Final Film

P5 Certification Classification Based on Feedback

Meaning and purpose

The meaning and purpose of this section is to make sure that I give the correct age certification for my movie. This is vital as children can become unsettled when watching something E.G violence or references to alcohol can un-settle a young child. By having age ratings kids will only watch films that are suitable and appropriate for them.

this is a brief intro to my questionnaire displaying what it is based on with an embedded film opening so that the people answering the questions can watch the film opening.

From the responses form my first question I can see that most common answer is they think that the film needs parental guidance with 63.3% saying it does and only 18.2% saying otherwise. From this I have decided that my film does need parental guidance.

my second question asks if the film is inappropriate for kids under the age of 8 because of the mild murder and violence. The most common answer was that this short film is inappropriate for children under the age of 8

my third question asks if the movie could unsettle a child under the age of 8. 18.2% say no, but then yes has the majority of 63.6% So I have decided that this short film could unsettle a young child .

Below is my fifth question where I asked if they found any parts of the film offensive this as expected is saying that everyone has different opinions on whether they found it offensive

this is the most vital question I asked . Most people answered 12A with 63.6% and 18.2% answering 12 and PG. This shows that I should rate my film 12A from what the majority of people answered in this question.

I have decided after the feed back from this questionnaire to rate my film 12A. as the majority of people have responded with 12A and the rest responded below or slightly above so this fits

Draft letter to the BBFC

BBFC
3 Soho Square
London
W1D 3HD
To the British Board of Film Classification

I am sending this to you in regards to my short film certification

I have gather research using a questionnaire in line with the BBFC  guidelines and I also ran a number of focus group to get an understanding of what an actual audience would classify my as film. After looking at all the feedback gathered I decided to classify my film as 12A. using my questionnaire and feedback from focus groups I belive that the mild violence and threat  of the kid running away from his parents could unsettle someone under the age of 12

I hope this is  to your satisfaction and I look forward to your reply

P4 Focus Group Screening & Feedback

Meaning and Purpose:
Certification of films is vital  because it allows the audience to know if the film will be suitable. E.G it may be unsuitable for a child with reference to horror and violent and strong language meaning it is rated 18, only suitable for people over the age of 18 . This raiting would stop small kids from viewing something that is not suitable for them also a incorrect certification of a movie has commercial implications.

Here is a video of the feedback given by the A2 media class about my short film. This was useful as it gave me positive and constructive feedback allowing me to improve my short film. E.G one negative piece of feedback was the music being overpowering causing some of the impact of the films to be lost . I watched this over again and lower the music volume which helped improve the impact ofmy short film and helped it to be better.

British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) 
http://www.bbfc.co.uk/

Certificating media products
here I will be discussing and explaining how music videos are certificated.

Certification 12A
After doing some research in to the ways in which the British Board of Film Classification certificate video footage, I believe our  video should be given a 12a rating, this is because there is no unsettling or offensive footage at any part of the video, however there is just one mildly scary part, which would mean it would not fall into the 'PG' category. I have thoroughly looked into PG and can confirm my video will be certificated as 12A.

Certificating media products and short films is a very important  part of the creation and planning process, before the project can be released . This is to assure the viewers know what they are about to witness when watching the video. It is the first defence to stop younger viewers witnessing improper  and unsuitable footage for their age avoiding exposure of inappropriate footage to young viewers.
Audiences must be made aware of the certification before making a final decision about  watching the film, television show or music video, as it will depict the type of images the video contains.

BBFC give movies age rankings by comparing the video to a set of rules they have allowing them to rate which category a movie will be. The categories ago from a  U, (a universal piece of footage that is suitable for all ages and audiences) to 18 (a video only suitable for adults as it may contain harmful or offensive footage)

the information below  about certification and how films are categorised into the various certificate ratings. This research allowed me to accuralty observe how films would be certificated, and helped me choose the appropriate certification for my music video. i was in-between PG and 12 so here i am comparing the two

Certification - PG


What does PG mean?
PG(Parental Guidance) This ranking is given to a film made for general viewing, but some aspects  could be inappropriate for children. A PG must not upset a child  eight or older. Parents should judge if the movie might upset young, or sensitive, children.

