Final Daisys Diary

Contributions to the production

In lesson-
-Wrote the script
-Filmed the start of Daisys Diary (jesse walking to the bench and opening the diary)
-Made the soundtrack with Charlie
-Completed the last half of the stop motion on my own

Out of lesson-
- Did the first half of stop motion in lunchtime with Charlie
- Watched video clips on youtube to get ideas and got the final idea from juno

Progress report

        The planning and production i found have been quite efficient as the group planned in detail what we were going to do first so we were all clear as to what to do before we started filming, we also took on our seperate roles so we got things done quicker for example Jesse would be cutting out props and making a mind map whilst Charlie and I got on with the stop motion.
        A problem that we encountered was with the stop motion, once the lesson was finished we didnt know how we were going to pick it up from the same point with ease in the following lesson. We sorted this problem by making daisy go off the screen at the end of one lesson and so the following lesson we could start her from a whole new place, this made this a lot simpler.
        The plan for after half term is to complete the final part of the stop mortion, edit the recording and the stop motion together and complete the soundtrack.
        The main priority is to make sure the soundtrack is done by the deadline and fits with the film, another priority is to finish the stop motion as this is going to take the longest time during the whole production.
        We will edit the video in the order that it will be played and add the titles where we think will fit best once we have created the main bulk of the opening sequence this will help us to get the right feel of where the titles will look best. Finally we will make the sound track, this will be done last as we do not know the length oth the pening sequence and also we can fit the music and all its different parts and changes to the changes in the opening sequence so it will fit with it as best as possible.
       Overall i think our group is completing this and making good progress for it to be completed by the deadline.  

Children's film

Definition of a children's film - ''A children's film is a film aimed for children as its audience. As opposed to a family film, no special effort is made to make the film attractive for other audiences. The film may or may not be about children.'' wikipedia 


Certification

• U films should be suitable for audiences aged four years and over. If there is any violence, threat or horror in a U film, it should be over quickly and the film should tell children that everything will turn out okay. Films and DVDs for children should make clear to them the difference between right and wrong. http://www.cbbfc.co.uk/guidelines.asp#u
• Children of any age may watch a PG rated film or DVD, with or without an adult. A 'PG' film should not trouble or worry a child aged eight or older. However the PG does tell parents that the content of the film may upset younger or more sensitive children. http://www.cbbfc.co.uk/guidelines.asp#pg

Contributions to the production process.

• As a group decided on the script and name for our film
• As a group we decided how we were going to go about filming and editing before we started the filming etc.
• Decided on what I had to do in the opening E.g. sitting by myself-sad, then get out the diary etc.
• I was filmed as the main character(Daisy) and I had to act out the first few minutes of our opening
• I was then photographed walking for our stop-motion sequence
• Drew, coloured and cut out some on the images and props used for the stop-motion.

 

Target Audience

The target audience for our childrens film will be young boys and girls aged around 5-14. It may be preffered by girls as the main character is a young girl, who the audience may be able to relate too as it shows her life and how she deals with situations and also how she escapes to her own world. Almost like a fantasy, which will appeal greatly to young girls.

Our film will be a PG therefore it will be suitable for parents to watch as well, it is light hearted so it would be ideal for families to go and see together- In order to appeal to parents as well as children the film will include some adult humour but it will be appropriate for young children to see/hear as well. This attracts a wider audience and more money will be made. It is essential that our film attracts our target audience in order to sell cinema tickets etc.

Contributions to the production process

In lesson:

• Made the 'Daisys diary' front cover
• Wrote the script
• Drew the storyboard
• Wrote the storyboard
• Took pictures of main character Daisy (Jesse) so we could use her in the stop motion sequence
• Did the stop motion work in lesson with Hannah

Out of lesson

• Drew and coloured the background setting for stop motion
• Found, printed and cut all images and props for stop motion
• Wrote all links for images found on the Internet on blog 
• Did the stop motion work in lunch with Hannah
• Saved the pictures of Jesse that we used in stop motion on memory stick, sized and edited them on computer, printed them and cut them out

Marketing Criteria - self assessment

Planning (20 marks)
Research - existing/similar products and target audience
Organisation of actors, locations, costumes and props
Work on shortlist, layout, drafting, scripting and story-boarding
Time management
Use of appropriate digital - Technology and ICT

Levels - Minimal 0-7, Basic 8-11, Proficient 12-15, Excellent 16-20

We have successfully planned our children's film opening, covering points such as research by watching existing film openings aimed at the same target audience. Our organisation has been good as well as our time management, although using stop motion is taking a long time, therefore me and Hannah did some work in our lunch to catch up and make sure we weren't falling behind. We have used digital technology well, we have done some camera work as well as using stop motion so we have a mix of both technologies. To improve in this area we need to develop our storyboard to a better level (drawings and info) and also write up the script to our blog.

