Final Questionnaire

This questionnaire is for the final cut of our short film Virago. This questionnaire will evaluate how successful our film is on a technical aspect and determine what changes audiences feel could be made if we had the opportunity to work on it again.


https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSch-YihVWeK9Ptd03wooObSQmfi4M61ZGwwaUuiOet2INjXGw/viewform?usp=sf_link

Film poster research

Research into voice overs

Voice over in film

Voice over: a piece of narration in a film or broadcast, not accompanied by an image of the speaker

Types of Voice over

To understand voice overs in films, all variations must be explained. Two of these include non-diegetic narration and ADR (Automated Dialogue Replacement). Non-diegetic narration affirms the definition of a voice over as this is where a character, who is neither present in the current scene or entire film, narrates a scene/s within the film. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzuM2XTnpSA
Whereas ADR is the process of redubbing an actor’s lines in post-production, this can be for a number of reasons: firstly is that the line may have not been picked up well by on-set microphones (such as hero films where masks are worn), secondly the words may need to be changed (for example swapping swear words to alter the classification) and lastly in case of failure of onset equipment.

Production of voice over

Similar to a film, voice overs have their own cycle of production.
Pre-production: The film’s writers and director will decide on the lines to be recorded and how they are recorded (directions for the actor to follow)
Production: This is the period where the actor is in the recording studio and using the script to voice over the film.
Post-production: This stage involves mixing* and editing the recorded audio alongside the film to figure out what best fits.
*Mixing: This is where the audio is stripped to just the recorded voice (unused frequencies are removed) and professional audio mixers add relevant effects to help blend the speech to the film. For example, if a film requires ADR in a cave scene, then the editors will mix the audio with effects such as reverb to add a natural echo to best match the on screen characters.

Voice overs are most often recorded in the post production stages of a film, where the actors will spend one to several days in a professional studio along with the director who helps to describe how lines should be delivered. 

Deciding how to record audio

When choosing to do voice overs in a film, both types of microphones need to be considered, these are: condenser and dynamic.

Condenser: Records over a far distance in exchange for being able to capture a wider array of frequencies (higher quality audio)

Dynamic: Records at a close range at a cheaper cost in exchange for limited frequency capture (lower quality than condenser)










Since most voice over is captured in professional studios with sound proofing booths, then condenser microphones can be used as they provide more frequencies that can be manipulated for the end product.

Polar patterns


A polar pattern is the shape of the field that a microphone captures. There are three main types of pattern when recording: Omnidirectional, Bidirectional and cardioid. Both condenser and dynamic microphones make use of these polar patterns.

 
Omnidirectional

This is the least used pattern when recording voice overs, “omni” means all so an omnidirectional microphone will capture 360 degrees of it’s surroundings. This is used the least as often voice overs are just one actor so 360 degrees is not needed.

Bi directional

This is sometimes used in voice overs, mainly animation films. This pattern is where the microphone captures what is in front it and behind it, this is only used when two actors have a conversation in the voice over and the director feels having them record the conversation at the same time is the best option.

Cardioid

The most common pattern is cardioid, this is where a microphone records what is in front of it with a slight peripheral capture for stereo audio. As most voice over is a single actor, this is best fitting and can be seen primarily when behind the scenes of a movie are released.

 

What this means for virago

Virago will feature a radio advert, since this is purely audio then ADR will not be used and a narrative voice over will be more relevant. Chris Osbyrne’s voice will be used for this trailer, his character is the priest during the dream sequence of the film.
This advert will take place during the post production stage of the film where it will then be edited and mixed to best fit the genre of Virago. The pre-production will be what is scripted for the advert, which will then enter production where Chris will be recorded and then later mixed and edited in post-production.
We will be recording with the Zoom H1 microphone, this microphone is a condenser which means we will get the highest quality and more beneficial frequency range. The Zoom H1 is unidirectional, this means that we have manual control over its polar pattern, for our advert we will set the Zoom H1 to cardioid as it is the best fitting pattern for voice work.

poster developement

Poster development

 To create the poster, I took all the inspiration from the research mood board I created and made sure that our posted had characteristics that other popular film poster have. The first decision I had to make was what would be my central character/ object to initially catch the viewers’ attention. To do this, I had to find photos that I could potentially turn into a film poster.

