Trailer Update - 31/03/09

Ok, so we've nearly completed our trailer, but one of the major things which is deeply affecting our production is the soundtrack. We of course can't use the soundtrack for 'Halloween' because... well A, it's 'Halloween', B, we would be marked down if we were to use it, and C, our trailer would not seem original. We are having trouble finding one as we want it to blend with the way in which our shots move and the ones of which we have found so far don't really do that. Myself and Amal went to the music block today to ask if it would be possible if we could make our own, which was a complete waste of time as they told us no, not to mention the fact that they were a bit rude.

So for now, it looks as though it's back to the drawing board for us, we haven't given up hope just as yet, and our main goal this week is to find a soundtrack which will blend with our shots and make our trailer seem more original.

Fingers crossed everyone

Print Production 2... Decisions!

Hey everyone, just a small update...

We decided to have our second print production as an article in EMPIRE magazine rather than Total Film as we felt that it would have more of an impact on our readers due to the fact that it would be a featured article focusing not only on our film but also those who starred in our film, and felt as though our readers would be able to develop some sort of a relationship with the lead actress due to them reading up on information about her, such as how she felt starring in her first film as the lead role. We already have our text sorted out, so we hope to have started and completed (yep... completed) our second print production by Tuesday.

Progress Report 11....Print Production...Amal

This week we have been completing the last touches of print production one, and then by Wednesday we finished that after having some trouble with the colour of the magazine and how it intercepted with the writing, however that quickly settled after re-arranging the layout. It was a great idea writing the copy before placing on the magazine because it made it easier for us to know where we were going to place some of the pictures and copy. Meena originally wrote the copy but it wasn't enough for 3 pages so I wrote the rest while Jaleesa proof read it and checked for any mistakes. The structure of the magazine is laid out very well as we were inspired by some of the article layout in Empire magazine. However we finally finished that and started planning for our second print production. We decided on doing a different layout to the first one as we wanted to make each one unique and original, and again we were inspired by Empire magazine layout as we found that there was an article in the structure of an interview with one of the stars from the film. We had originally decided that we were going to do something like that but after seeing that article like that we really liked it and decided to do it. I organised the layout and the copy while Jaleesa chose the image that would go on there. By the end of the week we had finished the layout and what went on there and now just finishing the last touches before putting it on the blog.

We have now finished both the film production and both print productions so we are very proud of all our hard work we put in it as the end results were the best results.

What Went Well......

* We worked as a group to complete the print productions

* We chose what images and how the structure of magazine would be

* We finished both articles

Even Better If....

* We considered interviewing both the directors and actors

* We decided on what image will best suit the copy

Next Best Step.....

* We complete the second production in time

* We check that everything that is on both print productions have been checked before handed in e.g. spelling, punctuation, grammar etc.

Progress Report 10...Film Production...Amal

This week by far has been the best week for us, we as a group managed to finish mostly everything, our trailer has gradually become better each week and for this week we managed to finish it and this is such a relieve because we just have to concentrate on giving it the final touches by adding the credits so that we can finish it off. But we have on major problem, well I say major but it can be done if we all work together and put our minds to it and that the soundtrack that we need to change as we have had some trouble with that because we originally used Halloween soundtrack and we were told we can't use it and have to be more "original" so we now need to go look for another sound of compose one of our own, which might be a hassle but if it means being original and getting better marks then I'm up for it. On more lighter news, at the beginning of the week we had to film one last shot for the trailer to structure the narrative for the audience to understand, for example we had a blood shot of blood in the sink, but didn't have any blood on the stalker or Meena, so therefore we added some blood on Meena to allow the audience to understand what was happening. After completing our filming, we uploaded the shots and placed them on the timeline to have 2 minutes 10 seconds, which we now need to have 4 seconds more for the credits and title. After completing that we will discuss anything else that needs to go on there, and if not then we are finished before the deadline.

I personally am very proud of what I have achieved whilst doing the film production, but most off all my group's progress and how far we have come, from all the arguments and bickering we finally have finished what we planned on and achieved our aims individually and as a group.

What Went Well......

*We have completed 2 minutes of our trailer

*We finished all our filming

*We all worked as a group and contributed equally

Even Better If........

