Advanced Portfolio









 

These three videos were solely made by me, Haider Suleman. After watching some movies music videos on youtube, I just wanted to make my own videos and gave my best in making them. These videos were made on Windows Movie Maker which ruined the aspect ratio of all the three videos.
The frame height and width were changed to following in all three videos due to Windows movie maker
Frame Width: 720
Frame Height: 480
The aspect ratio was changed approximately to 16:10 which stretched the video.

To overcome this problem I used a video converter to change the frame width and height
The new frame width and height are as follow
Frame Width: 720
Frame Height: 320

This is the reason I had to upload the videos again because I really hated the old aspect ratio. The new frame size looks pretty normal to me.
Two of the videos were uploaded a long time ago by me on my personal youtube account. The links to old videos are

1 - The Notebook: She will be loved - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzbJTPhRpes

2 - Sacrifice : Romeo + Juliet -          http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDjIWQAYLWE



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                                                 DVD Cover


DigiPak
 
  



Ans1) In our advance portfolio we chose music video. Our music video opens with a long shot showing the moon and then some of LAHORE'S prestige (trademark) buildings are shown. Our video  basically is made for all the citizens of Lahore and it is categorized as an adventure video : because it showed our own adventure in order to collect all these clips  Adventure films are usually exciting stories, with new experiences or exotic locales, very similar to or often paired with the action film genre. They can include traditional swashbucklers,  serialized films , and historical spectacles (similar to the epics film genre), searches or expeditions for lost continents, "jungle" and "desert" epics, treasure hunts, disaster films, or searches for the unknown. It is basically a patriotic video after watching a lot of patriotic videos , clips and music videos we finally came up with this idea of showing the country with patriotism.


Ans2) Our music video is made up of small clips from all around Lahore so that we can be successful in showing the people what Lahore really is . Our genre can be called  Adventure as (again) we had to travel alot to collect these clips. We watched many movies / music videos under the name of lahore on youtube . We found many videos that can be related to ours and portrayed the same image and message : that besides bomb balsts , thefts , load shedding Lahore has a bright and a better side. the song in the back ground is an (slow) instrumental that shows and help build the intensity in our video and help make it more interesting . Any other song might not have helped us to convey the message that effectively. Other partiotic songs such as : hum hain pakistani , gae to asay etc ( included in our advance portfolio research) has the same genre as the one we have worked on.


Q3 - In our this video there is no target audience in specific that we targeted. it’s a video portraying patriotism towards our country. Showing the love for our country and what site seeing places are present in our country. it is shown through the different shots of places shown in the video. I believe every person who loves his country, has a bit of patriotism in himself will be the target audience to our video.

Q4 - we addressed the audience through the various techniques we thought of and presented the in a form of video. Especially the youth will be inspired by this. Besides the label on our country of being terrorist and having bomb blasts every time we tried to present the bright side of our country through some well-known places shown e.g. minar-e-pakistan . Which is the historical place of Pakistan and a very important event took place here "the Lahore resolution" which would hit our target audience and they might think of it as a good place. We tried to rebuild the impression of our country as a peaceful nation.
ANS 6)  As we started of our media studies project we were given a camera by our school ( not so good) . We had no idea where to start from, how to start, we dint even know what different types of shots are, what are they called. But when we started off we did a bit research of how to be a professional camera man. : reference:http://www.askthecameraman.net/Practical/The_7_Steps_To_Becoming_A_Professional_Cameraman/. With passage of time we got to learn about many different shots and techniques through which a single scene can be shot in many different ways.wWe got to know the names of the different shots eg : over the shoulder shot , shot reverse shot ( used to cover a rapid conversation)  high angle shot , The 180 Degree rule etc . these are the things that mark the difference between a amateur and a professional camera man.Everything was new to me , but technical yet became so easy. I got very  much successful in bringing my imaginations/creativity into reality.

