Film Review

During my lesson I showed my film 'Coach D' and then recieved feedback on the strengths and weakeness of the film. The majority of the audience felt the title was relevant along with the concept of the film being good. Another good aspect of the was the atmosphere that was created which helped convey the intensity during certain scenes. However the weaknesses where some of the shots was a little bit to staggered with mean't that during times it was hard to keep focus on the character. Another aspect I can improve on was the narrative of the film, some parts wasn't as clear as they could have been.
These considrations have been put into perspective and will be carried over to the final product of the film.

See Ya Soon *Beckford23*

Planning & Research

The way short films are presented are much more original and creative then full length films using less methods that are traditional when making a full length film. The quality of the production portrayed in a short film uses lots of creativity to engage the audience immediately. The narratives of a short film are also very original and easy for the audience to follow which avoids the audience being confused. Most films are made out of enjoyment and not for profit gain.The Editing process is easier as the film will be no longer than 10 minutes.

Shane Meadows is a successful film director and screenwriter who has produced many great short films such as 'Somers Town' 'This Is England' and 'Twenty Four Seven'.
Themes and Conventions of Short films

Film Review

A short film drama about basketball which has been compared to 'Any given Sunday' and 'Coach Carter'. Interestingly the film bounces the idea of 'Any Given Sunday' and then cross overs to 'Coach Carter' Both ideas dribbled together gives you a final heart pumping shot of the new film titled 'Coach D'.
'Coach D' is an amazing film that focuses on a team's progression and confidence, which takes them from being losers to well deserved winners. A group of young athletes who are aspiring to be great basketball players are taken under the elegant wing of a committed and inspiring coach. The phenomenal veteran Coach D gives these young men an opportunity they've been waiting for. Through time and dedication Coach D teaches them the fundamentals of basketball as well as emphasizing the importance of teamwork and bond you build with your players, called brotherhood.
However the question remains. . . . Does the team have what it takes to be number one?. . . Can they go all they way?


'Coach D' separates itself from other sports films by focusing on the role of a coach, the audience gets to see just how effective a coach is to a team.The film will give the audience something positive to take away that will last forever. Coach D expands it's individuality by highlighting the chemistry a team develops after intense practice along with the substantial benefits that come from hard work and a dedicated Coach who strongly believes in his team. After the hard work the team is then challenged by an opposing and team where they are put to the test. From the beginning to the end the atmosphere leaves the audience in questioning whether the team will make it or not. A Breathtaking,heart pumping and spirit lifting mood and atmosphere is what the film represents and emphasizes. A must see film for those who especially love basketball and for those even who want to watch a feel good film!

We are all faced with doubt and sometimes even failure which leaves us feeling unworthy people. However, Coach D challenges that feeling and confronts it with the words "Failure is only the beginning". The famous and best of all time NBA all-star Michael Jordan once said "It's not how many times you get knocked down, it's whether if your willing to get back up". That famous quote lives on through in 'Coach D' in a very pivotal scene in the film. The positive aspects of this film automatically engage into the audience as doubts is a feeling that everybody has, thus making the audience already emotionally linked to the film. Each scene leaves a question which is then answered by the next scene giving the total effect of a change of momentum.The cliche ending is not to be expected in 'Coach D', instead the viewers are left to 'expect the unexpected'. The music itself helps to convey the mood of the story, from the upbeat tempo to the slow dramatic suspense.

The characterization of each character is both believable and real, making the stages they go through as a team that much more original and less cliche. The quality of the film is all made by the portrayal of the characters which all play a dominate roll in the film. You have Kobe who is the Captain of the team however tends to stray away from that spot light. Then there's James who's the complete opposite with the unforgettable attitude of a cocky player who claims to be the 'next best thing'. And finally, the games finest Coach, Coach D who plays the biggest of them all with motivational speeches that would put Al Pacino in question as well as giving the dominant role a Coach who just will not give up on his team. Of all characters Coach D's attitude may trigger the memory of the some of the audiences.With the never give up attitude may be that teacher you dearly loved, or James being that annoying teammate or class mate that everybody despises of.

Coach D is simply taking dramas to a whole new level with simply the best quality who could imagine. If you can imagine that big. My final comments are to 'Expect the unexpected' because those who expect will get the unexpected.

