Homes Under the Hammer

Homes Under the Hammer is a morning television series shown on BBC One around 10am. The shows presenters are Lucy Alexander and Martin Roberts, however in previous series the alternated with two other presenters. The genre is factual and originally started being shown in May 2003. 

The format of the show is fairly simple, there are 3 properties from around England which are to go into auction for sale. Prior to going to auction Lucy or Martin show the audience around the property, and explain the pro's and con's of the property and what they think about it. The whole time they are doing this they are using direct address into the camera which helps the audience at home watching feel more involved with the program which is a great way at gaining an audience that will go back for more. 

Once this has been done there is then a scene at the actual auction where the property is being sold, then once we see it been auctioned off for the final price and we meet the buyer in the house with whoever introduced the house (Lucy or Martin). At this point Lucy or Martin interview the buyer and ask them why it is that they are buying the property and what their plans are to do with it. This then happens 2 more times with 2 different properties, and at the end of the show Lucy or Martin re-visit their original property to see what the buyer has done with it, how they have refurbished it, how much they spent, and weather is has been an investment or not.
The show is edited and scripted with images/videos of the property with a commentary from the presenters. The editing links this as the presenters are shown sometimes with the featured homeowners explaining their plans but also cracking informal and 'cheesey' jokes and puns, which is a great way of direct address to keep the audience interested and wanting to watch more of the show.
Shot types include such as panning shots and swift sliding shots to show a large amount of space in a small amount of time to give the audience a greater insight into the size of the property and amount of work that needs doing or has been done. 

Pulp Fiction Essay

Pulp fiction is a crime/thriller which was released in 1994 and directed by Quentin Tarantino. The film wasn't that big of budget to make but unexpectedly made more than it could ever imagine. The storyline can be rather complicated but is great if you watch it and get into it. Jules Winnfield and Vincent Vega are two hit men who are out to retrieve a suitcase stolen from their employer, boss Marsellus Wallace. Wallace has also asked Vincent to take his wife Mia out a few days later while he will be out of town himself. Butch Coolidge is a boxer who is aging quickly and who is paid by Wallace to lose his next fight. The lives of these seemingly unrelated people are woven together comprising of a series of funny, bizarre and uncalled-for incidents. 

Throughout the film there is dark lighting and lots of smoke involved, this is to convey a dark thuggish image which can make the audiences watching feel on edge. Not only this but it's so cliche to create mise en scene like this thus meaning that the audience are tense as they know what will be coming. Clothing and make up used is very 70's throughout. The women seem to wear black tight leather a fair bit. This gives other women watching it the urge to want to look as sexy as they do and gives sex appeal to the men watching. The males in the film either wear suits and ties, looking smart as a rich gangster would, or if they are poor drug dealers, they seem to wear the cliche dirty white vest top and jeans.  

John Travolta as Vincent Vega: Tarantino cast Travolta in Pulp Fiction only because Michael Madsen, who had a major role—Vic Vega—in Reservoir Dogs, chose to appear in Kevin Costner's Wyatt Earp instead. ravolta accepted a bargain rate for his services—sources claim either $100,000 or $140,000—but the film's success and his Oscar nomination as Best Actor revitalized his career. Travolta was subsequently cast in several hits including Get Shorty, in which he played a similar character, and the John Woo blockbuster Face/Off. In 2004, Tarantino discussed an idea for a movie starring Travolta and Madsen as the Vega brothers; the concept remains unrealized. Samuel L. Jackson as Jules Winnfield: Tarantino had written the part with Jackson in mind, but the actor nearly lost it after his first audition was overshadowed by Paul Calderón's. Jackson assumed the audition was merely a reading.  No film score was composed for Pulp Fiction, with Quentin Tarantino instead using an eclectic assortment of surf music, rock and roll, soul, and pop songs. Dick Dale's rendition of "Misirlou" plays during the opening credits. Tarantino chose surf music as the basic musical style for the film, but not, he insists, because of its association with surfing culture. 

Robbie Williams 1998 Glastonbury Coverage

This extract of Glastonbury 1998 (26th - 28th June) is a performance of Robbie Williams' 'Angels'. Not just analyzing it in  terms of Camera work, sound, performance, setting and editing but the overall coverage of the event.

Firstly the use of the camera firstly is extremely simple, and calm in movement to emphasize the music, this is further complemented by the simple caption of Robbie's name and the famous song 'Angels'.
With an attendance of 100,500 people that year, it was only fitting to see the iconic lyrics being sung back to Robbie, heavily shown within the performance. Many shots used took full advantage of showing the manic crowd with equipment such as Crane's and Jimmy Jibs, also showing fully, the extent of the audience and the venue and stage itself.

