Film Review

So over the weekend, i bought the new Resident Evil film, and i really reallly enjoyed it, so i thought i'd write a review on my coursework blog, and suggest things from this film that i could use in my film.
One of the first things that set my mind thinking about my media work was how the film started up with the credits. All the names and everything faded in from around different parts of the screen, slowly zooming at the same time, then fading out for the next one to fade in. This created a really good effect so i thought i'd use the same effect for the start of my film. This way i can show the titles whilst showing the film, giving me more time to use for the film itself.
Another thing this film does, is create a high amount of tension before an attack. The most common way they do that is by using plenty of darkness, and small distant sounds of growling/moaning/footsteps, as well as a look of panic on the characters face.
The film itself uses great cinematography. All the clips follow on smoothly from one another, and the use of close ups/midshots/longshots are always used to create the best effect.
The storyline is also really great, and introduces one of the 2 most favourite characters of  the fans who have played the games, Chris Redfield. And there is talk of the other favourite character, Leon S. Keneddy, being in a 5th Resident Evil film, as well as him starring in the completely CGI films, Resident Evil: Degenration and Resident Evil: Damnation.
The casting of Resident Evil was well thought about. First of all they stuck with Milla Jovovich, who has been the main character all the way throughout. But then also to play Chris Redfield, they used the lead role from the successful drama series, Prison Break, Wentworth Miller. In the film, he starts locked up in a highly barracaded prison, and one of his first lines is 'I know a way out of here', which he thought was ironic because of his previous role.

Below are some links i thought would be usweful for anyone who wanted to know more.
http://www.videogamesblogger.com/2010/09/15/resident-evil-movie-5-will-be-made-says-alice-actress-milla-jovovich.htm
http://www.suite101.com/content/tim-allen-and-alan-rickman-star-in-galaxy-quest-a-1999-spoof-a313451

and i know that most of wikipedia is made up, but i have already read through this page and i confimr that most of it is correct and gives you a good idea on how the story of resident evil has evolved
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resident_Evil

Testing Different Fonts

I need to try different types of fonts that i can use in my opening scene. I need to make sure that the font fits in with the horror genre of the film.



The next font type is taken from the newest Resident Evil film and the font below that is the font from the Resident Evil 4 game.

Problems with filming

There are a few different problems that i could be facing whilst trying to make my film.

The first problem is to do with the lighting. The camera that i'll be using to record my film struggles when there is little light, and i was hoping to film my work at night, due to it being a horror film. So to try and solve this problem i shall either have to purchase softboxes so i can provide just enough light for the camera to pick up the details needed for my film, but unfortunately softboxes are expensive, so the other solution is to record slightly earlier, so that its slightly lighter, and then turn the brightness down in the editing stage.

Another problem is sound. Fortunately, im not planning on using dialog in my film, as this also helps with the horror theme to my film. However the camera coud pick up other sounds around the area that i don't want in my film, such as cars or the church bell as the church is just down the road. To solve this i will need to make sure that the camera's microphone does not pick up these sounds by rerecording any scenes that end up with sounds i don't want, or i can change the sounds in the editing stage.

One final problem i have is that the area i am filming in, is often used as a dog walking route, so i could end up with people walking past as i am recording. To stop this from happening i shall need to have someone keeping watch in case someone is coming. If someone is then we know to wait before we start recording.

Software

For editing software for my film, i have tried 3 different types of editing software; Windows Movie Maker, Power Director and Sony Vegas.

Windows movie maker is a basic video editing software that comes preinstalled with Windows XP computers. It allows users to import their video and sound clips, then edit the clips to certain lengths as well as adding effects such as black and white and old film. It also allows the users to add video transitions and titles and credits. Its easy to use and is great for beginners, but is not the most precise software and can be in poor quality.

Power Director is similar to windows movie maker and does the same tasks. The main difference is that it allows slightly more advanced techniques. However me and some friends have problems with power director, where th film ended up freezing and skipping.