Ans7) Considering my studies i think i have learned a lot because of these research that i did for my projects. It was a great experience. I got to learn a lot. From camera movements to shots to lighting to editing.  I got to know more about the subject and about their cameras , editing software's etc. These things helped made my observation stringer whenever I watched a movie on television I used to notice all the shots and also learnt new techniques and new camera shots and angles. We were provided with a lot of slide shows to help us out with our projects by our teacher ( Sir Shahbaz) consisting of all the media related info that we needed to know ( types of shots, camera angles , audience theories etc.) . After finally finishing or course work one thing that i surely got to know is that making movies is not at all an easy task and all the people working on the sets of the movie had put in their effort and a lot of hard work so they can present their master piece to their viewers: D


 We used adobe premiere CS3 because for our advanced portfolio as it required some effects and alot more things were to be done on this video.
Here are some snapshots from Adobe Premiere.




















The music video starts off in what seems to be a rather tried and tested formula; with a half dressed woman dancing around in skimpy clothes, although this quickly changes and we can see the true potential of the music video.


The lighting and contrast of the whole has been dulled for the dance portion, where the artist, Cheryl is dancing in sync with a group of male dancers in what seems to be a water ally, in front of old school cars and bikes. The city cut scenes however are in full contrast, with helicopter overview shots of the city at night making a huge contrast to the dulled out dance sequences.



The rapid back and forth between these two situations and settings leaves a person rather dizzy, which is good since the music matches perfectly with it. Slow and fast motion cut scenes have also been used, creating a nice change of pace, as well as pumping up the climax even more.
Although a rather typical pop music video, the contrast of the two opposing environments, as well as dancing sillohete of a woman give that little extra spark, and unlike most other pop videos, one does not tire of watching it over and over again.


                         IF WE DON'T END WAR, THE WAR WILL END US!




More striking than the filmography and direction itself is the context of the song, as well as its accompanying video. Although a rather cliché subject by now; war, it is nonetheless presented in a rather jarring way. The video is executed with perfect poise, incorporating elements of both contemporary and traditional direction styles


It is obvious from the outset that a lot of computer generated animation is used, although in a subtle way, without it being too obvious. Drastic impact is made with a quote of H.G Wells at the start of the video, setting the mood for the song as well. A note is also given, stating that this is a song about peace.
Cut scenes without the songs appear at both the start and the middle of the video, creating more of a movie like environment to it rather than a music video. And the message is clear: that although war is a necessary part of the world now, it is horrific, tragic and uncalled for.


Considerable impact is made by still images representing the lyrics, clips and photographs of historic occasions and people, while each clip or photograph is super imposed with the lyrics, “Martyr” “Leader” “Victim” amongst others. And this is the central axis on which the video revolves, more than any other directional techniques. This simple style, albeit a rather new one from which various other artists have gained inspiration from now, has never failed to send shivers up one’s spine, no matter how many times you look at the video.




The video moves into a more sci-fi realm in the second half when a convey of soldiers that the band is representing gets bombarded with military debris: tanks, fighter planes, cannons, aircraft carriers etc. all are hurling through the air at them, as if suspended by something magnetic.




This part, along with the intensifying of the music quickly builds up the climax, as the soldiers run for their lives while the debris flies around them. During the closing, the debris starts collecting in one place, forming a pyramid made up of war equipment, suspended in the air. And it is at this sinister ending when the video ends.


All in all, the video’s high points are its contemporary style, melding historical footage seamlessly with computer animation; it also uses a high contrast to add to the surreal environment of the video. Needless to say, this video was a milestone in music video production, and numerous other music videos have since borrowed from its amazingly simple, yet hugely effective direction techniques.



