Term 2, Lesson 22

This lesson was spent editing my film and preparing for the rough edit as I will be busy in the upcoming days and may not have any other time to complete it.

Term 2, Lesson 21

This lesson and afternoon was spent filming, these were the shots of the protagonist in uniform and shots of the car; driving and accelerating etc. I feel that the filming is going successfully and I will be only be missing a few shots of my rough edit.

Term 2, Lesson 20

Today was also spent being in other peoples films, this afternoon was spent filming the mentor and a conversation between mentor and protagonist, it was successful except that the LED light kept flashing and I didn't know why, maybe it was running out of battery?

Term 2, Lesson 19

Today was spent being in other peoples films, this afternoon though was successful in filming the shots of the protagonist studying and the shots of her getting in the the car and the car shots. We probably could have gotten more done today but Holly (playing protagonist) had work of her own to do.

Term 2, Lesson 18

Finishing touches were done on treatment and storyboards as they will be handed in on Monday.

Term 2, Lesson 17

This lesson was spent planning for filming:

Monday Afternoon: Shots of protagonist studying, getting into car

Tuesday Afternoon: Shots of mentor getting out of car, conversation between mentor and protagonist

Thursday Afternoon: Shots conversation with best friend, best friend timing driving, worried

If any of these don't get done, will do them on the following Monday afternoon.

Term 2, Lesson 16

This lesson was spent completing my Storyboards as well as fixing out bits and pieces of my treatment and starting a plan for filming.

Term 2, Lesson 15

Media today was spent going over my treatment, perfecting it and completing my log line in trying to make it interesting for inviting for the reader. I ended up with the log line of:

Inspired by the only female drag racer to win the tournament, Piper Hart is determine to follow her footsteps no matter what obstacles she is confronted with on her way.

This invites the reader and interests them in what the treatment will be about. I also decided on the title Night Mini’s the only reason I chose this is because I was really stuck on a title and it was all I could think of as the film is about drag racing Mini's at night. I am not happy with it and will definitely change it in the rough edit.

Term 2, Lesson 14

Today we talked about how to use Final Cut Pro, which I've used before so I pretty much knew what to do but it was a good refresher. We also talked about crucial elements that need to be included in our trailer such as;

• call to adventure/refusal of the call
• crossing of the threshold
• mentor
• hero/protagonist
• villain/antagonist 
• montages

I then finished off my treatment:

Term 2, Lesson 13

Today was just spent working on out treatments and Mr Andrews working his way around the class discussing the topics of their trailers. When I spoke with Mr Andrews he told me that there needed to be a specific point in the trailer when there was a huge obstacle that my protagonist had to overcome so I was thinking she would fight with her best friend and loose faith about her driving. I will continue to work on those ideas.

Term 2, Lesson 12

Today was spent going through the treatment document and how to properly write the treatment, as well as going over all the due dates for the assessment. We then listed to a treatment trying to visualise the situation then watched the actual trailer it was based on and it was pretty similar to what we listened to, we did this activity because we needed an example of how specific ours need to be. Then Mr Andrews spent the remainder of the lesson going around and discussing with each student the topic and idea they have been working on while he was away. I spent the remainder of the lesson working on my treatment waiting for Mr Andrews to get to me, he didn't this lesson which holds me back in my pre-production and then later filming.

Term 2, Lesson 11

Today we were mainly discussing lighting for our assignment. We talked about reading the 'must read' documents for safety with using lights for the trailer. Following that we then talked about 3 point lighting (key, fill and back), as well as how we can use less than 3 lights and still use elements of the 3 point lighting, also watching a video on how to only have one light and working with it. We then talked about what household items to help with lighting as well, as well as going through all the uses of a big reflector. The rest of the lesson was spent doing more research while Mr Andrews did a tour around the school of places to film.

Term 2, Lesson 10

Today I used my planning from last lesson to write my treatment, I did this in class and finished it at home. It is very basic and will probably be redone when I have further clarity on my trailer. 

Treatment:

Fades from black to paramount logo. Quick edits of school books, writing at a dest/homework, close ups of protagonist - all fading in an out of black. Black screen, voice over (mother?) saying protagonist has a letter which invited her to watch the big drag racing championship. Mid shot of protagonist and threshold guardian/best friend sitting on bed looking at flyer, protagonist knows she can drive but isn't sure if she wants to drive because she wont be accepted because as she is a girl, fade to black. fades from black, close up on best friend mouth, on phone saying ‘you don't know me but you’ll want to know my friend’, fade to black. fade from black long shot of mentor walking out of car and house, fade to black. fade from black, best friend introduces protagonist to mentor, fade to black. fade from black, mid shot of mentor talking to protagonist - telling her story, fast shot of giving protagonist her ‘lucky gloves’, fade to black. fade from black fast shots of driving, best friend timing, excited because just making the times, fade to black. fade from black, long shot from protagonist point of view of first race day to qualify for ‘big race’, close up on best friend - worried because of all the other experiences drivers, mid shot antagonist getting out of car, meets antagonist, fade to black. fade from black coming across finish line, only just qualifies, fade to black. fade from black, nervous in the days approaching ‘big race’, fade to black. fade from black, race day, various fast shot of the race, close ups of protagonist and antagonist racing

what will happen in full movie… 

protagonist wins, fade to black. fade from black, get offered to go on a driving tour with antagonist - second place, meets with antagonist to tell him not going, fade to black. fade from black, protagonist and antagonist become very close, decided to go on tour together.

