Main Task - Letter to Recording Company.

We want to use the song 'We Found Love' By Rihanna ft. Calvin Harris. To do this, we need permission to use copyrighted material. To get permission, we had to write a letter/email to the recording company that recorded the song, this is because they own the rights to the song.  

This is the email we wrote and sent them:

Dear Sir or Madam,

My colleague and I are putting together an A level Media Production for a part of our course work. It is going to be a two minute introduction to a fictional film.

We understand that you are the owner of the copyright in the musical composition of 'Rihanna featuring Calvin Harris - We found love' and want to include this song in our A level course work. We would like to use the entire song in our Media Production for the introduction of our fictional film.

Since we have a budget of £0 and the distribution of this fictional film is to teachers and moderators of the exam board only, we are hoping that you will allow us to use this piece of music with no charge. If this isn't possible please let us know what fee would be required for this use.

Your signature below, under 'confirmed by' will indicate that you will agree to permit use without payment of a fee. Please let us know if you have any questions concerning this license. In addition, can you inform us as soon as possible if this song can be used by us, so artistic changes may be made in the songs to be included in our production, if necessary, as we have a set deadline for the completion of this task. 

You can reach us via:

Mrs Amanda Jones and Ms Emma Greaves

The John Bentley School

Calne

Wiltshire

England

United Kingdom

SN11 8YH

01249 818100

Thank you for your help with this matter and we look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

Mr Callum-John Lawes and Miss Monique Natasha Jade Cowan

A-Level Media students in 6th form at The John Bentley School

Confirmed by:

Universal Music Publishing Group

Main Task - Equipment and Software.

Throughout the majority of our main task, we have been using the Apple iMac's and the software  available on there.

Including:

This is where we have been inputting all of our information and work. Our teacher(s) can see this and we will be assessed based on our blog.

Our blog URL is: red-leafproductions.blogspot.com

The search engine we use. Out of all of the websites and software we have used, this is probably the most common one for us. We find this so very useful in the creation of our project, and just for anything really.

We use this to research songs, and other films, film openings and title sequences. This has been of great use to us throughout the creation of our Main Task.

Prezi is an online presentation software. We used this site to make our pitch. It is easy and quick to use, and theres no need to worry about saving, opening and finding it in your documents, as it is on your very own online account.

IMDb

This website was used a lot to find out about all of the actors, actresses and films we needed to research and be inspired by.

Outlook Express 
We used this to email our teachers our blog URL, our ideas and if we ever need any help. We also used this when emailing our letter to a production company, asking if we could have permission to use a copyrighted song.

Photo Booth
Photo Booth is a photo taking software on the Apple iMac's, which we used to take photos of our storyboards.

   iPhoto 

iPhoto is a photo storing, importing and exporting software which we used to import our storyboard photo's to.

iMovie 

We used iMovie to create and edit our film opening.

Final Cut

We used Final Cut to piece together and render our movie.

Main Task - Red Leaf Productions Logo design

We decided to design a logo for our Production Company. This is because it will make our film look much more professional.
We chose 'red leaf' because the time of year we chose it at, it was autumn and the red leaf gave it an autumnal feel. The inspiration came from looking out the window at the tree's outside, and thinking 'that will be a good name!' even though it has nothing to do with the film.

Here are the steps we went through to design this logo.

•  Firstly we started off with a red leaf, due to the fact our production company is called Red Leaf Productions.

• We came up with this as an idea to start off with, whilst toying with many ideas and different filters/ effects on Adobe Photoshop.

• Finally after hours of hard work and design, we finished our logo, and with great pleasure we give you the logo to... 

Red Leaf Productions!

Main Task - Mise-En-Scene

Props

• Empty vodka bottle
• Shot glasses

Set

• Kitchen
• Drama Studio
• Bedroom

Lighting

• We will be using the light in the room(s) -no added light
• Strobe light - in party scene
• Natural light (bedroom scene) - we need it to be bright and refreshing

Costume

• The main character will be wearing a party dress with some hen part costume on (L plates, bunny ears etc)
• The people at the party will be wearing party wear
• The mystery guy will be topless in the bed with just his arm and a bit of back showing (so you can see his tattoo)

Main Task - Equipment/Props.

For our film, we do not need alot of props or equipment. All we need is:

• A strobe light
• An empty spirit bottle (to fill with water)
• Shot glasses
• Alarm clock

We already have access to all of these things, so will not be hard to get hold of.

Main Task - Title Font

For the title in our opening, we wanted a kind of romantic font. We decuded on this one. It is called Vladimir Script in Microsoft Word

Main Task - Story Boarding

These are our story boards for our Main Task.
On this first sheet we have our productions introduction (Red Leaf Productions) and this is a leaf slowly falling towards the ground, which then stops in place and fades to a black background with Red Leaf Productions above the leaf.


