Final Review

The preliminary task could have gone better, it looked very rough and it didn't flow very well. It did feature all the shots required but the camera work could have been a lot better, as it was quite jolty. We needed to plan out the sequence in more detail, instead of doing it spontaneously as it would make the film succinct and flow better.The dialogue was drowned out by people outside so it was difficult to understand. The actual room we filmed in was good, as it looked like an office, with a computer and desk which was ideal. However the surroundings ruined the dialogue, as we filmed right by a automatic door, where people would walk in and out all the time. Furthermore, the position of the room made it difficult to film both people in the room at the same time. Overall, for a first time filming, it was a decent effort, but needed improving in various areas such as dialogue to make it understandable and entertaining for the audience.

We made sure we had a definite plan for our children's film to avoid confusion and to communicate the action to the audience. We decided to use IStop Motion to film, this was very time consuming and required lots of retakes and cutting to get it running smoothly. We used lego characters and buildings to create the backdrop for our sequence. We wanted to create the feel of a busy american city and although the location looked good, we could have included more buildings and characters to create the full effect. Learning from our mistakes on the Preliminary task, the filming was much better, the angle shots worked very well, and we used a variety of close ups and zooms. However, it was still a little shaky. We edited using Final Cut Express, this worked very well and made the sequence run smoothly, this was a plus point highlighted in the peer review. We also used Garage Band to create the music, as there was no voice overs, the music made the film more entertaining, which otherwise would have been boring to watch. It also was very appropriate to the genre of the film, which was action, as it helped to build up the tension at the beginning. Which made this film a PG. Since we had to rebuild each building every time, this consumed a lot of our time, which was otherwise spent on filming and editing. This made us run out of time to add voiceovers, which limited the understanding of the film and made the action very dull.

Story Boards Immortal Man Strikes Back

These are our children's film story boards for our film Immortal Man Strikes Back

Self Assessment

There was a clear lack of dialogue in the sequence and this was highlighted by all the other groups. If we had more time, the ideal thing would be to have the music at the beginning and at the end. As well as dialogue between the characters because we felt the storyline was good but the lack of dialogue made it difficult to understand.

Peer Feedback

1. Conventions of an opening sequence ?

•  liked the screwed up paper idea
• characters names were clearly stated
• good animation, although we didn't understand the plot or storyline
• no dialogue
• the animation and credits were awesome, not sure what's going on however

2. Specific Genre Conventions ?

• Action - fights ?

3. Variety and quality of camera work ?

• Camera work was a bit sketchy, however the angles were good.
• good use of angles, not jumpy
• good shots, e.g long shot/short shot
• great camera work

4. Use of special effects ?

• stop motion animation

5. Sound = quality and effectiveness ?

• We liked the music, could have had more music through the whole sequence
• music was good at start, but should have used it all the way through or included speech.
• music was good at the start, but then it was quiet and got confusing. 
• more sound, start was geared up but there was a lack of sound afterwards
• good music at the start, needs more sound effect/voice-overs

6. Use of mise en scene ?

• different buildings
• paper prop
• good set

7. Editing ?

• flowed quite well from one bit to the next
• flowed well, the writing on the paper could have been clearer

8. Best Features

• Music 
• the credits (screwed up paper)
• flow of the lego characters

Childrens Film Voice Over Script

                       (Inside the Bank)
Victor: Robin you open the volt
Victor: Luigi  go outside and keep guard
Red: What are you going doing boss?
Victor: I am going to sit down and relax to watch us become rich
                     (Running Out Of Bank)
Victor: Robin you clumsey fool. I Should have never ginen you the responsibility to do is task. I knew that 
           you might mess it up.
                     (On the Street Outside the Bank)
On Lookers: gasp and cry Don't Cross Don't Cross
Man who gets saved: Thank you for saving me
                     (Mayor's Office)
Henry: Have you heard the news about my bank being broken into however nothing was stolen. I am going
            to go in to the bamk later to see the extend of trhe damage.
Mayor: Yes i got the news early this morning it is most shocking. I know someone who could help us.
                     (Outside the Mayor's office on the cornor of the street)
Mayor: Hi Mark this is my son Henry. I have come to talk to you about a case that has just come up this  
            morning.
Mark: What has happened? Can I go anything?
Henry: My bank has been broken into this morning, but nothing has been stolen. Howver I have heard that
           there is a lot of damage.
Mayor: Come up to my office and we can short this out.
                    (Back in the Mayor's Office)
Mayor: I was hoping you couyld help us. I would not have turned to you unless it was a crisis.
Mark: Yes sure do you wnat me to take them out?
                    (Back in the Bank)
Victor: Keep your mouth shut and give me youyr money or your wife will suffer.
                    (Running back to the Mayor's Office)
Henry; Ive seen them, Ive seen them. He as threatend me and my family you have to short this out quick.
                   (Back in the Mayor's Office)
Mayor: Mark you konw what to do.   

Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to include voice over's in our sequence. I feel if we were able to include them it would have made the film easier to understand and more interesting to watch. In the end we had the music running all the way through in the background. This did however make it more entertaining as it provided the audience with something to listen to, to accompany the action. Ideally, we would have liked to have the music introducing the film at the start and at the credits at the end. With the voice over's for each character making the sequence more believable and real.

Company Name and Logo

CMO Animations we have decided upon this name as it has aspects of all our first names:
Charlie
Matt
Oliver

Logo:

Camera Shots and Call Sheets

Camera shots:
-Close up
To show the mayors window and peoples emotions
-Establishing shot
To establish location
-Over the shoulder shot
To show the mayor talking to his daughter
-Panning shot
to show the villains running of from the bank
- Long shot
to show the car approaching the woman walking across the road and immortal man the distance running to save her.

Call Sheets

We are going to shoot the film using Stop Motion Animation using lego figures to represent our characters. The back drop of a American city and a bank, using lego for the buildings. The props are lego men and lego buildings.

Children's Film Plan

Name: IMMORTAL MAN: Strikes Back
Genre: Action/Adventure
Certificate: PG

Setting/Location:
Busy, American town called Shelbyville known for its high profile business resources and expensive taste.

Characters:
'Bad Guys' - Victor (Leader) , Luigi , Red and Robin (clumsy,accident prone)
'Super hero' - Mark Smith a.k.a Immortal Man
'Mayor' - John Vice
'Mayor's Son' - Henry Vice
'Extra'- Man who Immortal Man saves
'Extra' - Bank Security Guard

Outline of the film

The Superhero and the villains have had their differences in the passed, with this being the culmination of years of dispute and violence trying to overpower one another. The villains are trying to takeover the city as the mayor holds the key to millions of dollars. They end up kidnapping his son, and demand the key to the safe, or he will kill the man if the Mayor does not comply to their orders. He knows he can't withhold the information for much longer, and calls for the help of Mark Smith aka Immortal Man to save the city and his daughter. Their is a series of discussions between the hero and the 'bad guys' leader Victor trying to negotiated the best scenario. In the end Immortal Man has to take drastic action and the climax ends with a battle of wits and strength between Victor and Immortal Man who eventually takes back the city and saves the girl.

Technical Considerations

We are going to use stop motion animation to create this film, using miniature lego men acting as the characters. We will use establishing shots, panning shots and close ups to show the action. We will use cuts between each of the scenes and also a dissolve when going to credits.


Opening Sequence Summary

- Starts with the villains on a case, showcasing their inability to rob a bank, Robin, unable to unlock the vault, clumsily falls back and sets off the alarm. They all run out, through the back, just out of sight of security guard. Whilst Victor is leading the abuse at him.

- Scene moves onto Mark Smith who is showed transforming into Immortal Man, in preparation to save a women who is just about to get hit by a car. After getting saved, the women then walks passed a window and you catch a glimpse of the Mayor talking to his son who has come in. (She is telling him about the attempted robbery of her bank.)

- They go to meet Immortal Man to discuss how best to deal with the villains, this is when Henry is ambushed by Victor (head of the villains) in the bank.

- Roll credits with the cast in the background.

Preliminary Task

Classification Task

U- viewing for all ages. Also it is impossible to predict what might upset any particular child. But a ‘U’ film should be suitable for audiences aged four years and over. ‘U’ films should be set within a positive moral framework and should offer reassuring counterbalances to any violence, threat or horror.


