EARNEST - Filming Day 1... And more problems.

The team whilst waiting on the train-
From left to right= Jane, Conor, Cliona (me), Jennifer,

Our first day of filming was the Wednesday that just passed, and immediately after school we met up with one of our actors, Conor, who had brought a red shirt with him to change into. We walked down to the nearest train station in Dunmurry, and caught the 3.45 train into Great Victoria Street, which soon after we walked around to City Hall to meet up with Aneurin, our second actor.

We then immediately snagged a bench outside of City Hall and got to work, and managed to film all of the shots necessary from the train and City Hall locations in the time frame of 3.40 - 5.30. This was on schedule, and actually ahead of schedule for us as we had planned to be done for 6pm. So, when that was covered, Aneurin, Conor and Grace headed home, while myself, Jane and Jennifer went to KFC for some much needed sustenance.

Actors at work

I feel that we worked well together as a group, although some of the shots were taken incorrectly and the actors were allowed to improv.

Although. We have had issues. It turns out that some of our camera shots did not film, and will therefore not only have to reshoot what we lost, but the entire project over again so to maintain correct and consistent lighting.

Jenny takes some close ups.

But the fallout was not all bad, we are fortunately able to change some things following the mistake - We will be informing our actor of Jay, Conor, to bring a full change of clothes for the next filming date, which we have planned to be Monday 2nd April. We can also allow the actors more times to learn their lines more thoroughly as, I previously stated, not all of the dialogue was incorporated properly, we can also take this shooting opportunity to accurately and identically follow the shot list.

So, I guess it isn't all bad, I just recognise that there will be a very tight push for editing (note: a tight push for ME, since I'm the one actually editing. haha guess who isn't getting any sleep next week)

EARNEST - Time to Catfish

To make our film as authentic as possible, we have set up a fake facebook account under the name of our character, Oscar Hilden. We felt that this would make our film realistic, as we have suiting props for our characters to make the scenario believable. 

To the left and right are some screenshots, one of the actual facebook profile itself and one of the profile picture we used. We used a photograph that Conor, the actor for our character Jay/Oscar, provided himself. 

EARNEST - Dapper Stork Cinema

After a much prolonged and dragged out period of time, we have finally come up with the name of our production company. We went through some discussion of our name, but were unable to come up with any name that we could all agree on for our production company. I for one, wanted to name the production company after my favourite musical, Heathers; Jane wanted to name it something Irish; Jennifer wanted to name it something to do with sharks; and Grace wanted a pun.

This was, of course, until a stroke of genius elated us all:
Dapper Stork Cinema

                                                Why this of all things? The internet's greatest tool.
Fantasy Name Generator. The world's finest collection of names for just about anything.
Including a very professional production company.

I then made our logo, using the digital art programme 'Paint Tool Sai' and my Wacom Intuos tablet.
We decided to name the stork in our logo, Alphonso, for no apparent reason, just more to give him more substance.
Alphonso as a name means 'Eager for war'. What a dapper bird.


Above is our logo, made with lineless art and hand drawn typography, I am planning on animating the logo to give it some much needed pizazz. It will also set us on par with those corporate fat cats like Warner Bros and Paramount.

EARNEST - Setback

Conor unfortunately received his weekly work rota, and discovered that he was not granted the day off that he requested on April 2nd. He can not request any alternate day off and we will therefore have to reschedule our shooting around his work schedule.
An issue also came up with our other actor, Aneurin, who has just been told that due to a test he cannot join us for filming on that date.

We have decided to contact our two actors and try to organise a compromise, which we presume will be on two weekdays. The weekend that both of our actors are free after our original date is too late for us to film, edit and prepare an evaluation before the duedate set by our teacher.

We have decided to film on two days, as our two sets need to be shot in daylight, and will prepare more filming dates shortly.

EARNEST - Colour Palette

Our colour pallet is slightly based from the 2002 movie adaptation of The Importance of Being Earnest. This adaptation is the most modern film adaptation in terms of when it was produced, and was our personal favourite of each of the three popular adaptations. We in programming our movie decided that the colour pallet would be vital to the overall aesthetic of the movie.

The collection of settings we decided on for our film ultimately determined the colour pallet we felt the movie should have.
Our main location is the gardens outside Belfast City Hall. It is a very green area of the city, with a lot of small fields, and, on a good day when the weather is good, there is a bright blue sky. This mixture of very deep greens and blues decided our colour pallet - We also think that, maintaining this green and blue colour pallet, with hints of cream and white.
This coincidentally mirrored with the colour pallets seen in the 2002 version of The Importance of Being Earnest, and, although the reasons being for this are very different due to the very different settings found in both movies exhibiting very different qualities.

We have asked our actors to dress according to this pallet.


The blues in our colour pallet are designed to reflect royalty in the same manner as they were used in the 2002 adaptation of ''The Importance of Being Earnest''. This colour has also, throughout the years of symbolism and connotations has always been associated with luxury and royalty. There is even a colour called 'Royal Blue'. We have asked Alistair to be the one to dress in this colour pallet, as he in his character development is from an upperclass background and is also more pompous and full-of-himself in comparison to Jay.
The colour blue also holds connotations with wisdom and calm, which may actually create irony and juxtapose with the reason in which we hold Alistair to wear these colours.

Jay, to divert from the original colour palette is to be dressed in a reddish maroon pallet. In the context of our film, red is set to represent romance and passion. We feel this fits our theme, as Jay maintains to be the 'love struck' character throughout the film, as the original idea of the false persona was his idea we feel that presenting him as a more subtly passionate character will be helpful in his presentation.

EARNEST - Alternative Music Choices

Although we have already chosen our main soundtrack, I thought it would also be plausible to include a 'playlist' of songs that I personally considered as alternate main songs.

Come On Eileen - Dexys Midnight Runners This song is a highly catchy and iconic 70s pop song. I felt that, with the song's extremely upbeat tempo and use of synths and high pitched instruments that it would set up a very nice atmosphere to begin our romantic comedy film. It has a very pleasant tone, and the general mood of the song is very positive, which can reflect the happy-go-lucky attitudes and perhaps trick the audience into thinking that the main boys, as they are getting ready, are preparing for a date rather than going out with one another.

Spaceman - The Killers This alternate track is very lively and upbeat, and opens with the main vocals and a crescendoing backing track, which comes to be driven by bass. The backing track cuts suddenly, and the tune of the song is then driven by synths, giving the song a classic, but very conflictingly modern feel to it. The main vocalist of The Killers, Brandon Flowers, has a very distinctive voice, which I will believe will give an alternative feel to our film, and brace the audience for a romantic comedy film that is slightly out of the ordinary, one that betrays conventions, as our opening song is just as unique and alternative as the movie itself.
Find My Way - Gabe Dixon This song was previously used as the opening song to a film I have previously analysed, that film being the 2010 romantic comedy film The Proposal. The fast tempo of the song alludes to the idea of the film being set in a quickly-paced and exciting environment, and I believe it will convey the lively nature and youth of the main protagonists. The song begins with a piano based melody which can contribute to the romantic air to the song, but it then bursts into a very lively base and old-rock type vocals. The song itself is about self-discovery and the idea of having someone to lean on, I believe this song would have been a good fit for the theme of our film as, although we are producing a romantic comedy the idea of the boys finding who they are supposed to be through fake identities and the emphasis of Ali and Jay's friendship and their personal journeys together.

Happy Together - Flobots This song is about love, and more specifically, a man brooding over his particular love interest which very much fits our romance based theme. The original song was performed by The Turtles, but this cover by Flobots modernises the song, which reflects the setting of our film. Flobots speed up the tempo of the song, and, in between where the verses have been the singer transitions it to a half rap, speeding up the vocals and emphasising the baseline. I think the mix of genres present in the song reflects the different modern genres of the day, and emphasises the modern setting of out film. The fast pace of the song, similar to the effect generated by 'Find My Way', shows off the fast paced and lively attitudes of our main protagonists through the nature of the song.

AS Media Studies PPQ - Monarch of the Glen [AGE]

MONARCH OF THE GLEN - AGE

1) Discuss the ways in which the extract constructs the representation of AGE using the following: 

      • camera shots, angle, movement and composition 
      • editing
      • sound
      • mise-en-scène. 

At the beginning of the extract we are immediately opened to the difference in costume in the characters, and age is represented in the clip through the different styles of outfits that the characters wear; for example it is shown the the more elderly farming characters are wearing more stereotypically older clothes, such as farming caps and tweed. The adults wear more modern clothes like jeans and jackets, and seem to have a more uniform way of dress that presents them as a more united and reliable source. Then the youngest member of cast shows a different style of dress, Amy, a sixteen year old girl, is shown to be wearing a yellow stop with a large design on it that shows off a lot of her chest area without being too revealing. She also wears a pendant and lightly coloured denim jeans. This presentation makes her very different from the other characters and more clearly identifies her and the representation of her age in the extract. Her difference from the other characters may also present age as a bad thing, as most of the elderly men are dressed similarly it may represent an eventual loss of identity as a consequence of age.

