I found this useful tutorial on how to create a CCTV effect for one of our shots when Jesse is walking through town, using Adobe After Effects:
Tuesday 16 December 2014
BBFC Rating
We have decided to rate our film as a 15. When reading through the specifications below we found that if we were grading the opening sequence, the content choices would mean that it would be a 12. However the whole film would be a 15 due to the strong violence, strong language etc.
From the BBFC website:
- strong violence
- frequent strong language
- portrayals of sexual activity
- strong verbal references to sex
- sexual nudity
- brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal references to sexual violence
- discriminatory language or behaviour
- drug taking
Monday 15 December 2014
Costume Design
How are your characters going to dress and how will this affect their representation?
The main character, Jesse, will dress in dark, bland and earthy colours. This shows that he is attempting to draw attention away from himself. The clothing will hint towards khaki and army green, once again implying that he wants to blend into the surroundings and avoid unwanted attention. The costume will follow a grunge-like appearance, reflecting a sense of gang culture, danger and an edgy mood. We have mainly based his costume design on the character of Tate from the TV show American Horror Story.
Dex will also wear dark clothes to blend into the shadows of the multi-storey car-park at night. This will also suggest that he is a dangerous and untrustworthy character.
Although Alexa will not actually be featured in our opening sequence, we have planned that she will wear mainly light clothing to suggest innocence, with one aspect always being black (e.g boots or jacket) to imply that she is not as innocent as we would like to believe and there is a twist to her character.
How will this affect the way the audience engages with them?
The audience are given very little information about the characters in the opening sequence, meaning that they will rely on detailed touches in the costume design to help them decide on what sort of characters they are. This creates an air of mystery and suspense surrounding the characters, encouraging the audience to engage with the piece and want to find out what is to happen next.
Thursday 11 December 2014
Music
We have decided to use a song created by our lead actor, for our final video. The song is perfect for increasing tension for the viewer and create the dramatic tone that is required for a psychological thriller. However, we are going to work with him to alter certain sections in order to make it fit better with the visuals.
Final Film Planning - Plot and Script
Plot:
(The highlighted section is where the film starts and the part that we shall film. After this, the story jumps back to the beginning to give the audience the background information and finally continues with Jesse trying to find Dex. The use of this fragmented narrative makes our opening sequence more mysterious and intriguing, as we give away very little information to the viewer.)
After his twin brother goes missing, all that Jesse (Burt Cope) is concerned about is spending time with his girlfriend, Alexa, who he sees is becoming more distant everyday. His attempts at keeping them together are causing his school work to fall (apart from his best subject, IT) and his friends to drift away. His mundane life soon develops into danger when his girlfriend is kidnapped and family secrets begin to unravel.
Jesse is online in his room when a pop up appears on the screen. As he goes to close it he notices that it shows Alexa, tied up and crying, with a large note resting on her reading 'HELP ME'. At the bottom of the image is a phone number which he quickly writes on his hand before running out the door. Jesse then finds the nearest phone box, not wanting his mobile to be traced, and calls the number. A deep male voice answers and shouts 'Listen!', followed by screaming in the background. The man hangs up just as a car pulls up next to the phone box and Jesse is told to get in. The driver then explains what he has to do to stop all this, telling him that the organisation killed his brother and in order to make it look as if he is still alive and simply running away from home Jesse needs to carry a bag through the centre of town, making sure that lots of people and CCTV see him. Jesse agrees, knowing that if he does not, he will loose Alexa too. He is then pushed out of the car, told to get the bag out of the boot and take it to Dex who will be waiting for him at the elevator in the multi-story car park.
As instructed, Jesse walks through town with the bag, clearly showing his face. He reaches the car park and gets in the elevator. Just as he goes to look at what is in the bag, the doors to the first floor open revealing Dex, who gets in and takes the bag. Jesse gets out and tries to phone Alexa's mobile to see that they have stuck to the deal and released her straight away. We then hear a ringing from the bag as the doors close. Jesse turns and runs to the doors, banging on them and shouting but he is too late. After running up the stairs to the roof, he looks down searching for Dex who is running to a car and driving off.
