Tuesday, 20 April 2010
Copyright Information for the use of Music in Productions
Section 6
i). Research and private study
Copying parts of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work or of a typographical arrangement of a published edition for the purpose of research or private study is allowed under the following conditions:
· The copy is made for the purposes of research or private study.
· The copy is made for non-commercial purposes.
· The source of the material is acknowledged.
· The person making the copy does not make copies of the material available for a number of people.
ii) Instruction or examination
Copying parts of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work or a sound recording, film or broadcast for the purpose of instruction or examination is allowed under the following conditions:
· The copying is done by the student or the person giving instruction.
· The copying is not done via a reprographic process.
· The source of the material is acknowledged.
· The instruction is for a non-commercial purpose.
Monday, 19 April 2010
Evaluation of Overall Coursework Process
Any use of music in the films embedded on this blog complies with 'Fair Dealing' under the 1988 Copyright Designs and Patents Act (UK), Sections 6(i) and 6(ii); Fair dealing is a term used to describe some limited activities that are allowed without infringing copyright. Briefly these are as follows:
Section 6i).
Research and private study
Copying parts of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work or of a typographical arrangement of a published edition for the purpose of research or private study is allowed under the following conditions:
· The copy is made for the purposes of research or private study.
· The copy is made for non-commercial purposes.
· The source of the material is acknowledged.
· The person making the copy does not make copies of the material available for a number of people.
ii) Instruction or examination
Copying parts of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work or a sound recording, film or broadcast for the purpose of instruction or examination is allowed under the following conditions:
· The copying is done by the student or the person giving instruction.
· The copying is not done via a reprographic process.
· The source of the material is acknowledged.
· The instruction is for a non-commercial purpose.
Our main influence for the opening sequence for our production was from the film 'Kidulthood'. We also looked at TV series on Channel 4 such as 'Skins' and 'Shameless' when considering characters and an appropriate content for the plot and storyline. Kidutlhood is also from the genre of social realist drama, and looks at youth culture and crime in a British society, making it relatable to by a UK audience as they understand and are aware of similar stereotypes and things happening in there own areas. We chose to use this as a starting point for our own production as it also tackled the stereotypes surrounding 'chavs', gangs and youth culture as well as also being centred predominantly around knife crime and the negative impacts of gang culture. For the similarities with the issues we wanted to look at in our own film, we thought this was the perfect film to look at for research to study codes and conventions of social realist drama and also the way stereotypes and character profiles are built.
We tried to convey the idea that the male who is stereotyped feels the need to carry a knife with him as either a safety blanket or because he has been socialized through labelling theory through the media to believe that this is what is necessary for him to survive on a day to day basis. The knife has become an object of security and power and like the girl, who is meant to represent the opposite character to ‘chav’, they both cherish different objects for security. For the female the most important objects in her life are her make up and phone and for the male, the knife is vital in his every day life as he feels safe with it.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbKUJrk4SdASGD5lptlWnYqJXB8lOL6GtKK-zVJZaWoyH5lTWErWqceTSGgjuPayC8Aq-Tf7QvYCJDqxp2c1aP687iunBQvkxa-rIjoqD2EPOdEh_otZi-Sbvy4TvHvd2kF-TFNrM_8fHw/s320/hoodies.jpg)
For this reason I think that our production could be aimed at a wide audience as the stereotype of ‘chav’ is understood and is a firmly established ideology within both the lower and middle classes due to the media’s mass focus on youth and knife crime, specifically from council estates and urbanised deprived areas of cities and large towns.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS_pOEj5oi20INwmt9CLMvAiphcxz6sq83zihOIhMtuTR6ngx2p05OWrLzDIczc5G_eMBbuGuUzWkYt_ZXfh_oQnVw7U7g6xPUTJ_iRJEvAdpCie-Dv2x_MT7yiZ3OmVzuYNJoHkaxsZzF/s320/Media%25201.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqIfS41fhbNV4Myy_GQ1FR3KS8qDmgcTaYp9IHwEdStyXCCcx3lhaO4c9Voxy9FwNmizdh5V12DY3Q7uxkbQFraDW3h8ZhwmsGvtb4jvKEFVShwpBkj1PMaM4MZzmv38YP7FMpb8fcujs-/s200/skins-logo.jpg)
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The use of music was a major part of our production as we wanted the music to be fitting for both characters, even though they are from different social classes and backgrounds. However recently the music scene has vastly grown and widened and therefore it is not unusual for a middle class girl to be listening to rap, grime or bass music as many genres have merged and become much more main stream in recent years. We used a CD from the library collection as it enabled us to have all the copyright information necessary to be able to include the track in our production. We chose to bring the music in firstly diegetically, to show that the character of the girl, who may be more unlikely to listen to this style of music, has chosen to play this song through her iPod.
