heyman had never before worked with Chris Columbus, they worked closely to ensure that Harry Potter fit their shared vision looking at the sets and characters closely, for example when the costumes were being designed they worked closely with Judianna Moakovsky to ensure that all of the costumes could be designed to not only suit their vision but do so whilst staying within their budget and as producer David did this very well.
The Screen writer of Harry Potter and the Philosophers stone was Steve Kloves. Kloves worked closely with JK Rowling to create a film that would express both his and Rowling’s views and ideologies regarding the storyline. They wished to keep the story alive within the film and cut out as little as possible when writing the screen play. For example, Peeves the poltergeist was cut out because he was an insignificant character who didn’t have a large impact on the storyline of the film. However, these decisions had to be debated before they could be made and it was Rowling and Kloves that made the final decision.
There was a special effects team who had to apply prosthetics and makeup to the actors each day of filming. Without them, the film would never have looked realistic. They worked together to created different forms of prosthetics to make each characters ‘injuries’ as life like as possible.
Then of course you have the cast, the film wouldn’t be a best seller worldwide blockbuster without the three leading stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson. After JK Rowelling dropped the bombshell that she would only allow her book to be on the big screen with English actors, Warner Bros were at a loss. Then out of nowhere appeared these 3 young budding actors. Emma Watson was in a school production and her star quality beamed out at the casting directors on the hunt for young talent. Rupert Grint sent in a hilarious video rapping about how he should star in Harry Potter and immediately they knew that he would make a perfect Ron Weasley. Then finally one day a close friend of Chris’ (the film director) came up to him asking if it would be possible to give his son an audition. Immediately everyone fell in love with Daniels acting skills and saw his star quality. The three children were complete strangers at first and it was unknown weather filming would run as smoothly as Warner Bros had hoped, but the three of them hit it off right from the beginning and throughout the course of filming the 8 film phenomenon they not only found stardom but friends for life. These three actors will forever have our hearts and made the film the best it could be.
The personnel initially was not a well-planned part of production of Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone. This is because the original director was planned to be Stephen Spielberg however when he discovered that he couldn’t make the film into a cartoon and had to use English characters only, he dropped out. Therefore this means that Warner Bros did not make a good choice regarding their production team to start with. However, Warner Bros later on pulled it back when they hired Chris Columbus and made him the director as he was able to create the magical Wizarding World that the audience immediately fell in love with. The casting of Harry Potter was also a successful aspect of the preproduction process. This is because Daniel, Emma and Rupert were able to effectively portray the characters from the book that the children fell in love with. One example of this would be when Harry sees his parents in the Mirror of Erised. In this scene Daniel uses his acting skills to pull on the audience’s heart strings and make them feel sorry for him. No other actor could have captured our hearts in this scene the way that Daniel did and this shown in the medium shot of Harry looking in the mirror and seeing his parents.
Codes of Practice and Regulations
In any job that you will ever walk into, you must have a contract. These rules, unlike most, do also apply to actors. Every actor or employee involved in the production had to have a guarantee, this is their contract which ensures they only work their agreed hours for their agreed pay and ensures that there are no attempts at unfair dismissal or disgruntled workers wanting to sue the production company. It guarantees that they still get paid, if through no fault of their own they are released from their contract. This is informally known as a pay or play contract and is a very common contract for actors.
Warner Bros had to copyright all of their ideas regarding the film and had to pay JK Rowling for the rights to the book so that they could legally create the film. They had ensure they had the rights to use the music within the film abiding to copyright law. This was to avoid being sued later on when the film was released. Warner Bros had to ensure they had insurance when carrying out production so that if there were any accidents, everyone including the actors, workers and the production company were protected. A basic post production insurance package would cover the following: Cover for the repair or replacement cost of equipment if there was an electrical/mechanical breakdown this would include the cost of temporary hire to replace the broken items. Cover provided in the event of a walk-in-theft. Cover for irresponsible actions regarding your client’s property.