Jesse has to find Dex, the bag, and his girlfriend - dead or alive. The rest of the film consists of him hunting down Dex and trying to collapse the organisation that has torn his life apart. This includes returning to look at the pop up to find clues in the background of the image that reveal where they are keeping Alexa and hacking into a system that reveals what user created the pop up. When he has finally hunted down the organisation's HQ he poses as an employee, modifies the security and hacks into their computer system. He finds out that his brother is listed as an employee, but in the section of people that have been deleted (due to the fact that they have been killed by the organisation). He also finds that his parents are on the system too, with different names, and finally he finds himself - listed as a target. A linked file on his page shows a series of messages between his 'family', girlfriend and the organisation, feeding information and instructions back and forth. As the world he thought he knew crashes around him he runs out of the building, but on the other side of the main door that he entered not long ago is simply empty space, with the group of people who have deceived him all this time. They explain to him that his life has been an experiment to test a chip that creates whatever world the user wants to believe, his brother didn't agree with the test and created a group to trigger people being tested; they sent the pop up to him to crash his mental world and send him on a path that would reveal the truth. When Jesse asks why he is being told all of this, Alexa replies "Because none of it matters anymore. We need to continue working on the chip and make the mind less sensitive to triggers.". When he still doesn't understand she says smiling "You're our monkey. Now we don't need you, you can be put down". Two men appear behind him and drag him back through the doors.
Script of dialogue in opening sequence:
(The highlighted section consists of audio clips that show Jesse remembering his instructions etc. This will be the non-diegetic sound, played over the shots of him walking through town and towards the car park.)
Jesse grabs the bag from the boot of the car and begins to walk.
Man in car: Drive.
The car pulls away quickly with wheel spin.
Overlaid audio:
While Jesse is walking, the sound of sections of the phone call and the instructions are repeated over the top of the visuals:
Man on phone: (Shouts) Listen! (The sound of a girl screaming)
Jesse: (Desperate) What do I have to do?
The man hangs up, causing a long beep.
Man in car: Take the bag to the elevator. Dex will be waiting for you.
Jesse reaches the car park and gets in the lift. The doors open and Dex can be seen. Jesse passes Dex the bag and walks away. Phones Alexa and ringing comes from bag. Jesse turns and runs to the doors that have just closed.
Jesse: (banging on the doors, shouting) Stop! Come Back! Come BACK! (hits doors again harder)
Jesse runs towards the stairs and up to the roof.
(The highlighted section is where the film starts and the part that we shall film. After this, the story jumps back to the beginning to give the audience the background information and finally continues with Jesse trying to find Dex. The use of this fragmented narrative makes our opening sequence more mysterious and intriguing, as we give away very little information to the viewer.)
After his twin brother goes missing, all that Jesse (Burt Cope) is concerned about is spending time with his girlfriend, Alexa, who he sees is becoming more distant everyday. His attempts at keeping them together are causing his school work to fall (apart from his best subject, IT) and his friends to drift away. His mundane life soon develops into danger when his girlfriend is kidnapped and family secrets begin to unravel.
Jesse is online in his room when a pop up appears on the screen. As he goes to close it he notices that it shows Alexa, tied up and crying, with a large note resting on her reading 'HELP ME'. At the bottom of the image is a phone number which he quickly writes on his hand before running out the door. Jesse then finds the nearest phone box, not wanting his mobile to be traced, and calls the number. A deep male voice answers and shouts 'Listen!', followed by screaming in the background. The man hangs up just as a car pulls up next to the phone box and Jesse is told to get in. The driver then explains what he has to do to stop all this, telling him that the organisation killed his brother and in order to make it look as if he is still alive and simply running away from home Jesse needs to carry a bag through the centre of town, making sure that lots of people and CCTV see him. Jesse agrees, knowing that if he does not, he will loose Alexa too. He is then pushed out of the car, told to get the bag out of the boot and take it to Dex who will be waiting for him at the elevator in the multi-story car park.
