Posted by
Marina
at
1/23/2010 01:36:00 pm
Finally, the script has reached its final draft (I think)! As my partner is drawing our meticulously drawn storyboard, I was partially in charge of the screenplay. And with her help, many practice read-throughs and bad acting we have not only finished the script but also came up with our film title: Hunting Innocence.
Here is the first draft of Hunting Innocence's screenplay, although at that time the film was to be titled as a important time of the plot i.e. 16:41. This is because in the opening sequence of the film our protagonist was going look at the time just before finding her mum murdered, therefore being a time she would never forget. But we changed it however, as we decided it sounded too much like a date, like a historical year of something, and it just didn't really fit in with the plot and genre of the film.
This is the final draft of Hunting Innocence's screenplay:
Posted by
Marina
at
1/19/2010 06:49:00 pm
I can now safely say, we have started storyboarding our marvelous film. My partner's amazing drawing skills (you'll soon see when I post the storyboard here) are the doing the actual visual work of the storyboard and together we are deciding on the sound score, shot length, camera angles and etc. We watched the beginning of the film The Brothers Grimm (2005) and practiced what we thought storyboarding was and from there we developed our ideas around how to successfully create a storyboard.
We are currently working on the film's script which should be ready and posted here really soon!
Posted by
Marina
at
1/18/2010 11:28:00 pm
There were many aspects to take into consideration when trying to decide upon the target audience of our film.
We decided that the film would be aimed prodominently at females, since the protagonist is female, and as such would appeal primarily to a female audience. However, we won't completely be excluding men from viewing the film because that would not be lucrative and there are aspects to the plot and film, like actions scenes when the protagonists is trying to escape drug lords, that would be appealing to males.
In regards to age, we thought that 18-25 year olds would be a good target age group to cater to for a number of reasons. Firstly, since the female lead of the film is roughly this age. Secondly, people aged this approximately are the core cinema goers, and will most likely be the main people to view the film. Thirdly, in regards to the content of the film; maybe I'm reading too much into this here, but, with the plot of the film, being what it is, the latter part of the film may have featured scenes of drug use, and handling of drugs, and as such would not be appropriate for audiences under the age of 18.
As our film is intended to be highbrow, like the film 'Brick' which is one of our main influences, then it would attract a middle and upper-middle classed audience which is why my partner and I were stumped a bit when it came to defining the ethnicity of our target audience. Additionally we decided, prior to defining target audience, that one of us would play the part of the protagonist as this way we would be able to film in our free periods and media lessons without having to wait for a time that was also convenient for the actor. However, we realise now that if Marina or I play the part then the cast wouldn't ethnically reflect the target audience.
Subsequently, we informed our friend Katie of our predicament and she was happy to help, and would serve as a better magnet to attract the target audience we defined.
Conclusively, our primary target audience are middle/upper-middle classed females aged 18-25.
Posted by
Marina
at
1/15/2010 02:50:00 pm
For our chilling thriller, we have chosen a couple films which featured alone protagonists + danger related thrillers which inspired and most importantly, influenced us through various of different aspects of these productions.
One of our main inspirations is the brilliant film noir, Brick (2005). Much loved by me (not by my partner though) it incorporates visual and sound techniques that we believe will be very useful for our film. Brick is centred around the life of teenager Brendan trying to discover about the murder of his ex-girlfriend Emily. Much like our plot, it is about this young person discovering dark secrets of their beloved and being dragged in a snowball chain of of events that leads them to uncover the truth.
Apart from its unique cinematography and sound score, Brick's opening sequence is also something that influenced us. Its variety of shots and its lengthy shots is what interested us the most, it sets an ambiguous atmosphere for the audience and mystery towards the plot which is always key in a thriller. Its slow opening credits also creates a sense of strange tranquillity which is also always present in most thrillers as the 'calm before the storm'. We have chosen to use this particular technique in the opening of our film in order to reveal more about the protagonist, as an ordinary girl who is just about to find out about her less-than-ordinary life.
