Film Problems

In the process of filming my trailer I've already faced problems. The camera I've been using hasn't produced the picture I quite aimed for. As it's made for taking photos not videos, the quality isn't quite what I thought it would be, making it quite grainy and pix-elated  Also, in the process of editing it has cut down the size of the picture from what I think is just the video settings on the camera.

On the upside, it has provided me with the plans of the exact shots I will need to repeat and also the way in which I will edit them on Sony Vegas. It has allowed me to advance with using the program and will make it a lot easier to just replace the old shots with new ones.

I have uploaded my first bit of progress towards the trailer just so it can be compared to the final piece -

Setting Choice

Last week I chose the setting for parts of my film. During my film trailer I wanted the perfect woods setting (described in a previous post). I've taken photos for future reference to the spots I wanted to use in the woods and evidence of research -

Walking Dead Video Game (2012)

As part of the Media A2 exam, I've been studying representations and analyzing different forms of media such as video games. The Walking Dead Video Game (2012) links in  well with the genre and ideas of my own film.

The genre is the main link between the game and my film, following similar themes such as the zombie apocalypse idea. The Walking Dead game is based upon the comic book, where it follows groups of human survivors fighting against the infected population of zombies. The video game shows the same story, including various characters from the comic book/TV series.

You play the game as ex-university professor and convicted murderer Lee Everett. I really liked the characterisation immediately of Lee because it pushes stereotypes to the side in many cases. Lee's profession was a university professor, clearly an important and highly achieved job role. On the other hand, the game starts with him in the back of a police car, quickly learning he has been convicted of murder. However, throughout the game, Lee is very open with confessing to people of his past which makes  him more trust worthy to your group of survivors. The first character you meet playing as Lee is a young girl named Clementine. During the game Lee takes on the responsibility of looking after Clementine as if she was his own daughter. Clementine quickly places her trust in Lee and the group see's him as a caring character.

In The Walking Dead video game, comic book and TV series I really admire the range of character personality buildings, with a huge range of ages, ethnicities and genders being included in the series. In some cases we see some stereotypical character in types but in many other cases Robert Kirkman displays some of the most un-stereotypical character types seen.

I will be aiming to take some of these ideas into my characterisation in my own film.

 

Updated Synopsis

I feel that if my film follows the lives of scientists in a zombie/virus outbreak, the causes of it will be uncovered early on. Therefore, I will be changing it to following the lives of everyday people, the main character just being a college student. I feel that this will add so much more drama and action into the film, as college students and everyday families will have never had to fend for their lives and have no clue in how the outbreak has been caused. Also, not revealing how the virus has been caused will leave more questions open for the audience, maintaining their interest and allowing them to feel a part of the film, discovering clues and information at the same pace as the characters.

Filming Settings

On Tuesday, I wanted to finalize where I would be shooting parts of my trailer when I required a forest/woods setting. St. Helen's Wood's was the most local idea for myself so I took some sample photos and looked to see if it would be suitable for my trailer. I found the mix of public tracks and untouched forest would be a great mix to shoot in as it didn't look like a public park, such as Alexander Park, where the the forest effect wouldn't have been as easily achieved. From the hour and a half of being there, there were only a handful of people walking past possible settings, which would make filming a lot easier for me and there would me little disturbance for the public. The amount of large trees blocked out quite a lot of light which I found positive as I want to shoot in the day time, but still create a dark and fearful mood which is harder to achieve without something shielding the sun. Sample photos have been taken to remember the settings I chose and for future reference, I will upload them in the next few days.

Break

After studying more for the exam in Media Studies, I will now continue to blog my progress in my coursework and finish the project. I have arranged to burrow the camera I usually use for my filming and will be using it over the half term.