23. Shooting Script

We don't have any large chunks of dialogue and we have decided to allow the actions, images and sounds to build an atmosphere and build the relationships between the characters.

However, we do want to include the odd phrase here or there:

• When they are playing with the Frisbee, phrases like "Daddy! Over here! Pass it to me!"
• During the playful scenes, joyful squeals and giggles.
• At the end, in the birthday party scene, we want people saying "Happy Birthday Isla!" and then singing Happy Birthday too.

23. Shotlist

Here is a shot list for our opening sequence. We wan to film most of our shots at the Duffus Park so we will have to chose the day carefully so that the weather co-operates!

22. 'Missing' Animatic

We took the images from our storyboard and put them together in an animatic with a very simple version of what our sound effects will be.

21. Sound For Our Film

We found our music on freeplaymusic.com and chose the track called Gentle Caress. We chose this track because it fits with our desired atmosphere and it isn't to eccentric and busy. We didn't want to have music that took the focus away from the scenes.

We then went onto freesound.org to find Foley sounds to build the atmosphere. We chose a track with a light wind and bird calls because our opening is set in a park and we needed to have natural background sounds. We also chose the sound of children laughing to put in, again because of the park setting. In our opening we have a girl splashing in a puddle, so we chose a splash effect too and also a man breathing heavily to invoke fear when there are the shots from the point of view of the kidnapper watching the girls. There are flashes of a girl making a 'Missing' poster so we chose a sound effect of the scratch of a pen that we want to have subtly playing in the background during that shot. We think that these effects will make the scenes more realistic and creepy but still subtle and simple.



20. Storyboard

Here is our storyboard, it is a rough play-by-play of what happens in our opening title sequence. Some of the shots have changed order but the correct order is shown in the animatic.

19. Narrative Theorists

Vladmir Propp
Analysed over 100 Russsian fairytales in 1920's.
He proposed that it was possible to classify the characters and their actions into clearly defines roles and their function in the story.

Propps Character Roles:

• The Hero (usually seeking something)
• The Villain (Opposes the hero)
• The Donor (Helps the hero)
• The Dispatcher (Sends the hero on his way)
• The False hero (Falsely assumes the role of hero)
• The Helper
• The Princess
• Her Father

Tzvetan Todorov

Suggesed that most narratives start with a normal state of equilibrium where the protagonist is happy. Then the state of normality is disrupted by an outside force which has to be fought against in order to return to the state of equilibrium.
Equilibrium - Disequilibrium - New Equilibrium


Roland Barthes

His theory suggests that narrative works with five different codes that activate the reader and allow them to make sense of the story.

Barthes' Codes:

• Action- a narrative device by which a resolution is produced: E.g. a shoot-out.
• Enigma- a narrative device that teases the audience by presenting a puzzle or riddle to be solved. Works to delay the story ending.
• Symbolic- Connotation.
• Semic- Denotation.
• Cultural- a narrative devuce which the audience can recognise as being part of a culture.

Claude Levi- Strauss

Studies myths and tribals cultures. He examined how stories unconcsiously reflect the values, beliefs and myths of a culture.
These are usually expressed in the form of binary oppositions.

Binary Oppositions:

• Rich/Poor
• North/ South
• Black/White
• Light/Dark
• Man/ Machine
• Male/ Female

18. Storyline For the Whole Film- "Missing"

1. Family at the park- only father and two daughters, no mother-->dead
2. flashes of a missing child poster--> foreshadows later events
3. family photo--> go back to when family photo was taken--> younger daughter's birthday
4. older daughter gets the feeling that someone is watching them
5. family go to the park--> older daughter still feels paranoid and uneasy
6. POV keeps switching to someone hiding behind things in the park (heavy breathing)
7. younger girl goes missing--> search party is sent out
8. older sister is determined to find her sister--> doesn't trust the police because of the way they handled their mother's death (mother was killed in a hit and run)
9. with the help of her friend/love interest--> she tries to find her sister
10. they keep finding clues but they are actually bait to draw them in
11. they get captured too-->find out that he kidnapped younger sister because of reason that are related to their mother--> you don't find out why
12. they try to think of an escape plan
13. love interest/friend decides to create a distraction to give the sisters time to escape
14. he gets shot in the leg and can't escape with them
15. sisters are on the run and end up hiding in a forest for the night
16. they're lost and can't find their way out and back home
17. they pass out from exhaustion and wake up in a hospital
18. their father is there and explains that they were found by a park ranger who identified them as the missing girls and contacted the police
19. love interest/friend is also there, his leg is bandaged and he is on crutches
20. he explains how he escaped with flashbacks and voice-over
21. kidnapper is still on the loose
22. older sister receives a bunch of flowers with a get well card--> inside is a note from the kidnapper saying that he will find her and silence her for good
23. film is left on a cliff-hanger that hints at a sequel.

