At the pyramid studios, we will work in groups of two in three departments ; Graphics, Audio and Editing.
Internship!
Our winter vacations started with an internship at "Pyramid studios", here in Karachi, which is a basically a production house. It is part of "Interflow Communications" which the largest advertising agency in Pakistan.
Mind Maps
We were told to design mind maps for our final video which serves to help plot our ideas and come up with interesting new connections for our project video. I created three mind maps focusing on Narrative, Audience and Institution. I have already discussed about my Institution in previous post.
While making the audience mind map, I had an idea of how the audience would react to the movie. Since its just the first 2 minutes of the movie, the main plot of the story can not be shown. I got an initial sense of what my audience reaction might be when I discussed my script with my teacher and class fellows. They all immediately told me that the idea was attractive, yet controversial. I had to clarify that the purpose of my movie is not to portray Muslims negatively. Actually, if I was making a complete movie, it would show the problems that the Muslim community faces in the modern world. Also the opening title does show that Muslim countries like Pakistan are facing the worst of terrorism. Moreover, I have given the age range of 16 years and above for my target audience because I believe that the audience will then be mature enough to understand the topic instead of taking the topic as entertainment only.
In narrative mind map, I have simply summarized the movie for production purposes for example what locations will be involved, details about the characters and what basically happens in the movie. I have also mentioned that it is sort of a recreation of an actual unfortunate event which took place in Lahore, Pakistan in May 2010.
Treatment and Storyboard for Final
Here's the treatment for my final OCR project at A/S level. There will be some improvisation if some of the scenes are too difficult to execute. I have timed the scenes as well so that they fit in the 2 minutes specified. The time shown above the sentence, for example, "Friday,1:45 pm" is the time that will appear on the screen.
Opening Titles(Company/Institution's name)
(Max. 10 seconds)
Friday, 1:45 pm.(Slide on screen)
A van is shown stopping in alley/street. Two men get out of the van first and then a third man comes out of the back carrying a ladder. They are all seen to have guns but they conceal these as they get out of the van. There’s a fourth man, but he stays in the van.
(max. 20 sec)
Earlier, 11.36 am.(Slide on screen)
In ‘Federal Intelligence Agency’,
Arish: Listen up everyone! We a have code red situation. We have just received a bomb threat. I need you guys to alert all security agencies and get a list out of possible high profile targets.
(max. 15 sec)
1:48 pm.(Slide on screen)
The terrorists lean the ladder against the back of the mosque. They climb into the mosque and have concealed weapons. There is no one in the veranda of the mosque yet. They all start sitting in corners of the veranda.
(max. 15 sec)
12: 14 pm.(Slide on screen)
'FIA Headquarters'(appears on screen)
Afia enters Arish’s office. He was talking on the phone. He puts the phone down.
Afia: Sir, we've got maximum security up at most of the high profile targets we could think of including most of the large mosques.
Arish: No use. Saad’s informer told him a white van has already dispatched with 200 kg of explosive.
(max. 20 sec)
1:56pm(Slide on screen)
There’s a lot of crowd entering the mosque now and police security has got lose. A boy enters through the crowd.
(max. 10 sec)
1:53pm(Slide on screen)
Arish: We have got the target. Get our units and inform special forces. Come on move, move, move!(He faces Afia who was standing by his side)I hope we reach in time. If we don’t, God bless those people.
(max. 10 sec)
1:58pm(Slide on screen)
One of the terrorist hears something(He has a hearing device in his ear)and looks at one of his partners. The three then open fire. One policeman gets hit. People start rushing out. The police van and Arish’s team reaches the mosque. Arish realizes its too late to prevent bloodshed. Then there is a blast.
(max. 15 sec)
Title
(5 sec)
Here's the storyboard for my movie. It is like an initial picture of what my movie would have.
Here's the storyboard for my movie. It is like an initial picture of what my movie would have.
Institution-for final
I did a little research on institutions that produce fictional movies that deal with issues like the Middle East and the war against terror. As a starting point, I selected the movies that I have already seen on this particular type of subject. Warner Brothers have produced "Body of Lies" in 2008, which also deals with the same subject. The movie "Rendition" was produced by Anonymous Content in 2007. Universal Pictures has made some popular movies such as "The Kingdom", "Green Zone", "Charlie Wilson's War" and "Jarhead". Except for "Jarhead", Relativity Media has co-financed these films along Universal Pictures.