Overall I have found the coursework an enjoyable process and I feel that through creating the opening to a social realist drama practically I have been able to gain a deeper understanding of the genre and the necessary codes and conventions required to make a production work and accessible by its target audience. Ideologies and stereotyping is also vital to ensure the audience can relate to the subject matter and the characters and this has been a key component in the construction of our characters. If we were to do this coursework project again, I think that the thing we need to most work on is the planning and ensuring that this is all completed as fast as possible to leave as much time free as possible for editing and final tweaking and also to film the sound into the shots anyway, even if we don't plan on using it. Having said that though we have been able to finish before deadline and are happy with the coursework results.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDU-7dXrNONnIVRu4skHYk6OWV5wErjRzqeWyDf2cw0eBOT9pDouVglF9rGkDMxA4hlq8eu0n7ZfGOg6Z_g7GVD_n5askRcRH40Tj1Wky9tru0RqgJGj0ZU86OPlGQu0CD9NJwSVwdiY8E/s200/adulthood.jpg)
Links to Google Documents & Paperwork for Main Task Exercise: 'Ranelagh Road'
http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B2wmoMokGBB2NGU3ZjZiYjAtNjUxNS00YmUyLTk1ZGYtNzNhNjA3ZTIxM2Fm&hl=en_GB
SWOT Analysis
http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AVwksxvZmdl9ZGdnY3hrZnJfMWRxYmgzYmdt&hl=en_GB
Research for Main Exercise
http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AVwksxvZmdl9ZGdnY3hrZnJfMmRmaHE0anZq&hl=en_GB
Research for Film Drama
http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0ATOmh5fwraT2ZGZuZjljNGZfOGRiajIzMjdt&hl=en_GB
Research on Similar Films
http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AWwmoMokGBB2ZGRxNXFyNG5fM2NqNTZ4ZmRk&hl=en_GB
Similar Films
http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B2wmoMokGBB2OTcwNGY3YmUtYjg2Zi00ZTQ1LWI5NzYtNjQ2YTI0YTQ1NGQw&hl=en_GB
Contextual Analysis of Green Street
http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0ATOmh5fwraT2ZGZuZjljNGZfMTNnYjd4cTZ2Ng&hl=en_GB
Contextual Analysis of Kidulthood
http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AWwmoMokGBB2ZGRxNXFyNG5fOGQzZG01cGR3&hl=en_GB
Deciding Roles
http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B2wmoMokGBB2ZDYyODM1MGQtMDE3My00ZGZkLWIyMWYtNWQyMTViNTdhN2I0&hl=en_GB
Storyboards
http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B2wmoMokGBB2NzVmM2RmMWItZjgzOS00OGYzLTg1ZjktOTkwOWRhM2U2MTFl&hl=en_GB
First Draft of Script
http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AWwmoMokGBB2ZGRxNXFyNG5fNGRxNGc0NWR0&hl=en_GB
Research on Props
http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0ATOmh5fwraT2ZGZuZjljNGZfMTFkNXhyN3RkNg&hl=en_GB
Group Meeting Notes
http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B2wmoMokGBB2NzVlNmQ5NTItZGIzNi00NDcyLWFmZGEtMDc1NTZmYzdhMDk5&hl=en_GB
Written Location Research
http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B2wmoMokGBB2NzQzZmJjZTEtY2EzYS00OTM0LTliMDktODAyYmNjNzkzNmZi&hl=en_GB
Ranelagh Road Recce (Location 1)
http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B2wmoMokGBB2ODQ3NTVmMDktYzQ4Ny00Mjc1LTllMTMtMjFlNzg5OTg1NjU3&hl=en_GB
Location 2 Recce
http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0BzOmh5fwraT2MTQ5MDI4NGQtMmQ2Yi00MmI5LWI1MjQtNmM3NzcyZDAzYmJi&hl=en_GB
Risk Assessments for both Locations
http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B2wmoMokGBB2NDBmMzhjNWYtNDkyYi00OGEwLTlhYTgtOTQxNGFjODA3ZTc0&hl=en_GB
Call sheet for Location 1
http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AVwksxvZmdl9ZGdnY3hrZnJfM2NybXhkOWNy&hl=en_GB
Call sheet for Location 2
http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0ATOmh5fwraT2ZGZuZjljNGZfMTJkbXZidGRwYw&hl=en_GB
Google Map images for Locations
http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B2wmoMokGBB2OTAzMTVkMjgtYjU5ZS00ZjFjLWJjNTEtYTc5Y2U2YjIzNDI5&hl=en_GB
Booking information for the Camera
http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AWwmoMokGBB2ZGRxNXFyNG5fNXNrY3Nrd2Ro&hl=en_GB
Filming Prodcution Still 1
http://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0BzOmh5fwraT2ZDFmOTdiN2UtY2JkZi00YjFmLTkzZjUtNjQzNTJkNDI0Y2Ey&hl=en_GB
