LO4: Certificate classification

Our film is a mock-documentary meaning its a parody or mock of the documentary format, This means the subject is mainly fictional meaning we can take a lot of liberties. When looking at other mock-documentaries they fell into a array of age ratings.

From looking and comparing age ratings we feel like ours falls into 12A The word "fuck" is used once in a non aggressive context. This age rating means adult supervision is needed for persons aged 12 and anyone else above can watch freely.

LO4: Focus group

As part of our feedback we had a focus group of 7 people so we could get direct feedback from the target audience. From this we learned the audience understood the themes and conventions of the genre of film. We asked questions such as:

 'Did you understand the narrative'. 7/7 said yes it was a clear narrative. 

'Did you Enjoy the film' 6/7 enjoyed the film. 

'What were the improvements'  - There was a spelling mistake on the end credits,  inconsistent colour grading, some of the cuts looked unnatural. 

From this we concluded that our film is fit for purpose as it is entertaining for the target audience it was made for showing the conventions of a mockumentary .

LO3: Final Film

A mock- documentary on a failing band struggling for relevance in Sheffield.

LO3: Applying appropriate visual effects and transactions

Our film is a mock- documentary to keep to conventions of the genre we wanted to keep the 4th wall broken. To do this high animated graphics and cinematic scene changes would take away from the dry humour of the film. Following conventions of a series in our genre 'The office" only basic text was used to address the scenes. To start the short film we wanted to make the viewer know the camera crew were relevant to the film and acted like a feature. To engage this idea into the viewer the first transition in the film was done physically by the camera man . By taking the cap off the camera  whilst rolling it created a good transition from the title screen so the film starts straight away without a drawn out introduction. This further enforces the introduction to the band to be even more awkward  and scattered.

Due to our film being a documentary not many visual effects are necessary, one of the few times we do is at the start. 

The text is in sync with the drum sound effects. With each drum beat a word appears. This is an example of how we have used both audio and visual elements during a transition. We keep the transition the same bar the text used. This keeps it consistent. 

The audio and music when used together we prioritised the main audio over the music so that what the actors are saying is clear, this allows the narrative and dialogue to be clear to the audience. To do this the music layer was is quieter than the speech layer.

We used effects like 'normalise' to make the audio sound louder and clearer. What this effect does is it makes the loud and quiet parts of the audio become more consistent with each other so that everyone can be heard clearly due to some being further away from the boom mic.  This wasn't necessary when editing audio off the lav mic.

A lot of the visual effects come from camera movement. A camera technique used a lot in this film is panning and zooming. This makes for less visual effects editing as well as fitting our chosen genre. This was to show emotion within the actors face.

A good example of this is where dan is disgusted at the fact Phil is willingly eating paint:

To make the the camera mens questions clear to the viewer we added the effect of subtitles. This is a basic effects added by pressing the Text effect in premiere. The same font and coloured text was used to add continuity to the rest of the film. 

LO3: Off line edit

                                         This is a rough scene that shows no sfx editing. 

LO3: Linking audio to visuals

The audio and visuals link together, any song effects that needed to be put in were placed in the appropriate place so that it matches the visuals on screen. When music was used it started and ended as the scene started and ended. The music also is synced up with the transitions. 

Lo3: Logging rushes

Shown here are dome different versions of edits. Editing the film was a lengthy process. We decided to name the edits individually in order to make them easily searchable.

LO3: Final treatment

This was the final treatment our group decided on for the mock - documentary, 'Extremely Dangerous'

The film is a mockumentary about a group of misfits that try to find fame in the rock music scene but fail as they're oblivious to how bad they're music actually is. The film crew follows the band as they go about band practice however due to tensions the band isn't able to make it to the performance they've been looking forward to. After Graham's realisation he brings the band back together and they perform once and for all. 

The target audience for this film will be men and women within the ages of 16-26 in the NRS category of BC1C2. So in this case the film will be targeted at people like University and College students.

The key milestones that we have for the production is having the table read on the 16th of March and then having production start on the 23rd and 24th, after that editing is set to begin on the 25th of march with focus groups viewing the film on the 29th. The final release will be made on the 5th of April. 

When filming the mockumentary we will be using Sony 4k camcorders paired with a boom mic to record the audio. 

In terms of the outfits used we will be having different outfits for all the actors in the film that will resemble a metal band. The character graham will be wearing things like checked shirts, jeans and a dad styled outfit. In terms of the props will be having amplifiers, drums and guitars on set to resemble an actual garage band.

This was the final treatment we went with, the idea and premise was something we decided and liked as a group. It was also the most feasible idea to film and capture with no budget.

LO3: Reece sheet

LO3: Demonstrate the control of audio

Our film did not feature a lot of sound effects since they were not necessary. However the main audio assets are below:

We picked the song because it went with the other audio and created a bit more of a cohesive theme. we also felt the nature of the song mixed with the film added a comedic value to it.

We used this for a lot of the transitions in our film. We used it because we felt it had comedic effect to the film. Since it had little to no relevance to a rock band documentary adding to comedic effect. Our film didn't have much music because most other films in the genre and style don't to allow it to be more authentic.

