Wednesday, 16 December 2009




Monday, 14 December 2009

Film Rating


The BBFC say that “it is impossible to predict what might upset any particular child. But a ‘U’ film should be suitable for audiences aged four years and over. ‘U’ films should be set within a positive moral framework and should offer reassuring counterbalances to any violence, threat or horror.”

The story we are presenting is about a boy who falls asleep in a waiting room and dreams his way through an imaginary land. The boy, Will, encounters several different animals and creatures on his journey, which could distress or frighten a young child. The BBFC state that the theme of a ‘U’ film can include problematic themes, however, their treatment must be sensitive and appropriate or young children. However, the guidelines for a ‘U’ film state that ‘horror scenes’ should be ‘mild’ and ’brief’ and that ‘the outcome should be reassuring.’ This is will defiantly be the case in our film as Will shall always find a way out of any dangerous situation.

As our film has been filmed using plasticine and the nature of the film, imitable behaviour is an issue that should be treated very seriously and carefully. As this is the case, there will be no emphasis on realistic or easily accessible weapons and the main character will never do anything to put himself in danger, or a situation a young child is likely to copy.

Through out the entirety of the film, there will not be any bad language, nudity or any sexual references and violence will be mild and very infrequent.

The BBFC state that “unaccompanied children of any age may watch. A ‘PG’ film should not disturb a child aged around eight or older. However, parents are advised to consider whether the content may upset younger or more sensitive children.”

Late into the making of the models used in the film, the group realised that the body shape and facial expressions of the main character and others where in fact quite horrific and that this should be taken into account when suggesting a rating for the film. As it is the main character who the viewer, in this case a potentially quite young child, is ideally meant to connect and feel comfortable towards, the facial features and nature of the character must be soft and friendly. As filming has already begun and cannot be re-done at this stage, this will have to be a problem the group takes into account when rating this film.

The theme for a ‘PG’ film can be slightly more serious but many of the factors covered in the paragraph above relate more to the content of the film.

Overall, the films themes, situations, behaviour and other factors point towards the film being a ‘U’. However, due to the appearance of some of the characters and particularly the main character, I believe this film should be rated a minimum of a ‘PG’

Sunday, 13 December 2009

3 Priorities For Next Week:

1. For next week, we need to make sure we have fully completed all the I-stop for the opening of our children's film. That includes having our character opening the door, meeting the 'magical dog' and briefly (possibly) exploring the magical world.

2. To sort out all diagetic and non-diagetic sound for our children's film opening. This includes character speech and the soundtrack.

3. To upload a completely finished children's film opening sequence to our Longroad Media blog.

Friday, 4 December 2009

wallace and gromit analysis

Wallace And Gromit; A Grand Day Out begins very simply with a theme tune over a still image of a section of the scenery. Writing is then ‘drawn’ on, giving the name of the short film and introducing the characters. The opening sequence is very short and soon gives way to the story.

The first image the audience sees, holiday brochures, already gives away a key part of the story and makes it very easy for younger viewers to get the gist of the film. The film is done using stop motion animation although, the camera actually slowly moves around an image if it is still, saving a lot of time and often makes a longer duration shot, with more camera movement look a lot better. Background music is almost constantly played through the film and creates a more comfortable atmosphere for the viewer. This is very important, especially when in a children’s film so as to make them want to keep watching and not feel intimated by the film.

Close ups are often used as they require a lot less detail in the whole shot and less needs to be moved meaning less room for errors such as wrong movements in characters or setting. As well as this, only props and characters are made using plasticine as they are the only things that the director has to move.

Movements made by the characters are often quite dramatised, making their reaction to a comment or situation a lot easier to read and follow which is also important for the younger viewers.

Main characters are usually made to look a lot friendlier with softer voices and with more simple facial features. This helps the audience to connect with the main character a lot faster and easier and makes the story a lot easier to narrate.

The sounds used, whether it be opening a cupboard or picking up a piece of paper, are also very emphasised. This could be a technique used to make sure the viewer is still concentrating on what’s going on and that their attention stays with the character.

Certain facial features or body language is a very easy way to display the emotion of a character without them having to say anything. For example, Gromit doesn’t speak at all, however, the viewer is still aware of his reactions and feelings towards a certain situation. These feelings are mostly shown in the way his ears move and the way his arms move. This also gives him a particular personality, which would be a lot different if dialogue was used.

