Sound update

I am using two classical pieces that reflect the mood of the distinctive halves. The first piece if called  Prelude in C Sharp Minor by Rachmininov which represents anger and dis pear of the first half.

Te second piece is called Prelude in E minor (opt. 28. no. 4) which to me is key to creating the depressive tone that I wanted to achieve in the second half of the film.

Editing update

I have come up with a new logo and name for my production company. My company is now called 'Royal Films' and the logo is a silhouetted picture of a London skyline which I altered using photoshop. For example, I created light rays across St. Pauls cathedral to make it look as though the sun was shining on it thus giving it a more realistic feel. Here is an image of my finished design. 

First Cut

Here is the first cut of my media project.

After having received critical feedback from my teacher I am now aware what direction I need to go in to improve my opening.

1) Sound
-Music: People thought that the music I had was too upbeat and in the wrong genre of film. I should have a more emotive piece. It was suggested classical would be a good genre to work with. If I were to make the whole film classical music would be a very important aspect to create emotion and make the audience sympathetic of Emily's character so I am glad I released I was using the wrong sort of music before it was too late as it would have been a missed opportunity to make the audience really feel for Emily.
-Ambient: I had ambient missing from my first cut as it had not yet been recorded. As it is a social realist film the sound is really important to create that realistic feel and as a consequence I did not create the gritty atmosphere I wanted my audience to experience.
-Voice over: Voice over is yet to be recorded. This will be the last thing to be done as each voice over clip will have to fit perfectly accordingly and there are still things I want to change regarding editing.

2) Editing
-Particularly the walking sequence. There were a lot of jumps and shots that weren't put together carefully enough thus making the audience feel distracted from the piece itself as they are being critical of the editing. I was also encouraged to include more effects.

3) Mise-en-scene
I-It is advised that I feel the argument again as the close are exactly the same as the last part of the scene which wouldn't make sense time wise. In the argument scene I need to get my actress wearing clear jeans and have her not wearing make up. I am also acting in this part and it was pointed out that I looked to happy. I need to be more serious when filming next.

Editing Update

I decided that I will have the credits overlaying the film clips as it saves me more film time. However, I will be keeping the film title 'Emily's Diary' as a stand alone screen. Also, I will be having a BBC Films animation to make it more professional.

Editing update

Here is a screen shot of where I am up to in the editing stage.

After completing the first draft of my coursework I have received some critical feed back particularly on my
 editing. The most difficult part of the editing stage the first time was for me the part where she is walking up to the river. I found it difficult to get the continuity and specific angles right. So I have taken some inspiration from 'Reservoir Dogs' which helped me to give this part of sequence a natural flow. 

Reservoir dogs 

A film directed by Quentin Tarantino, 'Reservoir Dogs' has one of the most iconic openings of all time simply for it's sheer class. This is the first shot in the sequence

This features the men walking forward with the camera on the sidelines. I have included a similar shot to open the walking sequence with Emily walking forward whilst the camera is looking at her from the side giving the audience an outsider perspective. 

My last example is the section when there are close ups of each of the men walking towards the camera. This is significant as it gives the audience a closer insight to their character. I have done this similarly in my opening again to get the audience closer to the character and to make them feel like they are inside the film.

Effects 
Video 
Page turn: Used during the main title credits again reflecting on the fact that this story comes from a single book

Dissolve: Used in the first shot after the titles

Fast blur out: I used this to create a ghostly atmosphere possibly foreshadowing future events

Fade to black: To close the scene

Audio 
Where the dialogue will start I have lowered the pitch. I feel that the music in this scene is crucial as it really lowers the mood and whilst in the middle section I want the dialogue to be the main subject regarding sound I feel that if I took the music out it would not have as big as an emotional impact on the audience thus not sympathising as much with the character. I also did this with ambient sound so it would not be too overpowering. Lastly, I used the cross over fade at the end of the scene to help create a sense of closure.