Final Cut and Link To Evaluation

http://lilipotterxo.wix.com/fatal-evaluation



Fatal OTS. Final Edit from Emily Apps on Vimeo.

Here, is the final cut of of our Opening Title Sequence for Fatal.

Feedback of our first cut

Fatal- Opening Title Sequence from Emily Apps on Vimeo.

This is our first cut of the fatal opening title sequence. In order to ensure our media suited and attracted our target market we presented our OTS to the class and recorded our feedback. This allowed us to watch it back and improve our piece and suit it to our set audience. During our filming we left the room to ensure that the audience didn't feel pressured to give their own opening and in doing so would allow the group to be as open as possible.

Shot list

Today Emily and I are going to be filming additional shots to ensure that our OTS reaches our target duration of two minutes. We have analysed our footages and made a not of more shots we would like to add which will enable us to add in more titles and  add more of a plot to our sequence. These shots are included below:

However, we did not get all of our filming done in one session therefore we had to film additional scenes in the dark room. As my main role was to sort out character's costume, location and props, I had to ensure that the actors where available to film and that we had all the necessary equipment for that scene.

Here are photographic examples of me aiding our actor, Adam Burton, prepare for filming. In the first one, my main objection was to ensure the costume was satisfactory for filming the scene. In the following two pictures I am ensuring that our actor is comfortable within his role, was equipt for the current scene and that the lighting and position was correct.

Post production log

 In the past couple of weeks after filming I have helped edited whilst Emily has assisted our footage and filtered the good clips from the bad; eliminating the clips that were out of focus, contrast difficulties or wasn't fit for our overall noir style.

We have decided to use Final Cut Pro to edit our sequence as we are more familiar with the programme meaning we are more confident with our ability to create original effects and will flow better aesthetically; this is because the programme includes more effects and settings than any other featured editing software and overall is more advanced.

In the first picture I am using the colour correction tool, which removes all colour in the clips except red hues. This tool in Final Cut Pro is a dropper selection tool that you can use to edit the saturation, exposure, and colour of a shot. This will give our OTS a noir type look by extracting all colours apart from red. This was included in our featured ideas in the beginning of our planning; this was inspired from our Sin City style. 

In the second photo I have been using Final Cut Pro to experiment with effects and settings in order to create our idents. We are creating two in total, Red Products (As pictures) and another undecided company. I have created a blood splatter in photoshop and  will apply the company name to This somewhere within the design. This picture also splatters onto the screen as I have found a transition on Final Cut Pro which allowed me to move the picture in order to create this.

 I will in the future be listening to any feed back that my audience will have when viewing this to other peers and fixing any criticism within my field of work. I will also be working on another ident and filming other footage that has had problems featured above. 

Ident further analysis

As a group, we have decent to change our idents into something related for the film industry. We have gather some feedback from other peers and the comment that our first ident 'Ink inc.' is more suited to a writing or graphic based company and does not represent a noir type film company which would be associated with our Film Noir Opening title sequence.

We have decided to not use this as it has been developed off of preset titles on Final Cut Pro and may be seen as unoriginal and not a product of our property.

Possible alternatives to this include:

- Street Light Productions.
- Including the light through blinds shot.







Emily and myself decided that Street Light Productions was clear in indicating that our media would establish the Noir genre. As she is the designated editor of our group we discussed some ideas that would help display the title on screen. She later started to develop some possible idents and came up with a few possibilities but decided upon this.



street light studios from Emily Apps on Vimeo.
Vimeo.

During the reconsideration of the idents we realised that the Red productions ident was low quality and i was not able to animate it in a way that we liked. Emily also changed this idea from the first red logo to the other below

RED ident from Emily Apps on Vimeo.

Sound within films

We watched a clip of 'Priest'; a 2011 American post-apocalyptic dystopia, science fiction, action horror film starring Paul Bettany, in class and explored the use of sound and how it effects the film dynamically.

We looked at the 5 main types of sound and how they were used/how effective they were within during the clip we watched. These 5 types of sound are as followed;

- Dialogue- Words/Vocals's

- Sound effect/Foleying- is it diegetic and is if added after?

- Soundtrack- Score/Music usually added in during editing.

- Ambiance- Background sound e.g Birds, rain, wind. Sets the                         mood.

  - Silence- No sound.