Pg-Viewing for all ages but has to be at the consent of the parents. Some scenes may be unsuitable for the younger audience of under eight.

12a- Viewing for 12 year olds or under when accompanied by an adult. Only exists for cinema films.

12- Viewing for only 12 years and over and can not buy or rent 12 rated films.

Children's Sub Genre's

Comedy



Comedy stereotypically is known for it's mischievous characters and parents who can't control their disobedient children. It usually features pranks and people in pain, but this is what makes it funny for the audience. Comedy genre's are normally based around neighbourhoods and communities, specifically people's houses and the destruction that is caused. The character types usually features a group of kids who like to cause mayhem. They include a clever kid that knows all the answers but the others dismiss his ideas thinking that they know better. Also there is a leader that is recognised from the outset, They take control and gives out orders but sometimes they have to accept they need advice from the other's in the group. Lastly it has a person or a group of people, who act as the 'bad guys' who full foul to the kids antics and end up caught up in their trap. The props usually include gadgets and mechanism used to pull pranks also toys/plans to cover up before the parents come in. The sound is very important in comedies as it sets the scene for the movie, Cheaper By The Dozen is recognised by 'In Too Deep' by Sum 41, this is diagetic sound and reflects their mischievous and troublesome side.


Adventure



The common traits in adventure usually include dangerous situations and traps to try and escape. There is commonly a point in the film where the audience doesn't think the character(s) will make it, but they group together to rethink their strategies/priorities and in the end reach treasure or some kind of reward. Adventure films usually features a leader who makes all the decisions and holds the map and compass that holds the key to their fate. Their is also a rival group who are trying to stop the main characters from reaching the treasure first, or an enemy who they are constantly trying to escape from. The locations are normally based in different countries and try to identify riddles to further their progress to reach their destiny.

Action



The general conventions of an action film, include high speed chases and extended fight scenes which usually feature a good guy and a bad guy lock together in a final scene, whether it be a figh scene or a car chase for example. Their is also usually a romance blossoming between the hero or leader of the good guys and either a woman that he seduces from the bad side, which helps him defeat the enemy or a women that has been kidnapped by the enemy, which has to be saved. Another trend of growing appearance is the tendency of fight scenes with actors being filmed one at a time in front of a blue or green screen, so that special effects experts can then combine the different images. This means that the two actors do not have to be swinging swords, knives or fists at each other, as was done through much of the history of action and adventure movies. This along with computer graphics used to enhance and edit the stunts in the film makes it less expensive and time consuming.

Sci-Fi



The common traits in Sci-Fi films is usaully features futuristic technology,weapons and ships. The characters normally in a Sci-Fi film are commomly either aliens, soldiers and droilds, they all would have futuristic weapons. For example in Star Wars some of the characters would use a 'lightsaber'. Sci-Fi usually has two sides in the story the 'dark side' who wants to take control and a 'good side' who fight to save the world .Sci-Fi locations are usaully set in space or other planets.There is always a leader on both sides, who clash at the climax of the film, resulting in the 'final battle' which ultimately ends up with the 'good' overpowering the 'bad'

Mystery



The common features in Mystery Films is that there is always has traps and dangers to the characters and to the public. The characters in Mystery Films usually include leader who takes control and who thinks up the plan of catching the person, A smart character who figures the mystery and helps the leader to plan. Another character is the on who fights off the creatures and finally the other two are usaully scared and are used as bait to draw the monster or creature into the trap. Mystery Films are commonly set in cities or on strange and remote islands that have usually never been heard of before, they seem very welcoming at the beginning but tend to become haunted as the film progresses.

Fantasy



Fantasy films are films with fantastic themes, usually involving magic, supernatural events, make-believe creatures, or exotic fantasy worlds. They usually feature a hero and a villain who fight off at the climax of the film.

The Goonies Analysis

Genre/Synopsis

The Goonies is essentially an adventure film, but has aspects of comedy, which specifically appeals to the young audience. It follows a group of young children and the teenagers who set up a gang called 'The Goonies'. The film keeps to a traditional stereotype of an adventure film, it features the discovery of a map which they stumbled across by playing around in the attic. This then leads them on a quest to find the 'Rich Stuff', as it is commonly referred to throughout the film. There is then the task of trying to overpower the obstacles that they face particularly 'The Fratellis' who kidnap Chunk but in the end he escapes from their clutches and gets revenge on them.


