Film - Putting Animation On Our Film Opening

Today, Libby Nancy and myself went to get our memory stick which the I.T technician had been working on to change the format of our animation which would make it compatible with the MAC. We then were able to upload the file onto the computer and transfer it into I-Movie. Once we have placed the animation in the correct place of our film we needed to add a short 10 second clip of music. We had to go back on the PC computers as the MACs are not connected to the internet. We went on youtube and found a suitable clip that would work with our animation. We then put the memory stick into the computer as we were going to use a youtube converter to transfer the clip of music back onto the MAC. Once converted we then put the memory stick back into the MAC computer and uploaded the music clip onto I-Movie. Because the clip that we had wanted was around 1 minute long we needed to trim the clip to make it fit in time with the animation (which is about about 4 seconds long). Once we had trimmed the clip we realised that the other music on the opening had disappeared. We were unable to go back and undo so we just had to trim the music to it would fit with the suicide scene. Once we had sorted out the soundtrack music our film opening was completed. We then put the film onto the memory stick ready to upload onto youtube next lesson.

Film - Problem With Animation

We had finished our animation a few weeks ago. However we have had a big problem with it. Once we had completed our animation on the PC we imported it on a memory stick so that we could transfer it onto the MAC. When to put the memory stick into the MAC it would not upload the animation because it was in the wrong format. We decided to go the IT technician and see if they could change it into a format which would work with the MAC computer. A few days after we went to get the memory stick as the technician had said that they had put the animation in a suitable format to work on the MAC. We then put the memory stick into the MAC and the animation seemed to import onto the computer. The animation was now on the computer in which we dragged it onto the desktop. However the animation was still unable to upload on I-Movie. Again we went back to the IT technician for them to convert the animation in a suitable file that works with I-Movie.

Film - Classification

To help decide what classification our film opening is, I went on the British Board of Film Classification (bbfc) to reaerach the different film classification categories.
All classification decisions are based on the BBFC’s published and regularly updated Guidelines. The Guidelines are the product of extensive public consultation, research and the accumulated experience of the BBFC over many years. They reflect current views on film, DVD and video game regulation.

U - Universal

- Suitable for audiences aged 4 and over.
- Should be set within a positive moral framework .
- No discriminatory language or behaviour unless clearly disapproved of.
- No references to illegal drugs or drug misuse unless of a clear educational purpose.
- Scary sequences should be mild. The outcome should be reasuring.
- No potentially dangerous behaviour which young children are likely to copy.
- Infrequent use only of very mild bad language.
- Occasional natural nudity, with no sexual context.
- Mild violence only.

PG - Parental Guidance

- General viewing, however some scenes may be unsuitable for young children.
- A ‘PG’ film should not disturb a child aged around eight or older.
- Discriminatory language or behaviour is unlikely to be acceptable.
- References to illegal drugs or drug misuse must be harmless.
- Frightening sequences should not be prolonged or intense.
- No detail of potentially dangerous behaviour which young children are likely to copy.
- Mild bad language only.
- Natural nudity, with no sexual context.
- Sexual activity may be implied, but should be discreet and infrequent.
- Moderate violence, may be allowed.

12A/12 - Suitable for 12 years and over

- These categories are awarded where the material is suitable, in general, only for those
   aged 12 and over.
- Works classified at these categories may upset children under 12.
- No one younger than 12 may see a ‘12A’ film in a cinema unless accompanied
   by an adult.
-  Aggressive discriminatory language or behaviour is unlikely to be acceptable unless
   clearly condemned.
- Any misuse of drugs must be infrequent and should not be glamorised.
- Moderate physical and psychological threat may be permitted.
- Dangerous behaviour should not dwell on detail which could be copied.
- Moderate language is allowed. The use of strong language must be infrequent.
- Nudity is allowed, but in a sexual context must be brief and discreet.
- Sexual activity may be briefly and discreetly portrayed.
- Mature themes are acceptable, but their treatment must be suitable for young teenagers.
- Moderate violence is allowed but should not dwell on detail.
- Sexual violence may only be implied or briefly and discreetly indicated.