 Here is the clip we watched with addition to further analysis I have made.

Production Plan

To be more organised within out group, we made a production plan consisting of what job each member of our group aims to do and when they need to achieve it. We plan to add to this list later throughout production.

Who?	Timescale/deadline	What/where?	When?	How?
Lilly SS	Before filming on the Friday 2nd.	Make sure camera is charged, enough storage on cards, organise actors and producers so that everyone is present at the right time.	Before and on the day of filming.	Communication between whom it may concern. Any unneeded material on cameras or storage. Be efficient.
Lily P	“                       “	Find props and suitable location E.g. Fake cigarettes, make fake blood, ect	Before filming.	Looking up online and seeing what props we have already between groups.
Emily	“                           “	Bring second camera and tri-pod. Assist in the setting up and shooting of the shots.	Day of filming.	Communication between whom it may concern. Any unneeded material on cameras or storage. Be efficient.
Together	“                       “	Film and work together; ensuring that communication and errors in each other’s work is improve and evaluated	Day of filming and beforehand.	Refer back to the storyboard. Use good communication between group members and share ideas.

Lighting

To help with my understanding of film Noir and our work in our Opening Title Sequence,I found that lighting is a very important feature that is used within noir; It is used as a device that helps set the mood and mystery.


High Key Lighting:

high key lighting aims to reduce the lighting ratio present in the scene. This was originally done partly for technological reasons, since early film and television did not deal well with high contrast ratios, but now is used to suggest an upbeat mood.It it now currently a style of lighting for film, television, or photography. High key uses unnaturally bright lighting to blow out most or all harsh shadows in an image. this method was originally developed as a solution to screens that couldn't properly display high contrast ratios, but has developed into more of a stylistic choice; perfect for a subject that is funny, lighthearted or beautiful.

Low Key Lighting:

Low Key Lighting It is a necessary element in creating a chiaroscuro effect. Traditional photographic lighting, three-point lighting uses akey light, a fill light, and a back light for illumination. This kind of lighting is usually used in black and white filters or in shadowed or dark scenes and photos. It accentuates the contours of an object by throwing areas into shade while a fill light or reflector may illuminate the shadow areas to control contrast. The relative strength of key-to-fill, known as the lighting ratio, can be measured using a light meter. Low key lighting has a higher lighting ratio.

Within our OTS we are considering to mainly focus on Low key lighting. To do so we will have  to consider avoiding intense shadows as the primary element of the composition. It will also have to be filmed in an interior location as manipulating our lighting and the positioning of our actor so that the shadows fall in just the right spots to create the look we want.

Lighting within our ots

When filming our OTS I mainly stuck to these sides of the camera. Although we did not use the same equipment in the one stated below. This ensured that we would get the best shot in our OTS as by using the techniques below this would allow a shot that was well contrasted without a glare on the camera.

Neo Noir

There are many sub genres of film noir and one of which is Neo Noir. The definition is as following:

Neo-noir (Translated as 'New Black')  is a style often seen in modern motion pictures and other forms that prominently utilize elements of film noir, but with updated themes, content, style, visual elements or media that were absent in films noir of the 1940s and 1950s.

To understand key features of the Neo Noir genre, we looked at clips in class of 3 films classed as the Neo Noir genre. We also made notes throughout watching these clips to identify typical and non-typical aspects which helps us determine what makes the Neo Noir different to the Noir genre itself. 

Our first film we watched was 1974 - The Red Riding Trilogy 

Our second film was Bladerunner - set in 2019

The final film was Bound- set in 1990 

When making our opening title sequence we will have to introduce the genre to the audience. Neo Noir will be a possibility for our OTS but we will have to compare the typical and non-typical characteristics with our own in order to find a fitting genre. 

StoryBoard

 Whilst Emily was producing our production company logo, Lilly and I have made a story board including camera positions and angles shown through illustrations.

Most of the shots here are shown using iconography through mise-en-scene  that I have made a post on below and are using our actors Bridie Magee, Adam Burton and Aidan Rawlinson.

This is our basic plot of our Opening Title Sequence however we may add in additional shots including our protagonist to show prevalence.

The first of our shots shows present day and starts with a close up of our femme fatal whispering into her lovers ear with the words 'Do you trust me?' echoes. A sound collage featuring a series of close up shots of her previous life of which she flirts with men.

