Filming

Today I started my filming, I am pleased with how it went because I tried out many different angles of the same shot which will help me when it comes to editing because I will be able to have some variation.


Although I am pleased with how the filming went I am not so pleased with the footage. Unfortunately the only time I could film was this afternoon and it was quite dark. My dad parked his car in front of the house and left his headlights on so we had some more lights but it is very obvious that the light is artificial and so it doesn't look very good. I will be re filming this footage because I am not pleased however I am glad I tried because I have now had a practice and so next it should go far more smoothly. Another problem I had was that my tripod hasn't arrived yet and so I had to do all of the filming free hand. It doesn't show too much as I managed to keep a steady hand however I think it will look far better when I can use my tripod. 

The new and improved animatic!

After making some changes to my animatic I am now far more pleased with it than I was previously. I am pleased with my titles as I think they make my animatic a lot better. Also, the improvements I have made to the images have made the whole animatic a lot clearer as to what is happening. 

Further work on my animatic...

This morning I decided I would get right on with working on my animatic. I have added in proper titles and the title of my film is also how I want it to look. These are not all set in stone yet as I am just seeing what works however I think that these all work really well. 


For my opening titles I have used a black background and white writing. I have used these colours because they're simple yet effective as they stand out. The font I have used for these is 'Coolvetica'. This font stands out and is easy to read. It does not say too much about film which is what I would like as I would like lots of questions to be asked by the audience within the first 2 minutes!
These are my opening titles and the order they appear in...

This is the first title to appear and it is shown in the top left hand corner. I have put it there because I would like my titles to appear randomly until we reach the characters names. This title fades in and out because then it is less harsh on the audience and it also makes the titles flow more easily. 

This title appears in the centre at the bottom. This is to carry on my random effect. This title also fades in and out for effect. 

This title appears in the bottom left hand corner, this carry's on the random effect that I want to create which would suggest to the audience that they don't know what's to come. Again, like all of my titles, this fades in and out for effect. 

This title appears in the top left hand corner again.

This one appears in the bottom left hand corner again.

This title appears in the very centre of the screen.

This title also appears at the bottom left of the screen. 

This title appears in the centre of the screen. 

This title appears at the top left of the screen again.

And finally, this title appears at the bottom of the screen in the middle.

Next I have actors names. Each of these shots also fade in and out for effect and they are also in exactly the same font and colour and the background is the same as before. This leaves the titles flowing steadily and so doesn't confuse the audience or disrupt the pattern. These titles appear in less of a random way with the first one in the top left corner, then next in the middle, the next at the bottom right of the screen and then back to the middle and so on. This creates more order to the audience and makes the titles flow more easily. 

These are the titles in the order of which they appear...

I have this character first as she is the main character and therefore the most important to the film.

Jane is second because she is also another very important character.

Next is Bethany. She is the young girl with Cerebral Palsy and so is also very important.

Chelsea is one of the bully's and the 'leader' of the group and so she is next.

Kye is also a bully and so he appears after Chelsea

Charlie is another bully and so comes next. 

These are all of the characters names I am showing in my opening sequence because I feel if I were to make a whole film then then rest of characters would come up at the end in those credits. I feel I have included the main characters in the beginning which I think is important.

I then show my next title just a few shots before the title of my film. This title is again in the same colour writing, the same font etc. Because it's creates more rhythm to my titles and it would be unconventional to have them all different. 

This title appears in the middle at the bottom because it's not hugely important however the audience should know this. 

Last but not least comes the title of my film. It also appears on a black background which shows order. However, the font I have used is different. The font is 'apple casual' and I have used this because it is casual and therefore looks slightly likes child's handwriting which is what I have wanted all along because Gracie is only a child and the film is based around her. The font colour has also changed. I have put the word Grace in a pinkie colour because Gracie is a young girl. The word Grace stands out because it connotes beauty, elegance and it can also show some religious attributes which are all words that are connected to the young girl Gracie in the film. I have used 'Pilgi' font for the 'I' in Gracie which is in white. I have done this because it singles the 'I' out from all of the other letters, this is how Gracie feels as her sisters Cerebral Palsy has singled her out. But it also allows the word Grace to show which as I have said has great connotations for Gracie. 

Here is the title of my film...

Animatic feedback

Today I received some feedback for my animatic. I have been marked out of 10 for: Range of shot types and editing transitions; Appropriate pace and content for genre; Position and order of titles; Introduction of characters; Introduction of storyline; Clearly an opening sequence and Use of sound. I have also been given a list of targets to improve my animatic which I am going to work on in the next few days. 

The targets I received were fair and I think that once I have made these improvements my animatic will be a lot better.


My first target is that I need to actually show someone scrubbing the graffiti off the door rather than just see the door and a hand. I can see why this will improve my animatic as it will be clearer to the audience what is happening. 

Next I need to change my title shots. These shots have too much to read in one go and so I have the option of either making them completely different shots or having them flash or fade on and off.  

 From this shot I also need to remove the word 'in'. 

I also need to have in some more shots of Grace scrubbing the graffiti off the door. This will add more range to my shot types as I only have the one type of shot and angle of her scrubbing the door. 

I also need to add some ambient sound to follow my titles. I need to do this because my sound  stops after the scrubbing and doesn't continue until the very end. 

I need to remove the speech bubbles from my shot. I do not need this because Grace is saying it and these would not be seen in the shot anyway. 

Another problem with my drawing is that I haven't included bodies for some of my hands and feet. I need to add bodies to the hands and feet because otherwise this isn't a real representation of what the shots are going to look like!

I am going to try different editing transitions during the walking shots to show that this is Grace's daily routine.