Warner Bros had to ensure that they had Public Liability insurance so that they could film in public spaces like Kings Cross Station and if there were any accidents involving the public then Warner Bros would be covered and not at risk for being sued. This was a very important form of insurance that was key to safe and protected production.
Finally, Warner Bros had to ensure that they kept to the Child Labour laws when they were filming with Daniel, Emma and Rupert. Due to the young ages of the actors they were only allowed to spend 9 hours on set per day and they required a 15 minuet break for each hour that they worked. By keeping to the restrictions of this law meant that all of the production of Harry Potter was completely legal.
This was a successful part of the production of Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone because no one was injured in the production of the film due to the extensive health and safety checks and Warner Bros ensuring that they followed the codes of practice to such an extent that there were never any risks of people getting injured.
Facilities
Harry Potter was mostly filmed in Leavesden Film Studios where all of the sets that Stuart Craig designed were kept. However, some filming had to take place outside of the studios and they had to travel further afield to film certain scenes for the movie. For example, the scene when Harry and Ron first run on to platform 9 and 3/4 was filmed in Kings Cross Station. This meant that the actors and all of the equipment had to be moved to the station, parts of the station had to be rented out for the day and this is also where the public liability insurance would have come in handy.
There was a wide range of equipment needed in order to film Harry Potter. Editing software was needed to carry out the editing of cutting out imperfections and bring the magic to life following filming. During filming, Warner Bros used the moving picture company, they used a range of pioneering camera tracking technology to create some of the more eccentric scenes, such as the chocolate frog scene. Warner Bros also had to buy a range of different cameras to capture the magic as it happened from all angles, choosing the best one later on during the editing stages.
The facilities were a successful aspect of the production of Harry Potter. This is because all of the scenes had a realistic look and the editing was so sophisticated that all special effects looked real. One example of this would be when Harry runs through the wall to get to platform 9 ¾ and this was effective as the special effects team was so trained and smart that the made it look real that Harry was running through the wall with Ron.
Classification
Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone was rated as a PG film. A PG film is a film that is suitable for general viewing however some scenes may be unsuitable for general viewing. A PG film shouldn’t unsettle any children aged from onwards. Any child of any age is allowed to watch the film however parents are advised to consider if some of the content is suitable for their children as the content may upset some younger or more sensitive children. In order to fit this classification, Warner Bros had to ensure that there weren’t any excessively violent scenes within the film, there was no strong language and no sexual references.
This was also a successful aspect of production because any the film fit perfectly with its classification therefore it did not scare the young children that were watching the film and it didn’t break the law by not fitting the specifications to become this classification.
Box office
The film was budgeted $125 million and at box office made $32.3 million on its opening day, which broke the single day record previously held by Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. On the second day of release, it increased to $33.5 million, breaking the record for biggest single day again. In total, it made $90.3 million during its first weekend and remained at number 1 for 3 consecutive weeks. In total, the film earned $974.8 million at the worldwide box office instantly making back the budget and sending them soaring into a $849.8 million profit.
In conclusion, I believe that Warner Bros successfully produced Harry Potter as no matter how large a problem they ran into, they quickly found a successful solution and carried out the production of Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone safely, legally and effectively in a short period of time. They managed to stay within budget and made an incredible profit on the film, meaning that the production of Harry Potter and the Philosophers stone was a success.
So guys I hope that you’ve enjoyed finding out about the pre-production processes of the well known and loved Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone and ill speak to you again soon.
Have a magical day!