Star Rating
5/5

Soundtrack Selection

I have been focusing on the making of my soundtrack and chose a piano playing with a bass in between the pauses. I have so far produced two soundtracks, one plays at the beginning of the clip which adds a fast paste beginning. The soundtrack itself provides a up beat tempo with the help of the title showing along with motivational quotes from coaches. Coming towards the end of the clip the second soundtrack comes into a play a soft carlm melody with brings the film to an end.
Using soundtracks has enabled the film to progress and gives the film a real professional look. My brother helped me to produce the tracks as he's a musician who plays the piano. With the collaboration of us both working on the two soundtracks allowed us to produce to good soundtracks.

Right now I'm currently working on the finalisation of the sound tack as well as tweaking little bits in the short film.

See Ya Soon *Beckford23*

Editing Stage

I have almost finished the editing process of the my film which I'm quite happy with.I have been using Adobe Premiere Elements 2.0 which has been most helpful in the making of the film. I'm now developing a soundtrack for the beginning and the ending of the film. Once I've finished making the soundtrack I will insert it in the film and then see if it complements the footage.

The majority of the editing was easy to do as I focused on the length of each clip, particularly what can be cut out or added in. I also added transactions like fade in and fade out which helps the film run smoothly. However, what I found challenging was adding the slow motion effect to a small part of the clip, as it tended to highlight the whole clip. When applying the slow motion I realized that it was best to use it, in that way it won't lose it's effect if it was in other scenes.

My current stage I'm at now is developing a soundtrack which will consist of a piano playing with drums in the background. The soundtrack will provide a warm introduction to the film as the tempo will be a slow melody. The second soundtrack will be more of an upbeat tempo which will add to the suspense the last scene will provide.

See Ya Soon, *Beckford23*

Editing/First Day

I have had my first day of editing and it's going well. I will need to shorten some scenes and blend scenes into eachother. Another aspects I will be thinking about is adding a sound clip to enhance the effect of the short film. I will try allocate 3 hours for 1 minute of editing.

See Ya Soon, *Beckford23*

Filming Schedule

I have managed to post my filming schedule on my blog which shows my planning through out the week, with detail on each day. During the week a went through various stages such as planning, rehearsals, camera shots, changes to scripts and then the day of filming. Having a filming schedule allows me to have a clear view on what happened during each day along with how long I spent on each stage.

I will soon put up pictures of a the film on my blog with a later view of a snippet of the actual film.

See Ya Soon *Beckford23*

Changes/ Modificatons

I have done some minor changes to my short film with the beginning and the end. In the beginning I have added a quote from Coach Henry Ford speaking on team work. This will be the very first scene that will be seen by the audience. I have also ended with a quote from another coach who speaks of sacrifice. These techniques have the film to develop as it gives the audience something to think about before and after the film. Both quotes not only apply to Basketball, it also applies to life. Having this feature added into my short film gives the chance for the audience to take away something from the film and possibly implement it into their lives.

I'm currently working on uploading my storyboard and filming schedule to my blog.

See Ya Soon, *Beckford23*

Pitch

During my lesson I was instructed to provide a pitch for my short film. The key questions where What the film is about? Why should it be Made? and Whats unique about the film.

What the film is about?
The film is about young athletes who put hard work and trust into a coach that dedicates his time and effort to teach these young players that there's more to life than basketball. Through this film you see the team's progression and a strong bond of brotherhood that the players share and feel for one another.

Why Should It be Made?
To raise awareness on sport in general that team sports such a basketball can not be won by a group of individuals. It can only be one as a team that look out for each other and shares a bond between themselves.

What's Unique about the film?
That it mainly focuses on the progression of the young athletes as well as them having something that will last them a life time. . . .Brotherhood.

See Ya Soon *Beckford23*

More Than A Game Trailer

This is a Sports Drama Documentary based on LeBron James' life. This documentary has a similar storyline to my short film as it portrays the message of basketball being more than a game. It has inspired the idea of my film and I will now take a step back and think if there is another better way to explain my story.

Class Progress / Short Film Treatment

I have so far done the film treatment as well as the script. I have also completed the filming,however feel that some scenes stand out more than others. Due to this situation I will redo some scenes so that each scene carries the same balance of quality. I have been consistently updating my blog through the whole process of filming and will add my script to the blog.
I enjoyed the location of where I was filiming as it allowed a variety of angles and shots to be taklen. It also helped make the filming look professional.