The next shot would include a front shot of the femme fatal blowing a kiss in slow motion. The sound of her breath when blowing which will create a sound bridge of the bullet being shot from the gun which will be our next shot.  This will pan across where we see the anti-hero staggering as blood will seep through his shirt. This would transition into the femme fetal's hands claw down his chest which then cuts to a close up to her eyes with tears and makeup down her cheeks.

The shot will fade to black and cue titles. Our titles in order will include:

- A title rising from cigarette smoke.
- a glass of alcohol (probably beer in a bottle) and spills to create a title.
- Femme Fatale pulling up a stocking to show a title written on her leg.
- A credit card cutting cocaine with a title written on it. Although our OTS is inspired by old 1950's Noir, we have included current technology and features therefore our noir will be set in no mans land.
- Cards fanned out with poker chips in shot and the title written within the fan.
- A newspaper and a headline displaying our title.
- Lipstick written on a mirror.

We have not yet decided on specific titles and when they will be shown in our OTS however we have decided that we are going to show our main title 'Fatal.

Film Production Company Logo

Emily has made a logo. We thought our ots would look more authentic with a production company so we brainstormed names and we came up with the name 'RED'. This was because the main colour associated with Femme Fatales. Emily was left to create a logo and this is what i came up with.

This was made the logo on Photoshop blood splats and manipulated them to create the letters.

We also came up with a studio name/company we called it 'inc. incorporated studios'. This was also created by Emily using Photoshop.

OTS- experimenting with sounnd

Lilly has been experimenting with sound collages with our opening title sequence. This is explained in more detail in on her blog

Lilly's blog post: http://sandssallowsasmediaproductionschs2015.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/experimenting-with-garage-band.html

OTS- Mise-en-scene and Location

As I am the production designer, I am mainly the one who organizes the use mise-en-scene and location. So far I have decided in order to take the best shots and construct our titles well we will need to use the following:

Location:
As we are setting our title sequence using various lighting techniques and filming in black and white, we will need full control over the use of lighting. Therefore this rules out any exterior areas in order to film. In order to make our lighting more effective we have decided an interior location would be more practical, so we are using our schools dark room. This is more convenient as it is low cost and we wouldn't need any legal permission to film on the premises. It also happens to have the equipment we need (e.g lighting).

Mise-en-scene:
I have decided that the use of iconography will play a big part in our title sequence and therefore a range of typical props used throughout the titles will not only display this put will also establish the
Noir genre to our audience. We have decided to use:

• Alcohol - for legal reasons we will not be able to use alcohol but instead will use water with a strong colorant to give the effect of a substance such as wine. Liquids such as Blackcurrant squash will also give this effect. 

• Drugs- as above we will not be able to use drugs in our piece so another substance will have to be used to give this effect. We have decided to imply the use of drugs instead of having our character pretend to take it as this will lower the audience certificate and therefore more people will be able to watch. We will use things such as sugar or talcum powder to imply the use of cocaine in our titles.

• Playing Cards and Poker Chips - these are low cost and are very typical in the use of Noir displaying themes of greed, envy and pride. The use of these will not effect our audience certificate and the remains in our red, black and white color scheme.

• Newspapers- We may have some difficulty in using this prop due to the content of the media and the date. Although it is typically used it may result in us creating our own paper or not using the prop. This will have to be discussed further in our group.

• Blood - Fake blood can be bought although it can sometimes be too expensive. I have learnt how to make fake blood from my earlier sweded film using objects found around the house. this will able use to also control the use of pigment in our blood e.g. using less or more red to make it look realistic or stand out more. This will also create a foreboding atmosphere and also foreshadow our character's death. 

• Cigarettes and Smoke- Although we can use fake cigarettes in our piece the effect of smoke will have to be edited on as the use of cigarettes and fire is not allowed in the area chosen. 

•  Lipstick- we have considered the use of lipstick being in our titles and using it to write on a mirror to create a disorientating effect which is seen in film noir. The colour would be red and it is used to signify our femme fetal also displaying lust in our character. 

These mise-en-scene props are all used generally in film noir iconography and will be used in our piece with minor difficulty. As above, we will use this to select themes for our OTS and will present the Noir genre to our audience. Although, the props above will effect our certificate rating and will have to be discussed as the involvement of the props above isn't the only factor that will effect it; the implied significance and how they are used/presented to the audience will also depend on whether our rating is certificate 15 or 18.  

