Dear Moderator

Welcome to my A2 Media Studies blog! It shows all of my work which I started on 18/06/12 and finished on 27/03/13. I put a lot of time and effort into my work and I hope that this is reflected in my final product.

My evaluation begins on 26/02/13
My final products appear directly under this text

I had a lot of fun creating my poster, magazine and trailer this year. I hope you enjoy looking at my blog, enjoy!

Friday 30 November 2012

Research and Planning: Auditions 2

Here is the video of mine and Becky's auditions for the role of Alexis Von Fury. We decided that I would take on the role of Alexis, hopefully I will be able to perform this role well and make my trailer as good as I imagine.


Thursday 29 November 2012

Research and Planning: Filming preparations

I am very happy that I have managed to arrange some filming for Sunday it seems this came to be through the magic of Facebook. Through this I managed to find a few people who seem more than happy to help me with my project. Some are even offering help with make up and bringing props.


This is the original post which managed to spark some interest


I then went on to create a private group to discuss meeting times and places. This will help the whole day to run a lot smoother. We can also discuss costume and other important things here. Extra people who would like to be a part of our work can also join this group

Research and Planning: Auditions

Today I borrowed a camera from my classroom and went out into the college to see if I could find people to audition for my trailer. I will continue to look for and find people to play my zombies as I feel the more zombies we have the better our trailer will look


This is Chris, he auditioned for the part of a zombie. I also decided to give him a role of an Acura company representative and a possible love interest. After discussing this he was happy to take part


Becky auditioned for the main character role, however she seems way too cute and innocent for this. I can however use her to be another one of my zombie characters.


This headshot is myself, I also decided to audition for the role of Alexis. So far it has been decided that I will go forward in this role

Research and Planning: My Film Poster so far


Research and Planning: Sunday Shooting

On Sunday I have managed to arrange a group of people to all meet together in Denton for our first official day of filming. I will be arriving just after work (Around 3pm) We will be trying to get as much filming done as we can in the daylight. We are hoping that we will manage to get a fair amount of good, usable footage. I am keeping my fingers crossed that we will be able to loan a film camera from college for this day.

We have asked a friend to come along to help us get our zombies ready, she studies makeup artistry at college and she will be using my designs to make our zombies look realistic.

Research and Planning: Shooting Scehdule


Today I have begun to fill out a shooting schedule for our film trailer, most of the dates are provisional but we know that these are shoots we would definitely like to do.

Tuesday 27 November 2012

Research and Planning: Magazine Font

Today I was ill so I stayed off college. I emailed my teacher to see what work I could be doing whilst I was off. I found out my class were researching masthead ideas for their film magazine covers. I decided to do my research on dafont.com


These are the fonts that I chose. (L to R) Bellerose, American Captain, Outstanding, shwboat

Through my research I discovered that most film magazines tend to chose a simple bold font for their mastheads, this makes them easier for an audience to recognise and read. This leads me to believe that my first two choices could be more appropriate for my magazine genre.

Sunday 25 November 2012

Research and Planning: Props for Magazine/ Poster

                                         
The blade. This may be a signature weapon for our character and could be seen in all of our promotional images for the 'film.



Cricket bat (with added blood of course) This could be an alternative prop for the model to pose with.


Protagonist costume, with an added corset. Dark make up and 'ruffled/ scruffy' hair.

Research and Planning: Makeup test 1


Last night I decided that I would try to do an attempt of my zombie makeup. I convinced my boyfriend to let me practise on him. I used various eyeshadows, lip liner, lipstick and white face paint. These things are readily available and easy to get hold of. I decided to try the look without the fake blood as I did not want to waste what I have. I decided to take pictures to document the progress.


Step 1: Clean face. Ready for the makeup!


Step 2: Cover the face in white face paint. Oops I think I missed some patches.


Step 3: Use different colours to add some dirty patches.


Step 4: Add the bruises and bloody patches


Step 5: Add the final touches and you're done! Now you just need to add the clothing and some fake blood.

As far as first attempts go I am very proud of what I managed to do. I used techniques I have learned from doing my own Halloween makeup and I can safely say that I managed to do a good job, even though I did not have a large budget for my makeup.

Thursday 22 November 2012

Research and Planning: Location Recee 3


Research and Planning: Location Recee 2

Edit: This filming will now take place in Denton rather than the Hyde area, we have found a perfect place.

Research and Planning: Location Recee

This my first location recee for one of my filming locations, I filled this out in order to keep a record of where filming will be taking place.

Research and Planning: Script


Script

Alexis:             My name is Alexis Von Fury. Just your regular teenage girl, I meet up with friends, go shopping, talk to boys.. Oh, and I’m a Zombie Hunter.