Are all PG films made for younger audiences?
a few movies are ranked PG but did not target a young audience market. one example of this situation of a movie mostly enjoyed by adults but ranked PG would be breakfast at tiffany . although, the ranking means all themes in the work are appropriate for this age range and should not upset a child aged eight or above.

What sort of themes are passed at PG?
A PG should not have any theme which is un suitable for someone 8 and above. PG's can explore challenging themes that include  bullying, bereavement or racism.

Will there be bad language in a PG film?
it might include mild bad language in a PG . Although it must not be out of context and the delivery is important. For example, if the language is used to hurt someones feelings or its's repetitively used , the movie must be passed at a higher category.

What about sex?
Sex references are rare but they might include some that are undetailed and infrequent. also, if the a child won't get the  reference, BBFC might allow it PG. The use of humour  also  lessens the impact of sex references and innuendo.

Sex and sex references are seen as the same so there could be mild or undetailed references at PG.What about violence or threat at PG?
Violence must be mild and must be brief in a PG , for example we could se some blood, but we would not directly see the injury in detail. the BBFC are more lineament to words violence in a historical, comedic or fantasy moveis ,as it provides distancing . It's very common for a PG films to include roller-coaster action ,as the emphasis is obviously on the  journey of the characters instead of the detail on the violence or fighting.

for threat and horror goes, BBFC would accept 'jump' moments and frightening sequences as long as they are not too intense.

What about behaviour children might copy?
In a PG ,  dangerous or antisocial behaviour that children could copy this includes bullying, or playing with fire, will not be allowed, and definitely if it's portrayed as safe or fun. easily accessible weapons E.G knives, should not be highlighted in the PG. Smoking and drinking should not be highlighted and any characters seen smoking should have a clear message saying its bad.

Will there be any drugs in a PG?
There could be references to drugs in a PG work, but there must be no focus on them. also drug references could be allowed if it is an educational message on anti drugs likely to be seen and acknowledged by children eight or over.


3) 12A - Cinema release suitable for 12 years and over &
4) 12 - Video release suitable for 12 years and over


Films that are classified as 12 and 12A usually follow the same guidelines:


- No one younger than 12 may see a 12A film in a cinema unless accompanied by an adult.
Requires an adult to accompany any child under 12A at the cinema and is enforced by cinema staff and a cinema may lose its license if adult accompaniment is not enforced for children under 12.

- The BBFC's guidelines state that strong language may be passed at 12 or 12A, depending on the manner in which it is used, who is using the language, its frequency and any special contextual justification.

- Any discriminatory language or behaviour will not be endorsed by the work as a whole. Aggressive discriminatory language is unlikely to be passed at 12A or 12 unless it is clearly condemned.

- Sex may be briefly and discreetly portrayed. Verbal sex references should not go beyond what is suitable for young teenagers.

- Moderate violence is allowed but it should not dwell on detail. There should be no emphasis on injuries or blood, but occasional gory moments may be permitted if they can be justified by their context.

- Action sequences and weapons may be present and there may be long fight scenes or similar.

- Sexual violence may only be implied or briefly and discreetly indicated.

- There may be infrequent sight of drugs misuse but the portrayal should not be glamorised or provide instructional detail.