On stage camera work shows the musical instruments being clearly played live which is accompanied by close ups of the artist. Medium shots are used to include nearly everything on the stage from an angle side on we can see the artist and guitarists but also the drummer in some shots. We also see the entire length of the stage on tracks. Handhelds are heavily used also upon the artist but also behind the drummer almost giving the audience at home the bands perspective.

The mise en scene is extremely focused on the 'music' and the clothes the band wear, the way the stage is set up and the lighting is of extreme simplicity, whether that reflects the budget for the stage is not known or whether the artists vision is to be one to focus on the performance itself. Little production is used as the artist and the band is definitely enough with the small use of colored lights, the crowd truly appreciates the music.

The Editing is again very simple however the vision mixing is very layered and complex the way in which one shot is of the artist then cross fades into a shot of the band which is then super imposed into the audience and then back to the artist, we see all aspects of the event and its effectiveness and make the audience at home feel as included as those at the festival.

Beyonce 2011 Glastonbury Analysis

The analysis that I'm doing for a new festival is the first 10 minutes of Beyoncé's headlining act. The start of the clip is a presenter introducing Beyoncé to the stage. This is a common feature used when showing a festival to an audience at home. It gives them an insight of whats happening and it keeps them involved with the festival. The target audience to this part of Glastonbury coverage I would say is more a teen/young adult audience as Beyoncé is very mainstream and she targets all her music to that target audience.
While the presenter is introducing Beyoncé to the stage, a caption with the latest Glastonbury logo appears at the bottom of the screen saying the presenters name "Jo Whiley."
Beyoncé's sequence starts off with a long shot from a camera placed in the middle of the crowd. This gives a great effect of making the audience at home feel as though they are in the audience at Glastonbury.

Glastonbury Analysis

Glastonbury Festival, was created in 1970, on the 19th September. This was the first year that Glastonbury ran and had a £1 entry fee. At this time, new crews were interested in the festival, but it wasn't until 1994 when it became a major feature of UK Television.

The festival in 1994 was broadcast live on Channel 4. On the Saturday night of the 1994 festival there was a shooting incident involving five people but no one was badly hurt. Although there was the first death in the Festivals history when a young man was found dead from a drugs overdose.

BBC Choice (now known as BBC Three) ran 6 hour long specials from 1994, 95, 97, 98, 99 and 2000. Glastonbury has had a number of media partners, you could watch or listen to BBC2, BBC3, BBC4, BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 4, playlouder.com and also HTV. Since 2002 Glastonbury has been licensed to be aired outside of the UK in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and 9 other countries. 2002 was Glastonbury's busiest year so far with approximately 140,000.

Highlights from the festival have been shown internationally by NBDTV which have had a huge impact on the festivals fame. This year Glastonbury has been at its most populated with 175,000 attending, and it also made history with the first female headliner in quarter of a century.

Evaluation

In the process of creating a thriller opening originally created from all aspects including music and concepts. Reviewing the final product we have made observations and made room for improvement and complementary additions to make the product even better than it is.

The technical quality of our work was extremely well executed and carried out. We used a high quality camera and tripod to secure the high definition image and to make sure we were able to capture the correct footage we wanted. Some shots included movement or zoom of what of what the scene entailed such as the scene whereby we used a BlackBerry mobile to show texts and messages that were a reoccurring theme to let the audience be involved, but we wanted to do it in a way that was progressive through shots.

The camera work was especially still and not shaky. However to catch the tension and ridged attitude we could of used a handheld camera which gives the shaky effect, this was a desire of the group. Alex, Lily and I thought the best was to create the tension was to use a high standard and execution of lighting to add extra tension and produce a strong and technical piece.

Framing of the piece was one of the most difficult part of the production as it was extremely difficult trying to create the right proportions in the room whilst trying to make the girl in the film look isolated. Whilst doing so, we as a group gained huge amount of experience in using lighting to acquaintance the space we had and to frame the “action” perfectly. This was hugely effective as the use of all of these elements helped us create something quiet confined in the frame. Also the close ups worked well, and made the girl feel unbelievably isolated and alone through the use of long shots and close ups.

Through the editing process we were allowed to be as creative as we felt, by mixing images, ideas and concepts, creating certain sequences and effects the helped the complimented intended mood of the sequence. For example the clock face fading into the clip of the girls face signifying her lack of time left on alive.