Sony Vegas is a highly advanced editing software. With a larger choice of different effects and transitions, it allows users to change more elements of their film. Plus it is a lot more precise. Unfortunately though, because of it being so advanced, it is hard for new users to understand where everything is, and what things do.

So i'll most likely use windows movie maker, unless i can familiarise myself with how sony vegas works, in which case i'll use sony vegas.

For my film opening, i've decided that Vin Diesel (Top), Oded Fehr (Bottom) and Karl Urbun (Middle) would play the main parts best. Each one of these actors have starred in succesful horror films and played their parts to the best of their abilities.

Vin Diesel is famous for many parts, such as his lead role in The Fast and The Furious and The Pacifier, but also his lead roles in Chronicles of Riddick and Pitch Black, where he plays as one of the most feared criminals known to man. His character, Riddick, is one of the most brutal and fierce murderer's and has rather animal instincts.

Karl Urbun also stars along side Vin Diesel in Chronicles of Riddick, as well as having a role in the film Doom. He plays the character John Grimm, aka Reaper, as a member of the Rapid Response Tactical Squad (RRTS) travelling to a research facilities on Mars, where a level 5 distress signal was recieved from. He has to try and survive the horror and save his sister as the entire research facility becomes a living hell, with his own team mates becoming infected and turning on him.

Oded Fehr plays the character Carlos in both Resident Evil: Apocalypse and Extinction. In Apocalypse, he is part of a highly trained rescue squad, employeed by Umbrella, until they abandone him and his squad to die in the infected city, where he meets the main characters, Alice (Milla Jovovich) and Jill Valentine (Sienna Guillory). They team up to help each other survive the creatures that roam around Racoon City, and work together to take down Umbrella.

Locations

These are a couple of shots of where i am planning to film my intro. There are lots of bushes and plants around, providing hiding places, as well as some nice open areas. However, because of all the plants and trees, this area can become quite dark very quickly, which will create a better effect, but will make filming harder as the camera will not pick up everything properly.

Feedback Analysis

From the comments left on my Pitch, my class has made some good remarks about what they think of my film idea, what parts they like and parts that could do with some changes.
The majority of my class believe i should be raise the viewer rating from 15 to 18 insted because of the fear and gore techniques i am planning/hoping to use in my film. I originally was going to do 18, but i thought maybe 15 would be better as it probably won't be as scary as the idea makes it seem, this is due to lack of the correct technology to create the right effects, however, Miss Frearson has arranged for Mr Hosted from the IT department to show me how to use Adobe Premier (or something like that anyway) to create the effects of missing limbs using a green screen. And also, me and my mate, Taz Maguire, are looking into other editing software that can create other effects, as well as exploring the different techniques we can do with his camera, which i am using for recording.
Other comments metioned about how iam creating the effects and stuff, which i just explained above.
Would like to thank my class for their feedback on my film idea as it has helped me progress further.

Film Titles: Ideas

Darkness Incarnate


Definition of incarnate:

a. Invested with bodily nature and form: an incarnate spirit.

b. Embodied in human form; personified: a villain who is evil incarnate.

Fear Of the Dark

Shadow Hunt

At the moment my favourite one is Darkness Incarnate, as i like the idea of the creture being a sinister evil spirit or something similar. This will also boost the effect of the creture not being seen during the film opening.

(Slightly) New Layout

Okay, i've taken note of what Mr Ford has said and i have customized my page a bit.
I have changed the background of my blog, as well as changing the layout of the blog as well.
I have also added a mixpod of some of my favourite songs, which include a mixture of different genre's, but the main is metal/rock.

The Pitch

Thoughts on my film

Set at night time
Light fog (depending on weather)
3 special unit members sent to investigate missing people
Find a corpse missing a head at entrance
one unit goes on ahead whilst other 2 remain
1 finds a video cam, watches last video of people attacked
hears yells runs back to find other 2 ripped apart
hears growl, runs
stands near a bush
creature jumps at him (first person view from creature) goes black

Well theres a quick summary anyway :)