Opening title sequence plot and name

As a group, we decided to call our OTS 'Fatal' which is a play on words from the 'Femme Fetal' character. We decided this as our main protagonist would be our female Femme Fetal instead of the conventional anti-hero. Our plot consists of following the nameless women, who spent her life deceiving men, before falling in love with another and as a result of her previous use of different alias and killings of various men, her lover gets killed by a drug dealer, making her feel distraught.

This is explained further in Lilly's presentation.

Key and conventions of an OTS

A few conventions of our opening title sequence were included in our OTS plan and were shown within. However these are not the only key conventions that are considered and included. For example, Key and conventions of an opening title sequence include:

• Title of the film 
• Key actors involved 
• Cast and crew members 
• Director 
• Producers 
• The production company 
• Distribution company 
• Sound (e.g. voice, sound effects, soundtrack) 
• Graphics/live action/both shots 
• The main themes displayed in the film 
• The genre of the film and how it is displayed to the audience. 
• Pictures/images/clips/introduction of characters 
• Colour scheme included in the film (usually resembling the themes) 
• Establishing shots that show the location

Key and conventions of opening title sequence from ownisr

Noir story task

We cut up lines from a noir story board and rearranged the way in which the story line is presented. For example arranging flashbacks in different parts of the plot creates a more conventional film. From this experience I learnt when plotting a storyline, the noir genre doesn't follow a chronological order and as a result has more of an disjointed effect towards the audience who follow the typical simple story.This can be something we can consider when creating our opening title sequence.   

Notes for our OTS

We created a page of brief notes that includes characters ideas, narrative, mise-en-scene ect. This can be developed and refereed to when later creating our title sequence. I also have recorded a presentation in which I talk about my role within the production. This will be later uploaded to my blog again for an easy accessible reference

Presentation

We are currently composing a presentation in our group to discuss and share ideas planning for our Opening title sequence. Each idea will be presented by one member of our group for a minimum of 5 minutes. This presentation will be recorded and put on our blogs for later reference if needed. Our ideas will include set roles for each group member, a basic plot of our films and iconography ideas that will be used later for Mise-en-scene, Camera and Composition, Sound and Editing.

Analysis of opening title sequences 1

This is the original Opening title sequence of the series 4 of American Horror Story. I chose these opening titles as it is similar to those used in Film Noir. For example, the use of shadow and lighting displays the sense of danger that is typically displayed within Noir films. It also includes the use of camera and composition with techniques such as canted angles that is associated with disorientation. Again this is commonly used in Noir films, mainly by the use of mirrors. Therefore I found this Title to be appropriate to analyse and deconstruct. This knowledge will later relate to my future Noir opening titles and will apply to conventions that are used in title sequences similar to my genre.

      

TV title: American Horror Story Freak show

Date of Release: October 8th 2014

Production Companies:
Brad Falchuk Teley-Vision
Ryan Murphy Productions
20th Century Fox Television

Distributioners: 

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

The opening sequences are 1 minute 5 seconds long in length, made up of disjointed shots of characters and location. It also features white font type of actors such as Sarah Paulson over the top of stop motion animation and CGI (Computer Generated Imagery . However, the first queued titles of the opening 'American Horror Story' is written in black. This could be used to emphasise the name of the series or to make the title stand out against the background. The most important companies such as FX are presented first before the actors again showing the importance of it and who it was brought to you by.

As mentioned, the way that the opening flows is very disjointed. This could symbolise the theme of freak show as it gives the effect of being viewed by a kinetoscope typically found in shows and performances such as circuses and freak shows. This opening also involves a lot of symbolic iconography which relates to both the theme of freak show and the genre such as clowns displaying fear and horror and the use of broken toys like the dolls. The music in the title remains intact albeit with an added carnival-like soundscape created by a metallic rhythmic instrument. This is very horror based giving the audiance a foreboding effect and drawing them into the title sequence

Throughout the title sequences vague hints of important plot elements and events that compose the season. However it does not include the characters used but gives hint as to who is in the series. For example two bodies skeleton relates to the characters that are in the series (Dot and Betty the two headed girls). It does not reveal much of series but includes features that are related to the theme of the program such as the characters and props - spinning wheel foreshadowing the future episode involving this prop 

Noir Photo shoot

As part of our film noir project, we did a photo shoot in the style of a noir genre, rewritten fairy tale or film. I was part of Adam and Harley's shoot in the style of The Three Little pigs . Here are a few examples of photos we have done.