LO2: Table read

We had a table read with the other 3 other actors previous to this, contingencies made so the actor Luke Riley (Phil) had to have his another day. The photo below shows this:



This was taken during the table read for our short film. We spent the time reading through the script and discussing the logistics that we had to solve before shooting the short film.

LO2: Following production processes

Shown here is part of our footage log. This shows some of the takes from the first day of shooting.  It shows the good takes and the bad takes. We created to keep track of the footage and what we are filming. We described the footage mainly by audio. This made it easier to find good and usable footage. Under comments we went in to more detail but kept it simple so we could easily reference the footage log.

LO2: Footage in the style & conventions of the chosen genre

https://youtu.be/GKWZlWaGKgc 

In this scene it is in the style of 'The way ahead Meeting - W1a". By Graham being in the foreground it represents him speaking down to Phil. Much like what happens to the runner in the intro to 'the way ahead meeting' skit. These two scenes show a person of authority making orders to a person in a lower position in the hierarchy. This is a common theme in mock documentaries. Another example of this is 'People just do nothing', with 'Grinda' and the lower authority being 'Steves'. 

https://youtu.be/pQWr-AH84IE

Here in the scene of 'People Just Do Nothing' it shows Grinda, (who is the leader of the pirate radio station group) Grinda is waking up Steves, these characters are represented through Graham (the lead of Extremely Dangerous) being Grinda and Steves being Phil . The location of the sets are pretty much identical. These scenes both represent the main comedic character sleeping over the night at the place of meeting for the group. The composition of both shots shows status of the characters. 

We also tried to emulate the way its filmed. With minimal cuts and a lot of handheld zooming in on characters faces to give a visual reaction. The show breaks the 4th wall by sometimes showing camera equipment revealing and creating the illusion that it is just a camera crew filming some people. 

https://youtu.be/u74UKFPzx78?t=31

https://youtu.be/51iqoUFYrjc?t=142


While writing the script we took inspiration from mocumentay style shows such as 'The Office'. We decided to really take inspiration from the talking head portions of the show. We tried to mimic the serious tone of scenes that mix well with the comic nature of the film and show.  We decided to not only take inspiration from the talking head scene but most elements of the office. We wanted to emulate the same style of editing with fast cuts and long camera movements. During the planning stages of the film  the writers looked deeply at the cinematography to try and emulate the same movements in the show.

LO2: Following storyboards

Shown below are story boards matching shots in our film . We followed the shooting script during the filming of the film. We felt that the shooting script was very helpful throughout shooting. 

LO2: Production diary

Some of the actions on the diary apply to the whole group and some just to me (Isaac Parker)

LO2: Safe working practises / Setting up equipment

This is us setting up the equipment we used.   

Boom Mic

Filming the short film we used two 4k cameras, this was so we could get high quality footage switching from two cameras to get two different angles, this is so in post we can switch from camera 'A' and 'B' to make sure our film fitted conventions and so the shots do not get prolonged and boring. We also used a boom mic to record all audio when the actors were together, using the slate to sync the audio in post because we had two cameras.

 

Shoulder mount

The shoulder mount was used to help stabilise clips, having camera 'A' permanently on this rig allows us to capture different angles of the actors and show emotion within the shots. Having the camera on this rig will fit conventions of our genre.  The boom mic was set up to this camera so the boom holder could be more mobile to capture all audio.

 

Tripod

Camera 'B' was permanently stationed on the tripod, allowing us to catch stable b- roll and establishing shots. This was also used for the talking heads interviews.

Lav Mic

However for the shop scene where we could not use a boom mic so we used a lav mic. This made for clear focussed audio.

LO1: Analysis of existing short films

Analysis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72WQQMH6LZE

narrative
editing
camera work

 'Mr. Happy,' a New VICE Short Starring Chance the Rapper

This is a short film about a man who works a sad job with a sad life. From the start it is clear this man has depression and is shown failing to commit suicide. This leads him to looking on the internet for easy solutions to end himself. He comes across A forum that a user recommends a site called 'Mr. Happy'. This site asks the user questions to see if they are truly sad and worthy of the service they provide. His submission is accepted and is asked how he'd like to die. He clicks 'painless'. However once he puts his details in there is a warning that the contract cannot be cancelled under any circumstances after the purchase. The price is £10,000. He pays the price and gets given a date of valentines day when he will die.

However he starts to fall in love with a girl he met at work, this leads to him finding happiness and wants to cancel the Mr. Happy contract. 

The big plot twist is that the girl who he falls in love with is the hit man and is the last person the viewer would suspect the killer was. This is the premise of the title 'Mr. Happy' the person finally finds happiness before they die.

“Knives Down, Bikes Up” by Matt Dempsey :

https://tv.booooooom.com/2018/12/13/knives-down-bikes-up-matt-dempsey/

This is a B&W short film is in a documentary style. It has powerful visuals accompanied by a voice over. He explains London's knife epidemic and the threats young males face. The speaker of the documentary is the leader of the bike group, it encapsulates the 'gang'  aspects of family without the violent rivalries and danger of knife crime. To substitute violence they focus there time on bike freestyling creating a community across London showing a life of crime and hate is irrelevant and coming together without peer pressure of others can lead to a better life.

The shots are composed very well and is very visually pleasing. It tells the story and feels like it covers all major points in the short time of 3 minutes.