P3(d) Linking Audio to Visuals and Applying Audio Effects

When putting a clip into Adobe Premier Pro you need to drag the clip into the timeline, as i used both Audio and visuals when filming, It automatically linked the two files together  on the timeline. Once I dragged the clip into the timeline, I could right click the file and unlink the Audio and visuals . This means i was able to delete the audio or visual I did not want and keep the other on your timeline.

for otherlcips i have kept the audio and visuals linked as shown below this means that the audio originally attached to visuals from filming is kept this clip is named "meeting Gareth"here i kept them linked so that the audience is able to hear the conversation 

 i unlinked the original audio and visuals here to allow me to delete the audio and insert another i then added a song called "feels like we only go backwards" by tame impala

as you can see i have taken away the original audio and added in a song i uploaded the song onto premier pro and dragged it into the audio section on the timeline in order to match the time of an visual  as you can see i have added an audio transition effect called constant power i did this by selecting it from the effects controlled dragging it onto the end of the song this gave the song a nice ending there it gradually fades and become quite before stopping i was label to adjust how long it added out for 

Here i am using the song Redbone by childish gambion the difference this time is i did not replace the original audio with the song audio as in the first  clips in the audio timeline i kept the original audio linked  this is because the first part of the song and the original audio lasts for a bit of the bird scene once once the bird flys off screen the song becomes the background as there is dialog

the music chosen was fairly slow and has a sad effect in order for the audience to understand the emotion behind this scene and it overall heightens the sadness of the sen by linking the audio and visuals together

P3(c) Applying Visual Effects and Transitions

this is a screenshot of the toolbar in Premier Pro. It contains the most used tools such as the cutting tall where It allows me to cut a shot to make it smaller  This enabled me to change the length of the clip to fit in and run smoothly in my film opening.

Effects

Below is a screenshot of the video effects premier pro here i am selecting the  brightness and contrast effect so i am able to adjust the brightness and contrast of the selected clip in order suit my film 

below is a screenshot on premier pro the brightness and contrast tool i am adjusting the brightness and contrast from 0 to -67 this is because the video clip i shot with the canon camera turn outfaily bright and i wanted to make them slightly darker in order to sit the dark and mysterious film this gave the desired effect and matched the film genre perfectly 

below is a couple of example clips here i have used the contrast and saturation and moved it from 0 to -39 this made the image slightly darker with slight more cinematic feel to th scene this suited the dark an mysterious introduction of the character

before











after

i selected a cross deslove in the video transition effect to use on this specific clip transition onto the next clip

 

 you can see that by putting the transition effect at the end clip it cross desloves into the start of the next clip making the film more interesting and visual pleasing rather then just changing from clip to cut to clip which can get boring for the audience

this first image fades into the next image which gives a slow steady transition into the next clip

Below i have taken a screenshot of an opening credit at the start of my film "the bad influence" I added this by selecting title in the effect controls and dragged the title onto this specific cip

Here i have used adobe arabic for my font and i changed the font colour to white i fit this so that it was in contrast with the background helping it to stand out more for the audience  as you can see i have also added a shadow to the text this easily seen when using a white font and in order to create a bigger contrast i used a shadow in order for me to achieve this

P3(b) Producing and Reviewing an Off Line Edit

P3(b) Producing and Reviewing an Off Line Edit

to achieve the desired result of my film, the editing process needed to be  completed with care altering individual clips in order to gain the best results. Editing means working with every clip that is seen in the final production, Completing an offline edit was longest stage in the production processes as it is when the storyline is formed through the first edit,additional effects will be used to keep viewers engaged throughout,

firstly I placed all the raw footage into the editing timeline, offering the first glimpse of the film  it allowed me to see  rough timings and also the flow . Rushes need to be cut down to create flow and professional looking, and audio clips needed to be checked for sound levels, then linked to form one audio bar.

Creating Meaning

I created and presented meaning during my film using  a number of techniques. i aimed to tell a story presenting meaning to the audience this way E.G audio levels, type of audio  sound a variety of shots, and visual effects, helping to change the pace and intensify each scene.

The offline edit wont involve visual effects which might  appear in the final film however the initial stages are important in order to get the story line right and creat the flower the final film and footage deserves

Fig 1

another way i related meaning was the montage scene this relates to the scene with the calendar  This scene includes a variety of different rushes as time passes the calendar fills up.  The storyboard image below shows the way i wanted it to play out, with a number of clips overlapping the others, my timeline above wouldn't include the visual affects i inserted during post production
 Meaning is shown in this montage through the pace, when the calendar is getting ticked of it starts at a slower pace then gradually speeds up the calmer music is used in order to convey the happiness he feels during this time of hanging out with his friend , however the audio changes rapidly which then increases the pace of music and thus clips become shorter, raising the intensity of the situation and perhaps causing more fear in the audiences mind.

