Filming

PROBLEMS WITH LOCATION:
During our filming the most frequent problem we faced was the location of our trailer. Initially we wanted to use Howard's dad's Chinese restaurant  This wasn't a problem and the location seem ideal. We wrote a lot of the script with this location in mind, e.g. we were going to use a panning shot which looked through the fish tank at everyone sitting at the table. The restaurant also had stairs which was vital to the script at the time. Due to the limited days we were allowed to use the restaurant however, we had to change location. A friend said we could use his garage so we got everyone that was going to be in the film and began setting up our cameras. We realised on arrival however, that the room was too dark for us to film in and nothing showed up on the cameras, so we all had to walk home in the rain and wait another day until we could film. We began to try and get the drama room in the school for use as we were running out of time and options. The drama room also had a prop cupboard which could be useful, we knew they had a gun prop which we could use.

The next issue we faced was getting everyone together on the same day. As our main actor didn't attend our sixth form, we had to pick a day when he was able to film. We did a few days of filming, getting different people we needed in on different days. As our use of the drama studio was limited, we realised we wouldn't have enough time in there to make the intro of our film, which started off at the meeting (in the drama studio). To get around this problem we decided to do a trailer instead, meaning we could visit different locations and giving us more freedom. This meant rewriting the script of course, but it wasn't difficult now that we had two new group members. Most of the dialogue used in our finished trailer was already in the original script anyway. Additional locations we used were the car park at the front and the one at the back of school, my house and the surrounding area, and the bowling alley in the town.

Film Poster

The Hong Kong skyline Howard filmed

This is my finished film poster for Chasing the Dragon. The main colours I chose to use are purple and green because I feel it fits in with the Hong Kong skyline in the background and creates a sort of neon effect on the text. Howard did some filming in Hong Kong for his original project, but since he joined our group he used the footage for our project, seeing as the film is about a Chinese triad. He gave me permission to print screen a still of the skyline to use for my movie poster. I shopped Hao Zheng onto it and used the skyline as a background.

The original logo

The original unedited drawing.

For my logo I drew an outline of a dragon on a piece of A4, then uploaded it onto photoshop. I altered it slightly and coloured it, and then I added "CHASING THE DRAGON" over it. I then changed the colours to red and white but later changed it to black and changed the size.

Goodwin's Theory - Music video analysis

Goodwins theory is based around eight different points when analysing a music video. I am going to use When the Sun Goes Down by the Arctic Monkeys (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqkBRVukQmE)

Links between lyrics and visuals
On screen actions which where the lyrics match them.

"And I've seen him with girls of the night.."

 

Links between music and visuals

Complimentary, contradicting or amplifying.

Each time the guitar strums at the start, the video cuts to another shot

 

Multiple close ups

To put emphasis on the main people in the video and emotions.

Voyeurism

Voyeurism is the act of watching people with/without their knowledge. Its usually shown in music videos with intimate behaviour, undressing or sexual activity.

Intimate behaviour

 

Demand of the record label

Representation of the artist. Who the record label wants the video to appeal to.

The band briefly appears in the video. They are seen putting things in a car and could just be normal people, making them easier to relate to.

 

Goodwin's Theory

Goodwins theory is based around eight different points when analysing a music video.

Links between lyrics and visuals

On screen actions which where the lyrics match them.

Links between music and visuals

Complimentary, contradicting or amplifying.

Genre characteristics

Is it typical and conventional of the genre or contradictory.

Intertextuality reference

References to other media texts or forms.

Multiple close ups

To put emphasis on the main people in the video and emotions.

Voyeurism

Voyeurism is the act of watching people with/without their knowledge. Its usually shown in music videos with intimate behaviour, undressing or sexual activity.

Demand of the record label

Representation of the artist. Who the record label wants the video to appeal to.

Performance based, narrative based or concept based music videos

Music for my trailer

(Starts at 00:26) This song fits well with the overall gritty and British feel that we could portray through our trailer, and would make it easier if we were to include this song. I was thinking we could have about 30 seconds of the intro to the trailer with the monologue and Nathan getting ready. The trailer could then cut to a violent scene such as someone being thrown against a fence and music could start playing. The song is also upbeat which is reflective of what we intend to do with our trailer, lots of fast paced cuts and action. The lyrics would also be relevant to what is happening in the trailer and the overall plot of the film "One...Take control of me?/You're messing with the enemy/Said it's two, it's another trick/Messing with my mind I wake up". Nathan is the enemy of Hao Zheng though he doesn't know it, and Hao Zheng is messing with him by making him perform meaningless tasks. We also intended for Nathan to wake up in our film introduction so this is how the lyrics reflect the plot of the film.

This is an upbeat and happy song, as you can see just from looking at the album art, which would juxtapose with our film trailer. I think it could provide an interesting effect, lots of quick cuts and violent scenes with this song playing over it would work well. I think the Grand Theft Auto 5 trailer does a good job of this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IB-duhPR0H0)  The lyrics are relevant to the visuals in the trailer, but the song is upbeat and cheerful.

