Preliminary task - Using Story board

These are the two sequences that Hannah, Yixuan and myself came up with using the storyboard we were given. During the editing there were issues when we realised that we broke the 180 degree rule, but we managed to edit out the dodgy shots in order for the audience to follow the sequence with ease.

Everyone was given the same story board but it all depended on how the individual interpreted that story board with the environment we were set in.

Preliminary Task

For the preliminary task, we went up to the editing suite to see the three media teachers Matt, Matt and Mark who showed us a basic storyboard which involved different camera shots and dialogue.

We were then split up into three different groups and we would either film in the media suite, the studio or the media classroom. I worked with Hannah and YiXuan in the media classroom, but we all wanted to be on the camera so in order to get an actor and actress, we went up to the Private Study room and asked if anybody would like to film with us if they weren't too busy. Luckily one guy named Thomas was willing to help but none of the girls were available so Hannah offered to act instead.

When we went back to the classroom, we needed to figure out how we were going to set the room and the idea that we were going to use for the dialogue to work. As our first shot needed to be a wide shot, we needed to reset the room because all of the tables were clumped together and it was blocking the shot. We decide to clear all of the tables except for three. One table was used with the teachers chair as the main desk and the other two were just in front so that it gave the illusion of a full classroom.

After we set up the room, we made sure that the camera was level using the spirit level, set it up at the right height, focused the camera and white balanced the camera.

Once everything was in place and the camera was ready, we made sure that Thomas and Hannah knew their lines and set them up into positions which would have to be as close to the original image as possible.

Actual Coursework Task

Preliminary exercise: 

Continuity task involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule.

Main Task:

The titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes.

All video and audio material must be original, produced by the candidate(s), with the exception of music or audio effects from a copyright-free source. Both preliminary and main tasks may be done individually or as a group. Maximum four members to a group.

Final Cut Pro Experience

After filming our scene using the basic storyboard, we went back up to the editing suite to meet up with Matt so that he could show us how to use Final Cut Pro properly to make our scene flow.
As my group wanted to try editing themselves, we split up into two groups. Hannah by herself in one group and Yixuan and myself in the other. Matt told us that although we followed the storyboard structure to film the scene, we didn't need to follow it for the final product.
From the previous editing lesson, we had already learned how to zoom into our footage, cut and paste the footage using "I" and "O" and how to overlap the footage so that we could play sound over the top if we wanted to.

At the start, we chose to have a different type of shot depending on who was talking because we thought that it would look effective, but Matt later said that he didn't want us to keep changing shots because it made the footage choppy and hard for the audience to follow. Instead, he wanted us to use one shot for two or three lines so that the audience could see the reaction of the actor depending on what was being said to him/her. This made our scene flow more and gave it a sense of realism.
When showing Matt what we thought was our finished product, he was very quick to point out that we had crossed the 180 degree line. When choosing our shots, we had to switch the positioning of the actors against the storyboard because the door to the room was opposite to the storyboard's door. Although switching people around would have worked out, we forgot to carry this out into the other shots so to the audience, the characters kept swapping sides of the room.

We thought that we wouldn't be able to edit our scene because we crossed the 180 degree line, but luckily for us, we had filmed enough shots that we had moments where we didn't cross the line. With Matt's help, we were able to cut out the moments where we crossed the line and we just used less shots running over the lines.

This experience taught me how not to cross the 180 degree line and if I were to do the same again, I could now edit it in a way which makes it look decent. If I were to film again, I would make sure that I get more shots and from different angles so that we have enough footage to play with.

Ghost House Pictures Logo Design

Kyle Cooper has designed many title sequences, adverts and corporate logos, but my favourite one has to be for Ghost House Pictures. 

The reason why I like it so much is because of it's movement. As in a lot of films, we see the MGM lion appear after the film company is shown and we then get to see another association involved with the film. 

When Ghost House pictures was associated with MGM, the lion started to go a weird blue/grey colour and started to freeze and jolt about. We then see the skull, which starts off far away and moves towards us. The skull starts moving around in a very uncomfortable way as we can't keep track of the movement. It makes it hard for the audience to look at one place and so they look even harder to identify the logo, which is clever because it makes the audience remember the company name. 

I could also hear high pitched ghostly sounds and noises similar to when there is a signal interruption. These features all relate to the company as it is related with scary films, so not only do you know that a scary film is about to be shown, you also become slightly uneasy before the film even starts.

This is only one example of Cooper's work and his constant use of movement and special effects keeps the audience interested and is what makes him stand out as an individual      and one of the best graphical designers for decades.

Dawn of the Dead Opening Title Sequence

The Dawn of Dead opening title sequence is very disturbing and grabs the attention of the audience very quickly. It also doesn't give away any of the story. All it tells us is that something bad has gone wrong and it is affecting a huge part of the world.

The editing was very effective in this piece, especially the length of time each shot had because it made me feel panicky and uneasy. It started off with a disequilibrium and from that moment on, all of the shots that involved the zombies were very choppy and all we kept on seeing was a hint of blood and someone up close to the camera. They way in which the audience was left with a few split seconds of scary moments made the audience think about what they just saw. The other choppy moments involved DNA and bacteria as if they were mutating into something horrible. The credits themselves even added on to the effect because they were the colour of blood and the way the credits entered and left the shot was slow and creepy, which is seen a lot in Cooper's work as the images never stops moving.

The camera mainly stayed in one position which was a close-up, which achieved a lot because it forced the audience to look at the screen because it was hard to see what was going on as the atmosphere was chaotic. There were also a lot of wide shots which established the setting and portrayed the hectic behaviour to the audience as it showed crowds of people running around and there were a lot of news reports which reiterated that the issue is severe.

The sound was very scary because the sounds were all diegetic and the news reporters kept asking questions as they didn't know what was going on. The idea of being unclear of the situation was passed on to the audience from the quick camera shots and the sound of the zombies. We heard occasional screeches from the zombies which were very random and caught me by surprise each time which heightened the tension. The constant screaming from the crowds of people also got me worried and so I knew that the film was going to be crazy.

Everything in the shots were red and flashed on off the screen which gave the impression that there was going to be a lot of blood and violence. This made me feel disoriented and gave me the feeling that I was watching a real news report and the whole world was panicking.

Cooper's use of non-stop motion and quick chaotic action shots set the tone for the film and trapped the attention of the audience without giving anything away.

Kyle Cooper

Kyle Cooper is a director and designer of film title sequences. He holds an MFA in graphic design from the Yale School of Art, where he studied under graphic designer Paul Rand, as well as a BFA from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. In 1996, he co-founded and named creative agency Imaginary Forces. He has directed and produced more than 150 film title and VFX sequences, including "Se7en", "Spider-Man", and "The Mummy". In 2001, he directed a feature film, "New Port South". He moved on to found Prologue Films in 2003, with which he has created title sequences for "The Incredible Hulk", "Final Destination 5", and "The Walking Dead". In 2008, he was a finalist in the National Design Awards. He has earned five Emmy Award nominations and one win for his work on the 81st Annual Academy Awards. He also holds the title of Honorary Royal Designer for Industry from the Royal Society of Arts in London.