P3(a) Logging Rushes and Creating Edit Decision List

P3(a) Logging Rushes and Creating Edit Decision List 

Meaning & Purpose

Before editing it's vital to download rushes onto the computer then identify the best footage then logging this into a folder then transferring this into Adobe Premiere Pro  The data from the rushes can analysed this gives indications of the quality and look of each clip.


Importing the clips from the memory card to my MAC is a simple process,allowing rushes to be individually renamed and more easily identifiable during editing .

Below shows some of the logged rushes:

crating an edit decision list is a vital tool during the production processes. it enables me to see the order the clips need to go in as it contains ordered content regarding every shot and what its meant to look like, giving me a clear guide as to what they should be producing in post-production.

Setting up Premiere Pro

Here is how I set up my Premiere Pro file needed to start building and editing the film. to start with I openPremiere Pro then selected 'New Project', this brought up another screen allowing me to choose the location of the file to be saved name of the production .

after this process i then choose the audio and capture formats I left this as the presets as they were appropriate for my production. After the production the file will be saved into the media folder, helping me easily gain access and keeping it all together and organised. 

after this the HDV presets needed to be selected. In order to correctly set up the production in Premiere Pro, its vital to select the HDV 1080p24. This means the video will be edited at 1080p resolution X 1920, best quality results and best ratio due to the fact the raw footage is taken in HDV. 

this shows the timeline at the start in which I created during the editing process. to stay organised I put the appropriate clips  into the editing timeline in the correct order before adding any visual effects. This allows me to know I had sufficient footage to complete the final production, 

P2(d) Following Production Processes

Meaning and purpose: as i had completed all the pre production planning I knew exactly what i had to do This helped my project run more smoothly and get everything done in the set time I had.

Below is a screenshot of my script for the short film. It includes all the actors and also what style of shot I will be using, what will be happening in the scene and stage directions and most importantly the dialogue. Gareth always had a script on him at all times so we knew exactly what he had to do. This made the project run smoothly as it gave Gareth stage directions which he followed without asking.

It allows me to know exactly what was meant to happen in each scene, for example, 'cross off the day on the calendar' for example the script is not just telling me what the dialogue i, but what shot I will be doing and when music will start etc. 

As shown in my blog posting of 'following script/storyboard' I have screenshot of my storyboard with scenes of my film displaying I have followed the storyboards. gareth and myself had the storyboards on set at all times so we knew exactly what we had to do as well as knowing what type of shot I needed to film. This also helped the filming day run smoothly and quickly.


Camera Settings
I put the Canon 7D in manual when filming in London as because it had a diverse range of areas which means lighting was varied in every location thus meaning alterations needed to be made to the camera. The manual setting meant i could change settings which contributed to the footage, most commonly i changed the ISO which alters the cameras sensitivity to light and also i changed the aperture a lot helping me create the desired look in all the footage . In addition to this the camera captures footage in 1080p HD allowing me to create a  professional look this is important when creating a high standard advertisement

Lenses
The Cannon and Sigma lenses allowed me to capture high quality footage both offering different perspectives to my location allowing me to create a more captivating advert that keeps audience engaged throughout. capturing shots with a number of lenses means I could pick between what I felt looked more appropriate for the final advert, and what would entertain the audience the most. . For example, the 85mm fixed lens was perfect for shallow depth of field and focus pulls, creating a more atmospheric shot and drawing the audiences attention to a specific product or item on screen. An example of this can be seen below, a shot from my final edit showing olly walking through the door with a shallow depth of field, drawing in the audience to the detail of the jacket.