The infection broke out about year ago, spreading across the country like a wildfire. It changes people, destroys them. This is the Acura Company, a global giant.  They said they’d help us, they said they’d fix us. Ha. They were wrong.


This will be the only dialogue used in our trailer and will act as a voice over told by the main character. This will give the audience a better chance to bond with the main character and recognize them.This will be used in auditions for the role and will hopefully help us to find a good character.

Wednesday 21 November 2012

Research and Planning: Prop shopping haul



Last weekend I went back to Manchester city centre to see if I could find any props to purchase for my project. I found a fancy dress shop which sold these three things.

  • Liquid Latex - To create the effect of peeling skin on my zombies
  • Fake blood - I only bought one tube as I am planning on trying to make my own blood to save money
  • A prop knife - To be used as the main characters weapon. The blood inside of it 'oozes' downwards to give the impression of real dripping blood.
I was quite proud to find these things all for under £10 and hopefully I will be able to get the rest of what I need from my own home or college.

Research and Planning: Editing inspiration

 
I recently saw this trailer for the videogame 'Lollipop Chainsaw' and thought that in some ways the themes of the game are similar to those I wish to portray in my trailer. In terms of editing I particularly like the fades used around 0:40 to build tension for 'Juliets' fight scenes. The shot of the shoe fading into the zombies is something I would particularly like to recreate in my own work. I also like the idea of showing the same scene shot from a variaty of angles to draw in an audience's interest.

Thursday 15 November 2012

Research and Planning: Film magazine cover draft 2

This is my second draft of my magazine cover, this is my favorite idea of the two. I like the idea of having a lot of zombies faded out in the background.

Research and Planning: Film magazine cover draft 1

This is my first draft of my film magazine cover, I have included all stereotypical aspects of a movie magazine including cover lines, main image, masthead and main story.

Tuesday 13 November 2012

Research and Planning: Test shots

















Here are some test shots that were taken by Philippa on college grounds. These shots show the sort of themes and the style we are aiming towards.

Research and Planning: Audition Poster

 Today I created an audition poster to put up around college and hopefully to catch the attention of potential actors and actresses. We are mostly looking for zombie actors which I why I chose this specific image hoping that it would be interesting to people who may have similar interests. We will also need actors to play the evil Acura company and we can audition girls for the main role of Alexis Von Fury.




Research and Planning: Publication Plan Prezi

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Research and Planning: Plan for the week

This week I aim to complete these tasks.
  • Test shots
  • Film magazine drafts with codes and conventions
  • Audition Poster
  • Publication Plan for the magazine

Saturday 10 November 2012

Research and Planning: Wardrobe searching

Today I searched through my wardrobe looking for suitable clothing to use for my project. As we do not have a very large budget we will have to use the clothes that we already own. These could then be shared between us. 


This leather waistcoat could be a good choice as it adds a 'rock chick' sort of feel to the character, the studs also bringing out this. Adding layers to the outfit will be a good idea as we can get away with wearing what looks like little but still remain warm.


The wet look leggings will add another dimension to the outfit and also create ease of movement for any running or action scenes we decide to shoot. The tight look of these leggings will also add to the idea of the male gaze which we are aiming to achieve.


This jacket may also add to the characters look. As we also aim to keep our actress warm lots of layers will be a bonus and help us look after her best interests and health. This jacket has a lot of chains and netting which could give the feel of action to an audience. 


For the top we could either use something simple like a black vest top or we could choose to use a lace corset. This example of a corset could work as it is not all black and could help the characters outfit to stand out. Using variations of colour will look much less plain. The corset will also add a 'sexy' feel to the outfit.


These are two examples of shoes that I am thinking about for the character, the pair on the left are the most sexual, the spiked heels making the costume much more 'rock and roll'. However these shoes would be much harder for our actress to run and generally act in. This is why I am now considering the converse boots. The boots still have a cool look about them and would be much more practical to act in.

Research and Planning: Film Poster Draft 2


This image is my second draft for my film poster. I am much happier with this design that the first one, I particularly like the idea of creating a vintage style zombie poster. There will be a slight pop art theme to the main image, possibly with the image being made up of dots. I may also consider adding a feel of pin up to the image. I am very keen to keep the font style as vintage however I might switch the credit information and title around. With the title being at the top.

Research and Planning: FIlm Poster Draft 1

This is my first idea for my film poster, this idea is rather basic but I feel that genre may come through easily with this image. The girls face in the foreground will be focused while the background will be a blur, the figure in the background is an infected zombie. Any idea is subject to change at this point because these are very rough drafts at the minute.