We came up with this unique idea after watching loads and loads of news of our country (pakistan) in which it was only criticised and bomblasts , thefts , terrorist attacks were shown and after alot of brainstorming. All the people left hope and showed had an abysmal responce towards the country so we thought of showing the bright and the good side of our country. We travelled almost all the city (lahore) from developed areas (defence) to real city (androon shehar) so we can get these amazing clips which cover not only the developed areas(lush green trees) bus also these narrow roads, tight lanes ,  shops at road sides etc. We covered almost evry time of weather in all the time that we had : from sunny to rainy ,and showed all types of people from rich to poor , where the rich kids are studying in schools but on the other hand poor kids are washing clothes, living in slumdogs which are extremely polluted .People can be seen homeless, sleeping on road sides. We also covered some festivals eg : EID, in which there are lots of stalls on road sides selling shoes and bangles.
We hope you like our video as we have got alot of hardwork and determination behind this clip.It took us 6 days to complete this video and this whole clip can be described in just one word "LAHORE". :D



We came up with this unique idea after watching loads and loads of news of our country (pakistan) in which it was only criticized and bomb blasts , thefts , terrorist attacks were shown and after a lot of brainstorming. All the people left hope and showed had an abysmal response towards the country so we thought of showing the bright and the good side of our country. We traveled almost all the city (lahore) from developed areas (defence) to real city (androon shehar) so we can get these amazing clips which cover not only the developed areas(lush green trees) bus also these narrow roads, tight lanes , shops at road sides etc. We covered almost every time of weather in all the time that we had : from sunny to rainy ,and showed all types of people from rich to poor , where the rich kids are studying in schools but on the other hand poor kids are washing clothes, living in slumdogs which are extremely polluted .People can be seen homeless, sleeping on road sides. We also covered some festivals e.g : EID, in which there are lots of stalls on road sides selling shoes and bangles. We hope you like our video as we have got a lot of hard work and determination behind this clip.It took us 6 days to complete this video and this whole clip can be described in just one word "LAHORE". :D





 

                                                                                                                                                                                   



For more information
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0870111/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frost/Nixon_%28film%29

Written by: Peter Morgan
Directed by: Ron Howard
Casting: Frank Langella, Michael Sheen and Kevin Bacon


The genre and seriousness of a movie can instantly judged from its opening sequence, indeed, the opening sequence sets the overruling tone for the rest of the movie itself. Whether you're watching a comedy, horror, action or biopic, the first 5 minutes or so are sufficient enough to judge it. The case is no different in Frost/Nixon, a reenactment of the Watergate scandal of the 70's.

Starting from the opening credits, which are shown in a plain, almost bitter white font, the mood of the movie has been set to one of utmost seriousness. The stark white on black also pertains itself to being strikingly simple, yet unforgettable in our new-fangled days of crazy fonts and the such. Another scene setting move is the movie starting off in black and white, and an almost nostalgic, static interrupted news reporter talking about the Watergate scandal, immediately telling us three things: what the movie is about, when it's set, and it's genre.

Fittingly, the background music is rather sober, strangely mimicking a funeral march. Perhaps this is purposely done though, seeing as Nixon's term as President was about to draw to a close. The score pays tribute to a raining day in my opinion, and is excellently merged and entwined within the movie.

Another thing which hammers the 70's environment into our minds is the overall ambiance of the scenes. From the way the characters are dressed, to their hairstyles and mannerisms, everything thing just screams out the 70's, and we are easily and almost instantly transported back in time, completely absorbed in the movie at once. Not many movies these days can achieve that. A rather sublime message also given by the director by his emphasize on the anchors and media is that the movie will not just be about politics, but rather how the dirty politics, and rampaging media of that time entwined together to become what was to be remembered as one of the largest scandals to involve a US President.

The movie follows with a anti climax at the beginning: the resignation of the US President Nixon, this allows the director considerable leeway in telling the story for the rest of the movie, since it is no longer bound by a linear timeline. As such, many different story telling techniques can be applied throughout the movie thanks to this subtle change at the beginning.