Short Film Treatment

The Purpose Of the Film: The purpose of the short film is to send a message about chosen young men who are taught that there's more to life than Basketball. With the positive influence of a coach who dedicates his time and effort into disciplining these young men through the game of Basketball. The players develop a strong bond between on another and soon begin to believe in their team. through basketball they also begin to understand there's more to life than basketball. The purpose of this short film is to challenge the idea of young troubled youths not being able to be successful. The game of basketball is significantly used throughout the film to symbolize the players passion for the game, as well as interesting other viewers who have never experienced basketball at first hand. The short film focuses on the process of young athletes going from disbelief to hope & success by using the fundamentals of basketball such as team work. The idea of the players acknowledging what they have learnt through basketball allows them to develop a bond with there teamates and look out for eachother. Throughout the film, there will be a continuous theme of improvement & belief shown by the players which then leads to them winning the match. The message that Coach D gives to the students is that what he's teaching them is more than basketball.

The Setting: The locations of the short film will take place in a playground Basketball court . And also on a court at Swiss Cottage Leisure Centre.

Genre: The genre of the short film will be a Sport Drama due to the conventions that the genre holds. The story of the film will best fit into the drama with the help of the conventions that will help to convey the essence of the story.

Actors: Itamar as Kobe, Ali as James (Two Main Characters). The rest of the basketball team. Selmon/Tedd as Coach D.

Opening Scene
There are a group of teenagers playing basketball in a court inside. Whilst they're are playing Kobe is walking up to the court when suddenly James calls him from behind. Kobe looks behind and waits up for his rival team mate. As they both walk towards the court James begins to ask Kobe about his hand. Kobe responds with a unhappy tone and shrugs his shoulders. As they walk into the court Kobe sees his team mates walming up on the court. In response Kobe starts to warm himself up by shooting some set shots. Coach D comes along and sees how his hand is doing and then goes through some shooting drills. Feeling a lack of confidence whilst shooting, Kobe talks to his Coach about not being able to contribute completely due to his hand. Coach D replies with some coaching points on his shooting form and not to worry about his shooting, along with him saying to beleive in yourself. As Coach D says that Kobe remembers has a flashback of the sessions that the coach ran. Through the times of disbeleif the coach was there to give them hope, and as they believe the team begins to gradually improve.

Middle/End
The game begins and the other team seems to be dominating the game as well as controlling the tempo of the game. Half time is called and both teams head to the locker room for a brief from their coach. As kobe and the rest of his team sit on the bench annoyed and tierd, Coach D begins with a very powerful motivitational speech. During the speech the players begin to feel more and more energetic and inspired as the speech goes on. At the end of the speech the team go hands in and let out a magnificent roar "WIN". The leave the locker room feeling pumped up and ready for the final half.

End: As the stop clock counts down from 1 minute the momentum of the games changes giving the team an advantage. 30 seconds is on the stop clock, simultaneously the team run a play that they remembered from the coach’s session. 10 seconds remain, the play runs successfully leaving kobe to make the final shot for the game point. As the buzzer rings the shot is successfully made. The team has won, which leaves a clip of the team all jumping up. As the team jumps up, the camera freezes the frame as an ending credit.
Script


Script








Coach D
By Demetrius Beckford

Script
OPENING SCENE:

PANNING SHOT FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: Establishing long shot of the leisure centre in focus and then the camera gently pans across the park where you see KOBE walking up the path.

KOBE is seen walking towards the leisure centre by JAMES who calls for him

JAMES
Yo Kobe wait up man! (James loudly shouts)

KOBE
KOBE looks over in surprise as he sees his soon to be team rival running up to walk with him. As he arrives KOBE slowly covers up his right hand to avoid unwanted attention and teasing from JAMES.

What's up James? Where's the rest of your team?

JAMES
Already in the court warming up. What's more of an important question is how's that wrist of yours?

JAMES with a smug look on his face looks over to KOBE’S other side and sees his right hand covered up.

KOBE
It's healed up really well, however I’m feeling on unsure on how my shooting is going to be.

KOBE feeling a lack of confidence begins to look down as he tries to avoid eye contact with JAMES’ powerful essence of confidence.

JAMES
Well it looks like we're going to have to see in the game, right?

KOBE
(unhappily says)
I guess.

KOBE and JAMES walk into the court and see both of their teams warming up.
COACH D sees KOBE enter the court and walks up to him to have a word

COACH D
KOBE! How’s your wrist doing?

KOBE
Begins to rotate his right wrist around and massages it with his left hand answers
Not to good Coach, I feel like I've lost my natural rhythm of shooting. I'm not sure if I can contribute to the team coach.

COACH D

With a confident look on his face looks at KOBE and gives him the reassurance he needs.
Listen Kobe, don't go bailing on me now. All you need to do is believe in
yourself and trust that at the right moment your shooting will become natural again.

