Draft 1

Filming - Saturday 6th December: First shoot

Weather for 6th December

Script part 1.



Everything was planned but unfortunately, it had to be called off due to more than half the people cancelling last minute.

Mood Board

1. http://youtu.be/_op08hANyI8
2. http://youtu.be/w3bEpHdmBvU
3. http://youtu.be/1G9mNBUymP8
4. http://youtu.be/9rUsx3fuA_4
5. http://youtu.be/GPJ1uQwmNHk
6. http://youtu.be/7IZUG4gOd3s

Media Theory

Conventions of form: Short Film

What makes a good media product.

Bad examples of media products:

CAGED: Film Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZY3PfZyH04#t=85

This A2 media product isn't a good product due to the unclear, hard to follow narrative, the bad camera work, in which shots are poorly done which don’t look right, bad acting and terrible editing. This makes the product look very unrealistic and not successful as a media product.

Mise-en-scene	Cinematography	Editing	Sound
Bad use of location, un-realistic to trailer genre No effort put into thought of costume So basic, lack of everything within the macro feature of mise-en-scene Bad use of lighting Bad acting – not able to understand which character is which and who the bad and good characters are.	Incorrect camera shots used. Badly framed shots Shots too dark, so unable to see the action	Basic fade editing which is over used Badly done with ‘quotes’ and information of films, not convention and very cliché	Music doesn't fit the trailer, should be faced paced music. Unable to hear speech at some points, music too loud.

Good examples of media products:

Strangers: Film Trailerhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNpB0eG5ekc

This is a very successful A2 media product because it is well planned, editing, clear and concise as a trailer. It gives the audience a clear perspective of the narrative in a matter of shots, it is well shot with good camera shots and correct angles.

Mise-en-scene	Cinematography	Editing	Sound
Good use of mise-en-scene for the kitchen: realistic Good use of mise-en-scene to show after math of earth-quake Good use of filming within the trailer with another camera. Good use of costume to demonstrate the difference in characters and importance of them	Good use of pans as a location shot Good use of shots such as depth of field Good use of camera movement to demonstrate earth-quake Well shot, correct camera angles	Clear information with opening shot of the words ‘England 2015’ Clever use of cuts to title shots Good use of out of focus filming to make character and audience feel distraught. News report – good effect. Cut at right moments	Hard to understand V.O and what it is saying Good use of news V.O with realistic feel to trailer Good use of sound with the news reporter V.O Good use of V.O with the most important information louder

Screenplay codes and conventions

Above there is a section taken from the Superman film in which I have analysed to show what should be included in which is included in the slide below

This is showing the codes and conventions of a film script and where these are included, they should be included in each script for the following reasons:

• Page numbers -
  For reference in which page the actors/directors or need to be on. 

• Stage directions -
  For reference to know where, what and how the actors need to be doing
• Character names-
  To know who is speaking for the crew to know who to show in the shot
• Directors notes -
  For the crew, director and everyone else to be aware of what needs to be done for improvement.
• Way of speech -
  The way the character must speak the line to know the effect for the scene

This is a phony script I made copying the codes and conventions of a movie script.

My Initial Ideas

Initial idea 1:

Spoof horror film where the protagonist roles are switched in which males are seen as the scared, passive, crying stereotypical girl roles and the females are the strong, dominant, brave, take charge character in which the antagonist is also a female doing a complete role reversal of the narrative.

Initial idea 2:

Reverse story during a zombie apocalypse in which is starts at the end and finishes at the beginning with only two main characters, a few zombies and some extra non-crucial characters in which the tragedy is at the beginning, but at the end it is still a huge climax to be revealed about one of the main characters.  

Initial idea 3:

Recreation of Michael Jackson’s thriller music video as a short film, as a tribute to the late Michael Jackson which would have included iconic mise-en-scene such as the red jacket, the cinema and the glove used in his video. It would have been recreated as accurately as possible.

Genre - Themes

Generally within the horror genre the usual themes are:

• Good VS Evil -
  
  So the devil is usually included within the narrative, in which the devil is the antagonist and the protagonist must defeat/destroy the devil, which then leads to the resolution of the film in which the devil has been 'defeated' or 'destroyed' 

• Religion -
  
  Usually in horror films religion is a big part of it as is the devil, so both link in well with each other so stereotypically they will both be included together. 

