Z.L.C Productions Ident

Z.L.C Productions Ident

 

 

 

After coming up with my production company 'Z.L.C Productions' a studio ident was required to be included in my opening sequence. I looked online at other production companies studio idents.

 

These are the idents that you recognise at the start of films. The most recognisable would be:

 

 

For my studio ident I wanted something simple. I decided that I would like to include a generic film reel.

 

 

Here is the ident for 'Z.L.C Productions'. I think it works really well and I was really pleased and excited to use it in my opening sequence. I particularly like the beam of light that pans across the ident because it really brings something relatively simple to life and makes the ident look professional and of a high standard.

 

 



Title Timings

Title Timings

In my rough cut one issue was that some titles in my opening sequence ran on longer than others. A lack of continuity is off putting and makes the sequence look unprofessional.

To ensure each title was exactly 5 seconds long I used a title which was 5 seconds and used that as a guide to cut each of the other titles where the same. I did this because it would make my opening sequence a lot more professional.

Title Alterations

Title Alterations

One of the things that was suggested that I alter was the font style. This was so that the text appeared to be more Sci-Fi and more serious.

So today I changed the font of each title in my opening sequence to 'Malgun Gothic' as this font seemed more appropriate because the style of font was much sharper rather than curly.

Here are some examples of the font for different titles at different points in the opening sequence. I actually think this font works a lot better with the sequence because it is more simple and sharp.

Z.L.C. Productions

Z.L.C. Productions

Coming up with a name for my production company was actually quite difficult. I spent a while staring into space trying to think of a name. I even tried using a random word generator online for inspiration but no words appealed to me. I then realised I was over thinking it and deciced to go with something simple. 'Z.L.C. Productions' I chose to use my initals because it was simple and personal to me. Although it is simple I personally think it works well.

I wish to create a 'Z.L.C  Productions' ident but I am not too sure of how to do so. I will hopefully be able to create a smart and proffessional ident with the help of Mr. Earl once we are back to sixth form after half term.

Catch - Rough Cut (With music added by Mr. Earl)

Catch - Rough Cut (With music added by Mr. Earl)

After uploading my rough cut onto Vimeo and onto my blog there are a few things that I am going to improve. One was the audio. The high pitched noice doesn't work throughout the entirety of the openin sequence and I plan to cut it down and only use it in small sections because that way it would be more effective in building tension. Adding additional music would improve the titles because it guides the audience as to whats happening in that scene and will build tension where needed.

Catch - Rough Cut (With music added by Mr. Earl)

The link above shows an example of how effective additional music would be. I plan to include this for my final cut because it sounds a lot better and really improves the overall opening sequence by adding tension.

Film 4

Film 4

Film4 was started in 1982 as Film4 Productions, a film production company owned by Channel Four Television Corporation and has been responsible for backing a large number of films made in the United Kingdom, and around the world. The company's first production was Walter, directed by Stephen Frears, which was released in 1982. 

Film 4 Production Film's

I have chosen to use Film 4 as my distributor/production company. I have decided to use Film 4 because it produces inspiring British Films such as Trainspotting and Slumdog Millionaire which are two of the films that I looked to for inspiration when it came to creating my own opening sequence. For example I looked at the way that the chase scene with the children in the opening sequence of Slumdog Millionaire was shot and applied that to my own video in hope that my own video would have the same impact as Slumdog Millionaire does through the use of low and high angle shots etc. When taking inspiration from Trainspotting I also took inspiration from the shots used within the opening sequence. For example the shot of the feet panning up.

Another reason I chose to use Film 4 was because the films they produce aren't high budget Hollywood blockbusters they focus on more realistic and believable stories. The films are more relatable to British people as Film 4 films focus a lot on regional identity and how that location and the people there are represented.

My opening sequence is set in Gateshead and focuses on working class children. So I thought that it would be appropriate to chose Film 4 as this is the type of film that they would be likely to make.

Catch - Rough Cut

Catch - Rough Cut

Here is the link to my rough cut for task 5 - Catch. 

Catch - Rough Cut

There are a series of things that I plan to improve before I release the final cut of my opening sequence.

For example:

• Include Film 4 Productions ident.
• Create and apply a ident for 'Z.L.C. Productions'.
• Remove high pitched noise and include tension building music instead.
• Ensure that each title appears for the same length of time.
• Include videos of riots and mock up newspapers rather than the nurse scene.
• Include a flash forward title.
• Shoot and include footage of the initial decisions to capture those particular children.