What is the 180° rule?

The 180° rule is a basic guideline regarding the regarding the on-screen spatial relationship between a character and another character or object within a scene. The camera itself generally stays on one side of the axis of action but occasionally can be used in the middle of the opposing angle. 

Continuity Task

We were set a continuity task to record a short clip with the following;

• A Person opening a door, turning the handle and walking into a room in three different shots. 
• A conversation. 
• Pulling out a chair and sitting down. 
• Not breaking the 180° rule. 
• Shot reverse shot. 
• An action match. 

We made our clip a Noir genre using a black and white filter, Royalty free music and a voice over.
This was used this to practice including specific features and practice continuity. The 180° rule also helped to maintain continuity by ensuring that the actors didn't move within frames. We used this to convert the traditional noir story into a short clip. our shot reverse shot editing technique was used to to show a connection between the characters and an action match on myself when opening and closing the door.

Continuity task from lilypotterxo on Vimeo.

The British Board of Film Classification

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), also known as the British Board of Film Censorship, is a non-governmental organisation, founded by the film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of films within the United Kingdom who are funded by fees charged for those who submit films and video works for classification.

They classify films, trailers and advertisements on behalf of local authorities who licence cinemas. Their Classification Guidelines follow extensive public consultation, in order to practice applying and pay attention to changes in public's taste, attitudes, concerns and changes in the law to apply age ratings to the above.

The main roles in which the BBFC aim to achieve are, to protect children and vulnerable adults from potentially harmful or otherwise unsuitable media content and to empower consumers, particularly parents and those with responsibilities for children, to make informed viewing decisions.

When taking films into consideration, there are a number of general factors that the BBFC have to refer to when making a classification decision:

Context - The contexts is central to the question of acceptability of film and video content; taking account of issues such as public expectations of a work's audience in particular. The issue of sex, language or violence is presented within a film or video and depending on how strongly each topic is applied a classification is then applied.

Theme - the theme of a work will also be taken into consideration, but will depend significantly on the treatment of the theme and the sensitivity of its presentation. The most challenging themes such as drug misuse, sexual violence, racial hatred or violence are unlikely to be appropriate at the most junior levels of classification.

Tone and Impact - The overall tone of a work may also affect the classification decision. While the presentation of specific issues such as sex and violence may not be problematic at a particular category, a work with a dark or unsettling tone may receive a higher classification.

Discrimination - Potentially offensive content relation to matters such as race, gender, religion, disability or sexuality may arise in a wide range of works, and the classification decision will take account of the strength or impact of their conclusion of which the context of the content which may appear also to have a bearing.

Drugs - No work taken as a whole may promote the misuse of drugs and any detailed portrayal of drug misuse likely to promote the activity.

Works which normalise or glamorise drug misuse are likely to receive a higher classification than works which show drug misuse while emphasising the dangers.

Imitable Behaviour - Any detailed portrayal or criminal and violent techniques, and glamorise of easily accessible weapons, such as knives. Works which portray anti-social behaviour such as bullying and likely to receive a higher classification.

Sex- The portrayal of sexual activity can range from kissing to detail of unstimulated sex. Sex works will normally only be passes at the adult categories. However those which only contain sex will be passed at 18.

R18 rating and what applies

R18: Restricted 18.To be shown only in specially licensed cinemas, or supplied only in licensed sex shops, and to adults only.

The following content is not acceptable:
• material which is in breach of the criminal law,
including material judged to be obscene under the
current interpretation of the Obscene Publications Act
1959 (see Annexe)

• material (including dialogue) likely to encourage
an interest in sexually abusive activity which may
include adults role-playing as non-adults

• the portrayal of sexual activity which involves real
or apparent lack of consent. Any form of physical
restraint which prevents participants from indicating a
withdrawal of consent

• the infliction of pain or acts which may cause lasting
physical harm, whether real or (in a sexual context)
simulated. Some allowance may be made for
moderate, non-abusive, consensual activity
• penetration by any object associated with violence or
likely to cause physical harm

• sexual threats, humiliation or abuse which do not
form part of a clearly consenting role-playing game.
Strong physical or verbal abuse, even if consensual, is
unlikely to be acceptable

These Guidelines will be applied to the same
standard regardless of sexual orientation of the
activity portrayed.