• The |Family
  
  Usually issue arise in horror films around the family, where the family is part of the victim or the family is the cause of the problems for instance in 'The Conjuring' the whole family is effected by the devil (which links to the other two themes usually found in horror films.

• Insanity
  
  Insanity is usually a big part of horror films due to the fact of most horror film settings been done in mental asylums but also the antagonist are usually insane in which leads to them killing people. 

Genre - character types

My protagonist will be:

• Strong
• Female
• 17-18
• Independent
• Indie

She will not convene to Laura Mulvey's 'Male Gaze Theory' in which there is explicit evidence of examples of women being presented as sexual objects in the media, through the use of camera movement and shot types. The main focus' are 

• How men look at women
• How women view themselves 
• How women see other women

I want to not have the protagonist to be part of the male gaze theory and not to be seen as a sexual object, like in most other media products for example the trailer for sex tape, in which camera angles, shots and movement are used to show the female protagonist as a sexual object. 

In my media product my protagonist will follow the conventions of a male instead of a female, in which the the female will have male protagonist characteristics of bravery, mental strength and power over the other characters in the media product. Although the male will also portray this just not as shown as much as the female protagonist.

Genre - Narrative Structure

Stereotypically in horror films there is a male protagonist who will save the damsel in distress. Usually the narrative goes:

1. Protagonist ‘hero’ male and femalego out somewhere e.g. camping trip

 2.
Antagonistic murderer usuallywearing a mask or something to cover their face (also usually male)captures/ tries to kill/trapsprotagonist characters

 3.
Protagonists escape or die.

Stereotypically in zombie films the narrative usually goes:

1.
Out break on the news – people panic 

2.
Introduced to characters
(stereotypically male protagonist)

3.
Kill some zombies and travel 

4.
Either die or survive and left inconclusive

Although, these stereotypes can be broken:

Zombieland: 

My narrative structure:My narrative structure will not follow the conventional narrative of structures, mine will be shown in reverse slow motion in which it will follow te conventions of a zombie film but in reverse in which it will make my media product unconventional but conventional at the same time. I think this will make my product unique.

Genre - Iconography



In my media product:

My location
- Abandoned buildings
- A town centre type place
I am only using two locations for my media product because the two locations in use are for the flash back and the 'present day'

Treatment.

A teenage brother and sister's story of surviving the hardest task of their lives, surviving alone in a world ridden with flesh eating monsters, living in an abandoned house there story will be told in reverse.

Short Film Analysis

Micro Technical Elements:

Cargo:

Cargo is a short film lasting 7:04 minutes, in which the narrative is simple but clever, it uses no dialogue, just music and the diegetic sound of a baby crying.

The use of editing within Cargo is very well done, in the start of the film soft focus is used to create a state of unknowing. This is done a good edit to use for an opening as it in one shot reflects the feeling of the protagonist, This is also used as a reaction shot, although we do not know what the reaction is to it is clear that the protagonist is in emotional distress, this is done to add to the narrative of the Cargo, reflecting that the action which has taken place has effected the protagonist adding to the narrative of cargo.








The use of shallow depth of field with the use of the mise-en-scene reflects the Genre, horror and the sub-genre zombie horror, of  the short film with the use of make up to create a bite on the arm which is shown out of focus in the shot, this also reflects the Narrative, in the opening 14 seconds of Cargo the narrative and genre are reflected. The mise-en-scene is used to reflect the age of the character through the use of the costume choice, as the costume being worn would be usually warn by someone more mature and less likely to be a young person, but also it reflects the gender of the unknown person, as costume designers will follow the codes and conventions of what each gender should wear.

Fast cuts are used with the help of the mise-en-scene to re-enforce the narrative of the short film cargo. This frame is used to prompt the audience to what has happened through the use of the mise-en-scene, as in the shot above there is the use of the seat belt and this there is a broken windscreen and blood, which adds to the narrative of car accident within a zombie apocalypse, The audience piece together the fact that this has happened through the use of the mise-en-scene in the frame above with the use of shallow depth of field.