The image I decide to edit into a photo was a capture taken from the house scene of the film. I think the helmet and gloves play a big part in the film because motor bike are featured a lot in the film and it will make a good central piece as it is interesting and could lead the viewer to find out more.

The next step was cropping out the background of the scene and putting in a black background to make the central object more eye-catching. Then using the quick selection tool, I duplicated certain parts of the helmet so that I can colour them in a vibrant red when I put a black and white filter over the main helmet. Adding a black and white filter other the image but have red highlights, means that I have something to intrigue the viewer of the poster.

Once I had the main feature and background of the poster all finished, I had to add the other common features of mainstream posters. These include, the tittle of the film, reviews by famous reviewers, credit tittle etc. Once I roughly positioned where I wanted all these to placed, I decided on how big I wanted them, to be and how they work with the other features of the poster.

Finally after finalising them, I added our production logo and the agreed certificate that we would use. This made the poster seem a lot more believable and realistic to the viewer. With doing this I also eye dropped the colour of the highlighted helmet to match the colour of the text title, this mean that the colours don’t seem random and they match in the poster.

After doing all this, I wanted to add something else that would interest the viewer if they were to look at the poster up close. I decided to take a frame from the shot the robin in the film and to place it in the visor of the helmet. To do this I had to select the robin and crop it out of its background and place it in the poster. I had to make sure I places it below the black and white filter so that the bird would also be black and white. Then I turned down the opacity of the bird so that it gave an effect that the bird was shown in the reflection of the poster. That was the final thing I needed to do before the poster was complete.

 

The final Poster

 

Final Virago Rough Cut

Virago is now in the final draft stage, at this point the film is complete however small nuancesn such as audio levels, keyframe timing of effects and ADR (automated dialogue replacement) may be needing tweeks to finalise the project.

Famous film posters Mind map

poster research

Research

 

 

The first thing I did when I was creating a film poster for our film was to research other film poster that have actually been released. I did this for 2 reasons, the first one was to gain inspiration from other film posters and maybe take certain characteristics from each poster and incorporate them into mine. The second reason was so that I could see what features film posters have in common. 

 

The first thing I realised was that the main character or the main objects were positioned in the middle of the poster. This was so that the viewer can instantly see the star role in the film. This catches the demographics attention because their favourite actor/actress could be in the middle, which instantly catches their attention. A good example is Sherlock Holmes, on the poster, Robert Downey Jr. was present in the centre of the poster, taking up the majority of the poster. If a fan of Robert Downey Jr. saw the poster they would instantly be tempted to find out more.

 

Another characteristic is that some poster has a lot of empty space in the background, this means that the focus is whatever is in the foreground. This could be an object or a character/characters, like in the movie poster for James Bond, Skyfall. Thought the background is an image of the riffling in the barrel of a gun, the centre is taken up by the main character. This is good for capturing the attention of the viewers as they are made to focus on what is going on in the foreground but the background too could have a symbolic meaning. Such as the riffling on the James Bond poster could symbolise James could be killed in the film but you never know unless you watch the film but you can deduct that guns are involved.

 

  To conclude, posters all have certain characteristics that help attracts the viewers’ attention. This can be done by centralising a key object or character/s in the films or by being vibrant and interesting. These all help draw the demographics attention.

Individual Radio Film Trailer Research

Film Poster analysis

The kings of summer

Is a 2013 American independent coming-of-age drama film that premiered at the Sun Dance festival in 2013 and was released with a limited release on the 13th May 2013 by CBS films. Within the film there were upcoming teen actors such as; Nick Robinson ( Joe toy in the film) who after the film stared in Jurassic world(2015),Being Charlie (2015) and the recently renowned '5th wave' that was released in 2016, also staring Chloe Mortez. Moreover the film also acquired established actors such as Moises Arias who played 'Biaggio'. He is known for his role in the Disney hit TV series'; 'The suite life on deck', 'Hannah Montana' and 'Wizards of Waverley place'.

Before the film came to acquire the name 'kings of summer', it was originally called 'toy's house' when the film was shown at the Sun Dance festival. However through CBS films acquiring the distribution rights to the film the title was therefore changed to 'the kings of summer', which seems vastly more appropriate for a coming of age film. At the box office the film grossed 1.4 million dollars and acquired 76% on rotten tomatoes and made it onto 'Complex's Best Summer movies of 2013 list', rightly reserving 17th position.