After the resignation, an atmosphere of what some people might refer to as anarchy is established, and the main characters are introduced in a very profound way: giving interviews and their comments on the resignation of Nixon. Among these characters there is a heavy leaning on the press. Only a few of the characters introduced in the opening sequence are politicians, also giving a hint that most of the movie will be shown through the eyes of the media, albeit from both stances.

However, the most important character is introduced at the end, a typical way of building up a small climax. Nixon, one of the namesakes of the movie had already appeared, now it was time for Frost to come on screen. After the interviews, we cut to the backstage of a television show where a man shrouded in shadows appears. Suddenly, an announcer calls out "And now, the host of Frost over Australia, Mr. David Frost!", and with that, the man, now identified as Frost, comes onto the stage.

Picking apart this fantastic example of an opening sequence, we find that nearly all the elements that are essential to a movie have been done and dealt with in the first 5 minutes or so: suspense, mystery, euphoria, terror... everything that will become critical to the plot of the rest of the movie.

The Frost/Nixon opening sequence has over time become one of the most widely celebrated in the history of cinema, and in my opinion, rightly so. From the get go, you are transported to another time, as an observer of history, even with such an serious issue (considered tedious by some) the opening sequence has no problems at all getting our hearts pumping and adrenaline running... and you can tell that the rest of the movie is going to be a utter roller coaster.
   





  










Stranger than fiction














Reference:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDwTQ57YyzI


Directed by:  Marc Foster
Written by: Zach Helm
Cast: Will Ferrell, Maggie Gyleenhaal, Dustin Hoffman


Opening Analysis

The movie starts with the name of the production house “The Colombia” and the “Mandate pictures” which appears on the screen with their respective trademark animation and a unique music which represents their production house. However like all other movies this one does not begins with the introduction or names of the characters.

The next scene starts with an extreme wide shot through the city into a room showing a watch on the table with a close up. This close up brings the audience to the point telling them that the watch plays a very significant role in the movie: this is further confirmed when the narrator says that “his wrist watch delighted in the crisp wind against its face.” This reflects that the wristwatch is just not an ordinary watch used as a prop in the movie it has thoughts feelings and emotions.

When the character wakes up, there is a voice in the background of the narrator which connects us with the main character “Harold Crick”. This is shown with an ariel shot giving the audience a feeling as if the narrator is watching the entire life of Harold. While explaining the character of Harold, the narrator says that “Harold is a man of infinite numbers with endless calculations and remarkably few words.” These few words are enough to convey to the audience that what kind of a character Harold maybe i.e. he rarely speaks which makes him less gregarious with few or no friends and all the time he is calculating things, i.e. steps, time etc or maybe he is really good at math.

Harold appears out to be a man of perfection and punctuality as he has had his every move timed and calculated, i.e. he cleans his teeth 76 times 38 stroked up and down and 38 strokes left and right each day. The director has edited this scene by using window editing technique and infographics are used to make the scene interesting and show his calculations and perfection. The text and the instruction about how to knot the tie in the next scene helps the audience to understand what is going inside Harold’s mind. “His watch thinks that the single knot makes his neck look fat,” this suggests that Harold’s watch is just like his friend, the only thing from which his day starts and ends.


Even in the office his colleagues usually don’t speak to him unless there is a calculation which is needed to be solved immediately as Harold is good at numbers. Everything was going just fine and perfect in his life, all planned and calculated until one day he starts hearing the voice of the narrator which is describing his daily routine. Harold gets confused and asks the narrator how she knows so much about his daily routine i.e. counting of strokes, knot of the tie, steps taken to the bus stop etc. As a result Harold gets annoyed and confused i.e. he forgets his strokes, steps and even gets late to work because he missed the bus.





                                       


Directed By: John Fortenberry, Amy Heckerling
Written by: Steve Koren, Will Ferell, Chris Kattan
Cast:  Will Ferrell, Chris Kattan, Racquel Gardner 


For more information:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120770/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Night_at_the_Roxbury

Opening Analysis

Few movies depart from a essentials of a traditional opening sequence, A Night at Roxbury being just one of them. Ditching the much more well known soft type of music during the opening credits, the movie immediately begins with an upbeat party song. This has a lasting impact in our minds: that this is an easy going popcorn eating movie. Nothing too serious, nothing too intellectual, just easy entertainment.


