Photo shoot !

We are planning to have a photoshoot this week. We have selected four band members to be in the shot. We have discusses several locations i.e titanic quarter, the docks and the city hall. However we have chosen a location in cranmore park on the lisburn road. There is a band stand which would be in line with the look we are trying to create. We are using a junior photographer from methody to help us with the shots. We are going to use the shots on our digipack.


James

Focus Group

We plan to hold a focus group with our peers and gain feedback from them about our final production, we will also discuss the plans we have for our album cover and our website. We will ask the following questions:

• What do you think of our video and does the theme match the music effectively?
• What scenes do you think are the most effective?
• What scenes do you dislike?
• Do you think the theme of the video was evident?
• Did you prefer the 1st or 2nd section of the video?
• Are there any changes you feel we could make to our video?

We will post a link to our focus group onto the blog shortly

Shots Of The Park

For the idea of the dead child, we thought it would be a very effective idea to film scenes of an empty park with a variety of different shots including focus pull which i feel enhanced the sense of loss and the detail gained of different objects within the park gave a sense of emptiness.


We used these shots to fill the timeline when conor is running home to sionon.

Colour Masking Shots

Here are examples of some of the shots we used with the colour masking tool within our production, i feel it really enhanced our music video and added to the feeling of loss of a loved one.

Colour Masking

I used a colour masking effect within our video for the scene with the flowers in the graveyard, i  think it was very effective and was surprised how easy it was to use within Final Cut Pro X, I used the following tutorial to help me complete this process.


Colour Isolation Tutorial in Final Cut Pro X from Paul Massey on Vimeo.

Finished Filiming

We have made the final adjustments to our film and have exported it. We are really happy with the way it has turned out. Our planning and our initial ideas have come through great on screen. We are now up loading it to you tube. We will now turn our focus towards the album cover and the website. This will consume our time now, we still have to photoshoot a band for our cover and website. We are going to do this on Wednesday 3rd April. 


James

Slight change in ideas.

We have decided to slightly tweak our idea overall. Originally we had planned to have a conventional family a mother a father and a son. The father would leave and come back to the son. However we were brainstorming and have slightly changed this idea. The child is recently deceased , this is why the father has turned to drink and the mother to religion. I feel that it will build greater feelings of sadness and it will be more effective.

Some great album covers

New Order-Power corruption and lies

We have taken ideas from this cover as it ties in with our video. The use of the flowers against the grey background is thought provoking and still has an element of simplicity.

Editing

I have put all of our clips together and the editing is complete for the abandoned house scene and the scene of conor running home, i am pleased with the outcome and was surprised with the power which final cut pro x possess compared to iMovie which we used last year, especially with lighting and colouring effects. In this production i have put a great emphasis on overlaying shots and i feel they work well and give a sense of hallucination which we are trying to portray to the viewer through the alcohol and drug use within the film. Filming should be completed this week and i will edit the final piece together over the next 2 weeks.


Gavin

Church Scene

James and I went filming last night and we filmed the church scene, so over the next week we plan on filming the flashbacks to fill the gaps which are evident within our timeline then get Conor and Sionon together again and film the scene of Conor being thrown out of the house and him returning to the house, this should be filming completely finished, so I will concentrate on editing and putting the final piece together and James will concentrate on the website and the Album Cover.


Gavin

Mid Production

We are mid- way thorough production. We are now working to fill the gaps in film timeline. We have a series of flash backs to include of which we are going to film on Monday 19th March. These will be in the chapel and in a local park. We are going to try and create an atmosphere of  unease and loss. We are going to use a candle altar and an empty swing and Conor playing football with his son along with a few other shots. We also have to film the scene of conor being thrown out of his home and his return to the house.


Here is a screenshot of our production so far :

Lighting

we had several problems with lighting in particular in the scenes in the house. Gavin has readjusted some of the clips using the exposure settings on final cut pro. There was one particular clip were our female actor threw her ring to the floor, however it didn't correspond with the previous frames we flipped this clip in order to allow it too fit. We are currently working on transitions and fade aways.


James

First filming session

Gavin and I had our first filming session on Sunday 26th February. Our actor was unavailable so we decided in the interests of the group that we would pick a new lead actor. We picked Conor who was in our group last year and is familiar to what we are trying to do. This made the filming session easier as Conor knew what we were trying to achieve with the different shots. We started by filming in the abandoned house with our main actor we did this as we had perfect light. It went well and then we did the running scene between the two houses. There was some problems with light and passing traffic however i think we have done well with the footage. 


James

Past Pupils media

The Evening Angels Gather Here from Dan Kelly on Vimeo.



We watched this video today and really love it. Some of the shots and transitions have given us plenty to think about.