18 rating and what applies

18: Only suitable for adults
Adults should be free to choose their own
entertainment. Exceptions are most likely
in the following areas:

• where the material is in breach of the criminal law,
or has been created through the commission of a
criminal offence

• where material or treatment appears to us to risk
harm to individuals or, through their behavior, to
society. For example, the detailed portrayal of violent
or dangerous acts, or of illegal drug use, which may
cause harm to public health or morals. This may
include portrayals of sadistic or sexual violence
which make this violence look appealing; reinforce
the suggestion that victims enjoy sexual violence; or
which invite viewer complicity in sexual violence or
other harmful violent activities

• where there are more explicit images of sexual
activity in the context of a sex work (see below) or
where the primary purpose of the images in question
is sexual arousal
In the case of video works, which may be more
accessible to younger viewers, intervention may be
more frequent than for cinema films.

Sex education at 18:
Where sex material genuinely seeks to inform and
educate in matters such as human sexuality or safer
sex and health, explicit images of sexual activity may
be permitted.

Sex works at 18:Sex works are works whose primary purpose is
sexual arousal or stimulation. Sex works containing
only material which may be simulated are generally
passed 18. Sex works containing clear images of real
sex, strong fetish material, sexually explicit animated
images, or other very strong sexual images will
be confined to the R18 category. Material which is
unacceptable in a sex work at R18 is also unacceptable
in a sex work at 18.

15 rating and what applies

15: Those of 15+
Discrimination: The work as a whole must not endorse
discriminatory language or behavior, although
there may be racist, homophobic or other
discriminatory themes and language.

Drugs: Drug taking may be shown but the work as a whole
must not promote or encourage drug misuse
(for example, through instructional detail). The
misuse of easily accessible and highly dangerous
substances (for example, aerosols or solvents) is
unlikely to be acceptable.

Imitable behavior: Dangerous behavior (for example, hanging, suicide
and self-harming) should not dwell on detail which
could be copied. Whether the depiction of easily
accessible weapons is acceptable will depend on
factors such as realism, context and setting.

Language: There may be strong language. Very strong language
may be permitted, depending on the manner in
which it is used, who is using the language, its
frequency within the work as a whole and any special
contextual justification.

Nudity: There are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual or
educational context. There may be nudity in a sexual
context but usually without strong detail.
Sex: Sexual activity may be portrayed, but usually without
strong detail. There may be strong verbal references
to sexual behavior, but the strongest references are
unlikely to be acceptable unless justified by context.
Works whose primary purpose is sexual arousal or
stimulation are unlikely to be acceptable.
Threat: There may be strong threat and horror. A sustained
focus on sadistic or sexual threat is unlikely to
be acceptable.

Violence: Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the
infliction of pain or injury. The strongest gory images
are unlikely to be acceptable. Strong sadistic violence
is also unlikely to be acceptable.
There may be detailed verbal references to sexual
violence but the depiction of sexual violence must be
discreet and justified by context

12/12A rating and what applies

12/12A: Suitable for 12+ audiences. May contain material that is not suitable for those under 12.

Discrimination: Discriminatory language or behaviour must not
be endorsed by the work as a whole. Aggressive
discriminatory language or behaviour is unlikely to be
acceptable unless clearly condemned.

Drugs:Misuse of drugs must be infrequent and should not be
glamorized or give instructional detail.

Imitable behavior:No promotion of potentially dangerous behavior
which children are likely to copy. No glamorization of
realistic or easily accessible weapons such as knives.
No endorsement of anti-social behavior.

Language:There may be moderate language. Strong language may
be permitted, depending on the manner in which it is
used, who is using the language, its frequency within the
work as a whole and any special contextual justification.

Nudity:There may be nudity, but in a sexual context it must be
brief and discreet.

Sex:Sexual activity may be briefly and discreetly portrayed.
Moderate sex references are permitted, but frequent
crude references are unlikely to be acceptable.

Threat:There may be moderate physical and psychological
threat and horror sequences. Although some scenes
may be disturbing, the overall tone should not be.
Horror sequences should not be frequent or sustained.

