How we found filming

Our first day filming was extremely fun and exciting!
The first day went really well and we managed to meet all our targets and finish filming before we expected.
One of the things we found hard at first was controlling our laughter as we were getting used to filming,we had to redo scenes many times to make sure we make it as realistic as possible.

We started of the day by collecting the equipment needed to film our opening scene of trapped,followed by sitting down as a group and going over everything we plan to do within the 3 hours we had.We did this to make sure we didn't waste any valuable time.

Problems we faced:

• One of the problems we faced was that we needed someone to film for us as all three of us from our group were apart of the film therefore we couldn't film.We resolved this issue immediately by bringing in one of Jakir's friends who kindly offered to film for us as he is also a media student.

• The second problem we faced was finding a suitable block of flats to film our opening in,we started off by going inside a flat however we were told we are not allowed access to the building due to it being a private area.On our second attempt to find a block of flats we were successful as we found a better than imagined block of council flats which were perfect and exactly what we were looking for.

Positives:

• We used different angle shots such as close medium-sized shots,long shots.
• The block was free to use and did not have any security restrictions
• We had tons of fun!!!

Filming Day 1

"TRAPPED" - FILMING PROGRESS

As we had a small group of 3, we thought it would be a good idea to get a friend help us with the filming, therefore Jakir asked one of his friend Akbar to help us throughout the day. We started off to look for a block of flats our first attempt to find a flat failed as the security guard said we wasnt allowed on private property. We walked further down the street and came across a urban estate much to our liking; in which we used to do our filming.

We set up the equpitment and positioned the camera at the angle we thought would be suitable for filming the entire building - zooming in from the name of the building and zooming out onwards to show the entire building. We then used our storyboard to help us film each of the sections accordingly to plan, so we wouldn't miss out a scene or skip a scene. The parts that were needed to be filmed outside were all done, However the bits inside the house that still needs to be filmed yet needs to be done, which we are aiming to do next lesson or during the holidays. We all took it in turns shooting the different scenes as well as putting our ideas foward if our intial idea didn't work.  A lot of team effort

• This image is of Thahmina shooting the scene where I leave my house and walk towards the lifts

• This image is of Thahmina and Jakir trying to work out what bit of the building we wanted to shoot, we both decided that using the camera we would get a clear shot of the building name and estate to portray the area our characters are from. The hood they belong in.

We were not be disturbing outside (loud) as we respected the residents who lived in the building. We worked really hard in creating a legitmate portayal of urban students in the morning. We had easy access in and out of the building as the lifts were located outside of the block of flats, so we did not have to disturb people inside their homes. As a team, we all worked really well, as well as having fun whilst doing the hardwork.

• Thahmina and Akbar just having a bit of fun behind the scenes. Taking a quick little break to refresh and regain energy in order to shoot some more excellent scenes. We had fun whilst shooting to make it more entertaining and not too serious otherwise we wouldn't be in a good mood for recording. Having jokes lifted up our sprits in wanting to get the work done.

Filming parts of the opening for our movie 'Trapped' was so far, my favourite part of the process of creating our own opening for a movie. We started the day preparing all our equipment, costumes and props and we set off to our location which was just down the road from the college. As all three of our group members were going to act in the opening scene, we decided to take along with us one of Jakir's friends, Akbar. He is also a media student which was an advantage for us because it meant that he was familiar with how to use a camera and how to capture shots in different camera angles. 

We found an estate in Angel where they had plenty of council flats which were open and free for us to use for filming. We felt this location was perfect for us because it gave an urban/street atmosphere and it is also where we expect youths to hang around. 

We started off by filming the block of flats and the building name, street name, and buses to set the scene before the opening started introducing characters. We then went on to filming the characters coming out their houses and into the lift into which they would get stuck in. We tried to use lots of different camera angles to create a seamless effect for when we edit the film. 

• Thahmina with the Camera getting the perfect angle to record Jakirs Scene coming through the red doors of the building

• Nadia and Jakir figuring out which place would be best to postiton the camera in order to capture the perfect shot

Problems we faced during filming:

We faced a number of problems during filming which created problems for us resulting in us having to take several retakes on one shot.

• The lift kept opening and closing during shots which disturbed the filming
• As it was a time where the public would be at work and school, we were only disturbed once by someone who needed to use the lift
• We had to move equipment between three floors which was tiring 
• It was difficult to capture scenes from inside the lift while the doors were shut because it was so small

Highlights of filming:

Our group a lot of fun during filming as we had lots of scenes where we could not hold our laughter and had to shoot them several times until we got it right. 

