Film posters
Shown below are some similar genre film posters, they all have an image with text below showing the title of the film. All text is written in either red or green which shows the colours of Christmas with bold text.
Titles updated
Our new titles
As we had to re film our opening scene, we changed the titles that were shown as the text wasn't good and the names were repeated to many times. We decided to change the names to make them all completely different to before and the changes we made are shown below.
(In order of appearance)
Baubles-
5 names:
-Lucy Fitch
-Olivia Frain
-Oli Wong
-Katie Jones
-Tom Lee
-Sam James
Books-
Casting by: Dan Amato
Written by: Tom Richardson
Written by: Tom Richardson
Special effects by: Bonnie Johns
Stockings-
Delilah Tulips
Lee Hart
Card-
Costume designer: Lucy Harding
Production designer: Issy Payne
Cookies-
Music by: Phil Carp
Present tags-
Produced by: Bessie Hawkins
Director of photography: Chay Pollinger
Music updated
When watching the draft of our film opening, we received feedback which suggested that we needed to change the music. They said the pace fitted the film but it went on for too long and should be changed when Santa is seen.
After editing our final draft, we chose some more music which is shown below...
We may not use this but it is an idea.
We decided to use this music as it fits the part where the elf appears and when Santa is taken.
Re-Filming
Re-filming
On Thursday 11th December, our group decided to re-film. We got to the filming location after
school at about 4.00pm and it took about 2 and a half hours to re-film. We decided to change a few things which we discovered needing improving when we got our feedback back. This included title font as it was too unneat, I took the job of re-writing the titles to make them more festive and neat. Another thing we had to change was the Christmas tree as it was too small, we used a newer and bigger one for the second time filming which had lots more decorations on. I bought the outfits again and we re-did everything as our filming is one long continuous film for the titles.
We managed to capture everything we needed as the lesson after (Friday 12th) we saw that we had filmed everything correctly.
What went better this time was shadows, last time we got too many shadows in the background and the lighting wasn't good as it was too dark. Second time round, we avoided shadows and got some really good shots.
Second time filming photos
Shown above are some photographs I took of Chay, Tom and Bonnie getting ready to film once we had decided on positions.
Below are some photos I took of the scene where Tom (Santa) is taken by Chay.
After re-filming, we managed to capture a much more improved scene. Shown below is the final footage but we may change music.
Text updated
Text updated
When we looked at our feedback we realised that a main issue we needed to consider changing was the text. We received a few comments which suggested we wrote them out neater so the audience could read them more clearly. One comment said 'make the text more exciting by spending more time writing it'. when we filmed for the first time all we did was wrote them as if they were actual labels on presents therefore we didn't spend much time writing them. We need to improve this when re-filming to make them more interesting to read, they need to be bold and we need to pick an exciting font type to do this.
I said I would focus on re-writing the titles as I had a few good ideas of how to present them as I had the job of looking at text when we were planning. I had come up with some ideas which the group liked and this also included writing on baubles.
I practised writing out some titles and took some images below...
The images above show the baubles I wrote on, we chose different text which was clearer then before and also chose different names as another suggestion we got was to change names as we kept repeating the same names. I used tipex to write on the baubles and took my time so they were neat.
These images show other labels we used, I had the job of writing these out too as I had neat handwriting. I used the same props as before (Christmas card and present tags) to write the titles and took time making the handwriting more suitable for the genre. When I was researching text when we were planning, I came across a few that looked good, one of them looked similar to the text I used above.
Here is an image screenshot of some of the similar fonts I looked at when planning.
We decided it looked best if we used the writing that curled such as the second ones down because it is suitable for Christmas and it was quite easy to copy. We decided to use different text font for the baubles because it was already difficult to write on them as they were small and a difficult shape so we used a simple text like the last font shown above.
Draft feedback
Feedback from draft
Feedback sheets are shown below, people gave us feedback on what went well and what we need to improve/change.
Overall, people really liked our title ideas, most people said they look creative the way we have presented them on objects in the room. They also liked the upbeat music that played over the top of the filming, however they suggested we used different music for the scene where Santa appears.
Many people liked the part where we used cookies to show one of the names. They said they liked our idea because it is different and original.
However, although we received some really positive feedback, we also got some comments which we need to improve. This included changing the titles so they were more readable but to do this we would have to re-film as the filming is one long shot. They suggested we spent more time writing the titles as the text was too simple and some were unreadable and someone said that the baubles were not good as we wrote on paper instead of on the actual bauble. If we do re-film we would have to write on the baubles, write neatly and make sure we use a range of names as we repeated a lot of the names a lot which was said to improve.
Saving Santa first draft
Saving Santa first draft!
We created a first draft of our film to show the rest of the class, we then received some feedback to see what they thought of our ideas. They wrote down what they liked and what we should change, the feedback sheets are shown on the next blog post.
Our film starts at the time of 13.42
Shown below are some photos taken when we were looking at everyone's film openings (drafts). As we watched them we wrote what we liked and disliked.
Filming images- Evidence
Filming photos...
Shown below are some photographs I took when we were filming, I took them when we were filming shots, when people were acting and getting ready (e.g. setting up and getting into costumes).
These photos are of us getting ready, myself and Bonnie were setting up props and Tom and Chay were sorting out locations and costumes.
Shown above are photos of Chay having a go at filming, he filmed Tom (Santa) coming from the chimney/fireplace.
Photos of Chay helping Tom with the Santa costume and when Tom was ready to act.