Violence:There may be moderate violence but it should not
dwell on detail. There should be no emphasis on
injuries or blood, but occasional gory moments may be
permitted if justified by the context.
Sexual violence may only be implied or briefly and
discreetly indicated, and its depiction must be justified
by context.

PG rating and what applies

PG: PG or Parental guidance means that some scenes may be unsuitable for young children.

Discrimination: Discriminatory language or behaviour is unlikely to
be acceptable unless clearly disapproved of, or in an
educational or historical context, or in a particularly
dated work with no likely appeal to children.
Discrimination by a character with whom children can
readily identify is unlikely to be acceptable.

Drugs: References to illegal drugs or drug misuse must be
innocuous or carry a suitable anti-drug message.

Imitable behavior: No detail of potentially dangerous behavior which
young children are likely to copy, if that behavior is
presented as safe or fun. No glamorization of realistic
or easily accessible weapons such as knives. No focus
on anti-social behavior which young children are
likely to copy.

Language: Mild bad language only. Aggressive or very frequent
use of mild bad language may result in a work being
passed at a higher category.

Nudity:There may be nudity with no sexual context.

Sex:Sexual activity may be implied, but should be discreet
and infrequent. Mild sex references and innuendo only.

Threat: Frightening sequences or situations where characters
are in danger should not be prolonged or intense.
Fantasy settings may be a mitigating factor.

Violence: Violence will usually be mild. However there may be
moderate violence, without detail, if justified by its
context (for example, history, comedy or fantasy).

U rating and what applies

U: The U rating or Universal makes it suitable for all audiences ages 4+. This should be set within a positive framework and should offer reassuring counterbalances to any violence, threat or horror

Discrimination: discriminatory language or behavior is unlikely to be acceptable unless clearly disapproved of.

Drugs: References to illegal drugs or drug misuse must be infrequent and innocuous, or have a clear educational purpose or anti-drug message suitable for young children. Potentially dangerous or anti-social behavior which young children may copy must be clearly
disapproved of. No emphasis on realistic or easily
accessible weapons.

Language:Infrequent use only of very mild bad language.

Nudity: Occasional nudity, with no sexual context.

Sex: Only very mild sexual behavior for example, kissing)
and references to such behavior

Threat:Scary or potentially unsettling sequences should be
mild, brief and unlikely to cause undue anxiety to
young children. The outcome should be reassuring.

Violence:Violence will generally be very mild. Mild violence
may be acceptable if it is justified by context (for
example, comedic, animated, wholly unrealistic).

Film Noir Fan Site

I have researched a lot about Film Noir and examples and have found a couple of fan sites that I have found useful or will be useful to me in the future. These sites include the background of the genre and the films themselves, as well as videos, pictures and articles to help explain and discuss the foundations and concept of Noir.

Film Noir Foundation: http://www.filmnoirfoundation.org/home.html

American Film Noir: http://americanfilmnoir.com/

Film Noir Studies: http://www.filmnoirstudies.com/more/index.asp

Film Site: http://www.filmsite.org/filmnoir.html

Noir of the week: http://www.noiroftheweek.com/

Film Noir examples

Below is a short production of examples featuring trailers of  Noir films I have made. These examples included have been selected throughout various periods of time from lest recent 1950's to 2012. This video I have made shows not only the transition of development through time.

These gives us an idea of the time period we want for our future noir project but also gives an insight as a few examples of film noir that include similar iconography, storyline and characters.

Iconography associated with film noir

In class, we made a list of which included subjects that were relevant to the Film Noir genre. This includes typical and almost stereotypical examples of what we thought that we should include in our future film and the identity of the genre. The list is as followed.

                      Other examples of common iconography include:

The highlighted words and phrases on this sheet show common iconography that I personally think that is used heavily in the Film Noir genre such as heavy lighting coming through blinds, Femme Fatales and the colour red. This can be later used in my opening title sequence to establish the Noir genre or as a basic basis that can be built upon to then later develop ideas that can be used.

Saw Swede

Below is the final cut of our sweded Film, Saw.

Flickr

I have added a couple of film noir photos taken from various films and added a brief description of them. This was done on flickr.

Flickr film noir photos

What is Film Noir?

By definition film noir is a style or genre of cinematographic film marked by a mood of pessimism, fatalism, and menace. This term was originally by a group of French critics; to American thriller or detective films made in 1944-1954. This was the work of directors such as Orson Welles, Fritz Lang and Billy Wilder.

