Software I Will Be Using (UPDATE)

The software I will be using to edit on will be

After Effects
Premier Pro and or Final Cut Pro

I already know how to use Final Cut Pro as its always been my go to software for editing but this got me thinking how i have never used Premier Pro before and so i thought this project would give me a good opportunity to learn. I have been on youtube and watched a few tutorials and it seems simple enough with the basics. I will use After Effects to create some special effects and overlays.

Camera Equipment

The Equipment i will be using to create the film with will be:

Canon 60D

Canon EF-S 10-18mm Lens

Lighting Box

Iphone 6 

Recently i went out and bought a lens for this project because the lens i had wasn't able to give the bigger picture i need. I bought the 10-18 lens because its wide angle and the focus is easy to control. Most of the filming will be done using my 60D but i will also be using the iPhone 6 camera for some of the vlogging. I wanted to use a normal camera the one i had was broken so the phone will do perfectly fine. The light box will help get a better cinematic effect and also help out when filming in the dark. 

Script

I am working on the Script at the moment, doing this is hard because i am far from a good writer and I'm not sure what a professional script is supposed to look like but with some help from google i am slowly getting there. Most of the speaking in the film will be improvisation but i want to make a script that outlines what we're supposed to be saying. 

I will post some pictures of the script when its completely finished. 

Storyboarding

I have been working on the storyboarding for my film because once I can see how it all should look I know i'll be able to get right into the making of it. The idea is to keep it as simple as possible. I have chosen to be in the film with one of my friends Jade Leonard,  I have made the decision to be in the film myself as i have struggled to find anyone else who is free.

here are some images of my storyboard.

Planning

Im still in early stages of my project and before i start anything i want to get some idea generation going, what helps me the most is creating a mind map. Below you can see what i have come up with for the film based around the internets dark side. 

Because i have an idea of what i want the film to be about i felt it was best to note it all down so i dont forget any of it though I'm sure there will be some changes when it comes to creating it. 

Target Audience

I was 10 years old when I joined my first social networking site, it was called Piczo, this was a site that allowed you to create your own website it was possible to design it exactly how you wanted, you could also create pages about things you liked or people you was friends with. You could follow your friends pages but there was no real communication on there, back in the day most people used MSN instant messenger for that. I had MSN long before I joined any social networking sites, MSN was the go to source for communication.

Throughout the years social media grew from one platform to the next improving immensely but the previous site would slowly fizzling out for example MSN, Piczo, Bebo, MySpace no one uses these sites anymore because once everyone jumped ship there was no point in logging on when all your friends where chatting elsewhere. Which brings us to the sites we still have an use today Facebook, Youtube, Twitter and Instagram, these most recent sites are better known as apps which we use on our phones. It's actually really interesting looking back and seeing how far social networking has come since I was 10.

Youtube is a video sharing website that was founded in 2005 it's thought that the company is worth $40 billion. Though YouTube was founded 10 years ago I personally think 2014 was really the year of the youtuber, these are people who continuously upload videos whether they are vlogs, gaming, beauty or challenges. Having a successful youtube channel is like a modern day version of having your own reality show and if you're lucky enough to become a youtube star the benefits are epic. In 2014 I started a youtube channel and I upload videos every week, i enjoy doing this because i love film and film editing so doing it gives me a chance to be creative and practice using software also i became a youtube partner which means I'm getting money for the advertisements on my videos. But because youtubers appeal to such a wide audience it seems everyone wants to become a youtube star even kids. My 10 year old cousins watch youtubers religiously and because they think its fun and are see how successful these people are becoming they too want to start uploading videos to youtube. I think its great that they're taking an interest in video but i personally think 10 is too young to be uploading videos on the internet.

This is where my idea steamed from, i want to create a short film which warning young people that it can be dangerous to put too much of themselves online. For example a few youtube stars filmed something in front of their house and not long fans where showing up, which is pretty scary because your home is supposed to be somewhere you feel safe. Even though i was 10 when i joined my first social media site i think theres a big difference between having a social page talking to friends and uploading videos of yourself because you never know who's watching.  The target Audience I am going for is 12-18 school / college age.

Pitch and Feedback

When going through the pitches the main thing George wanted to figure out was if the projects we have decided for ourselves will be enough for a 40 credit assignment, with 10% weighting for project pitch/plans/ideas and the other 90% weighting the final outcome. 

I always get nervous pitching because I never truly believe in myself or my ideas and this project was no different, I was worried that it wouldn't be enough work or the idea wasn't that good but when I pitched the feedback I got wasn't bad at all. 

George mentioned that it was a good idea, how colleges and schools would be interested in and maybe even purchasing this sort of video as it shows awareness too kids and teens. 