15 - Suitable for only 15 years and over

- No one younger than 15 may see a ‘15’ film in a cinema.
- The work as a whole must not endorse discriminatory language or behaviour.
- Drug taking may be shown but the film must not promote or encourage drug misuse.
- Strong threat and menace are permitted unless sadistic or sexualised.
- Dangerous behaviour should not dwell on detail which could be copied.
- There may be frequent use of strong language
- Nudity may be allowed in a sexual context but without strong detail.
- Sexual activity may be portrayed without strong detail.
- No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is appropriate for 15 year olds.
- Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury.
- Portrayal of sexual violence must be discreet and have a strong contextual justification.

If we were going to continue making our film I think that the most appropriate choice of classification would be a 15 - suitable for only 15 years and over. One of my reasons for this is that our film opening shows drug and alcohol taking. As a group we believe that showing drug taking in a manner where it is used for pain and harm in not acceptable to be shown to persons under the age of 15. As we have touched on this I think that it should not be shown to children under the age of 15. We also show a suicide scene which could be disturbing and upsetting to some viewers. As films with a certificate of 15 state that no theme is prohibited and that dangerous behaviour should not dwell on detail, I think that is appropriate to show this film opening with a 15 certificate.

Film - Target Audience

The target audience for out film opening is teenagers and young adults male or female. (16 - 30 year old). The age group bracket is quite broad as we believe any age in this group would be able to empathize with the storyline.Our story line contains serious issues that are a problem in today's society. By bringing these issues up we hope to send a strong and positive message about implications of a thing such as suicide has on the young people of today. It it strongly evident in our film opening that it is suited for a younger audience as we have used only young actors. By using young actors in our film we hoped to create a connection where the audience can relate to the actors.

Film - Animation For Production Company

On the MAC computers at school which we are using to edit our film there are several production company animations such as Universal. We were pretty far ahead of other groups in terms of editing and decided that we had enough time to make our own production company animation. In one of our lessons we went to the computer room as the software needed to make an animation was not available on the MAC computers. We used the software SerifDrawX3 which we were all relatively familiar with as we had used this is previous years in our IT lessons.
We decided that our production company name would be called DYNAMITE. The name will stay on the screen for the duration of the animation. The word has a sort of fuzzy border to it which changes in strength throughout the duration. In the background, a ball bounces across the screen and as it reaches the bottom right corner it squashes down until it disappears.

Film - Final Edit

The film is meant to be around 2 minutes long and our first edit was about 5 minutes. The first thing that we did when we went back to edit was to aim to cut down our footage to around 3 minutes. We decided to do this by cutting down the majority of the scenes. By doing this not only did we cut our time down dramatically but it also made the scenes look more sharp and energetic.

After reducing our film's length we decided to begin fitting the actors names in. We decided that 2 seconds was a substantial length for the actors names to appear on the film. The hardest part was trying to fit the names into the film, making sure that they were all equally spaced out. This was a challenge as most of our clips were not 2 seconds long and we didnt want the names to overlap into different clips. We eventually chose to put the names after the flashback. (We originally decided to put all of the names in the flashback at the very beginning). This meant that we could space the names out more appropriately. We also had quite a few of 2 second or more clips so we had more choice as to where the names could go.

After fitting all the names in the right spaces we had to add the title of the film. As a group we were unsure as to where the title should go. We tried it in several spaces but as we watched it we got the idea that it looked like a documentary title instead of a feature film title. We asked our teacher where he thought it would be most appropriate to put the title and he suggested that it should go nearly at the end in the funeral scene where the characters are walking to the stairs. We put the title there and chose to keep it on the screen for 5 seconds. We watched the film and thought that this was the best place for it to go.

After we finished this we need to make our film production name. We thought that it would be different if we made an ainmation on the PC and then transfer it on a memory stick to the MAC computers.

Film - Feedback From Class

We had finished our first rough edit well within the deadline and our teacher had asked us to show our film to the rest of the class. We were really please with the feedback that we received. Most of the feedback was positive and the rest of the class gave us ideas for improvement. It was helpful to get others to watch our as they may be able to spot things that we have missed out/edited poorly etc....
One of the negative criticisms that we received was that our film was far too long for an opening. We knew that this was a big problem as on the evaluation sheet it states that the opening needs to be around 2 minutes long. The reason why we found it so hard to make our opening short was because we were quite unsure as to what parts we should cut down. We knew that as soon as we had our next lesson the first thing we needed to do was to cut down the timing.