Overall, today was a very productive day and I enjoyed todays filming session and can't wait to film some more and start editing it using final cut pro. All the scenes that needed to be filmed outside has been completed.

The Team!



Research on teenagers that reflect our characters in Trapped

                                                            Research

The bad boy/popular boy:

• The person every boy wants to be
• Gets all the women
• Never does homework
• Bullies the nerds
• Cool

 The popular girl:

• Wears all the latest designer clothes
• Gets all the boys 
• Bullies the nerds
• Intelligent
• Good looking

The nerd:

• Always getting bullied
• Always gets top grades
• Uncool
• Always does homework
• Ugly

Storyboard update

Here is our updates storyboard. We have circled the scenes we have filmed on day 1 so we can see which ones are still left to film on day 2.

Progress on filming

                              FILMING TRAPPED

We started of the day by collecting the equipment needed to film our opening scene of trapped,followed by sitting down as a group and going over everything we plan to do within the 3 hours we had.We did this to make sure we didn't waste any valuable time.

Problems we faced:

• One of the problems we faced was that we needed someone to film for us as all three of us from our group were apart of the film therefore we couldn't film.We resolved this issue immediately by bringing in one of my friends who kindly offered to film for us.

• The second problem we faced was finding a suitable block of flats to film our opening in,we started off by going inside a flat however we were told we are not allowed access to the building due to it being a private area.On our second attempt to find a block of flats we were successful as we found a better than imagined block of council flats which were perfect and exactly what we were looking for.

positives:

• We used different angle shots such as close medium-sized shots,long shots.
• The flats were empty so we didnt experience any problems.
  

Plan timetable for Monday 10th February 2014

Our plan for Monday (tomorrow) is to try and film all of the scenes that do not include our bedrooms. We will film our bedroom scenes during the half term holiday as we will have more time to plan things out.

After creating the storyboard, we discovered that there will be scenes in which all three of our group members will participate in. Jakir asked his friend to help us film these scenes and he kindly agreed to help us out, so therefore he will also be joining us in filming tomorrow. 

What do we need to film?

• The Green Road Signs
• Buses and Roads 
• Anything else that will give a London feel to set the scene
• Street Name 
• Block of flats with the name of the Building
• Each characters door numbers
• Each character coming out of their doors
• Floor Levels (Level 3)
• Each character pressing the lift and getting inside
• All three characters inside the lift and getting stuck. 

If we have time...

• We will film a scene of Maya sitting on the toilet eating lunch to show how lonely she was in her previous school. 
• Get shots of an asian  group from the hall
• Get shots of a black group from the hall
• Get shots of a nerd group from the hall
• Get shots of an unsociable girl 
• Get shots of smokers from the college

We must make sure that we use different camera angle shots for each scene to show skill and to also make our film opening more interesting. 

I am very excited to film tomorrow because as a group, we always have fun with whatever task we are given, so I am looking forward to filming the real thing now!

My Progress

PROGRESS SO FAR

Since joining this new class for media, I have learnt a heep load of skills and techniques from peers as well as the teachers. Such things including:

• how to use the equpitment - i.e camera, camcorda, open up a stand, incerting memory cards etc
• how to use blogger regularly whilst adding videos and images
• final cut pro to edit all our footage
• prezi to create a presentation
• finally creative commons for choosing sounds

 

 

At first when using the blogger I found it difficult to get the hang on, as there are so many elements to it. It looked quite confusing therefore I wasn't really into it. However, the more and more I started using blogger I began to enjoy it, as I learnt how to add the multimedia of inserting videos and images from my documents or all straight from youtube and google images! My first attempt at the post was very dull and boring as there wasn't enough detail written in my post or on some occasions I didn't know what to write. Now that I have gotten use to the blogger, I find it enjoyable and easy to use as it is less time consuming and easy to access. I sort of have began treating it as a diary where I post all my ideas and see my progress throughout the film making. It is also very useful as we can do group blogs and everybody is entitled to their thoughts and ideas which can be recored on the blogger and none of our work will be lost.

 

 

 

I had never known about Prezi until it was introduced to me during lesson. The only presentational software I was most familiar with was using Microsoft Powerpoint. Although this was perfectly ok to use to present ideas, I felt that Prezi was a much more professional way of presenting. I did at first find it quite confusing to use however I got the hang of it quickly with the help of my group. Prezi allowed me to desgin my own template/theme also adding or deleting slides very similar aspects to Powerpoint, however Prezi seemed more moderned and interesting to use as well as look at. It was very convient to embed onto the blogger and ready to be presented when needed.