* We find a new soundtrack or create a new one

* We add all the finishing touches to the trailer, e.g. title and credits

Next Best Step........

* We complete the trailer before the deadline

* We as a group sit down and make the final decision as to either hand it in or add more

.. Progress Report - Film production ..

This week was realy good because we have completed our film production. we just need to have a last check throught it and see if everthying is in order, but besides that it is evrtially completed. we have around 2minutes and 10seconds of our trailer all together. i spent most of my time on the film production although i did have some input towards the 1st and 2nd print production, however my group had more input towards the print productions compared to the film production, however either way the work load was balanced out and we were all doing something productive. on tuesday we did some more filming because we needed one shot of me in blood to link up some of the other shots where there was blood on the knife and on the killers hand, however there was no shot of me actualy with blood so it makes the hole point of the other blood shots so we took shots of me with fake blood on me to fill in those gaps of how whose blood it was and how it got there etc.

WWW..
- we compleetd the film production on time
- the final production of it came out exactly how we wanted it to

EBI..
- we finish the 2nd print production
- check on the film production one final time to make sure its perfect with no mistakes
- we add the credits onto the end of our trailer

.. Progress Report - Print production ..

This week we have completed our first print production and have started to discuss and plan out our second print production. we have decided that for our second print production we are going to write the copy in the format of an interview and one of the actors or directors of the movie to make it different from our first print production. we have decided to keep the layout style almost the same but change the structure of it around abit so it doesnt look exactly the same. we have decided to use one still image from the movie and make it really big in which it covers up one side of our double page spread and we are using an article from empire magazine to help us structure our 2nd print production correctly.

WWW..
- we completed our first print production and are very happy with its outcome
- we started making designs of our second print production and have a range of good ideas already

EBI..
- we need to decide on one design for our 2nd print production
- we need to start making our second print production and complete it so it is ready for the deadline this week

Progress Report 11 - Print Productions: Jaleesa

(23/03/09 - 29/03/09)

This week we completed our first print production, and started to plan out what we are going to do for our second print production. Our first print production mostly talks about what the film is about, and how it reflects reality, along with some quotes from us (the directors). As a group, we decided that we would do our second print production in the format of an interview with one of the actors, or directors to make it more original and different from our first print production. We are using an article from EMPIRE magazine to help us with the layout of our article, so that when it comes to us designing the layout it will be easy for us to do, as we already know what we want. We have also decided to use a still image from our trailer, which will cover up one side of our double page spread, allowing readers to see the image more clearer.

I'm proud of how far my group has come, in terms of contribution and deadlines, as we have all worked our hardest to produce 2 print productions which are able to draw in the audience for our film. We hope to have our second print production completed in time for the deadline, to ensure that we all get an A grade.

What Went Well...

* We finished our first print production.

* We started planning out our second print production.

Even Better If...

* We decide on which image we want to be in our second print production.

* We decide on who should be interviewed, and what we want the article to say.

Next Best Steps...

* We begin designing the layout for our second print production.

* We complete our second print production in time for the deadline.

Progress Report 10 - Film Trailer ~~~> Jaleesa

(23/03/09 - 29/03/09)

This week has been really good, we reached the 90 second mark, and even reached the 2 minute mark by the end of the week, in time for Mr Bush to check it next week. We did some filming on Tuesday, where we filmed some shots of Meena with blood on her, and where she is trying to fight off the stalker, which helped us a lot as we needed something to go in the middle of our trailer, therefore we have achieved one of our targets which was set last week. Our trailer is practically finished, and all we need to do now is add in the titles, which will appear at the end of the trailer. We have all contributed to the editing of our trailer, and I am proud of the effort we have all made. One of the major things that is concerning us at the moment is the soundtrack, as we have to find a new one which will fit with our shots, the reason as to why is because we can't use the soundtrack of which we currently have as it is the soundtrack for another film trailer, and if we were to use it we would be marked down. However we will be going to the music block this week, to ask if we are allowed to make our own soundtrack, to ensure that it is able to blend well with our trailer, which as a result will make our trailer seem more original. We have been getting help from the media mentors, and Mr Babu who have both helped us in deciding on where we should place our shots, and which shots look good together. We have also showed it to the other groups, who have told us that they really like it, and that it's really scary, which is exactly what we wanted our audience to think when watching our trailer.