Filming Prodcution Still 2
http://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0BzOmh5fwraT2NzMyNDNjZTMtYjdlZi00MDVmLWFhNmYtM2Q0N2Q0YmYwOTRh&hl=en_GB
Notes on Script during Filming
http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B1wksxvZmdl9ZGZhZmNhNmItMWQ0NC00YWIyLTk4ZDMtMjU1NTkyZDZmMDBk&hl=en_GB
Editing notes for final edit
http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0ATOmh5fwraT2ZGZuZjljNGZfMTVocWJwejRkaA&hl=en_GB
Editing Printscreens from Moviemaker and Premier
http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AVwksxvZmdl9ZGdnY3hrZnJfNGoyOXA5ZGRm&hl=en_GB
Editing Photo
http://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0BzOmh5fwraT2MzExNzA2NWMtYmE0My00Zjc4LTkwOGUtODc2YTEyMGM3OTlh&hl=en_GB
Pirate Broadcast CD Cover Info
http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0BzOmh5fwraT2NzMyODNlMzctZWEwZS00YWM2LTk3YTctN2IzZmIyMGNjM2E4&hl=en_GB
Copyright Info for CD used
http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0ATOmh5fwraT2ZGZuZjljNGZfMTQ2Nm1xcDdmdA&hl=en_GB
Final Edited Script
http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AWwmoMokGBB2ZGRxNXFyNG5fN2dtcjR3Y2Yz&hl=en_GB
Sunday, 7 March 2010
'The First Reflective Main Exercise Blog Entry Thing!'
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnn1ZvGwB2nsjBUKlySRHmhvTlOQp9Quc0a5658CTZ3SMAK-NP9fCYVURBbY69vUu45cNKgnoqWZx5677Ael2I8IwkOLGvONP_WbxRkC2dmmV2N_zLRyfDQVUGf4Y2nhZjv1MZkYyigbvP/s320/gview.png)
I think that to improve from the preliminary exercise we need to; set a target date for the filming earlier on to create a deadline for ourselves for the paper work to be done by, practise with the camera and editing software before hand so that our main task is more professional looking, discuss ideas more within the group so that we can combine and decide upon the best ideas for the film, stick to our own responsibilities and jobs so that all work is done to the correct standard. I also think that a lot more research into similar films and genre's is essential in making sure our production follows the right codes and conventions as we have chose to crete a soical realist drama, looking at issues of knife crime in a British society, which therefore creates a niche audience of being relatable to by British people, who understand and live amongst this culture and society.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0NpuP0p4KhpF0H4PBUIwU7yhvtKeIg-1oqP8Nml2OlhZTINaN-GJ66B186Tzv0qnMoDPMJoN23ZV7WQX6g-Nke_361E1tsGmJc70S4PqAdvFQjg1FoBV_0HhmGWYFhPlNBjKTD8FXySXA/s320/filming+still1.jpg)
We also used a fade in from black at the beginning as we felt that the shot of the camera bringing itself into Harriet's room and also her life was slightly too long and therefore wanted to shorten it and also emphasise the fact that the audience are being brought specifically into her life and her room which is a very private space for a girl, allowing the audience to feel as though they know her. We also used a fade between two shots of her doing her make up, to her standing up and getting ready to leave the room to show an elipsis as we found that Harriet had already put her make up away in the next shot and therefore needed to make them blend and show that some time of her applying make up had passed, as the audience did not need to see all of this as it would become boring and they may lose interest.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimn_ZnWFSuIjfRigZ55rYf-qnK7XGyAHvoAtqQVSrREjvqCnB1-aRU476WeQLHaDyV9hc3HXNlzkjwgpM6MowExgVhkTJDAsUw8z-tpkJMimbdkYQeKnQt2TgiYOS-duzehiLCLN_hzA-a/s320/editing_photos.jpg)
Overall i am happy with the filming and editing process as it has gone pretty smoothly and i feel that after some small problems involving mainly music and sound, we have now over come the issues and turned negative factors into positive traits. I also feel that we as a group have become more confident to tell each other our view and opinion on the editing and the way we think the scenes should look, which has benefited the film itself as we are therefore discussing more the best options and choosing the most professional outcomes that enhance the production and help emphasise more the codes and conventions of the social realist drama genre.