 

 

 

Final Cut Pro was a challenge for me as I struggled quite abit with it, as there were so many buttons or options on it that I didn't know where to begin. Once I had enough practise with final cut pro I was able to use it knowing where certain files went and where kept on the software. I played around a little with the sofeware just to get a jist of what it would be like working with it as this is the edit software that I would be using to edit my film opening. I have been able to so far with the software: make sound fade, add transitions, add text, cut music, cut scenes, zoom in and out of footage and slow down scenes. It is very proffesional which makes the end result of the film spatcular to watch and knowing we did it all by ourselves gives me a sense of accomplishment and relief. It can be fustrating at time to use, however it isnt very much time consuming.

 

 





 

 

Creative commons is a website in which faciliates copyright free music most of the time. This is very easy to use, by searching one word on it, it offers a variety of music to work from. It is fast which is really good and it can be catered to our needs.

 

What we did to ensure the pitch went smoothly

To make sure our pitch went smoothly we divided the tasks that need to be done between us.We individually had 4 slides to do each.After we completed our tasks we helped each other by adding on more information to the slides.

Feedback from Pitch

PITCH

From our pitch on Monday 3rd February 2014, the feedback and response we got was overall good.

We were praised for having strong ideas for example about having the 3 different characters shown how they get ready in the morning, how their lifestyles vary and all suddenly end up being stuck in a lift. Also from the feedback some of the class members liked our idea of how these three young individuals meet unexpectedly after living in the same estate building all their lifes, it was evident in our themes as we mentioned our sub genres are teen movies combined with thriller.

One of the concerns from the feedback which was pointed out was that the soundtrack we had used for two of our characters are copyright music, therefore we would need to change them. Hence we have two options to other find copyright free music or make the sound ourselves. Also another concern was about the building we are using whether it would be difficult to find a building around islington and suitable for filming our opening sequence.

However, majorty of our pitch went well as we had all the slides which needed to be prestend for our pitch. It was easy for my group to adjust and adapt to the critizem given as we all came up with ideas immedently how to improve them.

Introducing the characters

The opening of our movie is about three teenagers called Trevor,Maya and Cassie. These three young teenagers have never met before and the opening shows the different lifestyle each character has.To do this we decided to show how each character wakes up in the morning.

Trevor:
Trevor is the type of teenager that is popular amongst fellow students.His daily routine of waking up involves smoking before even getting out of bed,being woke up by his worried mother who makes sure he doesn't get into trouble.Trevor has never had a father figure in his life so its easier to understand why he acts the way he does.He is from a poor area and lives in a block of flats.He is not worried about starting college as he is confident he will make friends straight away.

Maya;
Maya is a previously bullied student who wakes up organising her books for college,getting dressed,talking to herself.She is part of the unpopular group within her school and is looking forward to college life.To portray her as unpopular we decided to show flashbacks of Maya in school and the things she did,an example is she ate her lunch in the toilets.We hear her talk about how she is looking forward to college life and hopes she can just fit in with everyone else.Like Trevor she is from a poor background and lives in the same block of flats as Trevor.

Cassie:
Cassie is a little like Trevor she is overly confident and leads the popular groups wherever she goes.She is a beautiful girl who comes from a poor background however doesn't let others see that by wearing designer clothing and carrying designer bags which she works for herself. Another similarity she shares with Trevor is that she isn't frightened about going to college and having to make new friends.

Coming up with the ideas for Trapped

Coming up with the ideas for Trapped
Coming up with ideas for our opening of a teen film was more difficult than we thought.Our plan was to come up with something unique and interesting which would make our audience want to know what happens next.

We wanted to create something that our audience can relate to,this is because it would be easier for them to understand the clip.

We decided to call our film "Entwined" however we changed that to "Twisted" due to Entwined meaning twist together however that didn't really go well with what our film is about.The title Trapped however matches with our film as the three characters in our film meet unexpectedly and are forced to spend more time with each other than they would like to.The reason Trapped goes well with our film is because later on in the film the characters have to lie for each other,getting themselves into more trouble in the long run and adding on to the list of wrong things they have doe,they eventually reach a dead end and are caught.

Risk Assessment For Trapped

Lifts 

We need to make sure that the lifts are not in use at the times of filming because it would disturb the scenes so we could put up a please do not use sign on the lifts we are using to prevent people from using it. If we do not use the school lifts we will need to make sure that we always allow people to use the lifts as it is their property and they have more of a priority than we do in using it.

Hazards 

It would be dangerous if we left equipment lying around unsupervised as people could trip and fall over them which would not only affect the person but it could also damage the equipment too so all equipment being used should be kept safe and supervised.
We also need to make sure that we keep all the equipment safe and return all the equipment we took with us for filming. If equipment is lost, not only will we have to pay for new ones, but we could also lose all of our work and have to start tasks all over again.

