A2, Post 18, Rough Edit

Bit late but I have finally got together all planned filming and constructed a rough edit of sorts that is veiwable at the end of this post.

Only half of the piece is viewable as some of the file types are uncompatible with the software I'm using so after some converting I will be able to post the rest of it.

Please bear in mind that this is a first draft and there are some timing issues etc...

Rough edit 1:

A2, Post 17, Ancillary texts

Brief:

- A promotional package for a new film, to include a teaser trailer, together will two of the following three options:
          - A website homapage for the film;
          - A film magazine front cover, featuring the film;
          - A poster for the film.

I have chosen the second two texts (Magazine cover and poster) and aim to complete both of them inside of a week (I am aware that this is a tight deadline but owing to previous experience I believe I can achieve this).

I will repliate the front page of an edition of 'EMPIRE' magazine and work from that to create the poster.

The reason I have chosen this publication is that each issue features a vast array of items on the cover and keeps the eyes busy when reading it.

I hope to post a powerpoint showing my intentions in the near future.

A2. Post 16, New locations

Having E-mailed a variety of falconry centres across the county I have not been able to acquire a filming date so I am resorting to filming at Blenheim palace, at both the cascades and the butterfly house; 

As the photograph above shows, the grounds of the palace should provide a perfect setting for wildlife filming and they are home to a wide range of water fowl.

These are the Cascades, an ideal setting for herons and kingfishers or even a simple panning shot,

It may be cheating ever so slightly, but the specimins that can be found in the butterfly house are breathtaking and are easily filmed. 

A2, Post 15, PROGRESS!!!

It has been a while since my last post to say the least but never fear, I have returned. And not only that, I have returned with news of progress... and substantial amounts of it.

Over the last few weeks I have been occupying myself with a last ditch attempt at filming wildlife which I pulled off and I have now (After facing innumerable technical difficulties) have produced a rough edit of my final piece.

In addition, I have been experimenting with photography and set up a Flickr account (Cook4472 if you are interested).

School network allowing I aim to post this rough edit within the next few days, in the mean time I will focus on preparing a torrent of posts to compensate for the gap in activity containing film/documentary reviews and a few editions of the pipeline.

A2, Post 12, Filming update

Hello and welcome back, hope you had a good Chrimbo etc... anyway...back to the good stuff:

In my last post I explained that my camera was not holding it's power after extensive charging, this problem has now been fixed and filming has resumed!

Since fixing the camera (A simple change of battery was all that was required), I have managed to film in a variety of locations including Blenhiem Palace, Foxfield Country Park and Oxford Aquatics Pet Outlet.

In addition, I have discovered that the camera on my new phone is capable of HD footage, once I have figured out a way to re-format the files for mac I will be able to raise the standard of all previous filming.

A2, Post 10: Filming update

Got back from Northampton and unfortunately did not have time to film the water meadow due to sporadic living arrangements, but i did mange to track a duck across a pond, and although this does not sound like much, its a huge step forwards as I have finally located wildlife, which is by the far the greatest challenge of the brief.

I have also received a tip-off of a fox that hangs around the area near me, so I am now planning on setting up a small temporary hide in the woodland. Other than that, the establishing shots are coming in thick and fast, with almost all types of weather in the shots, from sun to fog and clear to torrential rain.

To sum up, despite a few minor set-backs, filming is well and truly on track...

A2, Post 9...Filming, update

OK, filming is now well and truly in progress! I have acquired my Dad's old camera which is substantially better for what i intend to do than my original equipment as it comes with a torch, infra-red night vision and high def.

So i have gone out an re-filmed all of the previously mentioned shots and have gone on to record some additional footage:
> I took advantage of a heavy fog and recorded eerie footage of the school field, featuring silhouetted trees in the distance shrouded in a vale of fog;
> A 'jaws' shot (zooming out while tracking in), on a cobweb, still needs some tweaking but when finished should successfully play with perspective;

I am heading to Northampton this weekend in order to film a water meadow and hopefully manage to get some water fowl.
I will post an update on that on Monday and hopefully also post a new film review (finally)

A2, Post 8, Filming update

I did manage to get a few shots filmed last week but sadly not as many as anticipated due to adverse weather conditions, today they are even worse so I will spend it researching similar products and planning a rough guide for the ancillary texts.

The shots I did manage were the following:
> A long panning shot of the school field, taking in the tree line in the background;
> A panning shot of a pond that works nicely with the overhanging foliage which creates a sense of wilderness (although it was behind the school);
> I also experimented with a rising spiral shot around the trunk of a tree, I was pleased with the effect and hope to re-produce it to a higher standard in the future.

Due to the weather at the time the shots were less than satisfactory through the poor light, heavy rain and strong winds, having checked the forecast it would seem that the situation will not improve in the near future so I will attempt to do whatever I can despite this.

A2, Post 6, Ideas and Concepts update

The storyboard I mentioned in the previous post HAS been completed. The issue is that I'm having trouble getting the scanner to agree with it, so fingers crossed, it will be up for all to see shortly.

As for ideas;
I have decided to centre the theme around rural and urban wildlife (the kind of stuff you would not expect to find in your garden or in the fields by your town), so as a rough idea, I thought of opening with a simple shot of an ordinary house (calm music), then suddenly zooming in and almost through it (music building up), then a series of quick changes that illustrate the wildlife drama that goes on in the area (crescendo) before zooming back out in to the quiet, calm street.