Dirty Harry by The Gorillaz. The song has a modern feel to it which will be reflected from the visuals in the trailer. The lyrics are also relevant to the plot of the film "I need a gun to keep myself from harm" is the first line in the song, which applies to Nathan who feels the need to bring a gun to his meeting because he fears for his life. The following lyrics are also very relevant to Nathan "With lightning fast reflexes on constant alert/From the constant hurt that seems limitless/With no dropping pressure/Seems like everybody's out to test ya/'Til they see you break/They can't conceal the hate that consumes you". Nathan is on constant alert because he feels his boss or any of his rivals/co-workers could betray him at any moment. Nathan feels like everyone is testing him because when he gets outdone and the drugs deal everyone laughs at him and judge him, so he feels like it's a test of sorts. They see him break when he finally snaps and pulls out the gun, and finally they fail to conceal the hate that consumes him when he pulls the trigger on his boss, Hao Zheng.

This song has a British feel to it and the lyrics reference strippers, violence and drugs, which are essentially the ingredients needed for a gangster film. The music could be synced well with the cuts, which would keep the trailer going. Since we have a lot of violent scenes throughout our trailer this song would be a good choice as it represents a violent and carefree attitude. While this isn't entirely true of Nathan, it is true of the majority of the characters in the film. The song isn't too long and we may be able to use all of it throughout the trailer if we decide on it, which could be good as cutting the song may be difficult to do without it looking or sounding bad.

Intro by The XX. This songs makes effective trailer music in my opinion because it is ambient and can be played in the background when there are monologues. Because there are no lyrics to the song the audience aren't distracted from focusing on the monologue and the visuals of the trailer. The beat in the song could also sync well with cuts. I think we should use this song for the start of the trailer, when Nathan's getting ready, because it is heavily focused on monologue and there are no violent scenes so the slow background music is reflective of the visuals. I think the song would juxtapose in a bad manner with the violent scenes and it wouldn't really fit, so I think before the trailer cuts to the violent scenes we should have this song fade out and have one of the songs above start playing.

Film Trailer Analysis - Reservoir Dogs

 To get a better understanding of film trailers, I picked one and decided to analyse what made it different and what made it appeal to an audience. The film trailer I have decided to analyse is the trailer for Quentin Tarantino's movie, Reservoir Dogs. (you can watch the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvoKT481EmU)

The title is revealed near the end of the trailer so it stays in the mind of the viewer.

I chose Reservoir Dogs not only because it is a film I was interested in, but also a film I drew inspiration from in the early stages of my planning, meaning the trailer should give me some good ideas for my own as they are of the same genre. The premise of the film is a diamond robbery goes wrong, the thieves meet up at the rendezvous point and begin to suspect one of them is an undercover cop. Reservoir Dogs was Tarantino's debut film, and as a result the trailer needed to catch attention.

The first frame we see in the trailer. Hints at the title of the movie.

The trailer grabs our attention with the first frame. "EVERY "DOG" HAS ITS DAY". The fact that "Dog" is in quotation marks makes the audience begin to ask themselves questions. Could "dog" stand for something? Is the film literally about dogs? Could the film be about ugly people? The trailer is relatively dialogue dependent, which is typical of both crime films and Tarantino's films. Tarantino often has lots of humorous anecdotes that don't advance the plot in an obvious way, such as in Pulp Fiction when Vincent Vega tells Jules Winnfield about a Quarter Pounder with Cheese from McDonalds being called a "Royale with Cheese" in Paris. The first words heard in the trailer are just after "EVERY "DOG HAS ITS DAY" fades out. The words "Freeze! Put the gun down!" are shouted out with no indication as to who says this or in what context it is said because all we can see is a black background. This further grabs the attention of the audience and makes them want to carry on watching. 

A lot of focus is on these men throughout the trailer, indicating that they are main characters.

After the first words "Freeze.." are uttered, the music starts. The song they have chosen for the trailer is "Stuck in the Middle With You" by Stealer's Wheel. The song is lively, upbeat and perhaps slightly comical, which is reflective of the film, slick, fast, with elements of dark humour. When we hear diagetic sounds such as the gun 26 seconds in, the music stops and we hear a bit of dialogue "What happens if the manager won't give me the diamonds?" "Cut off one of his fingers. The little one." It then cuts to a scene of the main characters laughing and the music starts again from where it left off. This is an effective technique that is used throughout the trailer to keep the audience interested.




When we hear the gun, the music stops.

Inspiration behind gun shot

Due to lack of equipment we have struggled with the gun shot scene in which Nathan shoots Hao Zheng. Originally we wanted to just have a shot of Nathan shooting Howard with blood going everywhere in slow motion, with a juxtaposing song playing in the background. However we can't edit blood in because it will look cheap, and we can't use a blood substitute because we can't ruin the location. What we came up with was Nathan holding the gun, the screen going black and a gunshot being fired. The idea is inspired by the [spoiler] scene where Jesse shoots Gale in Breaking Bad. It is filmed from the point of view of Gale, looking at the gun being fired.