Preventing Lost Work 

We should always make sure that we save our work frequently during editing and blogging as it could be the case that the computer has technical faults and if the file is not saved it is a possibility that the work could be lost.
Also, we should keep all equipment safe so we do not lose files that could be important to our project.

My Progress so Far

Blogs!

When I first started using Blogger, I found it difficult to use and I struggled to know what to write in it. At one point, I was stuck on how to log into it. My first blog posts were very boring and they did not have enough detail in them. As time went on, I started learning how to make blogs more interesting by adding multimedia in each post. I even started learning how to embed presentations from websites and putting in videos straight from Youtube! I find it really fun to use now and I treat it like a diary of my progress throughout film making. It is also fun because we can do blogs together as a group which allows everyone to put in their own ideas which makes things less time consuming.

Presentations!

The only presentation software I was familiar with using was Microsoft PowerPoint. Although this was perfectly okay to use to present ideas, I learnt how to use a website that created even more professional looking presentations. Marisa introduced us to 'Prezi' which made presentations appear fun and alot more interesting to people watching it. Prezi allows you to design your own template or use a ready made template and then add in your own slides. It is very similar to Powerpoint, but it looks alot more modern and you can place different slides anywhere you want on the page so it would travel across the page to the next slide instead of changing through transitions. Also, it is very easy to embed your Prezi presentations into Blogger which was convenient because it would make our blog posts a lot more interesting.

Final Cut Pro

Final Cut Pro was such a big struggle for me to use in the beginning because it had so many different buttons for so many different things which confused me a lot. However, as the filming days went on, I had a lot of practice with using it and knowing where certain files went on the software. Final Cut Pro is very fun to use but it is also very time consuming which can get tiring at times. I have learnt to make sound fade away into the next sound file, how to use transitions, how to cut sound, and how to add credits. The software is very modern and professional which makes the end result of tasks a great joy to watch. My favourite thing to do in the software is adjusting the sound and speeding/slowing down scenes. 

How we Communicate

So far as a group, we only see each other in college. We decided to exchange numbers and create a group chat on Whatsapp so that we could communicate with each other outside of lessons.

This is a good way to communicate because it allows us to help each other keep up to date with tasks if one of the group members did not attend a media lesson. It is also good because we can exchange pictures that are needed for particular tasks without having to meet up to do it. Also, the group chat is good because we can all contribute our ideas and help eachother improve blog posts and presentations. Finally, it is good because we can arrange meeting up with each other if we needed to do filming outside the college. 

Trapped Storyboard (Brief)

We decided to use a storyboard to help us film the opening of Trapped. We did this because it helped us when we were filming our prelims as we knew exactly what we had to film. This is a brief storyboard with descriptions of the scenes so we know how to shoot different scenes.

Checklist For Filming on Monday 10th February 2014

Here is a checklist of the props and costumes we will need to use on Monday 10th February 2014.
Because we wont be filming all the scenes on Monday we will only need what is necessary for the shots we will be filming.
We will be filming scenes in the block of flats and we will be using the lifts.

CHECKLIST!

For Maya (Nadia) we will need:

• A hoody/jumper/jacket
• Plain blue jeans
• A folder
• School bag/rucksack
• Plain black shoes
• Glasses
• College ID
• Tie
• Shirt

For Trevor (Jakir) we will need:

• A hoody
• A chain
• Jeans
• Shoes
• College ID
• College Bag
• A Fresh Haircut

For Cassie (Thahmina) We will need:

• Designer Bag
• Designer shoes
• Printed Trousers 
• White top
• Watch
• Jacket

Here is some screenshots of our whatsapp conversations the night before filming!

Overview on progress being made in media studies

Learning to use applications

At the start of media studies i was not making my blog posts interesting by adding pictures and using different application,however now i have started adding on pictures to my blog posts which make them more attractive and fun to read.One of the main improvements i have started making is using other applications to make my work easier and better,an example of this is prezzi which we used to do our pitch on.Using prezzi to do presentations makes life much easier as you can add on different types of effects as well as making your presentation colourful and attractive.

Another application which i have become quite good at is Final cut pro.It is a application that allows you to edit videos and has features for you to use such as slow motion,cutting footage that isn't needed and effects.

Risk Assesment for Trapped

                                        Risk assesment

While we are working on the project of creating an opening for our teen film there are things we must do to ensure everything goes smoothly and everybody is safe.Below is a Risk Assessment created to make sure things run smoothly for our group: