Media Studies

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQd5-R_tPBs Tyler Cook Candidate 5047           My film is called “The Real Deal”. This film is about a struggling musician taking a deal with a newly launched record company owned by Max, an ambitious entrepreneur in the music industry. The film shows a young musician named Andrew and his journey from a local legend to a potential star.           In the film, camera shots are used to help tell the story. One shot that demonstrated this was the close up shot showing Andrew and Max shaking hands, this shows that the two characters have agreed to work together. Another shot that helps tell the story is an insert shot of a glass of water at the beginning that sets a mood of ambiance for the first scene.                     Editing techniques are also used to tell the story in the film. This is demonstrated by a long take of Andrew walking to his car f...

As the solitary member of the group, I contributed all of these shots. The first four shots are for the opening scene of my film which takes place in an outdoor restaurant, these shots were all meant to create a mood of ambiance. In the first bit of dialogue I included a two shot to minimize the amount of short takes giving it a smoother look. Towards the end I included a handheld shot of one character getting up and walking to the door to give the shot a smooth, connected, and professional feel.

Insert Shot-  My goal in this shot was to set a tone of ambiance. The insert shot shows water being poured into a glass and simultaneously the music starts.   Close up- My goal with this shot was to put some emphasis on the guitar playing going on. I wanted to accomplish this by putting it front and center in one shot. Also I figured it would help show that I am actually playing the guitar.   Mid Shot- My goal with this shot was to reveal an important character, Max, in way that demonstrated his arrogant personality. I wanted to have him slouching in his chair to show this.  Over Shoulder shot- My goal with this shot was to create some suspense during the phone call. On Andrew's end of the call I achieved this with the over shoulder shot. This shows a lack of his facial expressions which gives him a judgmental, almost inhumane quality in the conversation because he is skeptical of the person he is calling. (Max)  Mid Shot- This shot is the othe...

Since I was the only member of the group, I am responsible for the whole script. I had the dialogue with Andrew and Mike designed to fit the actor, Mark's personality. The dialogue with Max and Andrew was designed to show off Max's arrogant personality as he is the owner of a record company. 

We will film on Tuesday December 10th for the first half of the film and film the second half Friday December 13th. We filmed part of the film on Tuesday December 10th We filmed the rest of the film on Friday December 13th

Andrew- Main Character : I am playing the role of Andrew. I fit this role best because I can play guitar. This is important because he is a musician so I am going to have to play some guitar in the film. Mike- waiter : The role of mike is going to be played by my Neighbor Mark. Mark is qualified for this because he fits the role of a young waiter. Also Mark is fairly good at blending into the background which the waiter has to do. Max- President of the record company : The role of Max is going to be played by my friend Alex. He is perfect for this role because he can have an intimidating presence that is needed for this role. Also he has a nice fitted suit which we will need him to wear in the film.

1. Porch  The porch would be a great location for the opening scene of the film where I plan on the main character playing music to a small crowd. The outdoor space reminds me a lot of local restaurants where I have seen bands playing so it would be an authentic location.  2. Drive way  The driveway is a good location for another scene I had in mind. In this scene I would include the main character packing up his stuff and a person approaches him and hands him a business card. However I may not use this scene because it lacks authenticity, I may want to do this scene in an actual parking lot. 3. Parking Lot The parking lot is probably a better spot than the drive way because it is more authentic. This would give the feeling that the main character is actually leaving a real restaurant. The same scene that I described for the driveway could take place here instead. 4. Office The office space would be ideal for a scene that I had in mind for the ending...

"Yesterday" opens with the sound of someone playing a guitar, likely source music, and the companies involved in the film are displayed. The scene then begins showing the guitar player standing and singing on a street corner. Then some non continuity editing takes place showing him playing the same song in different places. The title of the film is then revealed. Next it cuts to him at work being harassed by his boss. His manager tells him he has been booked for a festival and then a song starts. More non continuity editing with him preparing for the show and then him at the show with fewer than a dozen people in the audience. This opening scene reveals that he is struggling as a musician and is willing to take any gig he can get. This films budget was 26 million dollars and it had a profit of 145.9 million dollars.

"A Star is Born" opens by showing the Production company name with the sound of a crowd cheering in the background. Next the scene shows the main character backstage taking a handful of pills and walking on stage. The camera has a fish-eye effect to it to give the viewer the same intoxicated feeling that the main character is having. The band starts playing, he is playing the guitar. in the middle of the song the scene cuts to him entering the car with screaming fans behind him. The car rolls away and he starts drinking alcohol from the bottle as a ringing sound effect starts to build. This scene gives the feeling that the main character is exhausted from his life on the road. The film had a budget of 36 million dollars and a profit of 434.9 million dollars.

"School of Rock" first opens with the source music from the bar where the characters are playing. It starts in the hall outside the bar showing the names of producers on a person's jacket, on posters, and as the bar door opens it shows the title of the film on the wall. Next it does a pan around the room with a handheld camera showing the entire scene. There is the use of source sound from the band and props include instruments and a pager which is included in an insert shot. The names of actors are displayed throughout the scene. The scene ends with a failed stage dive by the lead guitarist and shows him laying on the floor. The scene shows the viewer that the main character is a struggling musician. The film had a budget of 20 million dollars and a profit of 131 million dollars. 

The opening Scene of "Straight Outta Compton" starts with showing the production company and the sound of police scanners and news headlines talking about crime and gang violence. Then the first shot is an establishing shot showing the city. It then cuts to a run-down neighborhood and focuses on a car coming to a stop in front of a house with a decorative font displayed on it that says Compton, California. The driver of the car walks into the house with drugs to distribute. The people in the house let him in and he asks for his money. The people in the house hold him at gun-point and tell him to leave. Then a squad of police cars accompanied by a tank with a battering ram rush up to the house and break down the front door. The driver breaks a window and escapes and then it cuts to black revealing the title of the film. The opening scene reveals what type of characters we will see throughout the film, people who are not afraid to break the law. This films budget was 50 million...

This movie opens with the main character waking up and rising out of bed. The title of the film is displayed in a decorative font across his shoulders. As the main character gets ready the music starts and it cuts to the venue where he is about to do a show. There is some parallel editing with this scene cutting between the show and the main character's house. When the main character arrives at the show there is a long slow motion shot of him walking up to the stage. The opening scene reveals the time and place of the story and shows a sense of what the main character is like by showing his house and what his life is like. A few of the main actors are revealed in the opening credits. This film had a budget of 52 million dollars and a profit of 903 million dollars. The film won many awards including an Academy award for best actor.

I have decided that the film project would be best for me. I liked what I saw in "Ferris Bueller" because the most interesting parts to me where also very achievable editing techniques that I would like to try. I also want to try to do some improvisations with the dialogue if possible. Overall "Ferris Bueller" was what made me want to chose this project. I think I have an advantage because I have multiple locations that would be good for filming. For example, my parents have an office where we could film an office scene. I like drama films that are about musicians like "Bohemian Rhapsody" because I am a musician myself. My film is going to be something of that nature. I am going to work alone because I am pretty good at coming up with stories on my own and I know people who would be willing to act in my film. I think I can make a very good film highlighting the struggles of musicians.

Watching the film "Ferris Bueller" was what got me interested in the film production process. I enjoyed watching the documentary showing how they got the footage for the film, how they got the props, and the process of getting the cast together. I found it very interesting when they showed how they put together the scene where Genie kicks Ed Rooney in the face. The cut between her running away and him falling and back to make the fall more dramatic. I liked how a simple editing technique could enhance a film as much as it did there. I also found it interesting how they did they stunt where the car flew out the window. It seems like a stunt like that would be fun because you have to attempt it multiple times to get it right. I liked how the actors in "Ferris Bueller" got to improvise on some of their dialogues. I think the improvisations make the dialogue much more real and it seems like it would be fun. I would like to try all of these techniques in my own movie. I ...

         I became intrigued by print journalism when I saw the movie "All the Presidents Men". This showed me that the print journalism industry can be very hands on. In the film we saw Woodward and Bernstein split up to meet with sources out in the field. Bernstein went all the way to Miami to meet with one source and Woodward went to a vacant parking garage to meet with his secret source. This showed me how making connections and interacting with people is a major part of this business. This interested me as well as the process of preparing an interview. This interested me because I admire the ability to form the right questions and would like to acquire that skill. The magazine project seems like a good fit for me because I am interested in the interviewing process. However I see the research aspect as a challenge because my skills in research are not very good yet because I have difficulty knowing what to search for.