Soft focus is used again in a media close up. This is done to foreshadow the action of what is to come in the next scene. The soft focus is used to make the audience feel disorientated and to represent the characters disorientation.

The use of the mise-en-scene reflects narrative and genre. The medium close up is used to show the make-up used to create the effect of the female looking like a zombie reinforcing both the genre, sub-genre and narrative.

Cargo is heavily reliant on mise-en-scene like most horror films, as the mise-en-scene is used to reinforce both the Genre/sub-genre and narrative of the media product. The props within the media product are used well, in the way of telling the audience parts of the narrative that aren't needed, for instance the crashed car outlines that there has been some sort of car crash without having to show that the audience know this. The use of costume is basic but works to outline the ages of the character, without having to explain or inform the audience of the ages.  Sound is not relied on within Cargo to make it a successful media product, no dialogue is used within the product only diegetic sounds such as, a baby crying and zombie groans. This is really effective because without the dialogue the narrative is still very clear, non-diegetic music is played throughout the film, the pace of the music changes depending on the pace of the action within the frame showed.  A hand held camera is used throughout to create the effect of uneasiness and struggle of the protagonist is feeling throughout the action we are seeing. This is cleverly done to create a feeling of uneasiness for both the audience and the protagonist. Editing is not predominantly used within Cargo, it is basic and minimal editing which doesn’t affect the media product in a bad way it, it just is easier to watch as the action is in longer shots meaning it is less confusing for the audience.

Cargo was directed by:Ben Howling and Yolanda Ramke

Written by:
Yolanda Ramke

Produced by:

• Daniel Foeldes (Done the cinematography of five other short films but only directed Cargo)
• Marcus Newman (Assistant/director for four other short films, editor for the Lego Movie, and
  directed/produced one other short film)
• Yolanda Ramke (produced one other short film and acted in three)
• Ben Howling (produced/directed/written/ did the cinematography of two other short films)

In 2013, it was part of the Tropfest film festival finalists for short films. They worked with Dreaming Tree Productions, this is the first film that Dreaming Tree Productions have filmed. Cargo was nominated for one award for Best Editing in a short film but did not win. All of the production crew for Cargo have all had experience within the film industry meaning that each of them has skills which have contributed to the making of this film.

Genre - Setting

Horror films are conventionally set in abandoned places such as abandoned mental hospitals, dark alley ways, asylums, cabins in the woods, usually rural small cities, graveyards, old houses, it is very unseen that the main action happens in Big cities such as London or New York, (this usually happens in Zombie films to give a feel or realism). Set directors do this to create the feeling of isolation and danger for the protagonist character.

This would be a conventional setting for a horror film because:

• Hardly any light is coming in - meaning it is dark, gloomy and scary
• Danger is shown in the fact of it being abandoned which lets the audience percieve and stereotype the possibility of haunting
• There is things that could be used to cause injury and pain to the pro/antagonist.
• There is one door which looks as if to be blocked by wood ect.
• The only beam of light coming in is high up meaning there is no possibility of the antagonist escaping that way meaning there is one exit which is usually blocked by something.

This would be a conventional setting for a horror film because:

• It is creepy
• It causes the audience to ponder the possibilities of what used to be there
• It is conventional of horror films
• The props i.e the trolley shown in the middle can be used and played with to scare the audience.

This would be a conventional setting for a horror film because:

 
• The mise-en-scene of the overgrown shrubary gives the house a creepy look
• The audience will assume because it's old, conventionally it will be haunted.
• The dark lighting gives it a creepy effect.
• The iron gates make the audience feel trapped.

 

 

My film.

My short film synopsis –

The Virus.

My Narrative.

My narrative type(s) are:

Achillies, Circe and Orpheous.

Genre

Genre - the term or category of forms of entertainment which are based on some set stylistic criteria 

My film genre:

Horror

Horror - 

My film will be horror because the conventions of the genre are

• Setting
• Technical Codes
• Iconography
• Narrative Structure 
• Character types 
• Themes