After this we show a shot glass from blow being filled with a liquid. This is our 3rd shot. There is slow music playing in the background


Shot 4 shows the main character drinking the shot. This is a medium close up. The slow music kicks in now.


Shot 5 shows the shot glass at a medium close up shot being re-filled.



Shot 6 shows the main character drinking the shot but this time the camera shot is a close up.

Shot 7 again shows the shot glass being re-filled at a medium close up shot.

Shot 8 shows the main character drinking another shot but this time, the camera is a big close up.

Shot 9 shows a close up of the shot glass being slammed down.


Shot 10 also shows this but slightly closer, this is to emphasise the fact that a lot of shots have been drank.




Shot 11 is the final shot of the shots and it is an extreme close up. Music stops temporarily.


Shot 12 is a black screen for no more than 2 seconds.


Shot 13 is a long shot of the main character dancing to more music, but this time louder than before. There is also a strobe light.

Shot 14 shows her friend dancing.


Shot 15 shows our main character again dancing.

Shot 16 shows the best friend dancing and asking our main character to hold her hands.

Shot 17 is our main character with a massive grin on her face, happy, and agreeing to hold her best friends hands and dance with her.

Shot 18 shows their hands, held together.


Shot 19 and 20 are both the same shot but with their faces, using the 180 degree rule, we are showing them spinning and dancing together.






Shot 21 shows her smiling and spinning still.

Shot 22 shows an almost blank expression on her face because she doesn't feel too good, the camera technique we are going to use is the camera spinning around her to show her nauseous feeling.
Shot 23 shows our main character thinking she is ok, so she can carry on with her hen night.

Shot 24 shows our main character passing out.


Shot 25 shows her hitting the floor.

 Shot 26 shows a black screen and this implies that she has passed out.


Shot 27 shows her eyes focusing in and out as she has just woken up because of an alarm clock.

Shot 28 shows her pressing the button on the alarm clock to turn it off.

Shot 29 shows our main character going to fall back asleep after turning off the alarm clock.

Shot 30 shows an extreme close up of her opening her eyes after hearing a snoring noise next to her.

Shot 31 shows her worried, beginning to look round to see what the noise was.

Shot 32 shows the man led next to her facing the other way.

Shot 33 shows the main character looking back towards the camera in shock after seeing what was next to her.

Shot 34 sows her letting her head fall into the pillow in discrace.

Shot 35 shows the screen going blank (this is to cut off the character swearing).

Shot 36 shows the title, reading "The Day After The Night Before".

This is the end of our opening.

Main Task - Location/Setting

Our film opening will have two settings:

• A kitchen or dining/living room - where they drink
• A large space -  where the party is
• A bedroom - for her to wake up in

The Drinking scene will be set in a kitchen or a dining/living room (we will use a friends house for this). The room will have the normal light on. You don't really see the characters that much in this scene, as the camera is mostly focused on the shot glass. This scene will have diagetic sound in it (of friends laughing and drinking), and will have some non-diagetic sound in (the quiet start of the 'party song').

The party scene will be set in a large space (doesn't matter too much as you wont be seeing the set, just the characters), we will use a school drama studio. This is because it is a large space, and we can use the curtains to make a complete black out which will make the strobe light more effective. The room will be completely black, with one strobe light on - this will mean that you only see one the characters when the light flashes. We think this gives the scene more of a 'party' effect. There will be very loud non-diagetic music (of the Drum & Bass genre) at the party. We will also fit this music around the previous scene.

The bedroom scene will be set in a bedroom. The bedroom will have a big bed, and white covers - compared to the previous scene, this will be very bright and fresh. The scene will open as if she is opening her eyes - Going in and out of focus. There will be an alarm clock on the bedside table which will go off and make a noise. The 'Mystery Guy' will be next to her in the bed, with a tattoo on his arm. There will be some very light non-diagetic music in this scene. 

Main Task - BBFC

BBFC means British Board of Film Classification.

The British Board of Film Classification is an independent, non-governmental body which has classified cinema films since it was set up in 1912 and videos/ DVDs since the Video Recordings Act was passed in 1984.

These are the different types of film Classification there are.

U - Universal. Suitable for all.
PG - Parental Guidance. General viewing but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children.
12/12A - Suitable for 12 years and over.
15 - Suitable only for 15 years or over.
18 - Suitable only for adults.

The classification we have chosen for our film is:

Main Task - Target Audience

The main audience for Rom-Com's are generally women who are in their mid to late teens plus. They attract women due to the romantic pursuit and 'happy ending' which women enjoy.
The target audience is different for Teenage Rom-Com's due to Burton's theory of socially and media grouped audience, the audience for Teen Rom-Com's would be:

Social Group

• Teenagers ages 13- 17
• Mainly females
• As most Teenage Rom-Com's are American, the target audience is generally American and English people.