Editing and creating very good quality was of a high standard as we used Final Cut. On Final Cut we used many effects, reoccurring sequences and transitions. We carefully chose our transitions and tried to make sure that they weren’t tacky, but have a quirky effect to the footage. First of  we collected all the footage we had recorded then 'cut up' the footage into what we was going to use, and what we wasn't. we then chronologically put the scenes in order and using Final Cuts effects, we manged to create a huge impact just on the opening of the video. For the opening of the sequence we used a plain black and white effect. We thought this would be a great way in creating not only a viable contrast but a contrast of mood for the audience. We did this in comparison to a video named 'He Dies At The End' on YouTube, This also has a black and white colour theme, and has the use of technology sending messages to the character. On that being the computer, and on ours being the TV and a phone. Unlike 'He dies at the end' we only use tense music at certain times, for example, when the girl looks directly into the camera. During the process of the making of the opening sequence I believe our team worked well. Not only we did come together and present strong ideas when working as a group, but individually we split the work load well and all respected our deadlines, which helped the creating of this a lot easier than we thought it would be. I feel as though my strongest point on the project was doing more work than what I should of. I felt happy to do 'overtime' in the classroom in order to meet the deadlines and create quality work, which I believe and we believe as a team has paid off.

Animatics - Story Board

minutes

Risk Assessment

Legal & Ethical

Copyright is a set of exclusive rights granted to the author or creator of an original work, including the right to copy, distribute and adapt the work. Copyright does not protect ideas, only their expression. In most jurisdictions copyright arises upon fixation and does not need to be registered. Copyright owners have the exclusive statutory right to exercise control over copying and other exploitation of the works for a specific period of time, after which the work is said to enter the public domain. Uses covered under limitations and exceptions to copyright, such as fair use, do not require permission from the copyright owner. All other uses require permission. Copyright owners can license or permanently transfer or assign their exclusive rights to others.
For example - Sound recordings used in the Music Industry


12/12A Moderate physical and psychological threat may be permitted, provided disturbing sequences are not frequent or sustained. Although our film doesn't have any disturbing sequences if we were to carry he film on it would likely to involve factors of a certificate 12/12A.


Product placement, or embedded marketing, is a form of advertisement, where branded goods or services are placed in a context usually devoid of ads, such as movies, the story line of television shows, or news programs. The product placement is often not disclosed at the time that the good or service is featured. Product placement became common in the 1980s. In April 2006, Broadcasting reported, "Two thirds of advertisers employ 'branded entertainment'—product placement—with the vast majority of that (80%) in commercial TV programming." The story, based on a survey by the Association of National Advertisers, said "Reasons for using in-show plugs varied from 'stronger emotional connection' to better dovetailing with relevant content, to targeting a specific group."
The product placement that features in our opening thriller is a BlackBerry mobile phone.

Thriller Opening - Final Edit

Audience Feedback
Brett Harris
One thing I particularly liked in the "Unknown Number" thriller opening was the use of overlaying certain shots to build tension throughout the scene, the clock shots for example. I thought this worked well with sound of ticking and really build up suspense for me whilst I was watching it. I felt certain effects, ideas and concepts were that of industry standard, for example, when you see the messages appear on the screen, and then it appears fully on the video itself. It's the kind of thing the industry would use to keep attention of the audience and I felt it worked well in this piece.  The only negative I'd give for this opening would be the lack of human sounds and the fast titles. I feel short, sharpe breaths of the female would work well in building tensions, and the title marquees to run slower. I liked that the group didn't go over the top with this thriller opening and the controlled use of effects, movements and pace worked really well.

Treatment

Opening for a thriller by Alex, Lily and Paige

The first montage of ideas we thought of were from influences previous openings of thrillers, film music videos and TV shows. Unanimous as a group we have decided the opening must reflect a preview of the narrative or a idea into what the film would entail to gain audience attention. We have analyzed these examples to discover what worked for the and what lack within their approach to make ours seem a balanced mixture of aspects including sound, visuals, text and symbols. We have envisioned a perfect influence upon our opening sequence to be one of similarity to "He dies at the end".

We have decided to use an almost modernized view to the situation and use modern technology and the cause of the dilemma experienced by the female to show the revolving nature of life around the technology to eventually be the demise of the world. She as the innocent blonde girl is given a way out to escape. This almost offering a sneak peak to the viewers and therefore making them feel they want to see what happens, connect, understand and relate to her in order to go to see the full movie and to watch it through increasing sales and consumer interest and reaction.

We would use a mobile phone and TV interaction to communicate with the girl and warn her of the situation. Using a grey-scale effect upon the entire feature, we believe, adds class to the video and takes away any form of technological cover focusing on the intent of the footage and it's quality of shots and angles. Sound will be heavily focused upon to build tension and suspense throughout.

Jobs

Camera operator -
Camera operators film motion pictures, videos, television shows, and commercials. They are needed for documentary, industrial, educational, and feature productions. They usually work with a crew and do the shooting according to the cinematographers instructions. But they tend to be in charge of of all shooting, lighting, and, in some cases, directing, on lower budget jobs.


Focus Puller -
The focus pullers job is to maintain sharpness on whatever is being filmed. The focus puller will change the focus depending on the movement of the actors and camera and dialog.


