Note to Examiner

This blog contains all my years work in AS Media.

It starts with me studying different camera techniques, my Preliminary Task and then all my work on Opening Sequences and an Opening Sequence I made myself. In the of my blog I also have a video I made after my ski trip I went on with my school which I made with one of my classmates.

What Inspired Lokir

The main idea for a Medieval movie came when I was analysing other opening sequences which were Gladiator (A Historical film), Lord of the Rings and Star Wars (Both fantasies) the opening sequences of these 3 films were all explosive and compelling and all the films are successful. I love the historical and fantasy genre so I would enjoy making a fantasy film and would be enthusiastic about it. I knew where I could film Lokir and knew where to get the appropriate outfits and props from. The actors I brought in were also big fantasy fans like me so there was a lot of enthusiasm in the making of Lokir. I also knew that not many other people would be doing a historical movie due to lacking the correct set and outfits so I knew my piece would be unique compared to other opening sequences.

Calendar

What Media Institutions Would Distribute Lokir?

How does Lokir Represent Different Social Groups

Evaluation

Camera Set Up Diagrams

Sorry for the poor drawing.

Wide Shots at the beginning

POV of Lokir running

Lokir and enemy collision snap

Wide angle of Lokir travelling

Over head shot of Lokir returning home

Use of Social Media

I used various platforms of social media to advertise my film to my followers and receive feedback.
Here I used Twitter:

Here I used Google Plus:

Here I have received feedback on You Tube:

Resolving Issues

One big issue I had was poor weather affecting my shots out in the open fields where the sky is visible. In these establishing shots it was important to have good weather so I had to travel to Oxfordshire on many weekends in order to get good weather with a days filming. A lot of the time the weather would change in the middle of filming so I managed to hide this by adding the stylisations to the shots. For example in the shot where Lokir has a match on action shot of Rorikstead, the weather was quite overcast by then but it is not as visible in the final piece.

Another problem I had was my actors laughing in the middle of shots. The main part where I had this badly was in the quick shot of Lokir killing the enemy soldier. As an un-edited shot the impact was very poor and slow because the actors were trying not to stab each other. However by speeding up the editing and having just a half second shot of it made it look a lot faster and explosive.

Soundtrack-Research and Choice

When researching the soundtrack of historical and fantasy, the music is almost always from an orchestra with acoustic instruments and not from modern musical culture; it is always classical with violins and trumpets etc.

Some of the best composers for historical and fantasy films are Hans Zimmer and Howard Shaw with Gladiator and Lord of the Rings, therefore I will look at those films and borrow one of their scores because I don't have the resources to make my own original score of the classical genre.

Gladiator soundtracks are more simple and have more of an ancient world theme to it where as Lord of the Rings sounds more Medieval and more intricate. Furthermore Howard Shore's Lord of the Rings soundtrack has more of a Quest theme to it which is more appropriate for Lokir.



The soundtrack for the text at the beginning is "Isengard Unleashed" by Howard Shore. It is a woman singing with a choir in the background and their are no instruments playing apart from a deep foreboding note from a cello this creates tension much like the opening of Gladiator however I didn't want to completely copy that film so I went for Lord of the Rings which fitted my theme anyway.



The second soundtrack heard, "The Treason of Isengard" is also from Lord of the Rings and is used to show Lokir looking at Erynathol and then travelling back to his home of Rorikstead. The first part of the score is good because again it is choir with a deep note while the sword is being studied which creates tension and gives the sword some significance. The second part is while Lokir is travelling through the English countryside and definitely gives off the idea of travelling, in fact it is also used i Lord of the Rings to show Frodo and Sam travelling through the Shire (A region of Middle Earth which is based on the british countryside, Oxfordshire in particular, which is where Lokir was filmed.) Therefore the scenes are identical in both looks and sounds and show a clear passage of time and shows how they are travelling long distances foot. Lastly when Lokir reaches his castle in Rorikstead the music slightly changes from travelling to a more tranquil peace which implies Lokir is back home and safe and ends the films prologue with defining music.

Construction of Lokir

I used many different techniques on the editing programme Final Cut which helped me create my Opening Sequence. The techniques can range from audio enhancing or inserting text.

Here I have inserted text with a black fill in the background to create focus on what is being said to set the scene and create tension with the soundtrack in the background.

Here I have used many sound effects and audio to create verisimilitude. Some I had to record myself and some were provided by Final Cut Pro.

Here I have used many visual effects to amplify and stylise my opening sequence. I used the effect "Combat" to give my opening sequence a more medieval style. In the pictures below we can see the original footage and the effect I gave to it.

Lokir Questionnaire

Click here to take survey

All feedback is appreciated.

Lokir, final product.

My complete opening sequence. Be sure to leave comments and feedback. Special thanks to my actors Kasim, Sully and Joseph.

Consumer Profile

Lokir is a Historical Fantasy film.