KOBE
Now having a little bit of self belief looks up to COACH D and responds with a grateful.

Thanks Coach.

COACH D
Ok lets go through some shooting drills.
KOBE and COACH D go through various shooting drills which gives Kobe a sense of confidence in his shooting. As the he continues to shoot he begins to slowly gain back his shooting rhythm.

As the team begins to walk to the sideline from a talk with their Coach. Whistle is blown, Coach D on the side of the court shouts out
.
COACH D
OK team lets go and handle business!
KOBE begins to se the tone with his team making sure that everybody is picking which man their going to mark.

KOBE
(Loudly and confidently yells out)
Ok guys mark your man!


PLAYER 2
(Responds with a loud yell)
I got seven!

PLAYER 3
(PLAYER 3 follows and shouts the man he’s marking)
I got 23!

The game has began and the JAMES’ team win the tip and gain possession of the ball and advance up the court. JAMES running down the lane loses his defender and calls for the ball

JAMES
(Demanding the ball in his hand aggressively calls out)
Yeah, I’m open. . . . . I’m open!

KOBE
Realising that JAMES is open for a shot, shouts out
Who's got James!

JAMES

Open for the shot. . . . and he scores. keep it up team, keep it going!
The games continues with KOBE’S team advancing the ball up the court. KOBE makes a hand off pass and cuts into the perimeter to catch and shoot.

KOBE
Yeah I’m open . . Right here. . . . Right here. . . . . .
KOBE goes for the shot however is unsuccessful with his shot. JAMES catches the rebound and then brings the ball up the court.


KOBE
Damn it! Its this wrist of mine, I just can't seem to get a shot off right.

The game goes on with JAMES’ team dominating, KOBE’S team begin to get frustrated as the team continues to score. The whistle is blown and KOBE’S team walk in from playing the 4th quarter with 1 minute left on the stop clock. Players in the group all sit down annoyed as well as angry. Coach and Assistant Coach stand in front of them.

COACH D:
Gentlemen, what did you learn in yesterdays practice. I’ll answer that question for you.. . . All of you learnt the fundamentals of the basketball as well as life.

TEAM MEMBER
Yeah but how are we supposed to win this game using the basics Coach. Their still better than us and always will be.

COACH D
Gentlemen, the day I met you I told you guys to listen. Which is what I’m telling you to do now. . .Listen.

All the players slowly look to the coach to hear what he has to say

COACH D
I just need you guys to understand that basketball in a way is like life. You make decisions that will determine the overall outcome. Another thing that’s also important is brotherhood gentlemen. You guys have to all be thinking on the same page as a team, not as individuals. When your young everything feels like the end of the world, but its not, it’s just the beginning. Now at this moment, you have come to that beginning gentlemen, the rest is up to you. Now. . I’m not going to hold your hand through this stage, it’s up to you guys to find the way.

Team becomes engaged in the speech.

Right now, you are faced with two outcomes. You all can either leave and lose this game. Or. . Focus on the fundamentals of the game we all love so much. . . and stand with our heads held high and win this game. So what's it going to be? Are you guys ready?

(Quietly)
Yes . . .

COACH D
ARE YOU GUYS READY?

TEAM

The team all stand up as they say
YES SIR!

COACH D
Then lets go out there and show them that we are here to WIN this match.

Team leaves making a loud cheering noise until they come onto the court. The Whistle goes and the stop clock begins ticking. KOBE shouts out a play

KOBE
5C! 5C!

The team responds to the call of play immediately, 30 seconds remain on the clock. Kobe shouts out

KOBE
LETS GO GUYS!

KOBE looks to make the shot and then whilst in the air makes an extra pass to his team player. The clock ticks 5 seconds left. Kobe goes up for the shot and scores the winning point. The buzzer goes and the team all begin to celebrate. As the whole team jumps up, a picture is taken of them. The picture shows the whole team in a celebration pose.







See Ya Soon Beckford23

Day 1 Of Filming

The first day of filming went well due to the participants that attended the filming project. I went through a tester run first to get an idea of what camera shots I would use and then utilized what I learnt in the real thing. Next week will be Day 2 of the filming and I look to get a lot of filming done in that day.