Video (60 marks)

• holding a shot steady where appropriate
• framing a shot including elements as appropriate
• using a variety of shot distances as appropriate
• shooting material appropriate for the task
• selecting mise on scene (colour, figure, lighting, objects and setting)
• editing so the meaning is apparent to the viewer
• using varied shot transitions and effects selectively & appropriately
• using sound, editing and images appropriately
• using titles appropriately 
• appropriate opening for target audience and content of story

Levels - minimal 0-23, basic 24-35, proficient 36-47, excellent 48-60

I think we have covered all these points to a sound level, our opening is appropriate and well made, we haven't started editing yet therefore we haven't covered that point. 

Evaluation (20 marks)

• understanding of forms and conventions in the product
• understanding of the role of the new media in various stages of production
• understanding of combinations of main and accilary texts
• understanding of significance of audience feedback
• skill in form of presentation in the evaluation - Powerpoint, audio and visual. (no essays)
• ability to communicate 
• use of digital technology and ICT

Levels - minimal 0-7, basic 8-11, proficient 12-15, excellent 16-20

We have not yet done our evaluation.

BBFC

In this lesson we watched bits from different childrens film and compared things like language to the BBFC clasifications of a U and a PG to guess what clasification the film was.
The clips we watched were:
-Harry potter
-UP
-Home alone
-Watership down

I guessed that Harry potter was a PG, UP was a U and home alone was a PG. PG is allowed mild bad language and both Home alone and Harry Potter use mild bad language. I thought Watership down was a PG because of all of the violence and it was slightly scary, it was a U. This suprised me as it had the BBFC factors of a PG and i thought that the clip that we watched would scare little children.

Production of the stop motion part of the opening sequence.

Homework

In class we watched the opening sequence of the film 'Back to the future'. We wrote notes on everything we could see and hear e.g. shot types, sound effects etc. We then put it all into a story board.


These were the notes I wrote down when watching the opening sequence:


- Movie title 'Back to the Future moves in from the right, to the middle of the shot.
- Tracking shot of lots of different clocks, moving from right to left.(Ticking noises)
- The tracking shot continues going downwards, showing a framed news paper article, Camera then zooms out.
- Tracking shot continues of radio and tv.
- Tracking shot continues left to toaster-(sound of toast popping up)
- The camera moves left slowly as the dog food falls into the bowl, the camera then follows the food as it drops.
- Camera moves up and then shows a shot of a boys feet walking through the door- boy says "hey doc"
- Camera follows the feet as the boy walks, only showing bottom half.
-Boys skateboard rolls and knocks into a box saying "plutonium"- close up shot.
- Close up of the boy turning up the volume, close up of dial being turned up (machinery sounds)
- Close up of boy plugging in cables/wires.


After writing these notes me and my group then put it onto a storyboard.


Doing this task helped me think about all the little things I need to take into consideration when making the opening sequence of a childrens film. Also how storyboarding is very importing before you start filming so you know how each shot will go into the next one. Also how sounds play a key role in creating a atmosphere in the film.


BBFC.
In this lesson we watched a variety of different clips from childrens films, we had to annalyse the clip, listening to the dialogue and watching the characters closely. We then had to guess what classification the film was. (U or PG).


We watched clips from the films:


Harry Potter(PG), Up(U), Home Alone(PG) and Water ship down(U).


I wasn't suprised by any of the classifications of the films, apart from Water ship down, as it was very voilent for a U e.g. it had lots of blood and fighting. I feel it could be very frightening to a child and should not be a U.


This lesson helped me to take into consideration the 'guidelines' of what a U or a PG should include. Therefore when it comes to filming our childrens film opening we will be able to give it an accurate classification.

Homework

Back To The Future
storyboard notes
- Back to the future title moves from the right to the middle of the shot
- Tracking shot of clocks, tracking right (ticking sounds)
- Continuous tracking shot of framed news paper article - camera zooms out
- Tracking shot (right) of Radio and TV - camera zooms in on the news reader
- Tracks left to toaster (sound of toast popping up)
- Camera moves left slowly while the dog food falls in bowl, camera follows the food falling downwards
- 1st cut of tracking shots, Low long shot of dog bowl
- Camera moves upwards
- Shot of feet walking through the door ''hey doc''
- Camera follows boy walking
- Close up of Boy turning on machinery, close up of dial being turned up (machinery sounds)
- Close up of plug ins
- Close up of guitar
- Long shot, High angle of the boy standing in the room

We watched the first few minutes of Back To The Future and took notes about the shot types that were used. This task helped me notice how a variety of shots can be used in such a short space of time in a sequence opening. Furthermore it helped me to understand the types of information that need to be included while creating a storyboard.

BBFC
In one media lesson we learnt about the BBFC. We watched several film clips and used the guidelines to estimate if we thought the film classification was U or PG.
Harry Potter - PG
Up - U
Home Alone - PG
Water ship Down - U
In our group we guessed all of the film clips with the right classification apart from Water-Ship Down, we thought this film was very violent and child unfriendly in parts - however this film is older than the others, so it shows how classifications have changed over time.