Over the course of next week, we hope to have completed our trailer, in order for us to spend more time completing our print productions.

What Went Well...

* We finished filming.

* We reached the 2 minute mark.

Even Better If...

* We find a new soundtrack, or we create one.

* We ensure that our new soundtrack blends with the movement of our shots.

Next Best Steps...

* We add the titles, and credits onto our trailer.

* We hopefully complete our trailer in time for the deadline.

Draft Layout for Print Production 2

Magazine Article Picture Choices - Print Production 2

We haven't as of yet made a final decision on what pictures we want in our second magazine article, but some of the possible one's are shown below:-

3rd Draft for Print Production 1

As you can see we did not copy our draft layout for print production 1, as there was not enough writing and we could not fill in the gaps, so we had to design our first print production from scratch, and spread out the text in order for it to somehow be able to fit around the pages. This was originally going to be our final draft for our first print production, however when reading it over we realised that the writing was too small to read and that most of it didn't really make sense, so after some careful thinking we all came to the conclusion that we were NOT going to keep it like this because it didn't really look like something you would see in a magazine, especially EMPIRE. I was in charge of re-designing the article, as I was the person who most felt that it didn't really look like a professional magazine article and felt as though we could do a lot better, so I am now working on the re-designing of our print production and hope to have it finished by the end of this week.

Magazine Article Picture Choices - Print Production 1

We haven't as of yet made a final decision on what pictures we want in our first magazine article, but some of the possible ones are shown below.

Progress Report 9 - Print Productions: Jaleesa

(16/03/09 - 22/03/09)

We have finally decided on what we want the article to be about and what it should say. We decided to make it about the production of the film and how the directors came up with the nail-biting narrative. We've chosen some of the potential pictures we want to go in the article, however we have not yet decided on where they will be placed. My role in the production of this magazine article was proof reader. I had to read the article to see if there were any spelling mistakes, if we had used enough techniques; such as alliteration and rhetorical questions and if it made sense in order for readers to understand. Some parts of the article did not make sense and there were one, or two spelling mistakes however, overall the article was good and as a group we felt that it would really allow our readers and our audience to connect to our storyline.

Although, we are gradually progressing with the production of our magazine article, we are finding it quite hard in terms of design and placement of pictures, and therefore we have not quite finished, by the end of this week we hope to have finished our first print production, in order for us to get started on our second print production.

What Went Well...

* We have decided on what images we want to be in our first magazine article.

* We have drawn up the draft copy of our layout.

* We have finished the draft copy of our article, which has been proof read and approved by the media mentors.

Even Better If...

* We figured out how to design our first print production on Adobe Photoshop.

* We use a few more techniques.

* We make a final decision in what style of writing we want our heading and sub-heading to be.

Next Best Steps...

* We add a few more techniques, proof read it, and ensure that it creates an impact in the readers when reading it.

* We make final decisions in what images will be placed where.

* We complete our first print production in order to get started on our second.

Progress Report 8 - Film Trailer ツ - Jaleesa

(16/03/09 - 22/03/09)

I haven't been in school much this week as I was ill, but when I came in on Friday and saw what my group had done, I was really impressed. Last week, myself and Amal had gone to the hills in Northolt and taken some shots of the city, however we didn't really know where to place them and ended up not using them. However, when I came in on Friday, I had seen that the shots were used at the beginning of the trailer, which is somewhat similar to the opening of the trailer for "Captivity" which is a film that we were inspired by. I really liked what they had done with these shots and where they had placed them as I feel that it gives off a great effect for our narrative and puts our audience right into the feel of what the film is about. When watching the trailer, I even became a bit scared due to what I had seen at the end, as it really grasped the idea of a professional horror film trailer. After my input on Friday, we all realised that we had reached the 90 second mark which was what we originally planned to do and knew that we only had 30 more seconds of our trailer to cover.

Although we are gradually progressing in the editing stage of our trailer, we are still not finished and we also have to find another soundtrack due to our original one being the background sound for another film, so as a result of this we have decided to change it and find one more original which we would suit our trailer better.

What Went Well...

* We all contributed and had the chance to input our own ideas into the making of our trailer.