A medium shot, with an upwards angle is shown in the first presentation of Paul. Paul is a middle aged, adult man who makes a very strong presence in the upwards angle, as it shows his immediate supremacy. This is coupled with how the character is presented, as he has a level attitude and respectable set of dialogue that presents his age and position as an adult as one to be respected. This can be juxtaposed with how downwards angles are used to present Amy's inferiority in comparison to Paul. The two shots are placed sequencing one another, adding to the narrative and the flow of the story to present the two characters. The downwards angle may have also been used to present the naivety of Amy's persona and of her youth, and, on extension, how intellectually and maturely inferior she is in comparison to Paul.

The adults and elderly talk and present Amy, the youngest character, in a very condescending manner as is shown by their dialogue, ''vivid imagination... couldn't blame you...''. This presents the older characters in a superior manner to Amy, whose life seems to revolve and permeate around school. This creates a wide gap and alienation between the two generations, and shows us that the presentation of age in the extract is completely different throughout generations, as the youth are described condescendingly and distanced from the actual youth. This is in contrast with how maturely the adults of the extract are presented, as medium shots, and wide shots are used to show how they dominate the setting.

Pans are used within the extract, the camera moving from the left of the scene to the right of the scene to give an impression of movement in the shot. This flowing effect is used in a wide shot, which involves characters from all generations, from Paul, a middle aged man, to the elderly, and to Ewan, a young adult. I believe that this pan is used to show the everlasting transition and representation of age from youth to adult, and how all are tied in to one another and in sequence with one another. I believe that it is very effective in showing that, although there are some current tensions in the storyline with a youth conflicting with her elder peers, that it also demonstrates that characters from different age groups can coexist with one another peacefully.

The mise-en-scene in one scene, which is a confrontation regarding Amy involving Paul and Amy's headmaster, takes place in an environment that seems to be very adult and mature. I believe this is conveyed through the very royal colour scheme and furniture, which involves intricate, country based patterns, mahogany wood ornaments and trimmings and a primarily red and gold colour scheme. This environment presents the age of the characters and the serious manner of their situation, as the details of their setting is more commonly seen in an older generation, as these details would not normally be seen in a setting with younger individuals. This can be contrasted with the setting of Amy's bedroom. The mise-en-scene in the scene when Amy prepares to run away is particularly vital to the presentation of age in the extract. Her room has a white, red and pink theme, which, coupled with her younger age suggests a very innocent, pure and childish aspect to Amy due to the general stigma placed on these colours. It allows us to see the character of Amy a lot more sympathetically as, although she is experiencing problems in her life at the moment that seem overwhelming, she is really just a young girl who is confused, and does not mean to last out at her elder peers as we see her doing with Paul. She yells at him in the extract, and the dialogue is line that is very normally associated with angsty teenagers and their temper tantrums in modern pop culture, she shouts 'I hate you', which although may be an exaggeration at the time, shows the attitude of youth to their elders and the lack of respect in the presentation of age.

There are many 'over the shoulder' shots in which we see the other characters from teenager, Amy's, perspective. The upwards angle presents the adults in the scene as more intimidating and larger than they actually are, this contributes to the idea of Amy's demonised perspective of adults, and her reluctance to age. This may be seen as a stereotypical teenage reaction to scolding by an adult, and therefore we are given a taste of Amy's opinion in the shot, in this manner the shot type presents age as something negative.

Sound is vital in the presentation of age in this extract. In a scene involving a throng of elderly and middle aged farmers, there is a very light hearted, Irish-styled jig in the background. This creates the impression of a happy and contented environment, perhaps alluding to the idea that as one gets older age allows for a freer and more relaxed life style. Although, as the scene changes to Amy preparing to run away, the background music changes to a woodwind-based, very melancholy sounding track that helps convey the extreme emotions and confusion that Amy is feeling. This may present to us that Amy's age, Amy's youth, offers a more darker and confusing outlook on life, due to her growing up and a lot of stressful conditions and decisions are being presented to her. 
Another point of sound that is used is the dialogue. In general, Paul, whom is presented as a respected and mature adult man, has a very level tone of voice, and is very sensible and proper in his choice of words. This is coupled with the dietetic presentation of the headmaster and Amy's carer/guardian, he has a very sensible tone of voice and is usually quite polite in how he deals with Amy despite her rude attitude, this is also seen in Amy's carer, who is presented as a caring and worried person due to her panic shown when Amy disappears. All of these factors contribute to the presentation of age and adult life being one of emotion and positivity as we see a range of positive attitudes, such as sensibility, maturity, care, and politeness. This can be contrasted with the dialogue of Amy, who, as soon as she is encountered with a problem immediately becomes rude and hostile despite the characters around her whom are only trying to attend to her safety and offer her assistance in her problems. In conclusion to this point, the presentation of the age of the youth is one that is more negative due to the more gloomy and pessimistic attitudes shown.