Media Group

• Often read romantic novels
• Likes watching comedies or films based on love
• Could watch sitcoms or sequel programmes such as 'One Tree Hill' which are also based on the lives of teenagers

Rom-coms have many reasons why they are liked, for example:

• They are easy to watch, meaning you don't have to concentrate that hard to keep track of what is going on
• The main characters are good looking and dreamy, often admired by the women.
• The happy ending makes you feel good by making you both laugh and cry

Main Task - Main Character(s) Profile

Erika Dostie

• NOT a party animal - and this one ends up to be a disaster!
• Early 20's.
• Been with fiance, Mike for 6 years, prior to the engagement 7 months ago.
• Best friends with April Armstead - who is her Maid Of Honour.
• Parents died when she was at a very young age.
• Her fiance's parents are like her own now.
• Lives in an apartment with Mike.
• Has a job as a journalist and works for the city newspaper.
• Likes to write in her spare time.
• Has a younger brother, aged 13, who lives with their grandparents.

April Armstead

• A BIG party animal - arranged Erika's hen night party.
• Also early 20's.
• Has been best friends with Erika since they were 4 years old.
• Single.
• Erika's Maid Of Honour.
• Lives in an apartment on her own.
• Works as a journalist with Erika.
• Likes to go out a lot.
• Has a sister, a few years younger, who she is very close to.
• Good friends with Erika's family and fiance - Mike.

Mike Foster - Erika's Husband

• Mid 20's.
• Lives with Erika in their apartment.
• Been with Erika for 6 years, prior to the engagement 7 months ago.
• Proposed to her at a fancy restaurant - put the ring in the wine glass.
• Works as a chef at a top restaurant.
• Lovely parents who are very friendly to Erika and her friends - very involved in his life.
• Has a lot of friends who he goes out with every now and again.
• A single child - hence why he is loved so much by his parents.
• HUGE family - all very friendly.

Jesse Faris - Mystery Guy

• Late 20's.
• Gay - been with partner for 4 years.
• Very friendly.
• Works as an interior designer for a top company.
• Very wealthy.
• Lives in an apartment with his partner.
• Met Erika at the club when she was very drunk.
• Good dress sense.
• Has a tattoo of an anchor on his arm - this is how Erika recognises him.

Main Task - Codes and Conventions For a Rom-Com

There are many rules when making a Rom-Com film, for example:

• The main character is in a romantic pursuit
• The Hero has a desire that conflicts the love pursuit
• Concentrate on events leading up to the romance, but not so much on the romance itself
• Show the lover belong together, even against all odds
• Include a happy ending

These codes and conventions have to be followed to the letter to make a successful Rom-Com.

Main Task - Plot Outline

For our film, we have decided on the name: The Day After The Night Beofre

• Erika Dostey is a soon-to-be Bride who goes out and drinks just a bit too much on her hen night.
• After waking up next to a random guy the next morning, she panics and tries to remember the events of the previous night, but just can't! Had she done anything with the mystery guy?
• Then realising that her engagement ring is no longer on her finger, her wedding plans for the next day fall into jeopardy.
• Needing the help from her best friend, she racks her brain trying to remember where she could have misplaced it.
• Remembering sections from the previous night, she ends up running around the whole city in search for her ring.
• Not having any luck, her relationship is slowly slipping away from her grasp. The thought of cheating on her husband-to-be made her even more doubtful.
• As the evening before her wedding draws to a close, she dreads having to tell her innocent fiance of the mistakes she had made the night before.
• Standing in her dressing room in the hotel where she will soon be wed, she has still had no luck. Her heart starts to sink as she realises that she may have left it too late to tell him.
• Seriously contemplating weather to call off her own wedding, her brides maids are telling her to just make up a lie. But she knows that this would be on her conscience for ever more.
• About to go and tell her fiance, a guy (just in time) bursts in with her engagement ring. She doesn't recognise him, and thinks that she has never met him before. Then see's his tattoo of an anchor on his arm and realises that this is the guy who she woke up next to.
• He explains how they had met and became very close during the night and that she was in such a state that he offered her to stay round. He explains how his BOYFRIEND had to stay on the sofa that night.
• With a huge sense of relief, the wedding goes on, and after telling her husband about the story, he just laughs.
• All is well, they marry and go on a honeymoon to Barbados.