Film Noir is inspired by Americas' crime fiction and described as describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations and was brought to the screen by European émigré directors whom of which shares a storytelling sensibility.Film noir of this era is associated with a low key black and white visual style that has roots in German expressionist  Cinematograph It is famous for its hight stylised, overly theatrical and imagery drawn from the earlier era of German 'expressionist' cinema but became popular in the US during the Great Depression. 

Saw sweded film video

We have now finished our Saw sweded film however we have overrun a lot and it is currently over 9 minutes. Unfortunately we haven't been able to upload it to Vimeo as it's file size is too big. It is not on Google drive so anyone can watch it. It is because of its file size that the quality isn't as good as we hoped it would be.

Finished!

Today we finished filming the last ever scene of Saw. This was the reverse bear trap scene. Aidan is now taking the rest of our scenes and editin them today so hopefully it should be uploaded between tonight and tomorrow. 

Top ten favorite films part 1 (10 - 6)

My all time favourite films consist of either the Horror, Family film or Children genre. I am a big fan of film and spend most of my time watching them whether it be on Netflix, TV or my expanding DVD collection. This list below will include my top ten favorite films I have watched. These movies I have picked are my favorite  due to either my favorite Actors, Storyline, Directors, Genre or Morals

10. Seed Of Chucky

Trailer: http://youtu.be/psSMY7UDjnk

I really enjoy the Chucky franchise however Seed Of Chucky makes one of my top 10 because I like the story line of the family being united together as if they were their true forms as humans not dolls. The use of the gender confusion of Glenn is quite realistic but has a good twist at the end when he finally decides his true form. The idea of the child being an outcast with his serial killer, married parents; Chucky and Tiffany,  creates tension when Glenn takes a disliking to his parents lifestyle choices. This plot can oddly be relatable as well as succeeding to add elements of gore and violence throughout the film.

9. The Addams Family: Family Values 

Trailer: http://youtu.be/IHgfQ-0lYbg

This film is another long time favorite based on the old Addams family episodes in 1964-1966. The theme of this film is quite dark and gothic yet has a lot of aspects of humour which makes it an appealing family film. Again this film is relatable as it follows a family lifestyle yet still adds twists to make it an unique film about an alternative family with everyday life problems. The film is full of dark humour mostly from character Wednesday Aadams; a girl with a morbid and macabre attitude yet still can be understood as a typical teenager with a haterid of othesr actions and personality. 

 8. Silent Hill Revalations

Trailer:http://youtu.be/KMWrZmD0AN4

A sequal to Silent Hill (2006) and based of off the horror video games, Silent Hill is a dark film about a dream world in which a girl visits full of creatures like pyramid head and zombified nurses. I really like this film as it is really unique from its story line and creatures and adds elements of surprise in each scene. The effects of this film are very elaborite making the film itself appear realistic and believable instead of cheap and fake. The main feature of this film is that it is 3D which draws you into the film even more making the effects of the film more dynamic and scary as it contains a lot of thrills. 

 7. Sleepy Hollow

Trailer:https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=R6O4Himch7g

This film happens to be one of my favorites as it contains my favorite actor (Johnny Depp) as it's main role. Set in the 1900's before proper medical schools and modern technology in Sleepy Hollow, detective Ikabod Crane sets out to investigate the murders in a small village however seems he has unraveled a big secret about the village. This film also uncovers a subconscious state about his childhood whilst solving the beheadings in the village. As well as adding flashbacks into the characters past we also find a love story acting upon characters. This film is easy to follow dispite the many elements Ikabod reveales about his life. However, again surprises do occur when Ikabod finally meets his match and finds the suspected killer of the murders. 

 6. Bride Of Chucky

Trailer: http://youtu.be/I-WZYQ6nABA

Bride Of Chucky is a favorite of mine and it takes a typical love story between two characters and warps it. When Tiffany and Chucky are reunited as former lovers from his past human life, Tiffany reconstructs him from the Police Evidance locker and performs a voodoo ritual to bring her sweetheart back to life. This film has a brutal consequence for Tiffany as Chucky then kills his fincée, putting her soul into a doll too and can soon be with chucky and contuinue a homicidal obsessed and choleric partners in crime