So, I have decided Relativity Media would be a possible institution behind my film.
So, I have decided Relativity Media would be a possible institution behind my film.
Switch
I was recently having trouble organizing my group and doing my assignments at the same time. Therefore, I have decided that I will work on the final project on my own. I had a backup script that I had already prepared as a contingency in case the group dynamics were not working for me. I'll have to do a little more research on institutions now and will upload mind maps soon.
Movie Poster
Our latest assignment was to come up with a poster for either our preliminary movie or the final movie, the opening title. I decided to make one for our preliminary video since we have not yet finished planning for our final video. I used two different types of software here. One was Adobe Photoshop where I used some basic effects such as cropping the pictures of my actors using Magic Wand Tool and used different texts along coloring effects. The second software I used was Picasa, which helped me 'retouch' the picture of the actors since the magic wand tool did not exactly crop as well as I wanted.
One of the things that might look confusing is that our video only featured 'Saad Tariq' and the other two actors were not shown. Therefore I placed him in the center of the three to make him look like the main character. The teenage actors, the tagline and the black and white name of the film(which gives it a formal and non-funky look) here suggests that if there was a full length movie, it would have been about the tough competition and rivalries that students face at school. The PG-13 rating at the bottom of the poster also supports this idea.
One of the things that might look confusing is that our video only featured 'Saad Tariq' and the other two actors were not shown. Therefore I placed him in the center of the three to make him look like the main character. The teenage actors, the tagline and the black and white name of the film(which gives it a formal and non-funky look) here suggests that if there was a full length movie, it would have been about the tough competition and rivalries that students face at school. The PG-13 rating at the bottom of the poster also supports this idea.
*Universal Studios logo and Dolby digital logo are properties of their respective owners.*
Second Prelim's Script
Dark interrogation cell. There is a table and two chairs. A file and some papers are lying on the table. Just one bulb hangs directly above the table, pouring all its light on it.
A man(detective) in a waist coat is walking around the room. There is a jacket hanging over one of the chairs. The man also has badge on his vest and it is implied that he is a detective or an official.
A bell rings and the door of the room opens. A man wearing a black and white striped shirt and grey/black trouser comes in (he limps) and sits down on a chair.
Detective: You have been with us for six months now Rick. You look pretty fine to me so I am expecting you to cooperate. I just want you to answer me one simple question. Who is Bob Marlin?
(Rick does not answer and keeps staring at the file on the table)
Detective: Are you listening to me? Who is Bob Marlin?
Rick(laughs at first and suddenly turns serious): I don’t know. (Giggles again)
Detective: Listen to me very carefully. I know that you are completely well so I won’t mind using physical methods to get my answer now.
Rick: I do not know Bob Marlin!
Detective: That is a lie! (Pauses). Look, you have murdered five innocent people and you can never get out of this place. But if you cooperate, I’ll give you all possible relaxations. If you do not, you will get nothing but misery and pain.
Rick: I do not feel any pain.
(Detective goes towards him and kicks him in his leg. Rick screams)
Rick: I do not know any Bob! Let me go!
Detective: You know him very well so don’t think you can lie to us, I just need to know about him!
Rick: You will never get the answer from me! (spits at the Detective.)
Detective: Take him away! (waits until Rick is taken away. Then takes out his cell phone and speaks on the phone) 'He isn’t any better. We’ll have to put him back in the ward.' ( He opens the file. The front page is Bob Marlin’s profile and a photograph in it reveals that Rick is Bob himself.)
Movies assisting the Script
While I was writing the script for our preliminary video, a few movies helped me out in designing the character of the psychopath. These include 'Fight Club', 'Se7en' and 'Silence of the Lambs'. Each of these movies features a different kind of psychopath with different level of mental illness. Yet, each character also portrays common attributes such as they are all calm in normal conditions and do not reveal that they suffer from some mental disorder.They do everything for a reason or appear to be able to explain all their actions through logic,and they usually speak softly. But once they are provoked or are bringing out the violence hidden in them, they prove to be very wild and hyper active.