I took these photos to show some of our props we had (left) and some of our costumes we had which were the elves (right).
Here are some more images to show the filming we did. On the left is Tom practising the first shots and on the right shows where we placed the tripod, it was in the corner of the room so it showed all what went on in the scene. When I had a go at filming, I used to the tripod to put the camera on to keep it still, I then had to pick it up really slowly and carefully as I had to bring it back to show the movement of Chay and Tom in the 'fight' scene. this was hard as I had to move the camera really slowly so the camera remained still.
Planning and filming- What we all did
What we all did
I think our group got on really well together. We all had our own different strengths and weaknesses which worked really well because what someone wasn't great at, someone else was. I believe we worked really well a group because we also had fun whilst completing the filming. It went how it was meant to which shows we worked well together. We all gave what we could to the task before and during filming; Lucy and Bonnie provided the outfits and many props, Tom gave us the Christmas tree which was needed in the film, helped produced the storyboard and was a great actor for his role (Santa) and finally Chay worked really well with the camera and captured some really accurate shots and was also a good actor and helped with the storyboard.
Editing
Chay and Tom mostly focused on the majority of the editing as they were best at it, Bonnie and Lucy continued to write up things onto the blog which included the production diary and how well the filming went. Tom and Chay were best at editing because they were good at working on little bits that needed fixing and Bonnie and Lucy set the order of the videos.
Editing
Chay and Tom mostly focused on the majority of the editing as they were best at it, Bonnie and Lucy continued to write up things onto the blog which included the production diary and how well the filming went. Tom and Chay were best at editing because they were good at working on little bits that needed fixing and Bonnie and Lucy set the order of the videos.
Production diary
Production Diary
Monday 10th November
Monday 10th November
On the 10th we began our planning for our film opening task. Before this lesson we had to come up with our own film pitch idea to show the others in our group, we did this so we could agree on one of our ideas which we would then plan, film and edit. In this lesson both Tom and Chay were absent so it just left Bonnie and Lucy to show each other their ideas. We had to discuss good and bad things about the ideas and thought about which one would work best.
Tuesday 11th November
On the second day, Tom and Chay were here again which meant we could show each other our ideas and agree on a final film opening. We told each other our film pitch but couldn't decide between a couple of them so we presented them to the class to see what they preferred. After this we had decided to go with Tom's idea which was a Christmas themed film but with a different audience to the normal genre, teenagers rather then young children.
Wednesday 12th November
On the Wednesday we got together and started thinking up some narrative ideas, looking for music to use in the film opening, possible locations and unique title ideas. These titles included Christmas decorations which told us we need a lot of props but this was good because at this time of year they can be easily found. Later, Tom and Chay thought a lot about the storyboard, characters and narrative whilst Bonnie and Lucy discussed locations, costumes and props needed.
Thursday 13th November
Today we thought about timelines for other films. We went on the computer to do some individual research to look up other films with a similar genre to ours and saw what order they put their titles in. Our opening scene focuses on the titles so this was an important task for our group. We all watched different films so we didn't all do the same. We wrote down the time at every title that came up and who was mentioned. For example the films title was shown early on but was not the first name that came up. We learnt which order these names usually appear in which will be a big help for us.
Friday 14th November
On Friday we looked at the 'art of the title' website which had lots of successful title sequences from well-known films. We chose a title sequence that related to our films genre and created a timeline for the film. We spent the whole hour taking screenshots from the title sequence, cropping them and putting them in order on one photo to add to our blog. We had to screenshot every time a name appeared, wrote down the time and took a photo of it. This took time as it was a long process but it was needed to help us.
Monday 17th November
In this lesson we were given a list of over 20 planning tasks to do which we organised between the four of us by giving each person a number of the tasks to do. These tasks were to help us plan, they included the storyboard, music, prop list, recce shots, planning photos, a mood board and a risk assessment. We all took on the jobs we thought were best for us so we all had something to plan for the week.
Tuesday 18th November
Today we started planning our own individual tasks, Lucy looked at text fonts and sixes for the titles, Bonnie made a prop list and Tom and Chay began creating the storyboard together. To communicate we have made a chat on whatsapp so we can share thoughts easily and share photos for our task.
Wednesday 19th November
Lucy was absent on the Wednesday so Chay, Bonnie and Tom wrote a title list of who was what role in the production of our film. The logo was chosen which was Bonnie's because it was the best as it looked professional and had a good name.
Thursday 20th November
(No media lesson)
Friday 21st November
We carried on with our individual jobs and peer assessed our blog so we got a second opinion for our work. This was good as we gathered new ideas for our blog and we found what we still need to do.
Monday 24th November
Chay started the risk assessment for our filming and Tom carried on drawing the storyboard and added some text to it. We also told our media teacher our final ideas and discussed when we will film. We worked out when we could all film which was going to be the following Friday (28th) as we all have a free period last lesson.
Tuesday 25th November
Today Lucy brought in the Santa costume for Tom and Chay to try on to make sure it fit them, we needed to make sure it fitted so we knew if we needed to get anything before filming. We also continued to work on our individual tasks. Chay worked on the risk assessment, Tom worked on the storyboard, Bonnie made a title list on her blog and Lucy did the production diary.
Wednesday 26th November
Today Tom finished the storyboard and Chay begun writing the script, Tom has also added timings to the storyboard so it is completely finished. Bonnie worked on her blog writing up prop lists and uploading photos and Lucy added more days onto the production diary.