Link for classification U http://www.bbfc.co.uk/classification/guidelines/u/
Link for classification PG http://www.bbfc.co.uk/classification/guidelines/pg/

Inspiration


I liked the opening of the children's TV show Arthur as it is a very good example of stop motion. The shots are not jolted and the sequence runs very smoothly. I find this example is extremely child friendly and engaging to younger viewers:
- Bright and colourful - gives off a happy vibe and atmosphere
- Shows the main characters family
- Involoves animals e.g. Arthurs dog - This can teach children and help them understand animals
- Happy and catchy theme tune
- Settings are modern and set a good example - e.g. clean streets, pretty houses, friendly people

Back to the future

-Title coming in sideways -Tracking shot (horizontal) showing all the different alarm clocks
-Camera stops at newspaper print
-Camera then travels down (tilt) to pictures of old people
-Then moves onto empty bed and a really messy room
-Camera carries on tracking showing clocks and mess
-Camera stops at t.v
-T.v turns on
-Shows the news of stolen plutonium
-Camera carries on tracking
-Stops again at burning toast
-Camera carries on tracking to a machine opening dog food (machine looks home made so this house might belong to an inventor)
-The first cut in the camera goes low to a door opening and someones feet
-Camera follows boys skateboard showing the stolen plutonium
-Someones hands tuning loads of knobs (close up)

In this lesson we analysed the opening sequence of back to the future, this helped me notice all of the little things that are going on in the film and why they are being done. This will help in the coursework because it will make me think about all of the little details that will have an impact on the viewer and how they see the film.

storyboard

Mise-en-scene

Props:

-diary

-cartoon pictures

-cartoon background

-bench

Costume:

- Daisy wearing bright colours to be eye catching towards young children. 

Colour:

-use of bright colours to attract the attention of the viewers to give of a happy atmosphere e.g. reds, blues, greens.

Lighting:

-The lighting will need to be the same for every shot we do in the stop motion.

-We will use natural lighting for the outside filming.

Camerawork:

-we will be using a variety of different shots including

     -longshots

     -over shoulder

     -close ups

     -stop motion

Sound:

There will be no speech and only music which we will produce on garage band.

Editing:

All of our stop motion images will be edited on different programmes such as final cut express.

Special effects:

The only special effects we are using is stop motion.

Props

This is a picture of our props we are going to use in the cartoon background in the stop motion part of the film. We got these images off the internet:

House - http://blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php?183024-I-need-help-modeling-the-roof-of-a-house

Dog - http://www.drawinghowtodraw.com/stepbystepdrawinglessons/2009/10/how-to-draw-cartoon-dogs-step-by-step-drawing-tutorial-for-kids/

Ice cream van - http://www.fotosearch.com/photos-images/ice-cream-seller.html

Cow - http://www.free-clipart-pictures.net/cartoon_clipart.html

Pig- http://www.graphicsfactory.com/search/pig_P1.html

Clouds - http://www.tutorialcreme.com/view/cartoon-clouds

Mum & Dad figures - http://www.how-to-draw-funny-cartoons.com/cartoon-dad.html

Trees - http://www.drawingcoach.com/cartoon-tree.html

Castle - http://www.freeiconsweb.com/Free-Downloads.asp?id=1031

People - http://dakilangalitaptap.com/note-to-self

Football - http://www.footiewallpapers.com/cartoon-style-soccer-football

Kite - http://blog.chobots.com/2010/10/new-video-contest-horror.html

Hot air balloon - http://www.easyvectors.com/browse/other/85292d2eafaf0b69d84c6deeba49b00d-maidis-vertical-striped-hot-air-balloons-clip-art

Balloon - http://www.clker.com/clipart-13473.html

juno opening sequence

This inspired our ideas for out childrens film sequence with the use of stop motion and the cartoon backgrounds.

Childrens film analysis homework

childrens film analysis homework

Childrens film analysis homework

Childrens film analysis homework

Children's film ideas:

Music

- Happy and cheerful (This will help to show the genre, it will also grab the target markets attention. )

- Magical 

- Sci-fi (This could be an adventure, out of this world film such as spy kids)

- Mysterious (Not scary but unrealistic cheerful horror e.g nightmare before christmas)

For our childrens film our favourite option is happy and cheerful music. This is because it will grab out target market straight away and it gives the right kind of atmosphere for the type of film we are going to make. 

Themes

-Love

-Revenge

-Jealousy 

-Loss

For our children's film the option that we like best is 'love', this would be good for a childrens film because it will influence the younger viewers in a good way.

Character

-Villan

-Hero

-Animals

-Fantasy characters (E.g. Fairies)

-Donor

-Helper

-Princess --> her father

-Dispatcher

In our film we will use a range of characters, their personalities and who they are, will be shown through the use of objects and actions.

U or PG?

We are going to do a PG, this will give us a wider range of actions and things that we are aloud to do. 

Narrative

No narrative in the opening sequence. 

PG film analysis.

Our first attempt at a story board, for the opening sequence of 'back to the future', wasn't completed but is clear to what it is meant to say with lots of detail in description. This task will help us when it comes to storyboarding our childrens film because we know what kind of approach to take also what kind of things we will need to include.