* We reached the 90 second mark and only have 30 more seconds to cover.

* We have sorted out the beginning and ending of our trailer.

Even Better If...

* We came as a group to create our production.

* We find a new soundtrack.

* We sort out what shots will be placed in the middle of our trailer.

Next Best Steps...

* We film our last shot.

* We come to editing sessions more as a group, in order to make the final decisions in the making our trailer.

* We sort out where the titles and credits will be placed.

Proposal for Print Production 2....Amal

I think after creating our first print production based on an article of the film, then the second one should be a question and answer with the characters from the film Obsession. This is because it gives a better understanding of how they film was created and it gives the readers a better chance to connect with the characters when reading the magazine. I think for the second print production we will be using Total Films magazine as it's articles and reviews are based on different genres but mostly horror genre. Our aim for the next magazine article is to attract the audience so they can familiarise themselves with the actors and actresses. The target audience for our film is 15-19 and the secondary audience is 21-24 which is very similar to the target audience of Total Film Magazine.

Total Film magazine is will help profit our magazine as it will be attracting more readers, in way that they receive what they want from the article to allow them to go and read it which as a result will increase the magazine's readership and increase the number of people who read the article and watch the film.

Proposal for Print Production 2 - Jaleesa

I think our second print production should either be a review of the film or an interview with the directors themselves or the cast members. If we was to do either of these, I feel that our our readers and our audience would be able to get to know the people that were involved in the making of our film, and what they first thought when they were given the idea of producing and starring in our film. I feel that our film should be published in Total Film magazine as it focuses on films of different genres, especially horror. The target audience of our film is 15-19, while our secondary target audience is 21-24, which is very much identical to the target audiences of Total Film magazine.

With us publishing our second magazine article in Total Film magazine, it will benefit the magazine as a whole, in terms of profit due to our article attracting more readers as a result. Due to us publishing our article in Total Film, I feel that we would be giving the readers exactly what they want, which as a result will increase the magazine's readership and increase the number of people who watch the film.

Progress Report 8 and 9....Editing and Print Productions...Amal

(16/03/09 - 22/03/09)

Over this past week or so, myself and my group and been trying to finish the film production and print production before the deadline. During this week we did a draft of how our magazine layout would look like and I took the responsibility of doing the layout while Meena wrote the first bit of the article and Jaleesa decided on what pictures would go on the magazine article. This gave us a chance to do what we had to do as well as edit in our free time, so we decided on how the layout was going to be and started creating the magazine article, however since myself and Jaleesa didn't know how to use Adobe Photoshop we had to find another way. Even though we have done so well in our editing we still need to complete one last bit of the filming to get the best and right conventions to make our film a horror. While we were creating the layout, Meena continued to edit and has done a good job of it as well as writing the article. However whilst we were doing that we stated looking at how far we've gone with the trailer and from that week we are now up to the 1 minute 30 seconds band which is very good as we only have 30 seconds to go till we finish the trailer which will be fantastic for us as we will have time to concentrate on Print Production 2, which will we in initiating next week. Athough we have done the trailer to 1 minute 30 seconds and the timing is all good with the images, we have one problem we need to change the soundtrack as it is from a film and we need to be original to get the marks we need, instead of using something thats copied. However back to the print production, after showing Mr Bush what we had wrote for the print production he said that it wasn't enough and we needed to write a bit more to make it look like an article, so myself and Jaleesa went to continue to write the article and finish it off so we can add it on the computer with the Adobe illustrator, which was what we were using to do the print production.

Hopefully for this upcoming week, myself and the group will be finished with the trailer and beginning the second print production and before the half term eveything will be completed. I am very proud of what my group and what we have all achieved as individualis as well as a group and below I have written 3 What Went Well, Even Better If and Next Best Step.

What Went Well

* We completed 1 minutes 30 seconds of our trailer

* We have created the layout of the article and written it

* We have sorted the images to accompany the article

Even Better If

* We need to find a new soundtrack for our trailer

* We come as a group more often

* We came as group to complete the print production

Nest Best Step

* Complete the whole of print production 1

* Finish all our filming

* Complete our trailer before the half term.