Lighting Director -
A lighting director is in charge of all lighting on the set/stage. They have to coordinate the equipment and technical crew and assemble all of the lighting equipment. They are responsible for the security and transporting of the lighting equipment. They also have to be present for any rehearsals, to check the lighting.


Director of Photography -
A director of photography is more commonly known as a cinematographer. The director of photography is the head of the camera department and it's their job to capture the directors vision. The director tells the cinematographer what he or she wants in the shot and the director of photography determines how to create that shot.


Animator -
An animator creates a sequence of drawings/images, that when put together and played give the illusion of a moving image. There are three main types of animators, 2D animators, 3D model making animators and computer generating animators. Animators need to be artistic as the job is mainly about drawing, but also technical as they often need to use computer programs.


Stunt Person -
A stunt person is someone who will replace an actor for a part of filming when something dangerous, or something that requires a certain skill that the actor may not have, is needed for the scene.


Art Director -
The job of the art director is being in charge of what the advertisement looks like. To be an art director you must be very creative but also have a thorough understanding of typography, printing and photography.


Vision Mixer -
Vision mixers are technicians who work at a console in a gallery or studio control room. They are responsible for controlling the pictures viewers see on their television.


Sound Recordist-
Sound recordists record sound at a location or in a studio, usually at the same time as the camera, to make sure the highest quality real sounds is recorded at the time of filming/recording. The monitor the quality of the sound through headphones and work closely with the director.


Researcher -
A programme researcher provides support to the producer and production team. Researchers contribute ideas for programmes, source contacts and contributors and collect, verify and prepare information for film, television and radio productions.


Special Effects Make up Artists -
The job of the make up artist is to create the make up to fit the character or person being filmed. They must be creative and artistic, especially with special effects make up, because it involves a lot of imagination and skill to make it look realistic.


Composer -
The composers job is to write the music for the production. A composer can also write music for TV, films, adverts, computer games, plays and dances.


Location Manager -
Location managers are responsible for making all the practical arrangements necessary when filming or photographic shoots take place outside the studio. Productions are made in a wide range of places and location managers need to research, identify and organize appropriate sites.


Foley Editor -
The foley editor is the person responsible for effectively sequencing the sound effects on a film.

ADR dialogue editor -
An ADR dialogue editor is the person who is responsible for the editing of the spoken portion of a film. The original dialogue may need to be replaced due to malfunctions, poor takes or mistakes by the performer. The ADR editor allows the dialogue to be recorded, as many times as necessary, so that a quality version can be achieved.


Screenwriter -
The screenwriter is the person who writes the scripts for films.


Construction manager -
The construction manager is in charge of organizing, scheduling and directing equipment, material, and personnel in the film.


Casting director -
The Casting director is the person that auditions and helps choose all the speaking role actors in the film or television show.


Health and safety consultant -
The health and safety consultant is employed to address any safety concerns for the actors of anyone working on the film or television show.


Steadicam operator -
Steadicam Operators are responsible for the technical set up of the Steadicam system and for balancing the camera on it. A steadicam is a stabilizing mount for the camera to give a smooth shot, even when the camera is moving quickly or on uneven ground.


Grip -
Grips are lighting and rigging technicians in the film industries. They have two main functions. The first is to provide camera support, especially if the camera is mounted to a dolly, crane, or in an unusual position, such as the top of a ladder. The second main function of grips is to work closely with the electrical department to create lighting set-ups necessary for a shot.


Gaffer -
A gaffer is the person in charge of lighting on a film or television set. They use lighting fixtures, color filters, patterns, light modifiers and various methods of control and manipulation to create different lighting effects.

Animatic

Recce Shot's

Continuity Exercise

Unfortunately due to technical problems, by the time we wanted to upload our continuity exercise we couldn't find its whereabouts on the computer, when we finally did it was unable to upload to youtube or blogger. Therefore we took screenshots for evidence of our exercise.

After shooting a 60 seconds clip we come to realize how serious we needed to be about shooting our thriller. Although we did a comedy continuity we understood the skill we needed to created all the tension and atmosphere we needed to have a great thriller. 

Straight after we drew up a storyboard and asked permission for a tripod and a more technical camera. not only this we asked two media technician's in our college to help us with sufficient lighting tat they thought would give our thriller a great atmosphere. Our continuity exercise was basically a quick way of us getting to know how to use the camera and the editing software involved. 

Continuity Exersize

Planning Meeting 11/1/11

Story-line: After long discussions we have all come to an agreement that we wanted a slow thriller starting which would slowly create more and more tension. We came to the conclusion we want this as our storyline:


Someone sat in a room alone, and they receive texts of an unknown number asking random weird questions e.g. "are you alone" the person sat in the room becomes suspicious, as though someone is watching them (personnel yet unknown) as it goes on the persons heart beats faster, a lot of close ups used to see their facial expressions, but also lots of long shots to show how alone the person is.