For example, in 'Se7en', the psychopath(John Doe) murders people who have committed one of the 'Seven Sins'. He brutally murders the victims but later he gets himself arrested as he walks into police station covered with blood. He then appears to be calm and composed during the rest of his scenes. He acts as if he is innocent and tries to justify his actions by claiming that whatever he did was for a good cause.
In 'Silence of the Lambs', one of the psychopaths shown in the movie(Dr. Hannibal Lecter) assists an FBI detective in solving a case. He is a prisoner held in a psychopathic ward and he himself was once a Psychiatrist. He is also shown speaking calmly most of the time and has powerful dialogues that not only help the detective with the case but help her with her personal problems as well, In fact, she is some what influenced by his character. Yet he resorts to brutal violence in some scenes.
Keeping in mind these aspects of a psychopath, I added more detail to the background of my character and rephrased my script in such a manner that my character also behaves and speaks in a similar way. This also helped me to create some suspense in the scene.
For example, in 'Se7en', the psychopath(John Doe) murders people who have committed one of the 'Seven Sins'. He brutally murders the victims but later he gets himself arrested as he walks into police station covered with blood. He then appears to be calm and composed during the rest of his scenes. He acts as if he is innocent and tries to justify his actions by claiming that whatever he did was for a good cause.
In 'Silence of the Lambs', one of the psychopaths shown in the movie(Dr. Hannibal Lecter) assists an FBI detective in solving a case. He is a prisoner held in a psychopathic ward and he himself was once a Psychiatrist. He is also shown speaking calmly most of the time and has powerful dialogues that not only help the detective with the case but help her with her personal problems as well, In fact, she is some what influenced by his character. Yet he resorts to brutal violence in some scenes.
Keeping in mind these aspects of a psychopath, I added more detail to the background of my character and rephrased my script in such a manner that my character also behaves and speaks in a similar way. This also helped me to create some suspense in the scene.
Trying out effects
I was going through the video effects in adobe premier so I made two videos using 'Linear Wipe' effect and 'Speed and duration' effect. Links are below:
Creating Script and Mise-en-scene
I have decided to make a more mature video this time than the practice video we did with the bully. Therefore I came up with characters that have a proper background and did not just come into existence without much thought like in our previous video.
The scene is about a mentally ill (possibly psychopathic) character who has committed two murders and has been restrained in a secluded cell. The doctors are trying hard to breakthrough to him but have had a little success. At first sight, he seems to be a calm and normal person but he has forgotten a lot of the common things for example where he lived, who his parents were and even his name. He remembers the crime he has committed but the court can not execute him for the crime since his lawyer argues that he is mentally ill and did not commit the crime deliberately, in cold blood. The mentally ill character was shot in the leg before he was caught, so he limps as well.
The second character is an interrogator who is investigating this case. He failed to found out anything in his previous interviews with the subject so now he is conducting the interview in a different way, in the hope of knowing about whatever memory is left in psychopath's mind. He deliberately calls the psychopath 'Rick' (which is not his actual name but he has accepted it as his name). He asks 'Rick' who Bob Marlin is and whether 'Rick has any information about him. At the end of the video it is revealed that 'Rick' is Bob Marlin himself.
After I was done with the script, we arranged for props and stuff that would be required to make up the mise-en-scene with the appearance of the characters and the interrogation room. The clothes assigned to the psychopath was a grey shirt with black sleeves to make up the uniform of a prisoner and covered his hands, feet and face with dust to add the detail untidiness to his character. We assigned a formal shirt with a waistcoat vest for the interrogator so that he looks like a professional sort.
We had to film the scene in our school during the daytime, so we had to black out a classroom by covering windows with black chart papers. The light was provided by a torch which hangs directly above the table where the two characters sit so it looks more like an interrogation room.
There is a file that the interrogator takes out from a drawer in the table, which contains a profile on Bob Marlin. This is how we reveal that the psychopath is Bob Marlin.