The film is set in North America and has four main characters and roughly 3 sub-main characters. The four main characters are:

1. Older Sister- Sophie Campbell
2. Love Interest/Friend- Michael Hamilton (Mikey)
3. Younger Sister- Isla Campbell
4. Kidnapper- no-name

The three other sub-main characters are:

1. The Father- Joseph Campbell
2. Policeman 1- Detective Jones
3. Policeman 2- Detective Roberts

17. Checklist of Expectations

I have researched some expectations of a thriller from our target audience of 15+, some of which we will be including in the opening of our film. They expect to;

• A hero/heroin to save the day but loose something along the way or endure a tragic experience
• suspense and mystery
• A victim and criminal
• Kidnap or Murder
• Drugs and alcohol
• High suspense chases from car or foot
• Darkness
• Tense Music
• Love interest/romance
• Death/loss of loved one
• Suspicion
• Range of editing
• Mise en scene- lighting, shots, colour, make-up, costume etc. 
• Range of shots

These are a few things that we will be including in our opening sequence;

• Love interest
• Traumatic experience
• Quick editing
• Kidnapper and Victims
• Tense, fats moving soundtrack
• Naturalistic lighting, costume and make-up

16. Institutions That Might Produce, Distribute and Exhibit Our Film

After some research, I have found seven production and distribution studios that have supported other movies that are similar in genre and target audience to our film idea.

Lakeshore Entertainment has produced many films in a variety of genres. One genre that it is known for is Thriller. In this genre they have produced Gone (2012) and Untraceable (2008). Both of these films and other similar films produced by this company, are aimed at teenage-young adult girls.

Summit Entertainment is most well-known for producing The Twilight Saga. While our film isn't of the supernatural classification, it is directed towards the same audience and there are certain aspects of familiarity between our film brief and Twilight. Both have a female lead role and there is thrilling action as well. Other movies produced by this company include Knowing (2009), The Hurt Locker (2008) and RED (2010).

Columbia Pictures Entertainment is a very diverse production company that has produced and co-produced many films over roughly 70 years. Therefore, it has a very impressive list of movies and genres that they have produced. In the thriller genre they have produced movies like Angels and Demons (2009) a mystery thriller, Trapped (2002) a crime thriller and Panic Room (2002) a thriller.

20th Century Fox has produced movies similar to our film brief such as Taken (2009) an action thriller film and Runner, Runner (2013) a crime thriller film. 20th Century Fox has produced movies for a vast age range and for many different categories of audience members.

Universal Studios is another company with an impressive range of genres and audiences. In the thriller genre, they have produced the action thriller Bourne series starring Matt Damon, Safe House (2012) also an action thriller and Untraceable (2008) which they co-produced with Lakeshore Entertainment.

Paramount Pictures has distributed many commercially successful movies and is consistently ranked as one of the largest (top-grossing) film studios. In the thriller genre, they have produced Jack Reacher (2012), the psychological thriller Shutter Island (2010) and Suspect Zero (2004).

Lions Gate Entertainment is the most commercially successful independent film distribution company in North America. Our film is an independent thriller film and therefore fits this classification. They have produced many successful thriller films such as Abduction (2011), the psychological-survival thriller Buried (2010) and the vigilante thriller The Next Three Days (2010).

15. How Pearl and Dean Catergorise Their Audiences

 

There were three different catergories on the Pearl and Dean website. They catergorise their audiences as 15+, Family or Art House. We felt that our film brief fit the 15+ genre best. From this information, we can determine that our main target audience would be aged between 15-24 or 35+. They would also be in the ABC1 classes and it would be primarily aimed towards women.