Rode VideoMic - R shotgun
I hadn't  planned to use this but toolkit with me to the beach scenes just incase and it wa lucky i did because the day of the filming it was so  wind you couldn't here the actors talk on the normal mic so we set this up and  it allowed the dialogue to be more clear. If I did not use this it will be muffled and the wind would over power the scene. I checked the the mic by using headphones  just to be sure that the Mic was working. It was vital I checked otherwise, the whole filming day would have been wasted

Daily shooting schedule 
here is my daily shooting schedule which was vital on my filming days. it allowed me to know exactly what needed shot and the characters needed for every day. It allowed me to manage my time carefully with timing for each scene. I gave a copy to Gareth so that he knew exactly what scene he would be shooting a. This helped the filming days run efficiently . 

Crew and actor call sheet 
here is my crew and actor call sheet it helped my filming day run more smoothly. This tells me and the actor where the location is,the scene and the actors/crew involved on specific days. By having this with me filming days were made a lot easier because we always knew where we had to be and what we had to shoot on specific days and times.

P2(c) Following Safe Working Practices

Cars on the road - one of the biggest risk involved with filming by a road is huge amount of cars that pass through the streets. As the shoot is happening various locations  it involves a lot of traveling and additionally shooting next to roads. so there is always a risk of a crash . As this hazard was pretty much out of our hands, we tried to stay aware throughout the shoot and stayed out of danger . We stayed clear of busy streets and followed general traffic and crossing rules, e.g waiting for red light and a signal to cross.

Loss of Equipment / Stolen Equipment -I needed to be fully aware of the surroundings , keeping equipment close by . I also had to be careful that the equipment did not get damaged. Also during shooting it began to rain so we stored the camera in the Canon carry bag, then further more protected it by a larger plastic bag in order to keep it safe
during the day the gear was either being used or we kept it close by  in order to minimise the risk of  any of the equipment being stolen. I also did not leave any lenses on show when they were not needed.

Setting Up of Tripod / Equipment - When filming there is always a risk of tripping. so In order to reduce this risk I made sure all equipment is set up correctly each time plus we also avoided busy location so reducing the risk that someone might trip or collide with me or the camera gear, as well as the actress running.

The reduced risk of the following incidents contributed to the productive and efficient day of filming:

Trailing Cables - This will always be a risk when using technology.understanding the risk and reacting accordingly means no-one was  hurt during filming in locations where cables are lying down. The use of tape and cable protectors kept all wires organised and safe.

Electrical Fire/Shock - because most of the footage used for the final edit was shot external in the city. This means there was little chance of a electrical fire . although at points when plugs were used I made sure I used new extension leads to reduce the risk of causing fire

Broken Camera Equipment - The  largest risks throughout the  shoot. was broken equipment as I had a large number of pieces of equipment, A down side to this was I had to be extremely wary of all the equipment and know exactly where it was for the whole day, this made sure  there was very little risk of damage .

P2(b) Following Shooting Script/Storyboard

P2(b) Following Shooting Script/Storyboard

Storyboarding helps develop ideas and create narrative to add to the storyline I had to carefully convert my ideas from the script to frames that eventually make up every shot of the movie. Planning the shot list would allow me to know what I would be filming and in what order. These plans keep me organised meaning the production would be  high quality because of the planning and organisation.

Throughout the process, I used the storyboards an script to achieve the final production, although several ideas changed, I shot additional footage to enhance the quality of the movie. Below shows a number of screenshots from the film, these will be compared to the original storyboards.

Examples

Example 1

Firstly I have shown the bed room showing Dan getting out of bed. The idea stayed the same and remained in the final piece, however the planned angle of the shot change to a low angle two shot, creating a more atmospheric feel, enabling to make use of the lighting too, in which lead to a bright colouring on the actors, drawing full attention to Dan As seen on the storyboard below, I also planned to have a small montage of the clock going, this was created using Adobe After Effects and Premiere Pro rather than being filmed, however the two scenes switched place in the final edit, 

Example 2

 Below show the calendar montage taking place with the footage matching the storyboard, however I added numerous over the shoulder shots  to show the passing of time. this allowed me to have a smooth and obvious time change as changing the clothes every cut had a nice effect instead of having just the calendar i used over the shoulder shots.