Improving these parts of my opening sequence will improve it because it will flow better in terms of setting up the film and story, it will make it look more professional, and will hopefully get me a better grade.

Editing Update

Editing Update

Over the past week I have been dedicated to getting my editing done ready to upload the rough cut for 'Catch'. I have been giving up my lunches to ensure it is as ready as it possibly can be at the minute. I will hopefully have my rough cut posted on my blog by tomorrow so long as there are no major issue occur.

I have been focusing on making sure the clips work well together since adding the new footage to the sequence. I had to chose whether I wanted to stick with the old footage where the weather is the same or the new footage where the weather has changed. I chose to use the new footage as I think I show better examples of camera work which show how well I can operate a camera to capture each scene.

Unfortunately, I wont have the Film Four ident ready to put onto the beginning of the opening sequence. I will definitely have it ready to apply before I post my final edit of Catch. For now it is this:

Adding Audio

Adding Audio

When editing today I added in some audio I found online. I wanted to include a white noise eerie sound to put the audience on edge as the sound is high pitched. It is quite creepy and it runs throughout the entire opening sequence. I may change this before the final edit as it may loose its effect after a while and could potentially be annoying.

I have not really edited audio properly before and I have mainly just put the track straight on top of my opening sequence, cancelling out any diegetic sound. I think I will need the assistance of Sir to resolve it and help develop my opening sequence in terms of audio.

I am also continuing to ensure that the editing is tight for the chase scene so no transition between shots are jarring.

Shooting Last Sunday

Shooting Last Sunday 

Last Sunday I set out to re-film mistakes I made when filming last time and things that I missed. This would have only taken me 1 - 2 hours at the most but there were a few issues which mean that I had to re-film everything. 

One reason why I had to re-film everything was because Calum whom I originally filmed with cancelled on me late on the Friday night and I struggled to find someone to film with at short notice. The most annoying part about this was that there was only two different shots that I needed to re-film with Calum but he refused to come along for just half an hour. On the Sunday morning I managed to convince my mums partner to help me out and fill Calums place.

Another issue I had was that the young girls, Amber and Ruby who featured in the original footage in the park. The girls' father is friends with my dad and as my dad was skiing in Austria I could not get in touch with them which also meant I had to find other children to be in that scene. Thankfully, my cousin Tom who lives in the lakes was visiting for the weekend and for some reason loved the idea of being kidnapped. So volunteered to be part of me opening sequence.

Yet another problem was that when we filmed the first time around it was chucking it down with rain and on Sunday it was clear skies and sunshine. 

I thought that that would be the end of the disasters for the day but unfortunately not. When the cast and I arrived that the location we wished to shoot at and where we had filmed two weeks before had been cordoned off and we were unable to get in to film. Due to this I decided to stick with the original footage even though the weather was totally different. I then thought that I may be able to fix this when editing by putting it in black and white and altering the brightness and contrasting.

After all those problems shooting went quite well although every one was freezing cold.

One scene in particular took a while to film - the initial kidnapping. I wanted the shot of the boys going missing to be a continuous shot of them going missing and the girl running away using a whip pan. This took 34 takes as it was really hard to get the timing right to ensure that the boys were out of the shot when the camera whips back to centre.

The footage that I got was successful and I was please and the footage was significantly better than the footage I shot previously as I was more determined due to problems that I didn't want to stand in the way of me getting the grades that I want. I also looked at the old footage and took notes on what I thought I could have done better and thought about what would have worked better. From looking at the old footage I found that the use of zoom was not effective and made the footage look unprofessional, I needed more close ups of Ellen and Holly, made sure that the characters were centred in the shot etc. This overall improved the quality of my footage.

Attempt at Whip Panning

Attempt at Whip Panning

 

 

 

On Sunday 2nd of February I headed back over to the location in Gateshead where I was filming to re-shoot missing footage and some shots and pieces of footage I thought that I could have shot a lot better.

 

The park scene in particular I was unhappy with so I decided to re-film the scene in the same park but on a quiet field. I wanted to attempt to shoot a continuous shot including a whip pan of the boys being kidnapped. This was difficult and took 34 takes as making sure that the boys were out of the shot by the time the camera returned to centre.

 

Here are a few of the takes it took to get it to a high standard.

Change in Casting

Change in Casting

As I had to re-shoot some footage and I had some issues finding a time where all of the cast members so I found away around it by having to re-cast some of the characters.

I could no longer use Amber and Ruby in my opening sequence as they weren't available to re-shoot on the day we decided. So Jamie who was orginally in it will be playing football with my cousin Tom. Rather than having the two young girls on the swings.