In addition, lighting is another focal point in the extract that helps communicate the presentation of age and its polarities to the audience. The elderly of the extract are very normally seen in natural lighting, as they are presented outside, and this gives a positive impression to their age, this can be contrasted with Amy's unnatural lighting. When we first encounter her, she comes out of a home in which we cannot see the inside hall due to dark lighting. This is continued later on, in which Amy loses her temper inside a darkly coloured home, and in the scene where Amy is contemplating and preparing to run away, it is also presented inside with unnatural lighting.

Finally, the theme of education versus working life is vital to the presentation of age in the extract. This is shown by the permeated presence of farmyard equipment, such as tractors and pitchforks as well as the main setting being out on a country farm, and through non dietetic sound effects such as the bleating of sheep and engine sounds of cars and tractors. All of these images are very clearly tied to adult working life, as there is no member of youth that is shown explicitly with these elements of working life, and that is why, when it is revealed that Amy is a sixteen year old school girl, the cast of working men are shocked. This presents how age differs in terms of professions, and how, to this cast of adult men it is more normal for a teenager to be in education rather than working on a farm. It can be alluded that this is why Paul seems angry with Amy shortly after this reveal, and this image is further solidified as, for much of the rest of the extract the theme of education permeates the shots through dialogue.

EARNEST - Risk Assessment

The following Risk Assessment entails a list of potential problems that we may face when shooting and how we may overcome them.

We are filming in a very public area, and therefore have to be comfortable with the fact that there will be other pedestrians around potentially watching us film. We also have to be conscious not to disrupt any public activity or bump into anyone whilst filming.

The area in which we are filming is very close to several bus rinks, and we will therefore have to be careful around the roads we are filming around. We will be sure to watch when crossing the road whilst travelling to our location through town, and will make sure to film on the benches on the far side of the bus rink so we are as far away from the danger of being run over as possible.

We have planned to travel by train to our town location from Finaghy. Therefore we are going to have to be careful in terms of timing and out safety around public transport. We have planned to leave from our first location in Finaghy ten minutes before the train is set to arrive at our stop so that we are able to get there in time with a few minutes of lee-way time.
Below is a snapshot of the weekly train timetables -  We are hoping to get the 12.21 train, which leaves us approximately an hour and ten minutes to film. If we are running behind, we can very easily alter plans to get the later train.

We will have to be very cautious with the equipment we are bringing with us, which will be our two cameras - one curtesy of the Media Department, and the other of one of our camerawomen, Jane. We will be carrying them in protective cases, and we are all cautious people, so I do not foresee any problems with losing, breaking or damaging any of the equipment.

We are filming outside for part of our film, and therefore the quality of some of our shots will be dependant on the weather. We have searched ahead, and have gathered from the following page - http://www.accuweather.com/en/gb/belfast/bt9-5/april-weather/326934 - That the weather is expected to be as shown below.

The weather report we have gathered thus far seems very positive.
We will also look at our local weather providers such as the BBC closer to our film date to ensure we get the best weather possible and are prepared for light showers or wind, so we know to dress appropriately while filming.

EARNEST - Shooting Schedule

We plan to film our short, 'EARNEST' on Sunday 2nd of April from the hours of 11 am to approximately 5 pm if all goes smoothly. This time frame allows frequent breaks and enough time to gather ourselves if we take longer than expected in some areas.

We plan to film on a Sunday because we feel that our shooting location will be less congested around this time, so that there will not be a myriad of pedestrians that can potentially disrupt our filming. This will be further discussed in my risk assessment.

EARNEST - Opening Song

The opening song that will be used for our AS Media project is a cover of Elton John's ''Don't Go Breaking My Heart'' featuring Kiki Dee. We feel that this song will be very suited to our genre due to its romantic context and upbeat pace. But we are aware of copyright and licensing of songs and have therefore discovered an alternative so we do not reach this conflict.
Below is the original song.

We are planning to commission and have agreed terms with an anti-folk artist, Stingy Eyes, to perform a bespoke cover of the song. This will be easy to achieve as the singer himself is a good friend of mine and has kindly agreed to do this for us.
Below is his profile on Spotify, and my personal favourite from his album ''Are You Angry At Me?'', ''American''.

EARNEST - Prezi Pitch

The above is the Prezi copy of our pitch which we presented to our AS Media Class and then later filmed, the copy of the film of our pitch will also be posted on this blog as well.

EARNEST - Animatic