The scene is about a mentally ill (possibly psychopathic) character who has committed two murders and has been restrained in a secluded cell. The doctors are trying hard to breakthrough to him but have had a little success. At first sight, he seems to be a calm and normal person but he has forgotten a lot of the common things for example where he lived, who his parents were and even his name. He remembers the crime he has committed but the court can not execute him for the crime since his lawyer argues that he is mentally ill and did not commit the crime deliberately, in cold blood. The mentally ill character was shot in the leg before he was caught, so he limps as well.
The second character is an interrogator who is investigating this case. He failed to found out anything in his previous interviews with the subject so now he is conducting the interview in a different way, in the hope of knowing about whatever memory is left in psychopath's mind. He deliberately calls the psychopath 'Rick' (which is not his actual name but he has accepted it as his name). He asks 'Rick' who Bob Marlin is and whether 'Rick has any information about him. At the end of the video it is revealed that 'Rick' is Bob Marlin himself.
After I was done with the script, we arranged for props and stuff that would be required to make up the mise-en-scene with the appearance of the characters and the interrogation room. The clothes assigned to the psychopath was a grey shirt with black sleeves to make up the uniform of a prisoner and covered his hands, feet and face with dust to add the detail untidiness to his character. We assigned a formal shirt with a waistcoat vest for the interrogator so that he looks like a professional sort.
We had to film the scene in our school during the daytime, so we had to black out a classroom by covering windows with black chart papers. The light was provided by a torch which hangs directly above the table where the two characters sit so it looks more like an interrogation room.
There is a file that the interrogator takes out from a drawer in the table, which contains a profile on Bob Marlin. This is how we reveal that the psychopath is Bob Marlin.
OCR- Preliminary task
We have now started working on our Preliminary video for OCR. This time, I wanted to try using different camera angles and take more shots. In our previous video, I felt that one thing that made the video boring was that I shot both the characters from the same angle through out the video so the dialogues and scene felt very long and monotonous. Now that I am more comfortable with the basics of camera and editing, I have decided to use a greater variety of shots even for a single dialogue so that I can hold the audience's attention.
I was recently browsing Youtube and I found a group of guys who are making action videos and are using some really cool effects which they uploaded on their channel known as 'Pwnisher'. I am already subscriber of Freddie Wong's channel. Freddie Wong also makes action videos but is more creative and has better expertise with visual and audio effects. The useful thing about both of groups that I found is that they also post videos in which they share information about how to achieve the visual effects and do the editing.The links to both the channels are below:
Freddie Wong's Channel:http://www.youtube.com/user/freddiew?blend=2&ob=1
Pwnisher's Channel:http://www.youtube.com/user/pwnisher
Freddie Wong's Channel:http://www.youtube.com/user/freddiew?blend=2&ob=1
Pwnisher's Channel:http://www.youtube.com/user/pwnisher
First project video and Group Name
I have finally come up with a name for my group too. Its called Mediatronics and you can also see it at the end of our video. I am trying to make the group name distinctive rather than just writing it in simple fonts.
First video
I have uploaded the script of our first video. The dialogues may vary from the actual video since the actors improvised a few of them for ease of delivery.
A young boy is shown sitting on a sofa outside the Principal’s office. The is dressed in a school uniform that is in a very untidy condition. He is also chewing a gum in a very insolent manner.
It is implied that someone walks past him and he stares and snorts at him. Further, he rhetorically asks a boy( not seen on screen), “watcha lookin’ at?”
The school bell rings and the boy stands up with an expression on his face that seems to say he’s fed up. He walks into the office where the Principal waves to him to sit on a chair.
Principal: Hmm, Mr. Tyler Blake. So I have you in my office… Oh for God’s sake spit out that gum.
Tyler(spits out the gum): Sorry about that sir.
Principal: Tyler you know that you are a 10th grader now, not a 3rd or 4th grade kid. You are a grown up and its time you start acting like one. (He opens a drawer and pulls out a piece of paper). I believe your History teacher gave you an assignment to write a 2 page summary of Napoleon’s expeditions. (He unfolds a piece of paper) Is this drawing your complete assignment? (He shows Tyler the drawing)
Tyler(grins at first and then makes a serious face) : Umm, sir, actually I misunderstood what my assignment was, I thought I could be a little creative. I guess it did not turn out that well.
