DVD Finished Image

The finished design is underneath. It was created using Adobe Photoshop 6, from which a template was used for the dimensions of the disc.

This is the link to the site from which the dimensions were downloaded...
http://www.ncimedia.com/duplication/everest_design.html

  

DVD Printing

To improve the overall aesthetic of my finished product, I though it would be a good idea to design my own disk print and then incorporate it onto my final cut via the use of my home printer.

To establish what to include on my design I took a large range of DVD's and studied the text and information that is included upon them. To hopefully find a common occurrence amongst the information.

The DVD's that I examined are as followed.....

•  The Dark Knight 

• The Chronicles Of Riddick
• A Knights Tale
• Pirates Of The Caribbean At World's End
• Lord Of The Rings The Two Towers
• Bad Boys 2
• Fast And The Furious Tokyo Drift 
• Alien vs Predator
• The Matrix
• Spiderman 3

From examining these the most common information is listed below.

• If the DVD is a 2 disc special edition, then it clearly outlines which disk is the feature film and which contains the special features. Done by numbered disks or having it clearly written in text.
  

• The DVD logo is printed onto the disk. 
  

• Either a region 1 or 2 logo. This is depended on where the DVD has been distributed. A region 2 DVD will only work within Europe, where as region 1 is specific to the US.
  

• Copywright protection company logos, such as FACT.
  

• A banner clearly stating that the copy is not for rental. This will obviously be the opposite if the DVD is a rental copy.
  

• A website address, so that the audience is able to access more information which is relevant to the film that they have purchased.
  

• The inclusion of two age certificates. for the UK and for Ireland. In some cases Ireland tends to be higher than the UK rating, as it's run by a different body to the UK.
  

• Of course the title of the film.

• Production and distribution company logos.

• Distinction codes for this particular DVD.

These are all located upon the face of the disc, which are placed on top of an image which relates/links into the narrative of the film.

There is also a fine banner of text around the edge of DVD discs it tends to include...\

• Smaller font which is in white so it can appear more distinguishable.
  
• This text tends to include
• Year of release
• And by which company has the rights reserved.
• Also a run time is included in terms of minutes.

Image Reproduction Rights

To have some form of formal contract a specific document was established for the cast to sign, to agree there commitment to the project.

22149452 Release Form for Media Recording DB Edit A2 Copy

Institutional Context

Most spoofs in today's cinema tend to be glossy Hollywood productions, with overly inflated budgets. That a small scale A level film maker couldn't even dream about achieving. Certain examples of the types of budgets used in similar films to mine are as followed.


U.S Hits

• Scary Movie - $19,000,000

• Naked Gun 2 1/2 - $23,000,000  

• Epic Movie - $20,000,000

• Meet The Spartans - $30,000,000

To name a few U.K releases

• Hot Fuzz - $16,000,000

• Shaun Of The Dead - $5,000,000

• Johnny English - $45,000,000

With a minimum of $16,000,000 and a maximum of $45,000,000 from these examples, I would have to set my self at the lower end of the spectrum. If I were to aim to achieve funding. The lowest of these, Shaun of the Dead is likely to be on such a low budget as its a British production, has a lack of special effects and cgi and an un-star studded cast. However due to its vast success its predecessor Hot Fuzz was given a large budget to meet high expectations. Hence the $9,000,000 increase.

Towards the higher end, referring to Johnny English and Meet The Spartans , they will have been given such extortionate budgets due to complex action scenes, a range of locations, the use of computer generated images and special effects and in terms of Johnny English, the use of well known actors including Rowan Atkinson. 

If my idea were good enough there are several methods I could use to distribute my film, in order to gain solid funding.

If my short film were to produced on a large scale then it would most probably be distributed via one of the British film companies. To make its way onto the big screen I would first preview the screening for free at a local film festival. Most probably opting for the Leeds film festival where I would be able to gain feedback from a vast audience for a next to nothing cost. Then I would analyse the feedback and use it in a way to improve my overall production. If the film were to be momentous at the festival and I were to receive some form of recognition I would use this to publicise my project further.

I would then advertise my project towards a low budget film company such as Warp X who would perhaps allow me to produce my film for regional screenings. More or less following in the footsteps of low budget movies such as Billy Elliot, which was produced, on a very low budget yet turned over an enormous grouse profit.

As well as these methods I could use Propeller TV, which is on Sky, channel 195. It is a Chinese owned company that helps to support the short film industry, however now it is expanding into music, comedy, drama, documentaries and lifestyle. To reach out to a wider audience in the UK and through out Europe.

For more information about the company visit....http://www.propellertv.co.uk/index.html

Stlyes and Affects

As I have mentioned throughout the blog there are several styles that I wish to explore into.
These include the style of Frank Millers Sin City and a cartoon/pop art affect, I chose these as they suit my superhero narrative the most and will help to increase the aesthetic appeal of the production.



As I was not sure upon whether these processes were vialbe I underwent some rearch, via the populer search engine Goolge. After this search I found a You tube link that guides you through the process of creating a Sin City affect using final cut express 4.

1. Firstly load up Final Cut Express
2. Then import or load the desired piece of footage or imagery
3. Once imported move the chosen material onto the timeline
4. Repeat this with a copy of the material, but placing it directly underneath
5. Select the first piece, once selected go to the effects tab and choose key and then chroma keyer
6. Once this has been done it will appear on the viewer
7. Drag this out of the viewer, as it will provide more ease in use
8. Click colour selector on the right hand corner of the window
9. Choose the desired colour that you wish to remain in frame
10. Then drag out each of the colour spectrum's until all of the selected colour turns black (this particular stage may take some time, to gain the desired effect)
11. Once pleased select invert
12. After this double click the second clip ( the one placed beneath)
13. Go onto the effects tab, scroll down to colour correction and then from this choose colour corrector
14. Turn the saturation levels to zero and the process is then complete.

This effect is becoming more popular and has recently featured in the video game for Nintendo Wii Mad World

This is an overview following a video instructing a user on how to create a cartoon effect using final cut, which is quite similar to the process above.

1. Open up Final Cut Express
2. Import/open the desired movie clip or still image
3. Then move it onto the time line and create a duplicate
4. This copy will be positioned directly below the orignal
5. Select V2 and apply the line art filter
6. Go to the filters tab and then adjust the line art settings to 0.002 for threshold and 0 for smoothness
7. Disable V2
8. Select V1 and then apply the posterize filter
9. Enable V2 again
10. Change the composite mode of V2 to overlay. Acesing this via the modify tab, then composite mode and finally overlay
11. This finishes the process and gives the desired effect.

Below are some examples of using the Sin City affect on a piece of primary footage..

Following this is a piece of test footage including blue as well as red..