The fantasy market is massive and was put on the map by The Lord of the Rings saga with Star Wars being the only real fantasy saga in the 20 years before LOTR. After LOTR we saw an emergence of many fantasy film saga's such as Harry Potter and Narnia, so the gene is now clearly very popular. Therefore my movie will appeal to millions of fantasy "Geeks" around the world, which usually have an age range of 25-45, so I have a reliable demographic there who will definitely turnout to watch a fantasy film similar to Lord of the Rings. Also there is a small demographic of people who specifically like historical films like Gladiator and Troy and they will also turnout to see Lokir. Lastly fantasy films usually attract many children from 6-15 and so Lokir will attract many kids around the world to come to watch the movie with their family. Therefore its is very useful the my movie is something of a hybrid genre and attracts the as many people as possible.

This Fantasy/Geek fan base are usually into mythology like dragons, orcs and magic so the enchanted sword of Erynathol and the magic around it will appeal to them. They also like battles with swords and other ancient weapons. Their hobbies include Books, Collectables, Cos-play and Video Games, therefore a lot of merchandising as seen with Star Wars and Lord of the Rings especially can be used to gain more revenue and also raise the profile of the film (For example there are many action figures video games and clothes sold by the Star Wars and LOTR franchise.)

The demographic doesn't really have a specific location and are scattered all over the place but they are probably based mainly in Suburbia because they are not wealthy or outgoing enough to live in the city and usually live where they were brought up or even still with their parents with a small social life. A lot of their free time is spent in their small house working on hobbies such as levelling up on video games or making costumes and painting collectable figures. Therefore internet and TV advertising would be the most useful way to reach these people.

In terms of children they are usually very attracted to the fantasy genre because they want to satisfy their broad imagination and can be found by TV advertising and posters on buses for example. They then tell their parents that they want to see that film and the family goes to the cinema to watch it together on the weekend.

Casting Photographs and Justifications

Kasim Khan:

Kasim is good choice for the lead in my film because he has quite a hard, masculine face, which in a classic Action/Adventure film is very conventional. He is quite tall and strong which a hero needs to be.

Sulaiman Khan:

Sulaiman has a softer face and is smaller than Kasim. This makes him look weaker and less powerful and is why Lokir kills him with ease.

Shot List

Cinematography Location Information

Field Equipment Checklist

History of Opening Sequences

The first opening sequence was in the film "Intolerance" in 1916. They traditionally only acted to show the people who were involved in the making of the movie e.g. Director, producer etc.

But as the film industry evolved they started include themes into the sequences which were related to the film for example Se7en where it shows a mad man cutting his fingers etc.

Recent films now do not even have opening credits at all and throw us straight into the action like in The Dark Knight which goes straight into a bank heist. Another technique which is popular among fantasy is the use of text to set the scene of the movie which will either be in an alternate world, the past or the future e.g. Gladiator, Star Wars, Hunger Games.

In conclusion opening sequences have evolved over time depending on trends and social movements. Also on what draws the viewer in

Key Conventions of Opening Title Sequence

Conventions of a Title Sequence

1. Title of film
2. Distributor
3. Studio
4. Actors
5. Producers
6. Composer

Conventions of an Opening Sequence

1. Establishment of scene/setting.
2. Characters sometimes, establishment of them, sometimes creating a mysterious aura about the character.
3. A lot of the time is fast paced, throwing the audience straight into the action.
4. Sometimes set in the past to set the tone and situation or in the future to build up to that moment.

Font Analysis

One font I can use in my opening titles is Trajan Pro. This is an appropriate font because it has a very ancient theme which fits into the historical time period of my opening sequence. It is also quite a bold font which can suggest strength which is useful for my opening sequence because the film is about a strong male protagonist. However could be suggested this font has more of a roman theme to it than the Medieval theme I am looking for.

A similar font I could have used Is Charlemagne STD (This isn't it by the way) which has a more medieval look to it. It has a more gothic theme which arguably fits the time period of Medieval chivalry etc. However it can also be argued that this font has a bit too much of a artistic theme and could pass off as being to modern.

Herculanum is also a good font because, as suggested in the name, it has the look of ancient Greeks due to its messy and almost prehistoric nature. However the writing is not very imposing and looks as if the people who wrote like this were some of the first people in the world who could write. Furthermore the font doesn't really match the time period of "Lokir" which is theoretically over 1000 years in the future.

Opening Sequence Synopsis

The title sequence involves some text which sets the scene and location of the movie to follow. It gives the movie historical context and the music also gets the audience into the mood. Lokir is running through a forest when he comes across the body of a fallen soldier which is intact an ambush by an enemy who Lokir dispatches with ease. He then finds the legendary sword Erynathol which has powers to make him the ultimate fighter. He hears people coming and travels back to his home village/castle of Rorikstead and the opening sequence ends.

Ski Trip

Not related to my Coursework but my peer and I (Louis Hooke) made a video documenting our school ski trip to Val d'isere over the Christmas Holidays and this is it, enjoy!

Pitch Presentation

Poor Sound Quality

Ideas for Opening Sequence

I did a Brainstorm of what I should do for my opening sequence. I've looked at what I would want to do and what would be possible, also what is popular.

What technology will I use

To film Lokir I used a Canon eos rebel t3i which gives HD quality.

To do my editing I used the programme Final Cut pro which is a more sophisticated version of iMovie. It gives me stylisation effects and sound effects. Also it gives special options I can use to effect my film.