Holly x

Tuesday 29 November 2016

I enjoy looking at beautiful people

Hi guys,
So, this is my final blog for the jijasnap film genre series and today we’re going to be talking about The Fault in Our Stars, directed by Josh Boone, he is no stranger to the romance genre having directed the film ‘Stuck in Love’ in 2012.
The Fault in Our Stars is based on the book by John Green. It follows the life of 17-year-old Hazel Grace Lancaster who has lung cancer. Hazel is content with her life and knows that death will come soon but chooses not to attempt to make her mark on the world. That is, until she meets Augustus Waters who is the epitome of every teenage girl’s dream. Augustus crashes into Hazels’ life very suddenly and changes her whole ideality of what it means to really live. The movie follows the story of their romance and the love that they share within the short time that they have.
Image result for the fault in our starsThe first technique we see being used in The fault in Our Stars, is a voice over. This technique can be seen in the close up of Hazels face that then has a straight cut to her date in Amsterdam with Gus as she says in the voice over “where beautiful people, learn beautiful lessons. This shows that Hazel thinks that Gus was a beautiful lesson. In the close-up shot of Hazel, you can see that she is wearing a white top. The colour white has connotations of purity and innocence which makes the audience like Hazel. This links with Barthes Enigma code as the audience question why is Hazel being reminiscent and ask why is she wearing an oxygen tube? This impacts the audience as it makes them want to keep watching the film so that they can find out what is medically wrong with her and discover why she is so reminiscent.
Another technique used in The Fault in Our Stars is match cuts and they are used to link together the different shots within the flash back of Hazels life at the beginning of the film. This technique can be seen within the zoom shots in Hazels flashback of her time in Amsterdam with Augustus. The match cuts end with a medium shot of Hazel at the hospital where her doctor says “she’s depressed”. Within her flashback and in the hospital Hazel is wearing the colour blue. The colour blue has connotations of sadness and is used to show her sadness regarding her cancer. This links to Barthes Enigma code as the hospital gown accompanied with the flashbacks of her wearing an oxygen tube makes the audience question what is the matter with Hazel? This impacts the audience as it makes them feel sorry for Hazel and gain an emotional attachment to her which results in them continuing to watch the movie so that they can find out if she is ok.
Contrapuntal sound is also used within the film. This technique can be seen in the zoom shot of Hazel when she is in the support group with other cancer patients talking about how dying makes them feel. The diegetic upbeat guitar song is a contrapuntal sound as it sounds happy when the characters are discussing a sad subject therefore the music presents the ideology of happiness when in reality the scene is sad. In this scene Hazel is wearing a white top which symbolises her innocence and makes the audience feel sorry for her as she is innocent and is dying. Hazel is also wearing blue within this scene which symbolises her sadness about dying. This links to Levis Strauss’ Binary opposition theory. This is because the happy music is going against the sadness of the situation which symbolises the cancer patients trying to remain positive even though they have cancer. Therefore the conflict is between the characters and their cancer as they are fighting against the negatives that their cancer brings and attempting to remain positive. This impacts the audience as it makes them feel sympathy towards the characters because they have cancer and the audience worry about the characters. Therefore they continue to watch the film so that they can find out what happens to the characters.
Image result for the fault in our starsAlso, reverse shots are used within the film to express how two characters feel about each other. This technique can be seen when there is a high angle close-up of hazel looking up at Augustus smiling and a medium shot of Augustus looking down at Hazel smiling. This technique is used to show that Hazel and Augustus’ romance was love at first sight. Within this scene Augustus is shown to be wearing a brown leather jacket. The colour brown has connotations of confidence, therefore showing that Augustus is a confident young man, possibly because he beat cancer. This links to Levi Strauss’ binary oppiosition theory. This is because Hazel and Augustus are both fighting against their cancer to find happiness and they find this happiness within each other as shown in the reverse shot. This impacts the audience as it makes them want to see if Hazel falls in love with Augustus therefore making the little time that she has left as happy as possible.
There is a close-up shot used shortly after the reverse shot which shows Augustus’ prosthetic leg. The close up of the prosthetic leg also interlinks with Augustus’ brown jacket. This is because the brown colour of his jacket shows Augustus’ confidence and the prosthetic leg accompanied by his dialogue explains that he fought cancer and won. Therefore this would make Augustus confident as he beat a life threatening disease. This links to Levi Strauss’ binary opposition theory. This is because Augustus fights against the cancer for his life. This would impact the audience as they would see Augustus in a positive manor as he fought against cancer and lost his leg and still kept the comedic and enthusiastic personality.
Image result for the fault in our starsFinally, the film itself is a flashback. This is evident when in the voice over Hazel says “so I went” as we see a long shot of Hazel and her mom in the car driving to the support group. The flashback of Hazels life shows the problematic life that she has led due to her cancer. She wears the colours blue and white throughout the film to show her innocence, making the audience angry that she was an innocent and had her chance at a normal happy life ripped away by her cancer. The colour blue shows her sadness that she will never have the normal happy life that she deserved due to her cancer. These colours accompanied by the explanation of how her short life consisted of hospital appointments regarding what painful treatment she would receive next and finally finding love and happiness only to have it stolen away by cancer killing her ‘star crossed love of her life’. This links to Levi Strauss’ binary opposition theory. This is because Hazels life is how the narrative is told and her life is a constant battle against the cancer in the hope of her living a happy and fulfilling life. However the cancer cuts her life short and steals the only source of happiness and contentment that she has. This impacts the audience as it makes them feel sympathy for Hazel as a result of the emotional attachment of which they gain for her throughout the course of the film
So that’s it guys. I hope that you have thoroughly enjoyed my analysis of these films in preparation for our exciting new film genre season and that this will encourage you to watch it when it begins.
Keep checking my page for more updates regarding the work of jinjasnap.
Speak soon.

Holly x