The screen then cuts to an eagle view of a city, what seems to be a party city at that. With flashing lights and neon's reminiscent of the city that never sleeps. In fact, the city high view makes us instantly think of New York or Las Vegas, coupled with the upbeat, trendy music that is hammering into our ears, and we a perfect setting already. All that's left is too introduce the characters. And introduced they are, with as much style and flair as one could imagine of.


Zeroing in on the front bonnet of a car, the number plate fills up the screen: California plates, and a personalized number "Sweet". The camera cuts to a wider shot and two men get out of the car, wearing flashy clothes, giving the impact of high fliers, they dance their way towards what seems to be a club. We are once again jarred by the camera cutting to a shot of people dancing, with neons and strobe lights abound. Hardly being given any time to get used to a shot before our eyes get bombarded with another; much like the make up of a music video, the director uses a clever technique to grab our attention.


The camera zooms in as the crowd parts, showing us the two excessively dressed young men, mimicking each others dance steps, by now we, the audience, are completely convinced that these two are the main characters of the movie, and also seem to be rather close friends. A subtler under-text is also found here, for those who care to read between the lines: these men aren't polished enough to be used to money, it seems as though it might have been a recent windfall that they've encountered.


As we can see, even without the use of any dialogue, the opening sequence has unfolded in a such a way that we already know quite a bit about our two heroes in the movie: recently wealthy, childish personalities, and cringe worthy lameness that defined the 80s.


The next few scenes consist of the pair dancing horribly, trying to make moves on the plenty abound females in the club, and being rebuked by all of them. It is interesting to note what seems to be their sub conscious determination: they don't even bat an eyelid after being turned down and go on as if everything was perfectly fine. Their shenanigans continue until the club itself is disturbed and they are kicked out by a bouncer.


There is so much detail in this opening sequence it is truly a task to analyse it all, with minimal dialogue and in a very short time span the director as already instilled in our minds the personalities of the main characters, the time setting, the genre of the movie (which is undeniably humor at this point). We can also instantly see that it's a buddy movie, the two almost brothers, who look nothing alike but get along famously.


While not as thought provoking or memorable as some other epics such as Legends of the Fall for example, the opening sequence in A Night at Roxbury is a rather cleverly thought out plan. Witty, charming and humorous, it appeals to the sub conscious part of our minds, and even divulges some pinpoint facts about the characters for those who are willing to pay al little attention and read between the lines, so to speak.

After alot of hardwork and efforts this is the final intro made for our production house.


Made our Intro on Adobe After Effects. One of the hardest task to work on but I guess it's worth it!











                                         
                                           TV Drama : A Touch Of Frost.
                                         
 CAST AND CREW
Series Directed by
Roger Bamford
(9 episodes, 1994-2008)
Paul Harrison
(7 episodes, 2003-2010)
Don Leaver
(4 episodes, 1992-1996)
Roy Battersby
(4 episodes, 1994-2006)
David Reynolds
(3 episodes, 1992-1999)
Adrian Shergold
(3 episodes, 1996-1999)
Sandy Johnson
(2 episodes, 1997-1999)
Robert Knights
(2 episodes, 1999-2000

Series Directed by
Roger Bamford
(9 episodes, 1994-2008)
Paul Harrison
(7 episodes, 2003-2010)
Don Leaver
(4 episodes, 1992-1996)
Roy Battersby
(4 episodes, 1994-2006)
David Reynolds
(3 episodes, 1992-1999)
Adrian Shergold
(3 episodes, 1996-1999)
Sandy Johnson
(2 episodes, 1997-1999)
Robert Knights
(2 episodes, 1999-2000