See Ya Soon, *Beckford23*

Day Before Filming

Today i'm going to go through everything and make sure that it's ready for filming. The cast and crew have been informed about the film and will help make the project run smoothly.
Short Film Treatment
The Purpose Of the Film: The purpose of the short film is to send a message about young men who grew up in a poor background can still be the best they can. With the influence of a coach who dedicates his time and effort into disciplining these young men through the game of Basketball. The players learn all the fundamentals of life through basketball and begin to understand the importance of obeying those rules. The purpose of this short film is to challenge the idea of young troubled youths not being able to be successful. The game of basketball is significantly used throughout the film to symbolize the players passion for the game, as well as interesting other fans of basketball to watch the film. The short film focuses on the process of young athletes going from failure to success by using the fundamentals of basketball such as team work. The idea of the players acknowledging what they have learnt through basketball allows them to better their behaviour around their friends and others. Throughout the film, there will be a continuous theme of improvement shown by the players which then leads to them winning the nationals cup


See Ya Soon *Beckford23*

Setting and Location & Cast and Crew

I have now recieved permission from a leisure centre on filming in thier basketball court along with qualified coaches that will be my actors in the film. I will be filming their for a hour and hope to gain a large amount of footage from this event.
I'm currently gaining more cast and crew members who will be apart of the filming project. I will continue to work on the project right up until the filming day.

See Ya Soon, *Beckford23*

Equipment for Filming

During my lesson I wrote a a treatment of my short film and describes all the key areas of it such as the purpose, actors, filming locations etc. I also recieced my filming equipment and will begin filming over the summer holidays.

See Ya Soon, *Beckford23*

Short Film Genre: Drama

During my lesson the class had a discussion about which genre are we going to work on. The choices were Comedy of Drama, however based on my concept of the short film about Basketball, I feel that the genre Drama will best suite it. The reason why I chose Drama was because the conventions that Drama has will relate to the story of the short film. In addition, making it a Drama will enhance the quality of the film as the story will correspond to the theme of the genre. Whereas Comedy will sidetrack the message of the story as well as the concept of the film not providing the nessesary plot of a Comedy film.

I will now formulate a short film on Basketball and produce a good short film on Basketball which will convey all the themes and conventions of a drama.

See Ya Soon, *Beckford23*

Editing Stage 2

During my lesson I will be focusing on the final edits as well as placing the chosen music to play in my horror clip. By adding this soundtrack it will enhance the clip by providing more suspense as well as helping to tell the story.

Soundtrack

During my lesson I focused on adding a soundtrack that would add to the effect of the clip as well as convey the type of genre the clip represents. I'm still going through the stages of picking the right moments of when to play the soundtrack in the clip and when to remove it. The next stage I need to focus on is eliminating some of the footage sound as it tends to distort the quality of the overall sound. After I can then insert the chosen soundtrack which will give the clip a much richer sound in quality and purpose of what genre the clip represents.

See Ya Soon, *Beckford23*

Editing

During my lesson I erased the certain parts of the clip that was prolonged due to filming and focused on the main parts of the clip that conveyed what was going on in the scene. I also managed to add effects to the clip such as *ghosting* which gives the illusion of the persons sight being dizzy. I also included the title of the clip in the beginning which is called *Watched* and ended the clip with credits to show the roles that was needed to put the clip together such as Soundtrack Editor, Filming Crew and the actor.

I will continue to edit the horror clip until it is at a good level of conveying that is happening in chronological order. Once that is complete, I can then work on the sound that will be used to intensify the scenes within the clip.

See Ya Soon, *Beckford 23*

Filming and Editing

During my lesson I done some filming of a horror clip which included various shot taking as well as including appropriate sound. After filming the footage I used Adobe Editing Element 2.0 to enhance the footage by adding 3D transitions and sound effects. I'm currently still working on the editing aspect of the horror clip and will continue to build together the horror clip.

See Ya Soon. Beckford 23

Research Into Documentary *Kobe Doin Work Documentary

During my research on Documentarys and short films, I already had an idea of what I wanted the Documentary about, which was Basketball. Searching various Documentarys such as Michael Jordan's *Air Time" as well as his others, I came across a much more modern Documentary which focused on Professional Basketball player Kobe Bryant. As I watched this Documentary, I realised the techniques used such as background music, footage, lighting and the commentary that was used throughout the Documentary.
What I found effective was that this Documentary had the commentary of Kobe Bryant himself discussing what he was doing in the footage as well as explaining how he felt in the matches. In addition the commentary also helped the audience to engage in a personal insight to Kobe's experiences on the court, along with how he has grown since he's been in the NBA.

I have come to conclusion that I will be using this Documentary for modelling purposes such as following the conventions of the Documentary however include my own features such as interviews with experienced players, coaches and friends. By adapting a Basketball Documentary into my own, I will be aiming to put across a message of my opinion on Basketball and how its changed over the years.