Thursday 23rd February

Gavin and I decided to go and have a look at some of our key locations to further our planning. We toke photos as seen below. The photos are of the two locations i.e the Males house and the abandoned house he takes refuge. We have taken photos of a few of the rooms in this abandoned house some of the rooms have interesting features that we can incorporate into our film. The house has a good look and feel and we believe it will build great tension and will demonstrate the message we are trying to create. We have taken a few photos of the short walk between the two houses. This is where the running scene will take place. The street lights and large walls along with the silence will build tension as well. We may use the Main Malone road for our running scene as this will create a sense of busyness but our actor being along despite all the cars and people passing. Finally we have taken photos of the main house. This house will be seen at the start and the end of our film. We are unsure about the lighting in both locations we are going to look further into this. 

James 

Stills of our prime locations

Useful PDF

http://www.scenesmoking.org/research/SubstanceUseIinMusic.pdf

10 to watch

10 Awesome Movies about Drug Addiction

Whether you’re a drug user or not,  if you want to watch a movie that can make you sick to your stomach, watch a drug addiction movie.   I think one of the main draws to these movies is not only the excess they portray, but these movies dive into worlds that we never thought were possible.

I mean when you think your life is down, just see what happens to people who you think have lives twice as good as yours get completely wrecked by their addictions.   It’s truly disturbing and yet these movies are very important to relay how destructive drug addiction can be.

Here are 10 great movies about drug addiction.

Less than Zero

Interesting that in real life, this movie was pretty damned accurate concerning Robert Downey Jr.’s life.  Downey plays a guy named Julian who comes from a wealthy family in Beverly Hills.    Julian is involved with his ex best friend’s ex girlfriend Blair.  Blair warns his ex best friend, Clay, about Julian’s problems.  The movie gets pretty graphic and you certainly question the use of drugs.  It gave great exposure to the drug lives of young wealthy post college grads.

Rush

Just a disturbing movie all around.  Jason Patric plays an undercover cop set to bust a girl named Kristen (Jennifer Jason Leigh) when he winds up getting addicted himself and falling in love with Leigh in the process.

Trainspotting

One of my favorite movies about drug addiction, Trainspotting explores heroin at its finest.  The process of getting the drug, the ritual of doing the drug, and how the drug sucks you back in time after time.  And the backdrop is the poor town on Edinburgh.  Excellent supporting cast in Ewen McGregor’s first spotlight movie.

Permanent Midnight

This movie just messed me up all around.  Ben Stiller did an excellent job going from comedic actor to serious drug addict role.  There’s just too much detail in this movie for me to handle.  Lots of needle and insertion of needles.  And the scene in the office where Stiller and dealer are jumping against windows is insane.

Requiem for a Dream

Four people who are doing their best in the world wind up succumbing to drugs.  Despite the fact they have lofty aspirations, these four people wind up getting into the dirtiest, and most disturbing parts of the drug underworld.  One of Arnofsky’s finest cinematic accomplishments, Requiem remains and will remain a cult classic.  Great soundtrack too.

Traffic

Traffic takes a look at drugs from all angles.  From the source, to the fight against drugs, to drugs in the home, Traffic is one of the finest movies about drugs in history.  Of the three angles of drugs the movie portrays, I particularly find Erica Christensen’s character to relate to this article.  The movie sort of gives the message of “it just goes to show you, even the best and brightest can get sucked into the world of drugs.”  And not only that, be taken to the worst places imaginable, all under the eye of a drug czar.

Pure

In short the movie is about a boy who is trying to deal with his mother’s heroin addiction.    His mother is dependent on a pimp and dealer which forces the boy (who is 10) to take care of his mother and younger brother.  Even though he’s so young, the boy takes serious action to prevent his mother from dying (as his father did).

The Basketball Diaries

Great look at a true story here.  Leonardo Dicaprio plays a star basketball player and poet who falls into the sordid world of drug addiction in Manhattan.  He goes from being a high school phenom to complete junkie in a matter of months resorting to violence, stealing, and selling his own body just for a hit.  It’s an excellent story and Dicaprio is excellent (as is Mark Wahlberg as his prick friend).

Drugstore Cowboy

A “heroin driven” Bonnie and Clyde.   A couple must finance their drug habit and to do so they rob drug stores.  Eventually however, luck runs out.

Midnight Cowboy

One of the first movies that portrayed gritty, urban heroin addiction with all its associated despair on full display. It remains one of Dustin Hoffman’s finest roles, and the only movie with an “X” rating to ever receive an Academy Award for Best Picture.


JAMES

60 Best night shots of all time

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/11/09/60-beautiful-examples-of-night-photography-2/


Some unreal shots here has given us plenty to think about.

First filming session

We have decided to have our first filming session on Thursday 16th February. We are off school for midterm break and so all of our group are available to meet up. This will be our first time together as a group and will allow us to talk and discuss ideas before we begin. This will let everyone know what we are  at before shooting our first scene.


James

Potential location.

We have been looking for a location to shoot some of our scenes with our male actor. we have been investigating the possibility of recreating an abandoned ghetto type area, similar to the one scene in the movie 'things we lost in the fire'. This location may prove effective in the scenes where our actor is talking drugs and running home. The long street with bricked up houses on one side provide the effect we want and will be ultra effective in portraying the internal themes we are looking to produce for example loneliness, loss, love and the effects of substance and alcohol abuse.


James

Jennymount street Belfast