Thursday 27th November
Today Tom started writing up representations, Chay started the script, Bonnie wrote up about the music we will use in the film and Lucy also looked at music, production diary and worked out what props people needed to bring as our filming day is tomorrow (Friday 28th).
Friday 28th November
Today is filming today, before this Tom and Chay filmed the storyboards and made a voiceover, Bonnie added more to her blog and Lucy added the risk assessment to the blog which included all the possible risks that could occur when filming.
Filming:
When it came to filming, we left school at 1.30pm to go to film. We left at this time so we had plenty of time to film as we had the whole afternoon/evening. We got to our location around 2'o'clock which meant we had about three hours to film. First, we looked at the room we were using and figured out where we were going to place all the props. We used the fireplace, two tables and the mantle piece on top of the fireplace. Bonnie and Lucy decorated the mantle piece with props we had bought and Chay and Tom decorated the tree and picked out tinsel and baubles.
After this we did some practise filming which got us used to the camera and how we were going to film. We didn't actually film this but we looked through the camera to check it looked good. We then checked the lighting, our film is supposed to be dark as it is set in the evening/night so as it was daytime we shut the curtains and dimed the lights. This lighting was good because it created the scene we wanted. We then stared filming the first shots of our film. We practised many times and got many videos so we had enough to edit and eventually created a long duration shot for the title sequence which lasts about 2 minutes which is what we hoped for.
Once we had filmed the first bit, we started to plan the second part which was when Santa gets 'kidnapped' by the robber. This took time as we had to get all the acting and filming just right. Whilst Tom (Santa) and Chay (robber) acted their small fight scene, Bonnie used the elf costume to be in the foreground who was oblivious to what was happening behind her, Lucy was filming at this point using the tripod in the corner of the room.
Once we had filmed the second part, we then filmed another shot which will appear before the 'fight'. We filmed the 'fight' before because it was going to take longer. The third thing we filmed was when Santa (Tom) is emerging from the fireplace. Chay used the camera to film this from the side of the fireplace so it looked as though Tom (Santa) had travelled down the chimney. Santa then stood in the room ready for the following shot (which we filmed before this- the 'fight scene'.
All our filming took about four hours in total which included setting up which took about half an hour. We managed to film everything which was great because we only have to film again if we missed anything or if something isn't right. This means we have even more time to edit which we will need as it is especially important for our film.
Monday 1st December
Today in lesson all we did was watched our shots we had filmed on Friday, we looked at what went well and what could maybe be improved if we have time. Lucy looked at lighting on premiere as the camera had made the footage look dark, we should have made lighting more bright in the room but we thought it was okay as it needed to be set at night, however we could easily adjust lighting on premiere to make it look less dull. Chay and Tom also put the footage onto a computer to see what could be done with editing.
Tuesday 2nd December
Today Tom wasn't in so we continued to work on our blogs instead of editing. Lucy uploaded storyboard photos to the blog and wrote up about them. Bonnie finished the shooting schedule and Chay added some more to his blog.
Wednesday 3rd December
Today Lucy and Tom were not in school but Chay and Bonnie started to edit the draft of our film. They managed to arrange shots in the correct order and add the music. They also added some more to their blogs, but mainly used the lesson to add and edit on premiere.
Thursday 4th December
(No media lesson)
Friday 5th December
Today Lucy added more to the production diary which included what happened on filming day, Tom spent the whole lesson editing the filming and Bonnie and Chay added more to their blogs such as the risk assessment and the shooting schedule. Tom had watched the editing Chay had done the lesson before and then added to it eventually making our draft copy to show to the class, this will allow us to receive feedback for our film and see what we need to do to improve it.
Monday 8th December
Today we watched all the film drafts and gave feedback, we commented on what went well and what needed to be improved. This was good for our group as not only did we get to see all the other film opening ideas, we got to see what people liked about our film.
Tuesday 9th December
Today we received our feedback sheets and Lucy and Bonnie looked through them to see what people had said. Tom and Chay were both absent for the lesson so Bonnie and Lucy sorted out the good and bad comments we got from the class.
Wednesday 10th December
Today we carried on looking at the feedback sheets and looked at what had gone well and saw what we needed to improve. We discussed re-filming as some people had commented on the titles being unreadable. We decided we needed to re-film or do a lot of editing, we then made the decision of re-filming which would then happen the next day (Thursday).
Thursday 11th December
Today in lesson Lucy wrote on the baubles with tipex to show some names for the titles, Bonnie helped with names and what titles to use and Tom and Chay thought about new shots to use for a slight change in the film opening as the props will have to be moved when we re-film.
Filming
When it came to filming for the second time, we went after school to the house we were using and got there at about 4.00pm, we took about 2 and a half hours to get all the footage we needed. Lucy re-wrote the labels for titles whilst Tom and Bonnie got changed into their outfits. Chay worked out where everything needed to be filmed and worked out what props we could use.
When we were ready to film, Chay filmed the part where Santa (Tom) comes out of the chimney, at this point the elf (Bonnie) was in the background.
We then filmed the fight scene (when Santa is captured) and carries him out the room which will lead to the final part where the wreath is shown.
After this we filmed the title sequence, when doing this Chay filmed the whole shot and to avoid shadows, Lucy shone a torch above to improve the lighting.
We then filmed the final scene where Santa is taken and they leave the house, the door then shuts behind them which reveals the title of the film on a wreath on the door.
This time filming went a lot better than the first time as the props and tree were improved, the lighting was much better/brighter and the titles were different.