 Example 3

In addition to following the script and storyboard with the beach scene, I included a clip of the beach and also the scenery then the protagonist would be appearing for a walk on the beach showing the antagonist the way around. The scene starts with a wide angle shot of the beach with the waves to get a feel of the scenery. Next the scene of the bird flying near the sea.

P2(a) Setting Up equipment

P2(a) Setting Up equipment 

Camera - Canon 7D
Canon 7D DSLR. The camera can capture at 1080p quality meaning high quality resolutions. The changeable lenses allows for a wide variety of footage including long or wide angled shots, establishing shots,close ups and shallow depth of field. The camera is portable and has a protective case allowing me to carry all equipment and means I can travel to different locations to capture images, this was useful when visiting locations such as the house, whitstable and the field footage. The battery is long lasting, allowing a full day of filming on one charge, also having the ability to alter setting such as white balance and ISO means I can alter my footage desired achieve exactly what I wished, meaning lighting and quality could be altered simply by changing the ISO.







Features Include:

- 18 MP APS-C CMOS sensor.

- 8 fps continuous shooting.

- 19-point wide area AF.

- Dual “DIGIC 4” processors.

- Intelligent viewfinder.

- Integrated Speedlite Transmitter.


Canon Carry Case

The protective case used for the Canon 7D DSLR was vital to keeping the camera safe also it allowed me to keep and store all the lenses required for the day of shooting plus any other pieces off camera equipment together. it was tough and waterproof which prevented any potential water damage to the equipment.

Tripod -
I also used this tripod. It is a very portable piece of kitt that can be positioned in multiple ways to get the exact shot I wanted, from simple, eye level shots, to oblique, high and low angle images as it could be adjusted to different positions. The tripod was essential when filming different shots to create continuity high quality images of the same standard.

Canon 85mm Fixed Lens
A short telephoto lens very popular with portrait photographers. Fast autofocus speed, a large maximum aperture and the short telephoto focal length.

Bright f/1.8 maximum aperture ensures great shots in low light
Fast, quiet autofocus with full-time manual focusing
Super spectra coating reduces flare and ghosting
58mm filter diameter 

Optional Lens Hood ET-65 III and Soft Case LP1014

The Canon 85mm lens was perfect for creating more atmospheric and captivating shots. Especially for filming with a shallow depth of field. The fixed lens meant I would set the frame exactly where I needed it to be without alteration, and then alter the aperture and focus to create the shallow depth of field. Although in my final film I did not use a shallow depth of field on many occasions as there was a number of things occurring in each scene, enabling the audience to see all that is going on.




Canon 50mm Lens

A brilliant combination of image quality and versatility. With fast focusing and the fast f/1.4 maximum aperture makes this a superb performer for any assignment.

Bright f/1.4 maximum aperture ensures great shots in low light
Fast, quiet autofocus with full-time manual focusing
Circular 8-blade diaphragm helps produce attractive background blur
58mm filter diameter



Canon 18-55mm Lens


Canon 18-55mm Lens
this lens is an ideal general-purpose standard zoom. the four-stop Stabiliser allows for great performance in the low-light conditions of london.

• Lightweight, compact design
• Wide-angle to short telephoto range
• Four-stop Image Stabilizer
• Aspherical lens elements for control over distortion
• 0.25m close-focusing distance
• Super Spectra coatings
• Circular aperture diaphragm
• High-speed AF

18-55mm lens was used in many occasions throughout the day shoot. as it had the range of 18-55, It allowed me to frame each shot specifically and edit it if I could achieve a higher quality images. E.G the tilt shot below was altered to give a more human eye perspective looking from below and moving up, the 18-55mm lens allowed me to create this 'look'.