Childrens Film Opening Script

Boy is in bed, quietly reading a book. The only light is just a small bedside light.
Boy slowly begins to drift off to sleep as the camera slowly fades out and eventually the book drops to the floor.

Boy: What's going on, where on Earth am I.

Narrator: Welcome, to the dreamland, you are inside your own head, free to do whatever you want, whenever you want. You can fly, you can visit grand landscapes and you can eat, whatever you want.

Will: Why am i made of plasticine?

Narrator: This is how the dream world works, don't ask me, you imagined it...

Will: Right...

Narrator: We're getting off the point my friend, the real question is, how do you leave?

Will: Well, I'll try the door over there...

Narrator: Yes, that could work, fill your boots, but wheres the fun in that?

[voice fades away slowly]

Will Walks over to the door, slowly, and a bright white light shines through.

the boys dog appears in the scene, made of plasticine like the rest of the set and jumps up to lick his face.

Dog: Ruff! oh terribly sorry old chap, got a chesty cough. But I'm so glad you're here!

Boy: Hello boy! WAIT, since when did you talk?!

Dog: I'll have you know, I speak 9 languages, including Russian, Spanish, Mandarin, Gibberish, Dog and Human, of course.

Boy: Whatever, lets explore...

STORYBOARD

shot 1: medium long, will laying in bed the falling asleep

shot 2: swirly lines representing entrance to a 'dream world'
shot3: out of focus P.O.V, will blinks in to focus
shot 4: medium, looks down at hands a feet
shot5: gets out of bed and starts walking around his room
shot8: long, walks down stairs

shot10: medium, opens front door and looks out
shot 11: extreame long, looks out at imaginary world


THE TEAM


FROM LEFT TO RIGHT:
BEAN HOLMES: animator
BREAD MAKER: director
WILL RITSON: actor
LEWIS REES: camera man

Wednesday, 2 December 2009

SETTING IDEA-SPACE


SPACE SETTING: Ignoring Wallace and Gromit in the foreground, the background could be used for the space scene we intend to use. Here the main boy character will maybe meet characters such as aliens etc. The setting should be arid, dry and nearly desert like, with a black space background with stars and planets etc.

SETTING IDEA-JUNGLE

JUNGLE SETTING: This is an idea for one of the settings that boy will investigate whilst traveling around the magic world. The setting will consist of different types of jungle foliage and maybe animals i.e. Tigers etc.

Stop motion with toys

This video is a great example of the kind of style we are looking for. The stopmotion here using toys or plasticine means we can do things that wouldn't normally be possible with normal filming techniques. For example, our idea is about s". Furthermore, as you can see from he transformers video, if done properly, the animation can be seamless, and be very convincing.

In addition to this, it allows us to create landscapes entirely out of plasticine, which gets rid of the problem of dull backgrounds.



FIRST IDEA

The first idea we have is of a young boy (Will) who will fall asleep one night, only to wake to find out he has transformed in to a cartoon version of himself, and can shape shift into anything. After this he explores an imaginary world, experiencing a world of weird creatures and settings, with the aim to find his way out and transform back to his usual 'human' self. When in this world, we want the boy character to be able to transform into anything he wants, i.e. a bird, car, plane etc, whilst exploring various 'worlds', such as; a jungle, space etc (basically a magical world) and meeting the inhabitants i.e. aliens etc. IDEAS TO BE DONE IN PLASTICINE OR LEGO

Analysis of childrens film opening

Toy Story - Will Ritson



To begin with, the opening to Toy Story has an all round happy and warm atmosphere. One elements that relates to this are the colours in the sequence. They consist of mainly light blues, browns and yellows. These colours appear quite neutral, and unimposing, as opposed to colours such as red. This also hints at a sense of security with the toys, and that alot of fun can be had with them. In addition to this, the cloud design of the wall paper on screen adds to this, as clouds and blue sky tend to be associated with warm summer days and fun. The opposite effect would happen if the skys were grey and gloomy.

In addition to this, the non-diagetic sound, the music in particular, is very upbeat and happy. This also adds to the sense of fun and security, and adds to the films all round atmosphere. In addition to this, the words "you got a friend in me" suggest an actual friendship with the toys themselves.

The mise-en-scene within the sequence is all of toys. The "buildings" made from the boxes suggest to children waching that fun can be had with everything. In addition to this, the room has toys everywhere, and in a way, the room looks like a miniature landscape, with the blue sky wallpapers, the boxes, and the toy race track. It is almost surreal.

Tuesday, 1 December 2009

Preliminary Task

 
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