.. Progress Report .. Meena

Print production
my print production started off well. the planning and drafting of it was realy good as we made two layouts we could choose from and wrote our article and also chose the still images from our film production to put into our article, however this past week my group has been absent and they have all of the print production work so i could not start on it or try to develope it since they we needed to sit down and finally agree how our print production would be and look like. we finally got the chance to sit down once in the last week and we started creating our print production on publisher and started typing the article up in the layout we made so its finally started off and soon to be completed.

WWW..
- the drafting of our copy of our article
-the number of layouts we had in mind
-the ideas we put into the article and still images we printed off to use in our article

EBI..
- we started the making of our print production earlier on publisher
- the hole group was in so we could make decisions quicker and start the work on time



Film production
our film production is almost finished. we are just finishing up the final touches and making last minute changes. we need to change the soundtrack of our production as its a back beat sound of another horror movie and we were told we would get more marks if we had an origional so we are searching for one and even trying to compose one for ourselves. we have complete almost 1.30 minutes of our film and only have roughly 30 seconds to complete. again my group have not been in for the past week so i have been doing most of the editing for THIS week but they did turn up once and saw what i had done and added more to it.

WWW..
- i finally had the chance to create and add to the film production
- we have almost completed our film production and only have seconds left
- each group member has finally had teh chance to input thier own indeas into the production

EBI..
- the hole group was in to create the film production together
- we finally had or decided on a new soundtrack
- our soundtrack flowed better to make the trailer look 100% real and good

.. Print Production 2 Proposal .. Meena

My second media production is going to be in Empire magazine also because since our genre film is horror and there arent any specific horror magazines, the next best thing is empire magazine because it features mostof the genres of film and the others have specific catergories still, and none really have enough of a feature in them about horror so we are really left with no other option but Empire magazine.

Also empire magazine targets our target audience which is 15+ and since we have done our first print production in Empire magazine it will be easier for me and my group to start making the copy and the layout of the production. We will already have an idea of how our print production should be so we dont have to waste time discussing how empire magazine articles lay themselves and what type of things they write and talk about since we already have a clear idea about it.

2nd Draft for Print Production 1

Obsession! A Peak of Darkness

Horror hits home as ‘Obsession’ creeps onto screens across the country.
In the run down streets of West London, Prime Times Productions helps uncover the hidden mysteries of what’s really lurking in our streets.
‘Obsession’ opens the eyes of our audience and gives them an insight of reality to the stories that they don’t see but hear. The film shows the misleading and easily manipulated minds of young girls today. It shows the audience of the harsh realities our society seems to ignore.“Every habit becomes an obsession” leaves the audience wondering whether this phrase is true or not. The film slowly develops this idea of a ‘habit’ that, as time goes by, leads to the turning point of a young teenager’s life and causes chaos for her and the people around her. This film acknowledges the harmful hazards that await teenagers, in particular girls, within society portrayed by the protagonist played by new, upcoming star Meena Waheed.
The film cleverly changes the typical horror conventions and adds a new twist on the list by never actually allowing the audience to see the ‘stalker’, and manipulates the camera using various angles and shots to indicate that the film is always being watched through the eyes of a madman.
As Jennifer (Meena Waheed) walks down the streets of Ealing and ponders into the dark alleyway she becomes a victim of this horrific capture. Combining the minds of three inspiring directors, they place thoughts into the visions as they create a powerful, yet realistic view of the guidelines for horror films today.
The directors capture a different perspective of the ‘stalker’ as it allows the audience to see what he is thinking and the actions that lead him to do what he does through a variety of camera angles and frames.

Is it right for a woman to become a victim based on the way she acts?