 

Phoenix 

The film Phoenix is a German drama film that was directed by Christian Petzols in 2014, originally adapted from the 1961 novel 'le retour des candres' by the French author Hubert Monteilhet. The film also acquired  a renowned German established cast members; Nina Hoss who played 'Nelly Fenz', who has won a series of awards such as; the German film awards for best actress in 2008, Capri European actress award in 2012 and then in 2014 also won the Seattle International film festival for best actress. The film also stared Ronald Zehrfeld who played Johnny Lenz, who's debut was in 2005 when he stared in his lead role in Dominik Grafs 'The red cockatoo' and through this was nominated in the Undine awards for best actor. The film was given a limited a release in two theatres under 'Sundance selects' on July 24th 2015, where it grossed $28,210 over the weekend.  As of the 30th October 2015 the film has grossed $3,143,677 in North America which made it one of the highest grossing German films in the united states in recent years. The film therefore made in onto the 'National Board of review's' top 5 foreign language films of 2015. Another factor to take into consideration is the acclaim it gained from numerous critics, as from the 'Metacritic' the film scored a rating 89%, Rotten Tomatoes reported a 98% approval rating with an average rating of 8.1/10 based on 101 reviews. 

Editing Techniques that have inspired "VIRAGO"s Editing

The Ghost Effect:

This effect is achieved by creating imposing one layer on top of another, adding a slight delay and lowering the opacity of the layer that isn't ebig delayed. This gives the impression of a person following another version of themselves. It can be seen in other films such as Richard Kelly's Donnie Darko, where Donnie follows the beam of his own time.

The effect being conveyed in "Donnie Darko":

We achieved a similar effect in the opening shot of our film, where Eddie is percieved to be following a ghost of himself. This foreshadows his death in a way and implies that it is inevitable and inescapable.

The effect being conveyed in "VIRAGO":

Fast-paced Editing:

Quick cutting is a common trend in all types of film and is used for the purpose of building tension, putting the audience in an uncomfortable state where they can't quite 'take-in' every shot they are being shown. It makes for a rather jarring atmosphere as it breaks the rythym of the rest of the films editing. It's seen in all of Edgar Wright's filmogrpahy but our films use of fast-paced editing is most similar to the suicide scene from The Royal Tenebaums directed by Wes Anderson.

The Royal Tenenbaums- Fast Paced Editing

Our use of fast-paced editing can be seen at the very end of our film in a scene of similar nature too. It provokes thoughts of anxiety and gives the audience a rough idea of the haunting thoughts Edward is suffering through in this depressive state.

Inconography Influence: Fences

Iconography within Virago: bird

Within Virago we wanted to add specific symbolism that represented new life and almost personified the scene. As for instance within the last scene we chose to add a robin flying towards the camera from being settled on a wooden log. The bird flying off was to represent that Edward had finally passed onto the other side along with his wife. Moreover the underlying meaning was to represent how Elizabeth had also been set been from her emotional discomfort that she was trapped within. Throughout we use natural settings i.e. the wedding being outdoor and the flashbacks being solely set outside to keep the continuity of new life and to also highlight how beautiful and desolate many places within South Yorkshire are. One of our main influences was the film Fences which aided us both in later filming and editing. 

Fences (2016)

Fences is an American drama film directed by Denzel Washington, who also stars throughout as one of the main protagonists 'Troy Maxson'. The film began with a limited release on the 16th of December 2016 before opening wide in 2,223 theatres on December 25th. Throughout the film has numerous objects I.e. there's an emotionally distraught scene that is set within their back garden  between Troy and his wife 'Rose Maxson' (played by Viola Davis). This scene appears at the near end of the film where a rose that was given by Troy's younger brother 'Gabriel' (who is mentally Impaired) drops to the ground without hesitation.  This signified how the love between troy and Rose had declined throughout the film and they had now finally departed romantically. Rose devoted herself to Troy through the vow of marriage, however Troy became unfaithful towards Rose through having another relationship with a younger women who became pregnant.
The significance of the rose not only signifies the love that had vanished but also symbolises how 'Rose Maxson' no longer belonged to Troy. Moreover by the rose falling, it connoted how rose herself had finally let go of her emotional attachment to troy, let go how she devoted her life to troy and was finally set free into the world and was able to breathe the air around her. Rather than being conditioned to cook, clean and devote every part of her body to a male that became over the years confined within a negative subjective box.

CU, deep space background with a shallow focus.