14. Perfect Audience Member

The storyline we have chosen is very gripping but it involves a lot of aspects that would appeal to certain types of teenage girls. For example, our film is going to include a young male character that after years of hiding as a best friend and struggling in the friend zone, finally makes it to be the protagonists love interest. The person we would have chosen to play Michael "Mikey" if we were in fact making the real movie would have been an actor similarly looking to American actor Logan Lerman. He is not going to be included in the beginning of the movie but in order to appeal to our target audience we would have to make him attractive, not only that but he would need to be attractive to a certain group of girls. This links in closely with the picking of an ideal audience member. 

 

Our target audience would be female and in the age range of 15-35 years old.  However our movie specifically is aimed at teenage girls. Therefore our ideal audience member would need to be a 17 year old girl in her first  or second year of sixth form. In order to find the character of Mikey attractive she would have to have a keen almost superficial interest in boys (as most teenage girls have a typical famous teenage crush on boy band members such as Niall Horan and George Shelley).


 
The type of girl we would be targeting is informally known as a "townie" or a "styler". These are the average  girls you would find on the high street laughing and shopping with friends. They are the type of girls who like what is "in" at the moment and don't see a problem at all in following the crowd. They have a keen interest in fashion (as long as it's up to date) and will wear whatever the most popular celebrity of the week has been spotted out wearing. Therefore we would have to do a lot of publicising. We would also have to make sure our film was good enough to be a "must see" by including key elements of the genres that appeal most to teenage girls.


Here is the UK Tribes definition of a "townie"...

13. Audience Interviews

We interviewed some girls in our target audience range. We asked them which movies they thought had good opening sequences and what draws them and puts them off movies.

12. Mood Board

 These pictures all include elements or ideas that we would like to involve in our film opening. These pictures have angles and lighting that we would like to acheive, especially the shadows, and they also look quite realistic.

 We chose to include family photos because we would like to show the protagonists family in order to get you closer to her and be able to relate to her.To connect to family to the missing child poster, we would like to use the section of our family photo that has the little girl in and use her image as the missing child poster image. This links them together

 We would like to set our scene in the park but have flashes of the little gril cowering somewhere.

The titles etc. will be on objects commonly found in the park. For example we would like to have a name or something similar on a piece of paper that is in a puddle and the little girl will come along and jump in the puddle.

11. 9 Screen Shots From The Dead Zone

1. My first shot is of a large old fashioned American house. I think it is effective because of the use of colour. It is quite a dull looking image, as in it looks quite dark. The sky is an ominous shade of grey that promises rain and the silhouette of the trees and the black on the house are both quite an inky colour. This makes it seem deeper and gives the image more depth. The house also looks empty and isolated.

 

2. In this second shot, two shapes have appeared on screen. In the foreground, you can see wheat and in the background, there are trees and fog. The crops and the colour of the trees indicates that it is autumn. The fog in particular, makes the image look mysterious and creepy. I like this shot because it is a very well composed image and it is mysterious too.

3. In this shot, more of the black shapes have appeared and I really like the growing mystery with the shapes. It makes the watcher wonder why they are there and what their significance is. The colours in this shot are similar to the previous shot and this indicates that it is from the same place. The colours are all quite faded and they have an orange/red tinge to them. In these images, you either don't see any people or they are only in the distance and this gives the impression of isolation and abandonment.

4. Because of the grain in this shot, the watcher gets the impression that the image is old. The fencing and the trees make the place in the image look isolated and closed off, giving the impression of secrecy. All the colours in the image look like they could be bright and cheerful but they are dampened and this makes it darker and gloomier.

 

 

5. More of the black shapes have appeared and they are starting to form the outlines of something. In the image, there is the sweeping corner of a road that disappears behind a wall of trees. The watcher doesn't know where this road leads and they can't see what they are heading towards. The road is abandoned and the way it is surrounded by trees makes it look secluded and scary.

6. This is the first shot where you can really start to put together the shapes and see that they make letters and words. I like this because it is forming the title and it is also very mysterious. In the background, we see a small country road, trees and power-lines leading to a house. The scene is very gloomy and the place looks unwelcoming.

7. The title is becoming clearer and clearer as the shots progress. I like this shot because of the simplicity of the image in the background. Everything above the 'equator' of the image is just trees, but below the equator, we a road and two people on motorbikes/scooters. Their size in comparison to everything else makes then look vulnerable or unimportant.

 8. The title is finally complete and this is when it has started to shrink toward the centre, giving the impression that it is moving away from us. The background image is more trees, fog and houses in the dull and gloomy colours that are featured through-out the opening sequence of this film.