Friday 12th December
Today we looked at the footage we had filmed the day before and made a folder of what we liked and what we didn't (good and bad footage) we then put the best filming onto premiere and started to edit. Tom did most of the editing and got a lot of it done. We need to add music to make it better and edit some of the shots. Bonnie, Lucy and Chay added more to the blogs.
Monday 13th December
Lucy was absent from the lesson so Bonnie took in the outfits so that Bonnie Chay and Tom could make the film poster. Using the drama rooms and a tripod, they produced a few images for the film poster. Although Lucy managed to catch up writing and adding to the production diary to keep it updated.
Tuesday 14th December
Today Bonnie and Lucy added to their blogs whilst Tom and Chay looked for a classroom to film another shot. Lucy added more to the production diary and Bonnie added the shooting schedule to her posts.
Wednesday 15th December
Today we added to our blogs, Tom wasn't is school. Lucy added to the production diary, Chay added to his blog and so did Bonnie.
Thursday 16th December
(No media lesson)
After school, Lucy and Bonnie stayed for a couple of hours completing final editing for the filming. We changed music and adjusted some timings to make finishing touches. We then uploaded I to Lucy's YouTube to then put on our blogs, this took a very long time as it had a lot to process. Whilst we waited we added some posts to our blogs, Lucy added more to the production diary and Bonnie added more to her blog. Our film is now ready and up on YouTube.
Wednesday 19th November
Lucy was absent on the Wednesday so Chay, Bonnie and Tom wrote a title list of who was what role in the production of our film. The logo was chosen which was Bonnie's because it was the best as it looked professional and had a good name.
Thursday 20th November
(No media lesson)
Friday 21st November
We carried on with our individual jobs and peer assessed our blog so we got a second opinion for our work. This was good as we gathered new ideas for our blog and we found what we still need to do.
Monday 24th November
Chay started the risk assessment for our filming and Tom carried on drawing the storyboard and added some text to it. We also told our media teacher our final ideas and discussed when we will film. We worked out when we could all film which was going to be the following Friday (28th) as we all have a free period last lesson.
Tuesday 25th November
Today Lucy brought in the Santa costume for Tom and Chay to try on to make sure it fit them, we needed to make sure it fitted so we knew if we needed to get anything before filming. We also continued to work on our individual tasks. Chay worked on the risk assessment, Tom worked on the storyboard, Bonnie made a title list on her blog and Lucy did the production diary.
Wednesday 26th November
Today Tom finished the storyboard and Chay begun writing the script, Tom has also added timings to the storyboard so it is completely finished. Bonnie worked on her blog writing up prop lists and uploading photos and Lucy added more days onto the production diary.
Thursday 27th November
Today Tom started writing up representations, Chay started the script, Bonnie wrote up about the music we will use in the film and Lucy also looked at music, production diary and worked out what props people needed to bring as our filming day is tomorrow (Friday 28th).
Friday 28th November
Today is filming today, before this Tom and Chay filmed the storyboards and made a voiceover, Bonnie added more to her blog and Lucy added the risk assessment to the blog which included all the possible risks that could occur when filming.
Filming:
When it came to filming, we left school at 1.30pm to go to film. We left at this time so we had plenty of time to film as we had the whole afternoon/evening. We got to our location around 2'o'clock which meant we had about three hours to film. First, we looked at the room we were using and figured out where we were going to place all the props. We used the fireplace, two tables and the mantle piece on top of the fireplace. Bonnie and Lucy decorated the mantle piece with props we had bought and Chay and Tom decorated the tree and picked out tinsel and baubles.
After this we did some practise filming which got us used to the camera and how we were going to film. We didn't actually film this but we looked through the camera to check it looked good. We then checked the lighting, our film is supposed to be dark as it is set in the evening/night so as it was daytime we shut the curtains and dimed the lights. This lighting was good because it created the scene we wanted. We then stared filming the first shots of our film. We practised many times and got many videos so we had enough to edit and eventually created a long duration shot for the title sequence which lasts about 2 minutes which is what we hoped for.
Once we had filmed the first bit, we started to plan the second part which was when Santa gets 'kidnapped' by the robber. This took time as we had to get all the acting and filming just right. Whilst Tom (Santa) and Chay (robber) acted their small fight scene, Bonnie used the elf costume to be in the foreground who was oblivious to what was happening behind her, Lucy was filming at this point using the tripod in the corner of the room.
Once we had filmed the second part, we then filmed another shot which will appear before the 'fight'. We filmed the 'fight' before because it was going to take longer. The third thing we filmed was when Santa (Tom) is emerging from the fireplace. Chay used the camera to film this from the side of the fireplace so it looked as though Tom (Santa) had travelled down the chimney. Santa then stood in the room ready for the following shot (which we filmed before this- the 'fight scene'.
All our filming took about four hours in total which included setting up which took about half an hour. We managed to film everything which was great because we only have to film again if we missed anything or if something isn't right. This means we have even more time to edit which we will need as it is especially important for our film.
Monday 1st December
Today in lesson all we did was watched our shots we had filmed on Friday, we looked at what went well and what could maybe be improved if we have time. Lucy looked at lighting on premiere as the camera had made the footage look dark, we should have made lighting more bright in the room but we thought it was okay as it needed to be set at night, however we could easily adjust lighting on premiere to make it look less dull. Chay and Tom also put the footage onto a computer to see what could be done with editing.