As instructed, Jesse walks through town with the bag, clearly showing his face. He reaches the car park and gets in the elevator. Just as he goes to look at what is in the bag, the doors to the first floor open revealing Dex, who gets in and takes the bag. Jesse gets out and tries to phone Alexa's mobile to see that they have stuck to the deal and released her straight away. We then hear a ringing from the bag as the doors close. Jesse turns and runs to the doors, banging on them and shouting but he is too late. After running up the stairs to the roof, he looks down searching for Dex who is running to a car and driving off.
Jesse has to find Dex, the bag, and his girlfriend - dead or alive. The rest of the film consists of him hunting down Dex and trying to collapse the organisation that has torn his life apart. This includes returning to look at the pop up to find clues in the background of the image that reveal where they are keeping Alexa and hacking into a system that reveals what user created the pop up. When he has finally hunted down the organisation's HQ he poses as an employee, modifies the security and hacks into their computer system. He finds out that his brother is listed as an employee, but in the section of people that have been deleted (due to the fact that they have been killed by the organisation). He also finds that his parents are on the system too, with different names, and finally he finds himself - listed as a target. A linked file on his page shows a series of messages between his 'family', girlfriend and the organisation, feeding information and instructions back and forth. As the world he thought he knew crashes around him he runs out of the building, but on the other side of the main door that he entered not long ago is simply empty space, with the group of people who have deceived him all this time. They explain to him that his life has been an experiment to test a chip that creates whatever world the user wants to believe, his brother didn't agree with the test and created a group to trigger people being tested; they sent the pop up to him to crash his mental world and send him on a path that would reveal the truth. When Jesse asks why he is being told all of this, Alexa replies "Because none of it matters anymore. We need to continue working on the chip and make the mind less sensitive to triggers.". When he still doesn't understand she says smiling "You're our monkey. Now we don't need you, you can be put down". Two men appear behind him and drag him back through the doors.
Script of dialogue in opening sequence:
(The highlighted section consists of audio clips that show Jesse remembering his instructions etc. This will be the non-diegetic sound, played over the shots of him walking through town and towards the car park.)
Jesse grabs the bag from the boot of the car and begins to walk.
Man in car: Drive.
The car pulls away quickly with wheel spin.
Overlaid audio:
While Jesse is walking, the sound of sections of the phone call and the instructions are repeated over the top of the visuals:
Man on phone: (Shouts) Listen! (The sound of a girl screaming)
Jesse: (Desperate) What do I have to do?
The man hangs up, causing a long beep.
Man in car: Take the bag to the elevator. Dex will be waiting for you.
Jesse reaches the car park and gets in the lift. The doors open and Dex can be seen. Jesse passes Dex the bag and walks away. Phones Alexa and ringing comes from bag. Jesse turns and runs to the doors that have just closed.
Jesse: (banging on the doors, shouting) Stop! Come Back! Come BACK! (hits doors again harder)
Jesse runs towards the stairs and up to the roof.
Monday 1 December 2014
Todorov's Narrative Theory
Todorov’s theory of narrative states that all narrative plots follow the same basic pattern:
- State of equilibrium
- Disruption to that equilibrium
- Recognition that disorder has occurred
- Attempt (or attempts) to resolve the situation
- Return to equilibrium or establishment of a NEW equilibrium
Example 1:
Flight Plan, Directed by Robert Schwentke
4. The mother becomes more and more distressed when none of the staff seem to remember her daughter ever being on the plane, and records show that this is true. This causes her to create disruption of the plane, fighting the staff and attempting to hunt for her child herself.
1. After the death of her husband, a woman and her daughter are flying home from Berlin.
2. A while after boarding the plane they both fall asleep and during this sleep her daughter completely disappears.
2. A while after boarding the plane they both fall asleep and during this sleep her daughter completely disappears.
3. The mother wakes up to find that her daughter has gone. Thinking she has just wandered off somewhere, she is not too concerned. After all, she couldn't have gone far on a plane at 37,000 feet.