Main Task - Synopsis

We have chosen to do a Romantic Comedy film. After thinking a lot about the plot to our film, we came up with this synopsis:
Soon-to-be Bride, Erika Dostie (Rosie Walsh) has an eventful Hen Night organised by her friends, despite wanting to stay in. However fun drinking may be, there is always a consequence. After passing out drunk at early hours of the morning, she finds herself waking up in a strangers house next to a random guy, and with her wedding the next day, the last thing she needs is a missing engagement ring!
Remembering nothing from the previous night, she has a guilty conscience and needs the help from her best friend, and Maid of Honour April Armstead (Cassie Glanville), but will she be able to find her ring and get her wedding back on track in time without her fiance knowing?

Main Task - Genre Research and Inspiration.

After ruling out most of the genres on our list, due to our £0 budget and them being too ambitious, we decided on creating a film opening in the rom-com genre. Rather than needing a lot of high tech props, or violent weapons for Sci-Fi or Action films, Rom-Com's are about everyday life and therefore need no ambitious props or costumes etc.
A rom-com is a Romantic Comedy. These films have light-hearted, humorous plot lines, centered on romantic ideals such as that true love is able to surmount most obstacles.
Romantic comedy films are a sub-genre of comedy films as well as of romance films.
When thinking about our film, we were inspired by other movies such as:
The Hangover

A Las Vegas-set comedy centered around three groomsmen who lose their about-to-be-wed buddy during their drunken misadventures, then must retrace their steps in order to find him.

This film is in the comedy genre.

Knocked Up

For fun loving party animal Ben Stone, the last thing he ever expected was for his one night stand to show up on his doorstep eight weeks later to tell him she's pregnant.

This film is in the rom-com genre.

The Break-Up

In a bid to keep their luxurious condo from their significant other, a couple's break-up proceeds to get uglier and nastier by the moment.

This film is in the rom-com genre.

There's Something About Mary

 

 A man gets a chance to meet up with his dream girl from high school, even though his date with her back then was a complete disaster.

This film is in the rom-com genre.

Along Came Polly

A buttoned up newlywed finds his too organized life falling into chaos when he falls in love with an old classmate.

This film is in the rom-com genre.

We were also inspired by some actors/actresses such as:

Katherine Heigl

Katherine Heigl is in ALOT of rom-com movies, including:

- Knocked Up

- The Ugly Truth

- Killers

- 27 Dresses

- Side Effects

- 100 Girls
and more..

Ben Stiller

 

Along side Kathrine Heigl, there is Ben Stiller and he is well known for his mostly comedy acting roles. For example he stars in 'Something about Mary' and 'Along came Polly' - which are both rom-com's.

Something about Mary received a much more positive view to Along came Polly but the film still made a large profit of $171,963,390 in the box office.

Jennifer Aniston

Jennifer Aniston has starred is lots of movies! She is a very well known actress, and hes been in many comedy, romance and rom-com films, including:

- Just Go With It

- Love Happens
- Horrible Bosses
- The Switch
- The Bounty Hunter

- He's Just Not That Into You

- Marley & Me
- Management
- Along Came Polly
- The Break-Up
- Rumor Has It
and many more..

Gerard Butler

Gerard Butler is an all round actor, starring in anything from action, rom-com and even animations. A few of the films he has starred in are:
-How To Train Your Dragon

-The Bounty Hunter

-P.S I Love You
-Phantom Of The Opera
He has also starred in films alongside Kathrine Heigl, for example he starred in The Ugly Truth.
Another Rom-Com actress he has starred alongside Jennifer Aniston in The Bounty Hunter.

Directors we were inspired by:
John Hamburg

John Hamburg is the director and/or writer of many well know comedy films, including:
- I Love You, Man
- Along Came Polly
- Meet The Parents

- Meet The Fockers

- Little Fockers
- Zoolander
and many more..
Ben Stiller stars in most of his films.

Institutions that inspired us with our work are:

-Warner Bro's

-Universal Studios

-Sony/ Columbia
-20th Century Fox

I have chose these institutions because there are both considered some of the best film institutes in the business.

Examples of rom-com films done by Warner Bro's are:

- 17 Again

- P.S. I Love You

- He's Just Not That Into You

- What I Like About You

- Crazy Stupid Love

- Addicted To Love

Examples of rom-com films done by Universal Studios are:

- Along Came Polly

- Knocked Up

- Bridget Jones's Diary

- Love Actually

- The Perfect Man

- You, Me and Dupree

Examples of rom-com films done by Sony are:

- Dear John

- Jack and Jill

- 50 First Dates

- The Holiday

- Made of Honor

- Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

Main Task - Film Genres

There are many different film genre types. Some we have thought of are:
- action
- adventure
- comedy
- rom-com
- crime and gangster
- historical
- horror
- musical
- sci-fi
- thriller
- biographical
- fantasy
- animation
- documentary
etc..

Main Task - Video Brief.

For our AS Media studies Main Task, we have been commisioned to create the titles and opening of a new fiction film, that should last approximately 2 minutes.