The second film to influence us is the psychological and supernatural thriller The Forgotten (2004). Although this particular thriller is centred more around supernatural elements of the storyline, what inspired us most about the storyline is the fact that the protagonist is on her own, believing on what everyone else doesn't, leaving her unsure whether she is really right or if she should continue on searching for the truth. The opening of this film also inspired us, although it features firstly a lengthy aerial shot, it is the sound score of the following shot that interested us in this opening. The non-diegetic sound track played throughout the opening creates a creepy and eery atmosphere even though it is showing an aerial view of the city, already setting an unsettling atmosphere. The next shot however, is the protagonist sitting on a park swing by herself wondering, still with the sound score being played; this is similar to what we want to film as it already displays the protagonist's loneliness as a key element to the entire plot.
And the third film we chose as influence is the crime thriller Eastern Promises (2007). The storyline is centred around the life of a woman accidentally stumbling in the lives of the Russian-mafia in London when she tries to do the right thing; by doing this her life is turned upside-down as she wonders if doing the right thing is the only option for her. However, the opening of this film did not interest us as much, it was the plot as a whole that influenced us. The protagonist of this film also finds truths she better had not found out about as it comprises her safety, much like our protagonist. She discovers some truths about the Russian mafia mainly about one family, which is again similar to our plot about family secrets and corruption.
Posted by
Marina
at
1/15/2010 12:20:00 pm
So after many hours of discussions and analysis, we have decided on the plot of our gripping thriller. Having looked at different types of thrillers and the various sub-categories, we concluded that:
The synopsis
A teenage girl's life is completely derailed after the murder of her mother, which sets in motion a snowball chain of events unhinging the protagonist and leaving her alone; unable to trust her own family. After prodding into the family's dangerous affairs, she finds the truth behind her mother's death. The family is involved in history of drug trafficking and she has found out more than she bargained for leading her to run for her life as her mum's past catches-up with her. As the story reaches its climax, she realizes it is all too late and she can no longer escape her fate. The film ends with the young girl making the decision to either accept the life of crime that her mother accepted and being subsequently sucked into the darkness, living a life of danger, or to end it all by killing herself. Seeing that she will never be able to have a normal life, education or even raise a family she chooses to be deliberately mess-up a deal and let's herself be killed by rival drug lords.
Posted by
Marina
at
1/14/2010 11:12:00 am
"My initial thoughts about what a title can do was to set mood and the prime underlying core of the film's story, to express the story in some metaphorical way. I saw the title as a way of conditioning the audience, so that when the film actually began, viewers would already have an emotional resonance with it." - Saul Bass
Award-winner Saul Bass is one of cinema's biggest names in films' title sequences. Bass has influenced the film industry and he has worked with big directors such as Hitchcock and Scorcese. His work continues to influence Hollywood today and is inspariation to many of today's film makers and pioneers.
Bass on Titles
Recently we watched the documentary ‘Bass on Titles’ by Saul Bass, who was an American graphic designer and Academy Award Winning filmmaker that is best known for his design on animated motion picture title sequences. During the documentary Bass spoke about his work on several titles including West Side Story, Seconds, and Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. Below we will be talking a little about what we were able to take from the documentary and how we will apply it to the titles in our own film. Bass believed the experience of the film should start with the very first frame and thought the opening title should be considered as a part of the film, a prologue to the film even. Not just time for popcorn runs and quiet pre-film chatter. Returning to the idea of the opeing titles of a film acting as a prologue, Bass spoke about Seconds (1966) which I have to say are some of the creepiest titles I've ever seen. In these opening titles Bass foreshadows the events of the film whilst also setting the tone. The film is about a man who starts a new life, and the altercations that follow, after having extensive plastic surgery to his face. The titles show different facial features like the eyes, nose, ears and mouth, surreally distorted and amalgamating into each other in black and white with the accompaniment of the eerie church organ. However, this, in terms of an opening title really works as we found ourselves engrossed in them even though they were scary and we really wanted to look away. Overall the titles in our opinion are incredibly sinister and sets a very apparent tone for the film to come, chilling and maybe a bit disturbing. The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World titles were different to the rest as they were animated. It had a very comic feel as the drawings were simple and punctuated with bold colours. The titles featured loads of little jokes centered around a drawing of a globe/ world thus relating to the title. They were quite humorous and reminded us of the opening titles to Rat Race. Fun and happy and accompanied by uptempo music, creating a light tone for the film ahead. Bass, during the documentary, emphasized the importance of accomodating the audience; for example, in this case West Side Story (1961). In order to allow the audience the opportunity to compose themselves after the tragic ending to the film, Bass created visually attractive titles accompanied by musical scores from the film in order to elongate the viewing experience. Giving the audience time to sit in their seats, compose themselves and reflect on the events of the film. This was, more recently, also the case with a film we saw called My Bloody Valentine (2009) the credits of the film were interesting to watch so you didn't feel rushed to leave by the blandness of the credits or from the attitudes of other cinema goers. Almost everybody remained in their seats quietly, almost as if the film was still on. Whereas with the most recent Harry Potter film Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (2009) the second the film finished - even a bit before actually - everybody was getting out of their seats and preparing to leave, as the ending credits were unimaginative leaving the audience less than compelled to reamain after the ending of the film to watch. We were surprised that so much thought for the audience went into the designing the ending titles for a film and this is definately something that we will keep in mind when designing our titles. Although spoken in a monotonous voice we find a lot of what Bass said to be very interesting. In conclusion when it comes to creating our film titles we are really going to think about the impact it will have on the audience and what the presentational devices we use say and mean about the film.
