Experimenting with credits and production names

In todays lesson me and Valentina started to experiment with our credits and production logos, we unintentionally created this by chance and really liked the effect of it. We wanted to use a simple black and white effect in order to make it simple and make more of a statement. We created the logo by leaving the letters A and V underneath eachother, leaving a line between the letters and when we pressed done this effect was made. We will add some kind of logo/icon to make the production company seem more legitimate.

Production Company Research

We have started to think about what our production company will be, an idea we really like (a little cheesey I know) but instead of 'Paramount' me and Valentina like the idea of  'Valamount' as it is a mixture of both of our names. It's just an idea..

I researched small production companies and found the company Coffee Films, a British independent film production company that specialise in indie short, feature length, music and wildlife documentary filmmaking.

I really liked the simplicity of their logo as it is black and white, this looks simple yet effective.

An idea we had for our logo was an eye, as our film contains a shot where the eyes is a key part to the film. Also there are several connotations of an eye often related to horror/mystery which our film relates to.

Or another idea we had was a candle as that is also central to our film, and allows the audience to know we are doing  a spooky style film.

(I found this as just a random image off Google, but I really like the way it is animated, an idea I would consider for my own logo).

First Draft of Film!

We are proud to say we have a very rough first draft! Last night Valentina came to my house and we filmed some flashbacks, we used my dads barbeque/fire pit and with the help of his white spirit made the flame look really big and effective (thanks dad!). The voice over in the draft is only a practice as we will be using Marge's voice and not mine! As we may not have enough footage for two minutes, we may also get some shots of a grave to represent Albert.

Filming Flashbacks

After looking at our footage we have come to the conclusion that we need something else in our film to make it more effective. We have decided to film flashbacks along with our footage in order to create a story. Our story is that Marge lost a brother in a fire, we will use her voice over as she tells a story, we will use flashbacks of fire , lighting a candle and also possibly a grave. We also hope to have  a shot of an eye with flames in its reflection as we think this would be really effective.

Film Classification

I've begun to start thinking what classification our final film opening will be, so I researched the guidelines on the BBFC website.

As our film will not contain any violence or any sexual scenes or swearing we think it may fall under the category of U or PG.

Here are the guidelines for a U classification:

Discrimination

No discriminatory language or behaviour unless clearly disapproved of.

Drugs

No references to illegal drugs or drug misuse unless they are infrequent and innocuous, or there is a clear educational purpose or anti-drug message suitable for young children.

Horror

Scary sequences should be mild, brief and unlikely to cause undue anxiety to young children. The outcome should be reassuring.

Imitable behaviour

No potentially dangerous behaviour which young children are likely to copy. No emphasis on realistic or easily accessible weapons.

Language

Infrequent use only of very mild bad language.

Nudity

Occasional natural nudity, with no sexual context.

Sex

Mild sexual behaviour (for example, kissing) and references only (for example, to ‘making love’).

Theme

While problematic themes may be present, their treatment must be sensitive and appropriate for young children.

Violence

Mild violence only. Occasional mild threat or menace only.

we may also classify it as a PG as we may use some scenes (if we use flashbacks) that may frighten a child

Drugs

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

Horror

Frightening sequences should not be prolonged or intense. Fantasy settings may be a mitigating factor.

Imitable behaviour

No detail of potentially dangerous behaviour which young children are likely to copy. No glamorisation of realistic or easily accessible weapons.

Language

Mild bad language only.

Nudity

Natural nudity, with no sexual context.

Sex

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

Theme

Where more serious issues are featured (for example, domestic violence) nothing in their treatment should condone unacceptable behaviour.

Violence

Moderate violence, without detail, may be allowed, if justified by its context (for example, history, comedy or fantasy).

Possible Refilming

From looking back at our footage we've come to the conclusion that we may have to refilm with Marge due to the poor sound quality. As the day we filmed was very windy this has affected the sound and you can't hear Marges voice very clearly, so we may have to refilm some parts.

Day of Filming

Today we finally did our filming! We met Marge at Forty Hall along with her husband and started shooting. Unfortunately the Forty Hall house was all boarded up so we couldn't get it in shot, so we used other shots of the lake without the house in the background. We stuck to our original reporter idea, so I filmed with Marge asking if she was ready to shoot to give the impression of me filming an actual documentary. Marge then spoke to the camera about her experiences in the war as well as her experiences in showbusiness, which we learnt a great amount about as she spoke to us! The day of filming was rather short as Marge, remembering her age, became very cold so we didn't want to keep her out too long. Luckily, we got everything we needed and also got a variety of different shots, so overall it was a successful day, now we just can't wait to start editing!

Sunday- We're finally filming

I'm very happy to say we are finally doing our filming this Sunday! We hope it is a successful day, and hopefully we will get some great footage of Marge!