Principal: Oh yes obviously you did not know that Napoleon was never a pirate. God! I don’t know what to do with you? (he pauses) That’s not it. As usual, you have been reported as bullying three kids. I am sure you have an explanation to that too.
Tyler: Sir I never bullied anyone. In fact, other kids bully me. They make fun of me, they try to take my money and then when I react, they say I am bullying them.
Principal: Oh so you are the only person telling the truth and all the others are lying, I suppose. Very convincing. I am calling up your parents now. I am sure they will find your stories interesting.
Tyler: Sir but I…
Principal(speaking on the phone): Can you call Mr. or Mrs. Blake for me please. Yes, it’s about their son Tyler again. Tell them they need to see me urgently as their son will remain in detention until they arrive.
Tyler: Sir, believe me please, I did not do anything.
Principal:(puts down the phone and shouts) Why should I? I know you very well so don’t think that you can get away with your lies! Oh, and yeah, you have added something new to your list of mischievous acts. Vandalism? What is up with that? It is reported that you were responsible for breaking a chair, breaking a door knob, scratching a black board. And what happened to the poster in the hallway that you stole? That is simply too much for one week!
Tyler: Sir, if I may, I did not break the chair deliberately. I fell of it and it broke. I was lucky I did not hit my head on the ground.
Principal: That is so unlucky for us. And the poster? Did it run away?
Tyler:(laughing) That would be funny.
Principal gets angry and is about to say something but then the phone rings. Tyler smirks.
Principal(speaks on the phone): Yes? Mr. Blake is on his way? Good! Please will you also take this jerk outside and send him to the detention room. Thanks. (He puts down the phone). I’ll see you soon. By that time, come up with something that would actually help your future.
Tyler(grin on his face): Well I can answer to that right now.
Principal(shouts): Just get out of my office!
Practice preliminary task
Our next assignment was to make a practice video before we move on to the preliminary task. The outline for the video was the same as the OCR preliminary requirements, that is, a person enters a room and he will have conversation with another person already present in the room. Each of our group members wrote a script and we chose the one that we thought would be most possible to make with limited resources. We shared responsibilities for completing the task and I directed and edited the scene. The scene is about a bully who is being questioned by the Principal over recent complains. I will put up the video in the next post.
Character assignment
Name: Dominic Martini
Ethnicity: White
Appearance and Accent: Broad shouldered with a height of 6 feet. Has black hair peppered with white. Mostly prefers to wear a coat, blazer and a Rolex watch on his hand. Has a British accent.
Martini is an intelligent person with a sharp mind. He has married twice and does not have any children or siblings. He was divorced a few years back because he knew that he could not get immersed in his job and keep his marriage healthy at the same time, so he preferred to concentrate exclusively on his work. His current marriage is about 2 months old and his relationship with the new wife is going well until, again he gets burdened with his job’s pressure. The couples encounter few quarrel with each other but the wife, Emma, knows that these quarrels will stop once Dominic achieves what he wants so she is trying to be supportive of Martini. Martini is not very organized in handling his articles and his room and his office are usually untidy. He is smoker and drinks occasionally, especially when his team wins.
After the ownership of the club is taken over by an industrialist, he has to face numerous problems. Martini has worked hard over his team and staff since 5 years and has managed to bring them into one of the most prestigious events of European football. Since the owner wants to hire another manager for the club, Martini has to win the tournament to prove he is the right person for the job; Martini now has to counter the toughest teams of England in the tournament, the issues within the teammates as well as the issues with newly found fame of his club, the pressure from the owner and club sponsors and the impact of indulgence in his job upon the newly married wife. Being short tempered, many people dislike him. Martini himself regrets this quality but finds it difficult to control it and does not work on overcoming it since it also establishes a commanding personality. Yet his ability to make smart decisions quickly makes him a valuable member of staff. He is not the type of person who sticks to just one plan. Instead he has a diverse approach and makes more than one plan that suits whatever the situation is. He is very supportive and friendly with the teammates and treats them as his family members. But he gets angry whenever someone breaks the discipline. He also has a habit of unnecessarily arguing with people that also makes him unpopular among some. But his wise planning and determination in striving for tournament’s cup and the trust in his team allows him to overcome his problems and be a role model for others.