Tuesday 2nd December
Today Tom wasn't in so we continued to work on our blogs instead of editing. Lucy uploaded storyboard photos to the blog and wrote up about them. Bonnie finished the shooting schedule and Chay added some more to his blog.
Wednesday 3rd December
Today Lucy and Tom were not in school but Chay and Bonnie started to edit the draft of our film. They managed to arrange shots in the correct order and add the music. They also added some more to their blogs, but mainly used the lesson to add and edit on premiere.
Thursday 4th December
(No media lesson)
Friday 5th December
Today Lucy added more to the production diary which included what happened on filming day, Tom spent the whole lesson editing the filming and Bonnie and Chay added more to their blogs such as the risk assessment and the shooting schedule. Tom had watched the editing Chay had done the lesson before and then added to it eventually making our draft copy to show to the class, this will allow us to receive feedback for our film and see what we need to do to improve it.
Monday 8th December
Today we watched all the film drafts and gave feedback, we commented on what went well and what needed to be improved. This was good for our group as not only did we get to see all the other film opening ideas, we got to see what people liked about our film.
Tuesday 9th December
Today we received our feedback sheets and Lucy and Bonnie looked through them to see what people had said. Tom and Chay were both absent for the lesson so Bonnie and Lucy sorted out the good and bad comments we got from the class.
Wednesday 10th December
Today we carried on looking at the feedback sheets and looked at what had gone well and saw what we needed to improve. We discussed re-filming as some people had commented on the titles being unreadable. We decided we needed to re-film or do a lot of editing, we then made the decision of re-filming which would then happen the next day (Thursday).
Thursday 11th December
Today in lesson Lucy wrote on the baubles with tipex to show some names for the titles, Bonnie helped with names and what titles to use and Tom and Chay thought about new shots to use for a slight change in the film opening as the props will have to be moved when we re-film.
Filming
When it came to filming for the second time, we went after school to the house we were using and got there at about 4.00pm, we took about 2 and a half hours to get all the footage we needed. Lucy re-wrote the labels for titles whilst Tom and Bonnie got changed into their outfits. Chay worked out where everything needed to be filmed and worked out what props we could use.
When we were ready to film, Chay filmed the part where Santa (Tom) comes out of the chimney, at this point the elf (Bonnie) was in the background.
We then filmed the fight scene (when Santa is captured) and carries him out the room which will lead to the final part where the wreath is shown.
After this we filmed the title sequence, when doing this Chay filmed the whole shot and to avoid shadows, Lucy shone a torch above to improve the lighting.
We then filmed the final scene where Santa is taken and they leave the house, the door then shuts behind them which reveals the title of the film on a wreath on the door.
This time filming went a lot better than the first time as the props and tree were improved, the lighting was much better/brighter and the titles were different.
Friday 12th December
Today we looked at the footage we had filmed the day before and made a folder of what we liked and what we didn't (good and bad footage) we then put the best filming onto premiere and started to edit. Tom did most of the editing and got a lot of it done. We need to add music to make it better and edit some of the shots. Bonnie, Lucy and Chay added more to the blogs.
Monday 13th December
Lucy was absent from the lesson so Bonnie took in the outfits so that Bonnie Chay and Tom could make the film poster. Using the drama rooms and a tripod, they produced a few images for the film poster. Although Lucy managed to catch up writing and adding to the production diary to keep it updated.
Tuesday 14th December
Today Bonnie and Lucy added to their blogs whilst Tom and Chay looked for a classroom to film another shot. Lucy added more to the production diary and Bonnie added the shooting schedule to her posts.
Wednesday 15th December
Today we added to our blogs, Tom wasn't is school. Lucy added to the production diary, Chay added to his blog and so did Bonnie.
Thursday 16th December
(No media lesson)
After school, Lucy and Bonnie stayed for a couple of hours completing final editing for the filming. We changed music and adjusted some timings to make finishing touches. We then uploaded I to Lucy's YouTube to then put on our blogs, this took a very long time as it had a lot to process. Whilst we waited we added some posts to our blogs, Lucy added more to the production diary and Bonnie added more to her blog. Our film is now ready and up on YouTube.
Representations
Representations of Saving Santa
There are many representations for our film as the genre is Christmas, Christmas films always have the same characters and settings such as Santa and elves in a house or in a street. We have used a middle class house to use the large lounge which follows the traditonal cosy warm setting, this follows the religion of a warm christian home.
The robber and Santa are both male and are different ages, Santa being older and the Robber being young and strong. Santa follows the usual Santa role as he is jolly and the robber follows the normal role by stealing an important role in the film.
There is also an elf which is played by a female actor which shows another representation of the male role (Santa) telling her what to do to show he is superior.
Shooting Schedule
This is our shooting schedule which we followed, we shot all our scenes inside and filmed them all on the same day (Friday 28th). They were all filmed in the same location of the same room and involved the characters of Santa and elves.
Research from garden centre
On the 26th November I went to Perry Wood garden centre in Tip Tree with family, I decided it would be a good idea to look for props for our film as they had their Christmas decorations on display. The garden centre had many sections for these decorations organised by colours, I had a look for any props we could use such as tinsel, ornaments, baubles and lights. I actually bought a few things to use which we could then use for filming, these props included tinsel, some Christmas cards and some ornaments for the fireplace such as a reindeer. Our location is a friends lounge which needs to be decorated by these sort of decorations so I thought it would be good to buy them as I can also use them after.
Below are some images I took in the garden centre.
In our film we end it by showing a wreath on a door which closes, here is an image that shows our idea.