9. The title has continued to shrink and it is fading out and we see an old fashioned school. I like this shot because it is clear that the movie is about to begin because the image is quite different to the others. The colours are clearer and the image looks sharper. I also like the way that the tree frames the image and I think that this also create a connection between all the previous images and this one because they all have trees in them.

10. Textual Analysis of 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo' Title Sequence

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Title Sequence

The title sequence for the 2011 film adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo directed by David Fincher uses CGI to create a nightmarish sequence of images. The majority of the title sequence is in various shades of inky black and grey but the colour is made to look slick and shiny by having light coming from different places. Apart from the black/blue colour of the oil, the only colour is the bright orange of fire. This helps to make the fire stand out and gives it a more of an effect on the watcher because it is what you immediately notice as it is a stark contrast to the dark colours you are used to seeing. Not only are the objects in the pictures various shades of black but the background is also black and the models are coated in a black, oily liquid which is a computer generated image (CGI). Light shines from different angles and gives the oil a slick look which helps with the liquid effect. The oil effect is described by the creators as ‘that viscid, black ooze that seeps into everything, penetrating crevices, dribbling into lips and eyes, suffocating and sensual and silent. Each ebony form is made osmotic — surging and melding, torn apart and punctured, ensnared, set ablaze — thrashing in the deep. Through flashes of embers and murk, sticky vines creep, hands grapple, foul petals unfurl, and sable fists inflict their fury.’

The movement of the camera follows the direction of the oil and creates a flowing, oozing effect that looks like it consumes everything in its path. Close-ups of objects shows great detail and the textures of the scales in particular make the image interesting, dynamic and dangerous. To make certain images look more intimate, the camera angle is up high and when they are trying to make something look more ominous or dangerous; the camera angle is low and looking up at the subject.

Sound is important in this title sequence because of the tie between it and the editing. The music is ‘Immigrant Song’, originally by Led Zeppelin but in this case it was the cover by Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Karen O. The fast pace of the music was thrilling and the vocals is mostly just desperate howling and wailing. This gives the music a nightmarish quality that darkens the title sequence even more than the colours and images. There is a very strong drum beat which paces the sequence well.

The editing is very well synchronized with the beat of the music and therefore the editing is quite fast, especially at first. At the start of the title sequence, the images fade in and out really quickly with the beat, producing only flashes. After these first few clips of film, the majority of the rest of the editing is cut straight. There is also some cross-cutting for example, where is goes from the start of a clips of the fire spreading to a clip of people moving in the oil and then back to the fire spreading etc. To carry on with the oozing and liquid style of the opening sequence, they have used a dynamic, flowing font that moves too.

 

 

9. Graphic Breakdown of 'Panic Room' Title Sequence

8. Identifying Traits Of Thriller Movies

Thrillers movies tend to be adrenaline-rushing, gritty, rousing and fast-paced. They aim to heavily stimulate the viewer's moods, causing them to feel uncertainty, anticipation and a heightened expectation for fear and terror as well as excitement, suspense and tension. There are ten main subgenres for thrillers;  comedy thrillers (e.g. Mr and Mrs Smith), conspiracy thrillers (e.g. The Da Vinci Code), crime thrillers (e.g. No Country For Old Men), erotic thrillers (e.g. Chloe), legal thrillers (e.g. The Jury), political thrillers (e.g. Notorious), psychological thrillers (e.g. Panic Room), spy/espionage thrillers (e.g. Hanna), supernatural thrillers (e.g. Chronicle) and techno thrillers (e.g. I, Robot).

"The primary elements of the thriller genre:

• The protagonist(s) faces death, either his and/or her or somebody else's.
• The force(s) of the antagonist's must initially be cleverer and/or stronger than the protagonist's.
• The main storyline for the protagonist is either a quest or a character that cannot be put down.
• The main plotline focuses on a mystery that must be solved.
• The film's narrative construction is dominated by the protagonist's point of view.
• All action and characters must be credibly realistic or natural in their representation on screen.
• The two major themes that underpin the thriller genre are the desire for justice and the morality of individuals.
• One small, but significant, aspect of a thriller is the presence of innocence in what is seen as an essentially corrupt world.
• The protagonist(s) and antagonist(s) may battle, themselves and each other, not just on a physical level, but on a mental one as well.
• Either by accident or their own curiousness, each character is dragged into a dangerous conflict or situation that they are not prepared to resolve. "

(source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thriller_(genre)#Suspense)

From this research, I can see that we will need to choose a subgenre that will help us to determine the way we make our opening sequence. It is clear that building tension is very important but it is also important to have a sense of mystery that keeps the watcher hooked and interested.