Posted by
Marina
at
1/14/2010 10:57:00 am
When deciding the genre of what our film would be, my partner and I could not reach an unanimous descision. I was rooting for thriller and she was battling for chick flick, so we decided that a pros and cons table should do the trick.
Here is the table:
After hours of discussion and team work, we went for thriller (YAY!) as we agreed it would just be easier in terms of shooting and setting up the right atmosphere.
Posted by
Marina
at
1/14/2010 10:56:00 am
I think that for any film the opening sequence is perhaps one of the most important aspects of the entire production. When going to watch the film, the audience sets the imaginary standards and expectations they've received from the trailers and the distribuition of the film so the opening needs to deliver the general tone and define the genre to begin with. This will prepare the audience for will come ahead and to give them a general sense of where it is, who it is and what's going on.
Apart from defining the genre, the opening sequence should also present to the audience the main character(s) and their relation to the storyline. Also including the opening credits, present in every film, informing of main cast and crew and important prduction members (eg. the director); especially if they are big names as the audiecence may recognise them and feel more related to what they're about to see.
I chose to analyze a particular opening scene which is from the comedy, 'Office Space' (1999) as its opening scene very clearly does its job and provides enough information about what sort of film is about to come. Although not very obvious, opening credits are also just as important as for the audience that recognises the different companies and their different films may know of the successful films and how they are. In 'Office Space' its opened straight away with credits being shown on top of the shots, in a light-blue buble font type which is to represent its comedy and light-hearted genre and not a serious one; which is even before any character interations are shown, thus already giving clues of the genre. After establishing that this particular scene is set in a traffic jam, we're then shown who seems to be the main character, stuck in the traffic jam just like all the other cars there; this perhaps presenting the character to be just a realistic ordinary guy going to his ordinary job, something the audience can relate to. In his frustation, the scene then takes a comic turn as we are shows his useless attempt to change lanes in the traffic jam in order to go faster, only to realise he is infact moving slower than the old man walking on the pavement next to him. Obviously setting the comedy genre by mocking the guy's fortune. And most importantly, the jolly sound score played throughout the scene reafirms the light-hearted, comedic atmosphere of the film which is crucial to set the tone of what we are seeing.
Posted by
Marina
at
1/05/2010 09:25:00 pm
The set brief for our Video project is to create the titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes. This blog will document the pre-production, production and evaluation stages of this project.
Posted by
Marina
at
1/04/2010 01:59:00 am
This is the video of my Preliminary project. I completed this task in a group that consisted of Charlotte, Niamh, Oriana and myself.In this task we were required to produce a short film which would demonstrate our understating of the required elements; elements such as: the 180 degree rule, shot/reverse shot and our abilities with all other media/film aspects of the production of a film.The story line of our short film was decided to about the revelation of the death of the protagonist's pet fish and her reaction to he news. Our group found this preliminary project enjoyable and feel that we have fulfilled and understood the task. Through previous feedback from our class mates we discovered that we could improve on the sound in our film, but overall the feedback was positive and we are glad that we achieved our goals.