Shown above are some tree decorations which will be good to use.
Here they had lots of lights which we could maybe use for our film.
Many Christmas trees were used to show decorations which I then decided to buy a few to add to our props list.
There were many ornaments such as letters, we had the idea of spelling someone's name from these but they didn't have all the letters to spell out any of our names.
Risk Assessment
Risk Assessment
Shown below is our risk assessment which we will have to consider when filming. We have four main possible risks when filming.
The main possible risk we should prevent is the Christmas lights, when using them we need to make sure they do not stay on for too long and make sure they are not near any other objects such as tinsel because they could over heat and catch on fire. We can prevent this by keeping an eye on them and only turn them on when we need to use them.
Another risk is the fire place, when we are filming we will not set the fire so this is not a huge risk but we need to be sure it is safe.
Costume
Costumes
For our film it will require a lot of costumes as the genre is festive and has many characters. Although for the film opening all we need is a Santa costume and two elves outfits. It was my job to get the costumes as I knew it would be easiest and quickest for myself to get them as knowing someone in a pre-school fancy dress is used a lot for adults too so I was able to access the three costumes we needed quickly so we had them in time for the filming and they didn't have a high budget.
Below are some images that show the outfits we will need.
Shown above are some ideas for a Santa costume, it needs to look professional but it doesn't matter too much if it lacks detail up close as we will not be using a close up shot in our film opening.
Shown below are the ideas for an elf costume, again detail is not needed but a simple elf outfit would be great for our film opening.
Storyboard
Storyboard images
Shown below is the storyboard we followed. Tom was the best at drawing so we decided he would be the best one in our group to draw the storyboard. He drew what shots we will use and gave an explanation below.
The first three shots are of the institution and the beginning of our title sequence. Below shows the order we will use including our names on the Christmas tree.
In the next three boxes there are more titles we will use including stockings, cards and cookies. This shows we have many props in our opening scene.
Below shows more title sequence names we will use, these include books and presents. Also shown is the first character which is an elf listening to music which will be heard over the top of the filming.
The next three shots show the first view of Santa coming from the chimney, he has a red coat over him and the third shot shows him throwing off the coat revealing who he is.
Below in the next three shots is the scene where Santa is stolen by someone wearing all black. The three shots will guide us when it comes to filming so we know where Santa is dragged which is away from the fireplace.
The last shot on the storyboard is the wreath on the door with the words of 'Saving Santa' our title of the film. As the door slams the camera zooms out which is explained beneath the image.
Our storyboard will become useful when filming so we know where to shoot, what to do and where to place props.
Also shown on the storyboard is the timings we will use, they are seen in the smaller box below the image. This will be a good guide because we will know roughly how long the shots will have to be.
Changes along the way...
Changes we made along the way...
One change we had to make was the storyboard. We changed this a few times due to certain titles we weren't going to be able to use; an example of this was the use of exterior filming, this was because snow was included which was very unlikely to happen so we had to have a re-think which resulted in taking out the exterior shots.
Another change we made was the narrative, we changed this a few times to fit the audience better. For example we thought about having a fight scene where Santa is beaten up but we then changed this as it was too difficult to film without making it look silly.
We changed our music after we had filmed as feedback suggested we had to, the music also didn't fit the speed of which the elf was dancing to so we had to have a new piece of music.
A massive change we made was when we received feedback, this resulted in re-filming which took about 2 and a half hours after school. We changed a lot which made our film opening a lot better, we changed the titles, writing, the tree and other props and what happened in the scene. We firstly had Santa being dragged away but we changed it too him being lifted so it was more exciting to watch.
Institution research
Producers and Distributors for other films of this genre...
New Line Cinema-
The Mask and Elf are examples that used this production. New Line cinema produced the Oscar Award-winning 'The Lord of the Rings' film trilogy, which generated a combined worldwide box office of almost $3 billion. New Line became a unit of Warner Bros. Entertainment in March 2008. New Line Cinema company maintains separate development, production, marketing and distribution, but coordinates those functions with Warner Bros.
Dimension films-
Dimension films is a major American film production and distribution studio formerly owned to the Walt Disney studios and now owned by the Weinstein Company. Bad Santa is an example of a film produced and distributed by Dimension films.
20th Century Fox-
20th Century Fox is an American film studio. It is the worlds second largest major film studio after the warner bros. Examples from 20th Century Fox include Miracle on 34th Street and Home alone, these films are larger and use a larger and more-well-known production company.
Warner Bros -
Being the worlds largest production company, Warner Bros owns New Line Cinema and many others. Examples of Christmas films by Warner Bros include Fred Claus and National Lampoon's Christmas vacation.
Audience Research
Who would want to see our film?
The main audience for this film would be teenagers, although we would put an age of 12 or 12A. This is because some younger ages may not like the change in the genre as it has action and some crime involved. Younger ages may prefer happy, cheerful films to enjoy with family but our film is more for teenagers who are a little bit older.
Who most likely to see it?
Any ages above 12 can view it but the most common ages will probably be around 13-17 to find out more precise age recommendation we could produce a questionnaire which would be completed by different ages to see who would watch it, this may also change the BBFC.
Audiences of other similar films?
Home Alone- Home alone has a typical Christmas audience of families as it is described as a family comedy. It has the BBFC as a PG which may recommend very young children may have to have parents permission.
Bad Santa- Bad Santa has a different audience to a lot of other Christmas films as the BBFC is a 15, this is shown as well as being a comedy and crime drama. This shows that the audience is not suitable for anyone younger than 15 meaning the film is meant for teenagers.