Within our film Virago we wanted to symbolise how Edward was confined within his own conditioned state of emptiness, through the passing of his late wife: Elizabeth. The bird at the end of the film symbolises how Edward has not been set free from the depressive state that had placed him in almost a static motion throughout life life: just stuck in the same position unable to breath, move and compose a single thought. The pain slowly alleviates and by the by flying off into the direction of the sky, Edward too has been set off and can now embrace the light and 'heaven-like' life that awaits him.

Therefore the use of the bird within the end scene was to represent not just Edward but also Elizabeth being set free from they emotional distraught but to also signify how their life had begun again in heaven and they now able to pass fully to the other side that no longer required them to be confined to earth. Stereotypically birds are also synonymous with death but are also seen within a religious light i.e. the black bird is to represent sin whereas the peacock is to represent immorality within Christianity. Within the film we aimed to choose a robin, as they're stereotypically synonymous with new growth and renewal of ones life but also are there to represent one finding contentment, hence why we chose this particular bird as it represents both Edward and Elizabeth in their new adventure in another world. 

Prop inspiration: the film Phoenix

The main question for the group was to use masks or bandages? 

We deiced to use bandages over a mask as through numerous research in films that acquire the use of masks i.e. the purge. Stereotypically it is to hide ones own identity in favour of becoming someone else or an inner persona/identity. Whereas within Virago, the film is not aimed at telling someones story but to allow the audience to decipher that the film is about a romantic relationship between Edward and Elizabeth: commonly known as: EE, that caused both psychological damage. 

The purge used mask to allow those who 'purged' to remain hidden and their identities to remain anonymous when they committed acts that were seen as unlawful, including murder,theft, arson, mass slaughter. The use of the masks also added to the horror genre which Virago wasn't aiming to be within. We wanted to create a psychological illusion that would leave the viewers intrigued as it would still show the viewer a part of the individual but wouldn't get all the mystery away. The use of bandages over a mask would also allow us to denote how Elizabeth is not a non fiction character who is living out a secondary life, which the purge connoted throughout. 

Therefore we decided upon the use of bandages over a mask and this was mainly influenced from my suggestion from the film Phoenix. 

PROP INSPIRATION: Bandages  

The film Phoenix is a German drama film that was directed by Christian Petzols in 2014, originally adapted from the 1961 novel 'le retour des candres' by the French author Hubert Monteilhet. The first 20 minutes of the film is what gave us the initial idea for how we could suppress the character of Elizabeth and create a psychological illusion. Within the film the protagonist 'Nelly Lenz' who is played by Nina Hoss was captured within Aushwitz concentration camp but managed to escape. Through the ongoing emotional and physical sufferings Nelly has to have her face reconstructed, hence why her real face lies a mystery throughout the film as the film begins with Nelly's face in bandages, denoting how she no longer has the ability to be how she once used to before the war. This initial point highlighted how the film, rather than being featured and snonymous with, its primary purpose was to show how society is confined within wanting to change ones own features. However the film highlighted how one women managed to loose who she was and even in the face of loosing her physical personal features (face) she dreamed of going back to the 'old her' the old her that had the confidence, a family and most of all she knew who she was.

two shot of the Nelly Lenz and Lene Winter combined with natural lighting

medium close up combined with a 3-point fill lighting 

Within our own film Virago, I were heavily inspired by the use of bandages shown in Phoenix and how it delivered both an on screen integrity and of screen through the use of a such a simple but imaginative prop. This transpired throughout our film through numerous scenes However our film subverts the narrative within Phoenix as Phoenix never reveals the post-war 'Nelly' as all photos are of her left had side whereas Virago shows post-death Elizabeth within flash backs that Edward frequently suffers. We decided to subvert in this particular manner of revealing Elizabeths identity as we also wanted the viewer to connect and see Elizabeth as a real character and for her to relatable. Relatable in the sense of that when many loved ones pass many are unable to see them as they once was in terms of looks as many only have their own memories recollection of them or through photographs. Edward sees Elizabeth within bandages as it is to represent a more deeper covert emotional expression. Initially to connote how Elizabeth is confided within the bandages: covertly denoting the underlying representation of death. Moreover it is to denote that even though Elizabeth has passed away, she is still vastly trapped through Edwards guilt and mental stability.

Close up of Elizabeth within her white bandages (print screen from rough cut of Virago).

Focused print screen from the rough cut of Virago. Cropped down version to highlight the white wedding dress that Elizabeth is featured in.