4. The mother becomes more and more distressed when none of the staff seem to remember her daughter ever being on the plane, and records show that this is true. This causes her to create disruption of the plane, fighting the staff and attempting to hunt for her child herself.
5. The mother finds her daughter and discovers who took her. The plane is then blown up by this man, however many people survive. The staff apologise to the mother and she finally goes home with her daughter.
Example 2:
Shutter Island, Directed by Martin Scorsese
1. In 1954 Teddy Daniels and Chuck Aule, U.S Marshals, are called to investigate the disappearance of a patient called Rachel Solando from Ashecliffe Hospital for the criminally insane.
2. Mysterious things keep occurring during the investigation, like the men being told they are not allowed to search in certain areas of the site and are unable to see particular records. Also, when Teddy interrogated one of the other patients, she writes 'RUN' in his notebook.
3. Teddy begins to see that this is not a simple investigation and realises that the information is being held back by the lead psychiatrist, Dr. John Cawley, for a reason.
4. Because of this, Teddy decides to go against the rules set by Ashcliffe and investigate where he believes is necessary, breaking into Ward C. He talks to a patient in solitary confinement who tells him that Ashecliffe have been performing experiments of lobotomy on patients in the lighthouse. He also warns Teddy that everybody, including Chuck, is playing a game designed for him.
Teddy heads towards the lighthouse in an attempt to discover the truth but finds a woman in a cave on his journey across the cliffs. She says that she is the real Rachel Solando and that she was a psychiatrist at Ashecliffe before she found out about the experimentation and mind control techniques. She attempted to report this but she was locked away as a patient so she wouldn't share the secret.
5. Teddy continues on to the lighthouse to find Dr. Cawley at the top, waiting for him. He explains to Teddy that this was all devised to break him out of his delusion of being a U.S Marshal and that he is in fact Andrew Laeddis, a patient at Ashecliffe who killed his wife Dolores after she drowned their children (Edward Daniels and Rachel Solando being anagrams of Andrew Laeddis and Dolores Chanal). Chuck, who is actually Dr. Sheehan is later on sat with Teddy/Andrew. Teddy/Andrew calls the Doctor Chuck showing that he still believes in his made up world. As he is being taken away to be lobotomised, Teddy/Andrew says to Dr. Cawley " Which would be worse? To live as a monster, or to die as a good man?".
2. Mysterious things keep occurring during the investigation, like the men being told they are not allowed to search in certain areas of the site and are unable to see particular records. Also, when Teddy interrogated one of the other patients, she writes 'RUN' in his notebook.
3. Teddy begins to see that this is not a simple investigation and realises that the information is being held back by the lead psychiatrist, Dr. John Cawley, for a reason.
4. Because of this, Teddy decides to go against the rules set by Ashcliffe and investigate where he believes is necessary, breaking into Ward C. He talks to a patient in solitary confinement who tells him that Ashecliffe have been performing experiments of lobotomy on patients in the lighthouse. He also warns Teddy that everybody, including Chuck, is playing a game designed for him.
Teddy heads towards the lighthouse in an attempt to discover the truth but finds a woman in a cave on his journey across the cliffs. She says that she is the real Rachel Solando and that she was a psychiatrist at Ashecliffe before she found out about the experimentation and mind control techniques. She attempted to report this but she was locked away as a patient so she wouldn't share the secret.
5. Teddy continues on to the lighthouse to find Dr. Cawley at the top, waiting for him. He explains to Teddy that this was all devised to break him out of his delusion of being a U.S Marshal and that he is in fact Andrew Laeddis, a patient at Ashecliffe who killed his wife Dolores after she drowned their children (Edward Daniels and Rachel Solando being anagrams of Andrew Laeddis and Dolores Chanal). Chuck, who is actually Dr. Sheehan is later on sat with Teddy/Andrew. Teddy/Andrew calls the Doctor Chuck showing that he still believes in his made up world. As he is being taken away to be lobotomised, Teddy/Andrew says to Dr. Cawley " Which would be worse? To live as a monster, or to die as a good man?".
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