Elf- Looking at the genre of this film (fantasy/family/comedy) this movie has a target of families considering its genre is family. This shows two possible ages/generations to watch this film, the younger children in the family and the parents. In this case the main audience is the children and the second main is the parents. The film is a PG suggesting young viewers.
Miracle of 34th Street- This film has a genre of family and fantasy and has a BBFC of U which shows it can be viewed to absolutely any age making the audience very wide but suggests its main audience is young children.
Overall from these four well-known Christmas films the main audience is aimed at families and is comical. Some films make the narrative more suitable for older ages but the majority of this genre is aimed at young children as the main age certificate is U or PG.
Credits we will use (Titles)
Credits/titles we will use
Produced by... Bonnie Fitch
Distributed by... Bonnie Fitch Cascades Productions
Music by... Chay Pollinger and Tom Richardson
Costume designer... Lucy Harding
Production designer... Bonnie Fitch and Lucy Harding
Director of photography... Chay Pollinger
Filmed by... Chay Pollinger
Written by...Tom Richardson
Written by...Tom Richardson
Edited by... Lucy Harding, Bonnie Fitch, Tom Richardson and Chay Pollinger
Casting by... Lucy Harding, Bonnie Fitch, Tom Richardson and Chay Pollinger
Executive producer... Bessie Hawkins
Elf one- Lucy Harding
Elf two- Bonnie Fitch
Santa- Tom Richardson
Jack Frost- Jimmy Alway
Characters
Characters in our film opening
Elf one- Played by Lucy Harding ( In background behind Santa)
Elf two- Played by Bonnie Fitch (Listening to music in foreground)
Santa- Tom Richardson (Gets taken/beaten up by fake Santa)
'Fake' Santa- Chay Pollinger
Props list and Music
Prop List
Here is a list of all the props we are going to need, there is a lot of them considering our genre. Many Christmas decorations will be needed such as baubles and tinsel. We may add to this list as we go if we think up any more ideas along the way that we didn't think of or write down at the time.
Music
Below is the music we are going to use from youtube. We decided to use this track because it fits the genre of Christmas and action. The slower parts are for the festive Christmas genre and the faster louder parts are for the action part.
'Jingle Bells, Dub step'
We chose this song because we needed a Christmas song for the video which was different that fits action genre. This song was suitable because it involves two different types of rhythm and speeds which is good for our title sequence.
Text- Fonts, sizes for titles
Title text ideas:
I chose these font types as they would all be suitable for a Christmas title. The smaller more elegant fonts are suitable as they suit the festive theme and the bolder block letters are suitable as the film also has some action and crime so bolder letters would suggest this.
When it came to filming we decided to just write out the titles instead of using any of the texts above, but the text ideas were still useful as it gave us an idea of what sort of text to write, we decided on a simple bold font as it suited the objects we put the titles on such as present labels and cards.
Recce photos
Recce Shots
Below are some images I took to show where we may film some of our shots.
The Christmas tree is located in the corner of the room which is good as it leads nicely onto the other titles.
The fireplace is next to the tree where we will use props to show titles.
Here is the layout of the room we are using, the Christmas tree will be going in the corner to the right of the fireplace.
Saving Santa Planning- Photo evidence
Saving Santa planning
I have taken photographs of our work which has contributed to our planning. This includes notes taken in class and possible ideas presented by quick storyboards.
First storyboard ideas (Week one)
Lucy looking at text fonts and sizes (Week one and two)
Bonnie typing up prop list and locations (Week one and two)
Tom and Chay produced the storyboard final idea for the title sequence (Week one and two)
Tom and Chay discussing more ideas for the storyboard. (Week two)
Below are photographs of Chay and Tom trying on the Santa costume, it was important to try on in case it didn't fit or incase we needed to get more parts. We discovered the outfit was really good as it was in good condition but we need to get hold of our own black willies/boots.
(Week three, 25/11/14)
Saving Santa
First ideas of Saving Santa
We have made a final decision on making our opening scene called 'Saving Santa' because it is really different as no other group is doing our genre.
We can do a lot with this idea, it is coming up to the season of Christmas so decorations will be easily accessible and there is a lot to include for our ideas.
We could add loads of different characters to this film and therefore include a few in our opening scene. We could film in a number of different places such as a house, garden centres, streets and shops. We will probably use a house/lounge to film as it is a typical Christmas scene location.
We have started to come up with lots of ideas for this opening scene such as possible titles, shots we could use and where to film. We have thought about costumes and props so it is possible to make it look really good.
Plot to rest of the film
We have discussed many possible ways the film could go after the opening scene and our final idea is that Santa is stolen by a mysterious person (which will be shown in the opening scene) and pretends to be Santa for the rest of the film. Just as Christmas comes, the new Santa ruins Christmas for all the children by giving them all coal instead of the presents they wished for.
With help of the role of Jack Frost, he is able to help the real Santa and saves him meaning all the children have the best Christmas. But with a twist, the audience will have a higher target so other ages can enjoy the Christmas film instead of younger ages, the plot will involve action and crime to save the Santa.
We will only film the opening scene therefore we will have to give a clue of the audience, we will do this by adding different action music and include the stealing of Santa right at the start, this will hopefully show the viewer the difference to our unique film.