Main Actors

David Jason...DI Frost / ... (42 episodes, 1992-2010)

Bruce Alexander...Supt. Mullett / ... (42 episodes, 1992-2010)

John Lyons...D.S. Toolan / ... (39 episodes, 1992-2010)

Arthur White...Ernie Trigg / ... (27 episodes, 1994-2010)

James McKenna...Sgt. Brady / ... (25 episodes, 1995-2010)

David McKail...Dr. McKenzie / ... (20 episodes, 1992-2008)

David Gooderson...Pathologist / ... (18 episodes, 1992-2006)

Paul Moriarty...Sgt Wells / ... (15 episodes, 1992-1997)

George Thompson...P.C. Simms / ... (12 episodes, 1992-1996)

Caroline Harker...WPC Hazel Wallace / ... (11 episodes, 1992-2003)

    Representation of Physical Disability
                                Textual Analysis

This video clip is taken from the TV Drama "A Touch Of Frost" . The scene opens with a mid shot of two characters two characters standing and are having a conversation . The next scene is jump cut in the woods. This is a wide shot showing a young boy in his late teens coming out of the woods.This shot makes us familiar with the surrounding and the location but the main focus was on the character. As he stands up he cleans up his knee as to get rid of the dirt.He walks in an unusual way : with his mouth open cracking his jaw.As he glances at the bunch of policemen he got frightened (eyes got wide open) and he starts running without any reason.As the policemen caught him he mourns a loud cry saying "I dint do anything" and starts crying. This scene is further made a depressing or a sad scene with the help of digetic sound in the background and low : key lighting.Up till now we have a clue that there is something wrong with this boy he is not perfectly normal.
     Common stereo types of disability includes : the pitiable or pathetic stereotype .The disabled as the object  of violence, the :super cripple"  who is able to counteract their disability with some increasingly good skills  etc. There are many clues in the clip which tells us that the character is suffering from some kind of disability.

                                   
     In terms of lighting as a part of mise-en- scene the representation of disability is very much apparent. For eg : at the start of the extract, the young boy with the disability is seen poorly lit as compared to the other characters in that scene, perhaps suggesting him as a character of lower importance and significance.Adding to this when the police men shout at him he is seen running eagerly on his own. This shows his individualism amongst everyone else due to the fact that he had an disability.He is seen weak and vulnerable as compared to the other men (officers) in the dark with clothing and bright lights.
                                         
   Frost is given more importance then Billy purely because of his disability.As looking through the mis-en-scene : when Billy is at the house wearing his coat and seems very reluctant to stay.As the officer too tells his father that in this case he is being considered subnormal and he would need a man in the room with him in case he breaks any laws.We can see that he was replying to the officers questions in a real hurry and desperately wants the interview to get over as soon as possible. this portrays a feeling in audiences mind and which can also be seen through / from our daily lives that disable people are less talkative and less social.
          In terms of the camera shots at  the beginning of the extract billy is seen by using a high angle shot with billy having to stare up to the camera.This portrays him as disabled in some way and weak / inferior  to others. When the officer was in the house having a conversation with Billy he has to explain question to him clearly and eagerly and had to tell him how eager they are in order to get correct answers from him.And in order to get answers they had to wait a lot and had to be patient.We can see that the boy cannot speak properly and was using a lot of unwanted expressions and lingered on, and speaks up stretching a word and use to speak it out loud.He easily got frightened as he police men entered the room, and defended himself by saying "I dint do anything.I am innocent"
      People with disabilities are portrayed as less cunning , less intelligent and simple.This is further confirmed through the way the way the boy speaks and by looking at him facial expressions .While interviewing Billy Frost, the police men uses simple words and speaks in a child like manner.He also asks him simple questions like do you know what police were doing there?! ,as to know how much knowledge does he has and  to what extent his answers can be trusted.
After looking at this clip we can clearly see / say that this kid is mentally disabled thus is not perfectly normal.