Introduction

My name is Mario Louka and I am a media student at the Latymer School. My candidate number is 9099 and I am working with Eddie Rowe (9147) and Ignacio Flores (9049) collectively in group 2.

In order to view my work please click on the 3 labels named 'A2 Research + Planning', 'A2 Construction' and 'A2 Evaluation'.ick above to enter the website

Above is our album cover.

My Music Video

Click below for our Music Video


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Monday 29 September 2014

Evaluation of AOTT Activity

Our film idea was 'The Mentor', a horror film. The film follows a mentor turned killer at a secondary school who brutally murders students using ironic weapons e.g. the compass. In our film opening, the mentor murders an unsuspecting victim and then leaves her body in the middle of the hall.

Our film opening reveals the murderer and one of the many victims. Part of the murderer's face is shown which allows the audience to feel somewhat in the know but not completely as to cause some suspense and angst amongst the audience. It also introduces the audience into what sort of methods the murderer uses to kill his victim which is a major part of the film.

The titles relate mainly to the production team and the main actor involved for the film. They don't really give away any further information, however, if the director, producer, or actor were well known, it could raise further expectations for the film. Our final title is the name of the film on a black background which really foregrounds the shot and highlights the importance of the name.

I feel that our opening should be quite clear to follow but should also raise a lot of questions like 'why has this girl been murdered'. The ambiguity of the opening should hopefully raise expectations and hopes for the rest of the film to follow the action packed nature of the opening. The confusion of the audience will be a building block for us as their questions will later be answered throughout the film. There should also be an element of shock at the nature of such a gory opening scene.

We introduced the antagonist in our opening which helps to clarify any questions about who 'the mentor' is, even though the actual identity isn't fully revealed. We also connote the disturbance of the scene rather easily by the fact that the dead body is shown and then the murder weapon can be seen, especially the shot of the compass helps the audience to understand the importance of the murder weapon. Our wide variety of shots connotes the genre as we use high shots of the dead victim to highlight defenselessness and we also use low shots of the murderer to promote his power.

I feel our project is very effective as a film opening as it clearly highlights the genre and presents a series of events which are easy to follow even though we still leave the audience wondering what happened. I feel the opening could be improved if the titles were rearranged as some of them are quite hard to read as they are overlayed in front of objects.

Thursday 25 September 2014

Continuity Sequence Homework



1. We attempted to use a few techniques to attempt to aid the narrative flow. The first of which was match on match action. We tried to do this when I see the glass of water and then when the camera zooms into my face, I'm still in the same position. This is a good use of using a range of shots lengths in steps too as to not confuse the audience and add to the narrative flow. We went from a long shot to a MCU and then back to a long shot which helps to keeps the shots flowing and therefore make the scene not seem to jumpy. The acting was also to quite a high standard and we also used a nice pan in the first scene to establish the setting.

2. There are a number of things we can improve on in hindsight. The first of which is our mainly poor use of match on match action. I end the 2nd scene running through the field and start the 3rd scene from behind the table looking as if I've come out of the canteen. This can really confuse the audience and can make them completely lose their bearings as well as coming off as jumpy. We also broke the 30 Degree rule in the last scene as the last shot is from a similar position to the one before but is from a slightly lower position. The shot just looks wrong and glitchy so we need to try and avoid doing this again in future. Due to the fact that we were unable to edit, we couldn't cut out the laughing in one of the shots.

Monday 22 September 2014

Film Opening Analysis



Film & Genre
Django Unchained (2012), Western

Where The Story Takes Place And Time Scale
The story takes place in a number of different locations following a slave march through deserts and forests. The time scale is unclear but the use of different times of the day and different locations can lead us to think that the march could have spanned anything from a few days to a few weeks.

What Happens
Not a lot of action happens as the opening scene is used to help us establish what life was like for Django before he was freed. All that happens is a variety of shots following the slave march through deserts and forests. It follows a chronological order however spanning from day to night and from location to location over a number of days. The opening credits are overlayed in front of the action in a bright red font which is very stylized and old fashioned.

Do Events Follow On From Each Other?
The events are completely related and follow on from each other in chronological order, I believe the opening scene is very much like a prequel to the rest of the film as it helps us to understand what happened before the main scene of events.

Which Characters Are Introduced And What Are Their Roles?
No characters are explicitly revealed during the opening scene, however, the camera does zoom in on Django's face multiple times suggesting that he is the main character. In addition to this, the music playing is about Django in a 'Folk Song Fashion' which presents Django as an old folk hero or something of the sort. It is assumed that the audience realises who the main character and they therefore realise that he is a slave, as he is in shackles and on a slave march, which raises questions as to how he can be a hero when he is a slave.

How Much Story Info is revealed and How?
Almost no story information is revealed, the only thing we find out is that Django is a slave and that he was on a slave march. Certain things are deliberately withheld e.g. the length of the slave march and the brutality that occurs, this is withheld as it leaves it to the audience's imagination which is a powerful movie technique.

What Do You Think The Audience Need To Know At The Start?
I believe the audience doesn't need to know anything in certain situations. There isn't a set list and this is very situational. In Django, the fact that Django is a slave is reavealed and not much else. I feel that this works well for this film as it leaves the audience anxious to see the next scene but still does it's job of telling the audience who Django once was and what his life has been like up to now.


My Film Still



I feel the genre of Drama/Thriller is portrayed well through the use of props (the stand) and also by the fact that I am standing higher than the camera to indicate the power of my character. I am also in the centre of the screen highlighting that I am the focus of the shot.

I stood on a higher level than the camera, as I was on the stage. I also look past the camera in the shot which indicates that I am talking to many people. The lighting is darker directly behind me which foregrounds my character also.

The intention was to communicate the power and stature of my character. The brightness of the light on one side of me was a subtle hint to my dual personality. Also, the fact that part of my body was being covered by the stand represented that my character may be hiding something.

I believe the shot is successful at conveying the power and importance of my character. The height is the main factor behind this but also the pose of my character definitely supplements this. The lighting helps my character to stand out from the background which therefore foregrounds my character. I feel for a keen eyed audience, the shot is also quite good at identifying possible problems with my character e.g. the dark side vs the bright side.

I feel if my character was in a more appropriate costume, this would definitely add to the shot. I also feel that some of the meanings from the shot may be a bit too implicit and hard for the audience to identify e.g. the lighting on my left compared the the lighting on my right.