Plot to rest of the film
We have discussed many possible ways the film could go after the opening scene and our final idea is that Santa is stolen by a mysterious person (which will be shown in the opening scene) and pretends to be Santa for the rest of the film. Just as Christmas comes, the new Santa ruins Christmas for all the children by giving them all coal instead of the presents they wished for.
With help of the role of Jack Frost, he is able to help the real Santa and saves him meaning all the children have the best Christmas. But with a twist, the audience will have a higher target so other ages can enjoy the Christmas film instead of younger ages, the plot will involve action and crime to save the Santa.
We will only film the opening scene therefore we will have to give a clue of the audience, we will do this by adding different action music and include the stealing of Santa right at the start, this will hopefully show the viewer the difference to our unique film.
Visual Mood Board
Our groups mood board
These six images are from other Christmas films, they will help us by giving ideas which they all use to add to ours for example they all use an image relating to Christmas in their film poster and all have such different names. The fact that all these films have such a different name to each other shows that we need to do the same, we need to do this by not using any similar names which these have used.
Elf Timings
Watching the film at home, I looked at the first few minutes of the film which was the title sequence. I recorded on paper the timings that took place of when names appeared in the title sequence.
Below are the timings I recorded and what happened at each time and cartoons are used in the sequence to entertain the audience.
0.12- 'Newline cinema A time warner company'
0.17- New line cinema presents
0.22- Guy walks into a bar production
0.28- A voiceover begins, telling a story/book
0.33- Cartoon is shown with an actor speaking, camera is static until 0.42.
0.42- Shot zooms in quickly
0.58- Room of elves at work (story)
1.01- Static shot used
1.11- Zooms in on elves
1.23- Speech/voiceover continues
1.29- New scene- elves
1.57- 'Story begins' Titles start in a cartoon book, pages turn to show names.
1.58- A film by...
2.03- Main character is shown
2.07- Other main/major characters actors names are introduced
2.12- Title of film 'ELF' is shown in big capital letters centre of screen.
2.16- Other characters are included.
2.30- 'With...'
2.34- 'And...'
2.37- Casting by
2.42- Visual effects supervisor
2.46- Music by
2.51- Costume designer
2.54- Edited by
3.00- Production designer
3.03- Director of photography
3.07- Co-producer
3.13- Executive producers (two pages needed, 5 names)
3.25- Produced by (3 names) Zooms in on names
3.32- Written by
3.38- Directed by. (Music changes and book closes)
Richard Morrison's interview from art of the title website
Richard Morrison's interview
In Richard Morrison's interview he talks about his beliefs on a successful production. He gives advice on what he thinks are the important stages in making a film which could help us when creating our film.
One thing he said that mattered the most was 'simple is good' he believes overcomplicating things is not the best way on planning. Richard believes once you have gone past the storyboard making, a good thing to do is to make a little model. This model tells you so much as it is a physical object which makes you more close to having information on the film.
He advices that the ideas come naturally to you, you shouldn't keep thinking of ideas you should let them eventually come clear in your conscious as natural ideas are the best as you don't over think things.
Also in the interview Richard Morrison says a drawn storyboard is recommended as you can edit, remove and add to them quickly and easily and he says it is wrong to 'jump straight in'.
One last thing he said was how great technology is used in the production because it 'almost creates the impossible' and he also said 'I think the technology is fantastic, as long as you use it in the right way. It wont give you an idea but makes things quicker.'
In Richard Morrison's interview he talks about his beliefs on a successful production. He gives advice on what he thinks are the important stages in making a film which could help us when creating our film.
One thing he said that mattered the most was 'simple is good' he believes overcomplicating things is not the best way on planning. Richard believes once you have gone past the storyboard making, a good thing to do is to make a little model. This model tells you so much as it is a physical object which makes you more close to having information on the film.
He advices that the ideas come naturally to you, you shouldn't keep thinking of ideas you should let them eventually come clear in your conscious as natural ideas are the best as you don't over think things.
Also in the interview Richard Morrison says a drawn storyboard is recommended as you can edit, remove and add to them quickly and easily and he says it is wrong to 'jump straight in'.
One last thing he said was how great technology is used in the production because it 'almost creates the impossible' and he also said 'I think the technology is fantastic, as long as you use it in the right way. It wont give you an idea but makes things quicker.'
My Favourite film title sequence- Pink Panther
The Pink Panther
This was my favourite title sequence I watched because it really focused on getting the titles right and included the panther in nearly every picture.
From watching the title sequence the audience already know what the character of the pink panther is like as it tries to be in every image making trouble. For example in the second to last picture it makes a mess of the name and the last shows it being caught and having to re-do the title.
The fact that the titles are created by the pink panther is interesting and appeals to the target audience of children as the cartoon interferes with the sequence making it a lot more exciting to watch.
Not only was the way it was presented good, the text size, font and colour is clear and enters and exists in different ways making it enjoyable.
The panthers actions also relate to the title, for example when the music title is shown the pink panther is by a music stand, and when director of photography is labelled the panther has its photograph taken. Little images like these make the titles stand out and make the audience want to know more about the panther and what it gets up to in the film.
The music is also used well as it relates to the pink panthers meddling as it is a mysterious sound used for investigations which has become a popular sound in music. Colours used are also good as it makes the text and images clear and relates to the character as being pink so colours used are pinks and reds.
This title sequence may not have anything to do with our films genre but our film opening relies on our titles so this successful sequence may help when choosing our text, background and maybe to use a narrative within our film beginning. The order of titles are also helped by this as the main title is sued early on which suggests this is the best order to do so as others use the same or a similar order.
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