“I wanted to place a love interest within the film to black out the harshness of the narrative” says Farah. Films like ‘Captivity’ play a game with the stalker, but a film like ‘Obsession’ places the audience in the minds of the stalker allowing them to see what goes through his head when carrying out his actions.
The amazingly composed sound sets an atmosphere which entices the audience as it makes them feel as though they are able to play a part in the film, it’s an identifiable film of which gives the audience the main power and sets their opinions of this film on a level where positive words are only used.
“When we initially started casting for the role of Jennifer, we found it quite difficult to find someone who would be able to play such a genuine character, but we agreed to have someone who is a natural actress” says Denton. They originally planned for the lead role to go to upcoming actress Amy Smith, who was also considered for the role, but after Meena Waheed having performed such a heartfelt performance, they decided that the role would be given to her, as they felt that she would really be able to bring the character to life in this gritting horror film.
“It was fantastic playing a part in such a capturing film” says Meena who plays Jennifer. This film will inspire people to understand the truth they try to deny as many people face issues like the character Jennifer, but it will also open the eyes of those who are afraid confront their deepest fears.
Jennifer grew up in a household where she had three brothers who looked after their little sister, she was very much liked in the neighbourhood she grew up in as her father treated his little girl like an angel. She was very popular in school and got her good grades, well Jennifer was a ‘typical’ teenage girl who never thought her life would have turned out the way it did that night as she collided with an obsessive stalker whose life wasn’t worth living for.
In this film ‘Obsession’ the stalker is portrayed as the typical villain but with a twist as his life isn’t shown the way Jennifer’s is. He is shown as a dark character as his face isn’t actually shown throughout the trailer. This girl (Meena) becomes the centre of this bizarre man’s world who has always fantasised about her after just one conversation. “Before coming up with the narrative, we looked upon many Crime Watch episodes and from there we were inspired as we wanted to bring reality to films and by this way more people would be aware of the troubles and tribulations young girls face today” says Farah.

Films like ‘Saw’ and ‘Hostel’ show the cruel and evilness of what people may do to others using physical torture to punish then, but with a film like ‘Obsession’ it takes away those punishments and brings out the true reality of how girls can be captured and taken from their loved ones without a notice in either the busy streets or the dark alleyways. ‘Obsession’ is a new age for new horror and brings a new light and vision to horror films allowing the audience to uncover and see the truth of what people deny.
‘Obsession’ will invade the screens across Britain as it lands a new vision and secures a place on the list of the 10 best horror films to watch before you die. The film seizes and entices the audience as they can understand and reflect upon the images they see, it also gives them an insight to what people face everyday but live in a secret.
Credits and bravos should be awarded to the new visionaries of horror films, incorporating real life into a movie but still sending the message across. This movie will most definitely capture the eyes and heart of the audience by allowing them to sympathise and empathise with the characters within the film.

Released: May 17
Certificate: 15
Directors: Amal Farah, Jaleesa Denton and Meena Waheed
Cast: Meena Waheed, Codie Wilson, Fahad Farah
Screenwriters: Amal Farah, Jaleesa Denton and Meena Waheed
Running Time: 114 minutes
Plot: 17 year old Jennifer Owen has always had the perfect life; a boyfriend, friends and a family. Until one night she collides with a calamity that has set out to destroy her.

Progress Report 7 - Print Productions: Jaleesa

(16/03/09 - 22/03/09)

Over the course of this week, we have been creating our first print production, which is a magazine article for our trailer. Each of us had individual roles; Amal designed the layout, Meena wrote the article, and I decided on which pictures we should have in our article, which will be still images from our trailer. In order for Amal to design the layout, she had to look at some of the layouts of the magazine articles in Empire magazine, and find one that is of the same genre as ours. As a result of her looking at the layouts of some of the articles, it gave her more of an idea of how the layout of our magazine article should look, and where the pictures and text should be placed. Meena was responsible for writing up the actual magazine article, even though it needs to be longer she has so far done a very good job of it as it reflects on what our film is about and how our trailer is likely to be perceived by its audience. She also used many techniques, such as alliteration and rhetorical questions, in order to draw in the readers' attention. I decided on what pictures we would be using within our magazine article, I chose to pick ones that would go well with the actual writing of the article and also the layout, as there are some images that are able to blend with both depending on how they are sized and where they are positioned. 

Although the editing process of our production has taken up most of our time, I am proud of my group. We have all taken on individual roles, and are all contributing equally to the production of our magazine article. We haven't as of yet, decided which pictures should be placed where, but we are gradually getting there and hope to have completed our first print production by the end of the next week.

What Went Well...

* We have all equally contributed to the making of our magazine article.

* We have designed the layout.

* We have chosen our pictures.

Next Best Steps...

* We complete the actual article and what it should say.

* We decide on how the pictures should be sized and where they should be positioned.

* We make final decisions for the layout of the magazine article.