The class mentioned how I wouldn't need to do branding posters though it was a nice idea it wasn't exactly needed and they think I have enough work already but if there is time at the end it wouldn't hurt to do it either. 

A few people in class spoke about a film called ______ they think i could get some inspiration from that. 

Below are screen shots from the pitch. 

Vlogging Films

I've decided that because my video is based around youtubers i want the video i create to be self vlogged, I think this style of filming has been proven successful in the past dating way back to 1999 with the blair witch project, when people went to see this film a lot was convinced it actually happened because of the vlogging style (vlogging = video blogging). Other movies that have been in the style of vlogging are Paranormal Activity, Earth To Echo and Project X. I think these style movies are becoming more popular because most people are able to relate to the fact that when something happens most people will grab their phone or camera and start filming it, it feels more real and thats what drawers the viewer in. 

I have been looking into these types of movies in order to get a good concept of how the film i am going to create should look. 

Research On Short Vlogging Films

I thought it would be a good idea to take a look at some videos that have been created by vloggers, I wanted to do this purely for inspiration and to see what I could achieve. 

This guy is a vlogger his name is Ricky Dillion, he made a video about his friends disappearing one by one and in the end theres a plot twist where his friend turns out to be the person who's behind it all. I love the idea of having a plot twist its exactly the direction i want to go when making my film. 

There are a number of things I like about this video especially the way it starts with a little section of text which sets the scene. It makes watching the film feel more believable. This film is half vlogged and half normal shots, i really like the mix between the two and hopefully i can achieve something like this too.

Inspiration (research) #2

When looking for some inspiration I came across this video and it was actually really helpful, though throughout the years I've studied media, media production, multimedia and digital media it was still nice to have a little refresher on what I should be doing. 

• In the video he mentions how the best length for a short film is 10 minutes which I'm really pleased about because thats what I'm trying to achieve.

• He also mentions that it's okay not to follow rules the reason for this is because rules stop the creativity flow which results in poor work. 

• Storyboarding - I think when creating a film storyboarding is a must! even if you don't stick to it 100% it's good to have a guideline of what your original ideas where. 

• Continuity Editing, this is something that annoys me a lot when watching films, one minute the actors hair is up and the next minute their hair is down things like this irritate me because it could have been so easily avoided if more attention was put into it. Having said this mistakes do happen but I will try to avoid this. 

Video Inspiration (research)

This short video has given me a lot of inspiration for cinematic shots. I also like how the camera hovers on them their name appears, I think this could be a good alternative to credits as there's only two people in my film it would seem a little pointless to have credits at the end. 

Research On Script Writing

I thought it would be a good idea to do a quick search on how to write a script considering i've never written one before, the default font seems to be American Typewriter, I also read to keep it brief not write too much especially for short films because you when it comes to filming you may think of something better within improvisation etc. But I had the problem of wanting to write everything down so i didn't forget anything I wanted to say 

Research On Youtube Partners

Research On Youtube

YouTube is a video-sharing website headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States.

it was bought by Google for US $1.65 billion. 

Proposal

Proposal: 

I want to create a Short Film, Trailer and Branding Posters for my final project, three years into university and I find myself very much into film, I enjoy directing and film editing the most. I have gone through a range of ideas for a short film but the idea that has stuck the most has been the idea of a darker side of the internet, I want to make people aware that the internet isn’t always safe and people shouldn't share too much of themselves online. With millions of people uploading youtube videos and posting tweets you’re never truly aware who is watching. 

My film will be based around 2 girls who are youtube sensations getting millions of views per video, just as everything seems perfect the girls will start getting unsettling texts from an anonymous person. The girls will go through hell and back trying to figure out to is texting them to which there will be a plot twist at the end. 

The short film promotes friendship and online safety. 

I want to create a trailer to go with the short film because I like making trailers and I think it could be more exciting than the short film if im honest, i will use the same footage from the movie and maybe some extra footage too so it doesn't spoil the movie. 

the short film will be 10 - 15 minutes long.

the trailer will be about 2 - 3 minutes long. 

--- NEW PROJECT --- The Brief

The Brief 

Students are asked to do an independent project totally of their own choice, and formulate a brief, indicating possible avenues they may wish to explore. 

This is registered with the Course Leader and constitutes ‘Part One – Proposal’ form (300+ words). 

‘Part Two – Project Review’ (500 words) is submitted by the students at the end of the module. This review document is self-evaluative in nature and is intended as a tool for you to review the final projects’ intentions and conclusions, alongside all research work and the final project execution. 

Both forms are included in the assessment criteria for this module.