Thursday, 11 February 2010
Links to Google Documents & Paperwork for Preliminary Exercise
http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0ATOmh5fwraT2ZGZuZjljNGZfMWRxazZicWdr&hl=en_GB
Initial ideas 1
http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0BzOmh5fwraT2NWRhMDJkMmYtMDUxZS00YjMwLTg5NGItZDhhNzcyZGY3N2Q1&hl=en_GB
Initial ideas 2
http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0BzOmh5fwraT2NDg0ZmI2ZjItN2JkOS00ZTAwLWJhMzItOGIxMWQyYmY0YzM4&hl=en_GB
SWOT analysis
http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B1wksxvZmdl9ZTVkNTJjOGYtNDQ0YS00NWJkLWFkYzQtNjg2NmRjM2FjYmJl&hl=en_GB
Content of Production, Research and Production Schedule
http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0ATOmh5fwraT2ZGZuZjljNGZfNGdjZzZmaGdm&hl=en_GB
Finished Story Board
http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B1wksxvZmdl9M2QwZTkzZTUtNjQzZi00ZGYyLThkNWYtOWViZmI2NTQxNDY2&hl=en_GB
final script
http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0ATOmh5fwraT2ZGZuZjljNGZfMGdjODJjNWNn&hl=en_GB
Risk assessment page 1
http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0ATOmh5fwraT2ZGZuZjljNGZfMmdyYjh0eGY3&hl=en_GB
Risk assessment page 2
http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0ATOmh5fwraT2ZGZuZjljNGZfM2ZoajJrMmM2&hl=en_GB
Call Sheet
http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AVwksxvZmdl9ZGdnY3hrZnJfMGRzNmM0OWRq&hl=en_GB
editing notes page 1
http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0BzOmh5fwraT2YWI4MzFkYzctYmRkMy00Y2NjLTllNTItNGRmY2JiZGFjZDBi&hl=en_GB
editing notes page 2
http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0BzOmh5fwraT2OTFmMGI3MTAtNWRkYy00OTc4LTlhZjQtY2Q0MmE1NTIxNDg0&hl=en_GB
Tuesday, 2 February 2010
Filming and Editing the Preliminary Exercise
There were a few problems that we encountered when filming. The main problem was that we had not realised that the place we had chose to shoot our first shot in had a large extractor fan nearby for the college kitchens and therefore made filming slightly difficult as the actors voice in a few of the takes was muffled or undetected by the microphone on the camera. This was a mistake made during our recee and therefore when we proceed with the main task we will make sure that our recee is completely correct before hand to ensure nothing like this happens again. This also meant that we had to slightly alter the dialogue of the script so that when the actor answered the phone he had to explain that he couldn’t hear the other person but would be there soon as the sound was obviously diegetic and therefore we could not ignore it in the actual production. Another problem that we encountered was that when we filmed the last shot of Lee unconscious through the window we found to begin with that Kyle’s reflection was visible on the footage and therefore we had to cover as much of his skin as possible to help him blend into the dark walls, but luckily he had a black hoody and dark jeans on. We also were unable to alter the lights in the media room as they were set bulb strip lights and therefore the only control we had was allowing natural light in through the window which we chose to keep the curtains closed.
I think that we stuck to the script and storyboard almost exactly apart from the minor change we had to make in the first shot in terms of dialogue due to the fan. And seeing the finished and edited product it has turned out how I imagined it in my head when we first started planning it and drawing out the storyboards and I think that we also stuck to the rule of thirds when we were in the room and the actors were having their conversation very well, making sure we never crossed the line. Next time however I think that we should use the tripod, for the shots where the 180 degree rule applies, such as conversation as we did get a few takes that were shaky that we had to cut a few seconds out of, but this was due to the fact that the room we chose to shoot in was small and there was not much space to move around in, but we captured the shots we wanted through not using the tripod, however next time we will defiantly use it to create a more professional looking piece of film.