8. Research For Film Brief

I have done some research on movies that are similar to our idea and I found three in particular that I thought were good examples. I think these will be useful to show the different possible ways we could start our film and the arrangement/order of the production info etc.

Gone (2012)
Gone follows the story of Jill and her sister Molly. Jill was kidnapped and thrown in a hole in the woods, filled with other bodies. She was the only one to escape and he comes after her again. However, when he finds that she isn't home, he takes Jill's sister, Molly. No-one else believes Jill so she tries to find her sister herself and ends up being chased by the police because they think that she is just a crazy woman with a gun.

Gone Trailer

 



Prisoners (2013)



This movie is the story of two families who come together on Thanksgiving. Their youngest daughters are allowed to go back to the visiting family's house but they never make it. They are both kidnapped and this movie follows one of the fathers as he takes drastic measures to find the two little girls with the help of a detective.

Prisoners Trailer

 

Taken (2008)

Bryan Mills is a former CIA operative who sets about tracking down his daughter after she and her friend are kidnapped by human traffickers while traveling in France.

 

Taken Trailer

 



6. Our Film Brief

We have decided to do an indie thriller about someone who is different from everyone else. We thought that this film brief was open to a wide range of ideas and angles that we could pursue. We chose this film brief because it was an area that we all found interesting and had many ideas for. Our idea is similar to the story told in 'The Jelly Baby Task' that we made. The idea is that we have two girls, best friends or sisters playing together (eg. in a park or house). We would establish the relationship between the girls and put the watchers at ease however the story quickly changes. One girl is taken or goes missing and the rest of the film would be about finding her and getting her home.

We would use fast editing and shots from a hand held camera to build tension and even point of view shots from the perspective of the kidnapper, looking out at the girls. By never showing the face of the kidnapper, we would be building tension and fear levels because you don't know who they are but you know that they are the bad guy. High angle shots of the girls will make them look vulnerable also. Lighting and colour will help us to establish who is good and who is bad. The girls will be in bright clothing and out in the sunlight, whereas the kidnapper will be wearing dark clothes and he will stick to the shadows (eg. under trees, behind corners etc).

Our idea has been accepted by Mrs Black :)

5. The Jelly Baby Task

We had to create a set and story for our jelly babies. We decided to make our story a thriller. Our first two shots had a blue sky, in the other three the sky is black. We thought this would reflect on Yellow's mood and the intentions of the two other jelly babies. Also, places are much scarier in the dark and shadows make people paranoid. The final three shots were building up tension as well as solidifying Red and Black's bad guy persona and the impression that Yellow is innocent and vulnerable. This makes you feel fear when you see the final shot where Red and Black confront Yellow. We used music and speech to help create a tense atmosphere and to help the story flow better.

"This video follows the story of Yellow and Orange, two little jelly girls who are playing at the park when they notice a man hiding behind a tree. The man jumps out with a knife and kills Orange. Yellow is sad and scared and she keeps noticing two men following her. But what will they do to her?"



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4yZVCTkBzo&feature=youtu.be

4. Prelim Task- The Date Room

For our Prelim task we had to create a short video that showed that we understood Match-on-action, shot/reverse shot and the 180 degree rule. We also had to make sure that we had someone entering a room, sitting down and sharing a few words with someone else. We got the help of two of our friends and they starred in our video. It is called The Date Room and is about a blind date that is not very successful! We hope you enjoy :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0R0uVa_j5Lw&feature=youtu.be

4. My Shot Library

I worked with Tammy and Kaisey to create a shot library. It is a collection of different shots and editing techniques put together to make a film that will help us in the future.

Here is the youtube link... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZoNTiZsyRk&feature=youtu.be

1. TaLK Productions

TaLK Productions is the name of the group I am in with Tammy and Kaisey. We created it by fusing our initials together, it is simple but creative and we really like our choice.

Kaisey made our company logo... it's so cool!

First Blog!

Hello, and welcome to my AS Media Blog! My name is Lauren and at the moment I am working on my Prelim task with Tammy and Kaisey. We are working under the name TaLK Productions at the moment and I hope you like the work we produce in the future :)