The character of Dominic Martini came up in my mind because of my own interest in football. Since I watched one of the movies from ‘Goal!’ trilogy recently, where story revolves around a player, I decided to show the issues within a club from perspective of a manager. These days, football has become a very popular sport especially amongst the teenagers and young adults therefore this is also one of the reasons I made a character related to football. To make my character interesting for audience, I decided to put him in midst of chaos and difficulties and made him solve each problem with the help of his unique abilities. Yet I gave my character some negative qualities since a personality with no flaws seems a bit unrealistic. The target audience, that is the teenagers, young adults and football fans, will find themselves looking at a real life club Manager as he stands by the field giving instructions to his players and tries to calm down chaos among some stubborn players back in the changing room. In addition to this, he is also shown trying various ways in keeping the fans happy so that the audience is given a sense of what an actual manager goes through. He is an ideal example of a manager intensely loving his job and sport and the audience will definitely enjoy watching him.
Ethnicity: White
Appearance and Accent: Broad shouldered with a height of 6 feet. Has black hair peppered with white. Mostly prefers to wear a coat, blazer and a Rolex watch on his hand. Has a British accent.
Martini is an intelligent person with a sharp mind. He has married twice and does not have any children or siblings. He was divorced a few years back because he knew that he could not get immersed in his job and keep his marriage healthy at the same time, so he preferred to concentrate exclusively on his work. His current marriage is about 2 months old and his relationship with the new wife is going well until, again he gets burdened with his job’s pressure. The couples encounter few quarrel with each other but the wife, Emma, knows that these quarrels will stop once Dominic achieves what he wants so she is trying to be supportive of Martini. Martini is not very organized in handling his articles and his room and his office are usually untidy. He is smoker and drinks occasionally, especially when his team wins.
After the ownership of the club is taken over by an industrialist, he has to face numerous problems. Martini has worked hard over his team and staff since 5 years and has managed to bring them into one of the most prestigious events of European football. Since the owner wants to hire another manager for the club, Martini has to win the tournament to prove he is the right person for the job; Martini now has to counter the toughest teams of England in the tournament, the issues within the teammates as well as the issues with newly found fame of his club, the pressure from the owner and club sponsors and the impact of indulgence in his job upon the newly married wife. Being short tempered, many people dislike him. Martini himself regrets this quality but finds it difficult to control it and does not work on overcoming it since it also establishes a commanding personality. Yet his ability to make smart decisions quickly makes him a valuable member of staff. He is not the type of person who sticks to just one plan. Instead he has a diverse approach and makes more than one plan that suits whatever the situation is. He is very supportive and friendly with the teammates and treats them as his family members. But he gets angry whenever someone breaks the discipline. He also has a habit of unnecessarily arguing with people that also makes him unpopular among some. But his wise planning and determination in striving for tournament’s cup and the trust in his team allows him to overcome his problems and be a role model for others.
The character of Dominic Martini came up in my mind because of my own interest in football. Since I watched one of the movies from ‘Goal!’ trilogy recently, where story revolves around a player, I decided to show the issues within a club from perspective of a manager. These days, football has become a very popular sport especially amongst the teenagers and young adults therefore this is also one of the reasons I made a character related to football. To make my character interesting for audience, I decided to put him in midst of chaos and difficulties and made him solve each problem with the help of his unique abilities. Yet I gave my character some negative qualities since a personality with no flaws seems a bit unrealistic. The target audience, that is the teenagers, young adults and football fans, will find themselves looking at a real life club Manager as he stands by the field giving instructions to his players and tries to calm down chaos among some stubborn players back in the changing room. In addition to this, he is also shown trying various ways in keeping the fans happy so that the audience is given a sense of what an actual manager goes through. He is an ideal example of a manager intensely loving his job and sport and the audience will definitely enjoy watching him.
Character
Our first assignment for the course G321 was to come up with a fictional character. I planned and made a rough draft for my character that I envisioned as a typical hero but when I reviewed what I had written, I realized that the character lacked realism since he did not have any negative traits. So I came up with another character, one that had balanced traits and was more versatile. I will put up my assignment in the next post.
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