The bandages have been kept pure white to express a degree of remaining inner purity but also in resemblance to the main association of white: heaven and to also add to the continuity of the attire Elizabeth is seen and remembered in: white. The figure of Elizabeth in bandages actual meaning was to signify how Edward saw her in every day life rather than a figure of his imagination. He saw how she kept her purity and hidden secrets confined within her cage (body) and which led to her death. We also decided upon the colour white to also suggest that she has passed over and was no longer living however though the use of flashbacks this allowed us to create the illusion of what was really past-reality and were really memories for Edward and what wasn't.

Our Film "VIRAGO" and it's application to Media Theorists (Further)- Todorov's Equilibrium/Barthes Enigma Codes/

Todorov's Equilibrium:

Todorov's theory is fairly self-explanatory. It discusses the general structure of most films. Equilibrium refers to the opening of the film- a typical status quo of affairs and sense of normalness. The status quo is then disrupted by some sort of narrative or contextaul event- breaking it into disequilibrium. This is normally the moment when the protagonist is at their most vulnerable in the film. To transition into a new form of equilibrium, the story must recognise this change in tone/atmosphere and attempt to repair it, in most films it is the protagnist beating the antagonist in some sort of fight. Finally there is Re-Equilibrium whereby there is a new sense of normalness in the films narrative. However, it is not the same as it was by the start of the film because the disruption still having some sort of impact on the films characters and setting. 

In "VIRAGO", the state of Equilibrium is that of Edward's daily struggles after the loss of his wife, Elizabeth. Edward's status quo is that of going to church to pray, only to go back home and drink himself to sleep, making for a rather dark and depressive tone to open with. This Equilibrium is disrupted during this sleep by a nightmare of his wedding day wioth his wife Elizabeth. To help connnote this disruption of equilibrium, loud and hypnotic non-diegetic music plays in the background and there are cuts back and forth from Edward in the real-world and Edward in the dream world. In both states, he is uncomfortable and disturbed. The following shot (of Edward knocking the bottle of whiskey he was drinking from onto the floor and smashing it) transports the spectator into Disequilibrium. This narrativ state continues when he goes upstairs and is confronted with a vision of his dead wife covered in bandages. Edward recognises this disruption of Equilibrium now and attempts to find a new status quo. His solution, however, is that of suicide- to escape from the horror of his dissolving reality and be at peace. Hence, a re-equilibrium for him.

Barthe's Enigma Codes:

Barthes proposes that there are different kind of codes that can be found in a films narrative that add to the character development, context and story. They are the following:

Enigma Code (Hermeneutic Code)- Puzzles that appear in the story for the audience to investigate.

Action Code (Proairetic Code)- Sequential Elements that add to the story.

Semantic Code- Meaning in the film (both inferred and explicitely shown)

Symbolic Code- Symbolism in films (inferred and explicitely shown)

Cultural Code (Referential Code)- Anything in the film which refers to an external body of language (e.g a film shows the Big Ben = Set in London / a film uses drug dialect = refers to drug culture / character wears biker clothes = refers to Biker Culture or Mods vs. Rockers)

In "VIRAGO", Enigmatic Codes are used repeatedly to give the audience more information than at first percieved.

An example of some of these codes could be the film's title itself. "VIRAGO" refers to name of the model of the bike Edward rides in the film. If you look closely you can actually see the logo for the model of the bike in our opening title sequence when he sits on it for the first time. However, the audience do not realise the significance this has to Edward becasue Virago, as a term, actually means "a domineering, violent, or bad-tempered woman" (referring to Elizabeth his dead wife). This would come under as Semantic Code.

Shot from the film:

Another could be the costume Edward wears for the majority of the film. It is similar to that of traditional bikers (in a previous post, we have mentioned that it is similar to the costumes of Easy Rider and The Wild One). Therefore, you could say that his costuming is a referential code for biker culture or possibly even Mods vs. Rockers culture of the 1960's. 

Costuming from The Wild One:

Costuming from "VIRAGO":

The sequence in "VIRAGO" where Edward slides his whiskey bottle off the tabel he was sleeping at onto the floor; smashing it, is an example of a symbolic code. The whiskey bottle symbolises Edward's alcoholism and how he is coping with the loss of his wife. The smashing of it is a way of telling the audience that he is at his lowest and his alcoholism is at his peak.