Characterisation

Michael 'Mikey' - Mikey is very much the life of the treasure hunt and is the member of the gang which appears to be most enthusiastic about finding the treasure, and also to prove to the rest of the gang that he is correct about his theory that One-Eyed Willy does exist. Mikey ultimately takes the role of being the leader, which is supported by the fact that if a danger is encountered or another clue has been found, he is the person that the gang go to for help.

Clark 'Mouth' - Clark is obnixious, loves to talk and could be conceived as a bit of a trickster. Although the rest of the gang see him as an annoyance, he has several talents which include the fact he is fluent in Spanish. His actions and words usually end up getting the goonies into trouble, which is the reasoning behind his nickname 'Mouth'.

Richard 'Data' - Richard is seen as 'The man with the gadgets' to both the audience and the rest of the Goonies themselves. He is also the most intelligent Goonie and it appears that he aspires to be like a James Bond type character. His gadgets seem useless and gimmicky at the beginning of the film, but they actually end up saving the gang from the Fratellis in the end.

Lawrence 'Chunk' - Chunk is a loud, clumsy and food-loving Goonie and is most likely considered as a burden to the rest of the gang. At the end of the film, he proves otherwise as his befriending of Sloth actually contributes to the saviour of the gang from the Fratellis.

Brandon - Brandon is an older member of the gang and is also the brother of Mikey. His character is portayed as a sterotypical teenage boy which is supported by the fact that he is very self-obsessed and concsious e.g. In the beginning of the film he was using weights. He does not like the fact that his younger brother has taken the role of the leader and at first he seems un-interested and not as motivated as the rest of the gang to find the treasure, but he slowly becomes more interested in it throughout the film.

Andy - Andy is also one of the older members of the gang but shows reluctancy to be classed as a 'Goonie' at the beginning of the film due to her previous popularity at high school. At first, Andy is wary of the journey of finding the treasure she is about to embark on, but she soon jumps into the spirit of the adventure like the rest of the gang.

Stef - Steff is percieved as a bit of a smart mouth during the film and often competes for the role of the smartest with 'Mouth'. At the end of the film she shows the Goonies and the audience that she has a compassionate side.


Opening Sequence
In the opening sequence, we discover that the film was set in an American Suburb. It is soon brought to the attention of the viewer that there are some bad guys present in the movie named 'The Fratellis'. This is made clear by the fact that there is a police chase sequence at the very beginning involving The Fratellis. The reasoning behind this is so that after watching, the viewer then becomes curious of what is going to happen in the rest of the film and they continue watching. After this sequence, each individual character has a short clip of them in order to establish what type of character they actually are, e.g. When he watches the police chase holding both a burger and some milkshake. The music during this sequence indicates that the film is set in the eighties, as well as the hairstyes,  clothes worn and type of cars that are present.



The Technical Features

Editing - Continuity editing is used for the most part of the film, which is clear because the film moves in a chronological order. Short cuts are used very frequently throughout the film, giving a fast-paced and action packed feel to the film as a whole.

Sound - There are lots of different sound effects present in the film, e.g. explosion sound effects and wood creaks etc. Suspense music is used fairly frequently throughout the film, to build up suspense and keep the viewer engaged. When the suspense breaks through, upbeat music is played to evoke the feeling of adventure and also to give a fast-paced theme.

Camerawork - There is varied use of camera work during the film, this includes long shots (for showing the viewer what is going on in detail, e.g. action sequences), Mid shorts (for one-to-one conversations) and Close-ups (to help express the characters emotion, feeling and reactions towards different events).

Mise En Scene - The set used for the film related to the genre, this is because underground caves and pirate ships are used which give a sense of mystery and adventure. The clothes/outfits that are worn by each of the characters help to display their personalities to the audience, e.g. at the beginning of the film Brandon is wearing a vest which shows he likes to show off his physique as a result of him being self-obsessed. Brandon also wears sporty clothing alot which displays his personality (love for sport) to the audience.