We originally planned to edit our filming the next lesson, but unfortunately Lee was ill during that lesson and so we were unable to get the equipment required and had to wait until the next lesson when Lily had also come back from being ill. The editing process was fairly easy and only took around 40 minutes once we had captured and transferred the footage onto the computer. We worked together as a group while editing, to include all of our opinions in the process so that we were all going to be happy with the final outcome. We used the editing program Windows Movie Maker to put our final piece together and I found the software easy to use, as I had previously used this software at GCSE Media to edit together a stop motion advert. I also find this software good to use as it is simple and easy to work your way around, but still giving a professional finished product and I am happy with the final piece for the preliminary exercise but feel I have learnt a lot ready for the main task which will help improve the quality of the main task even more. I think that watching the edited version of the film back, it is overall good, keeps continuity and would be easy to follow and understand by our target audience of 16-24, due to the visual cues we have included and the way we have created college students who are relatable. The ideology that youth's are also involved in crime is also shown through this film and therefore the audience will not be shocked or confused by what's happening. We used a fade in from black at the beginning to give a sense of oreintation for the audience so that it didnt launch straight into the film and we tried to cut on action as much as possible to keep the flow between cuts smooth and as least noticeable as possible.
This is a final edit of our preliminary exercise that has been compressed and uploaded onto the Weymouth college Youtube channel. Overall I am happy with our finished sequence of shots and am pleased with the way the filming went as we didn’t encounter many problems at all as we decided to keep our storyline simple but keeping orginiality while sticking to the codes and conventions of social realist drama. Anything that did happen that went wrong during both filming and editing, we were able to resolve as a group quickly and efficiently and in many ways it made out producion skills stronger .
Sunday, 31 January 2010
First skills audit for the G321 Foundation Production
I think that so far the preliminary exercise has been fairly successful although with the absence of a member of the group for many lessons its left more for me and the other member of the group, Kyle to write and organise putting us slightly behind production schedule. This has also had a positive effect in some ways as it has created less conflict within the group as there are less opinions that clash. We have decided to create a short sequence of shots in the theme of social realist drama, much like in the style of channel 4 programs like "Skins" and "Shameless" who have a young target audience and whose characters tackle story lines containing issues surrounding drugs, alcoholism, violence, racism and other aspects of youth culture and so we decided to have the storyline for our production as a student, as the target audience will therefore be able to relate to his experiences of college and the ideologies surrounding college life including the idea of hegemonic masculinity being dominant amongst young males as well as drugs and alcoholism. The character will be answering the phone, then going to a room at college to meet his friend who has knocked out his lecturer during an argument. I feel that our idea is original and fulfils the brief while taking a different approach to it as we have also included a phone conversation to emphasise our skills of the 180 degree rule and to show our understanding of continuity. It also is appropriate content for the target audeince of 16- 25.
Although we have had slight issues with timing and preparation for filming we have managed to produce all of the necessary paperwork to allow us to film, sharing the load equally between the group. It was fairly hard to come up with an idea due to the tightness of the brief and we also had many ideas that seemed to be similar which may have made it harder to choose. The risk assessments were fairly easy as we were filming on college grounds and therefore theft and other risks were not needed to be addressed as closely as we were on college property. The recee was also easy to do, as we had easy access to the rooms we had chosen to film in and therefore could easily run back and forth during lesson time to check things out if a new worry or concern came about, for example the restricted lighting and the small diameters of the room and the worry that we may not fit the whole shot onto the camera.
As I have produced an advert before for GCSE Media Studies I know the lengths of time it takes to edit and film and therefore for this reason I feel we have a slight advantage as I am familiar with editing film through the use of Windows Moviemaker and have also been through the process of the write ups and evaluations before. I think that it’s good we have now set a date for the filming as it gives us a target that we have to for fill to meet the deadline and means that although Lily is ill and has been away for the whole task, we will still have accomplished the brief on time and hopefully to a good standard. The paperwork is also a little confusing at times but I feel that we have now got on top of it and are ready to make the final piece. I feel that it has been slightly difficult to discuss ideas within the group as we don’t know each other very well which in some other ways has helped as it’s caused less arguments but it can also hinder by making you afraid to confront certain ideas you might not agree with.
I am looking forward to the filming process and the editing of the film and I am especially looking forward to the second part of the coursework as I feel we will be able to put more of ourselves into the media text as the boundaries are not so tight and specific and will therefore allow more extravagant ideas to be successful. I'd like to become more familiar with the filming equipment and look at more advanced editing to improve the quality of my production skills and to create more professional looking products and hopefully during the next part of the coursework illness won’t affect the dynamics of our group and therefore we will have more man power to create a better response to the brief. I hope to also find it easier to come up with an idea for the main exercise as I feel that due to the restrictions put on us by the preliminary exercise, it is fairly difficult to create productions that differ from each other a lot.