Term 2, Lesson 9

Today I spent planning my trailer, getting together all the important characters and elements that would need to be included in the trailer. Although most of what I have planned for won't be in the trailer, I need to be very prepared to use any of it as other shots may not work out. I have done the planning so that I can start my treatment as soon as possible and be ready for Monday.

Characters:

Protagonist - girl, drag racing driver

Antagonist - boy, experienced drag racing driver

Threshold Guardian - protagonists best friend?

Mentor - best women drag racer known to their town?

Hero’s Journey:

Ordinary world - studying/smart, coming home from school?- see home environment, comfortable life, no real worries, passion for driving

Call to adventure - flyer for biggest drag racing championship 

Refusal of the call - doesn't want to race, doesn't think she's good enough 

Meeting the mentor - gives advice and her lucky racing gloves

Crossing the threshold - practicing driving with best friend - see how fast she can go

Test, allies, enemies - first race to qualify, best friend worried, meets antagonist 

Test, allies, enemies - qualifying for ‘big race’, calms best friend, becomes ‘enemies’ with antagonist 

Approach to the inmost cave - days approaching race 

Ordeal - race

Reward - winning

The road back - returning home but having the option to go on a driving tour

Resurrection - agrees to go on driving tour, racing against antagonist 

Term 2, Lesson 8

Today was the first lesson that Mr Andrews was away and I just need to keep researching what to do for my trailer and have a clear idea of what that will be by the end of the week. I have changed my mind from what I previously wanted to do which was the Hero's Journey but with a fairytale twist now I'm thinking of doing a woman trying to 'make it' in drag racing and her journey to get there. I've been doing some research on trailers of films about drag racing:

Fast & Furious 7 (2015):

First of all Furious 7 isn't about drag racing but is about driving and being on the run. Besides that I feel that it is easier to create a trailer like this than a fairytale, as in there is no magic or princesses even though especially in that trailer there was a lot of special effects that obviously I wouldn't be able to achieve. In this trailer the Hero's Journey was very clear and even outlined the particular characters.






Need for Speed (2014):

Its becoming clear that most films including racing or drag racing have an underlying message, or conflict that the driver my be reading for, this makes me realise that if I do this kind of trailer I need to come up with a reason for wanting to race. This trailer follows the Hero's Journey exactly. I enjoyed this trailer as it was fast and keeps me interested.







These trailers were enough for me to know that I am going to do a trailer based on a female drag racer, I will do further brainstorming to come up with the other aspects needed for my trailer.

Term 2, Lesson 7

As I was away on Friday I missed a lesson in media, learning that the group assessment is now individual but we can still use our group members as actresses. To start off the lesson we went over how to properly write a treatment and how it should sound. With very basic treatments it consists of a very bland explanation of the mise-en-scene such as the setting and costumes as such. We were then taught how to change that to make it very particular so that when Mr Andrews or another teacher reads it, they will see what you see making a very distinct picture. As well as the treatment being particular it is important that the storyboards fill in the missing gaps in the treatment such as camera angles and how the trailer will flow. After that we finally watched out trailers from last term as a class which was a fun way to end the lesson, its really interesting to see how much the trailers changed from the rough edit to the final.

Term 2, Lesson 6

In today's lesson we discussed the homework and well as get into groups for our next assessment. Our next assessment is a trailer which follows the technique of the Hero's Journey, in my group is Holly and Ellythea. Ellythea was away so Holly and I brainstormed about possible ideas, I was thinking something to do with a fairytale which the characters from the Hero's Journey would be easy to convey. I went home and researched into fairytales that have been made into movies looking at different trailers and seeing if they follow the Hero's Journey.

Cinderella (1950):

As the original Cinderella is quite old the trailer follows the very only principal such as a voice over, and it is quite long with not much happening which would make young audiences today bored. It technically doesn't follow the Hero's Journey but it does include some elements such as 'the supernatural aid' being the fairy godmother and her power. Although the fairy godmother also plays the part of Cinderella's mentor and helper. It may sound weird but in the trailer the Prince also plays the part of the 'goddess'.





Cinderella (2015):

This trailer is a lot more dramatic and definitely follows the Hero's Journey. Each aspect of the Hero's Journey is very clear and interests the audience. If I do my trailer on a fairytale I wound aim to make it similar to this one in the fact that it flows really well and is exciting to watch and makes you want to see the whole film.







Aladdin (1992):

This trailer is a lot like the original Cinderella as it is a very old trailer. It does include as voice over but I feel this trailer is much more exciting and it easier to watch without getting bored. It still covers some areas of the Hero's Journey and I'm also realising that in most of not all fairytales magic is involved.








I could also take the route of changing a fairytale to suit older audiences such as;

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013):

In this trailer it is not the classic G rated film, it is defiantly aimed for older viewers. Even though it is changed it still completely follows the Hero's Journey. Pretty much every aspect is shown in that trailer of the Hero's Journey almost in order as well as many of the characters are shown as well.








I think this although is a very interesting topic to do would be incredibly difficult to capture perfectly. I will keep researching other possibilities to do for my assignment.