In lesson we were asked to create a shark bite opening for the horror film we where asked to create a step outline for our horror story:
The scene opens focused on a police car radio which begins to ring and is answered by the police officer in the drivers seat. The call they have receive is to tell them to investigate a call from a scared girl who claims to have witnessed her friends be murdered in the woods and who is currently located at a near by farm house. The scene then cuts to a long of the house with the police car approaching it. There is then a quick cut to the police officers arriving at the house and then enter the house cautiously and begin to search for the girl. The camera switches to a point of view shot looking through the open kitchen door and their are two people with their backs to the officers sat on chairs. The police then call to them but receive no response so the police officers begin to move towards the motionless figures (Still in the POV shot). One of the police officers reaches out towards the male and as he asserts pressure on the males shoulder the body falls to the floor and it is revealed that the two teens were dead. The police to back away and as they do the camera is lowered to feet level and as the police officers back away another pair of feet are revealed. There is a noise of shock from the police officer and the screen fades to black.
Wednesday, 22 September 2010
Tuesday, 21 September 2010
Narrative Theory's: Shark Model
There are several theory's about the narrative of Film and TV; one of these is the Shark Model. The model suggests that you immediately grab the viewers attention by having a shock/ shark bite opening scene, which rather then setting the scene for the rest of the film it immediately starts the action of the film. It then progresses into the body of the story or the shark where we find out about the characters and the story develops leading up towards the tail of the film where the film is brought to its conclusion. There are several films which fit into the Shark Model including most modern day horror films which tend to use the Shark body narrative, but it is not a new theory with the shark model been used since at least the 70's, and probably longer, including in the film Jaws.
Tuesday, 14 September 2010
Creation of a Horror Narrative
Death Trip
Conventional Narrative
Start of story - Car full of happy teenagers is driving along a duel carriageway during the middle of the day. Inside the car the teenagers are having a party; Drinking,Smoking etc. Girl driving the car seems annoyed at her friends behavior. It is revealed they are on their way to a music festival. The girl driving announces she needs the toilet and pulls up on the hard shoulder.
Complication - The girl takes longer then would normally be expected and the friends in the car sent one of the other girls to go hurry her up. The girl hears a scream and runs back in fear to tell her friends in the car. They all get out of the car and begin to search for the missing girl. They reach a clearing and lying in the middle of the clearing is the girls hand-held camera which she took with her for light. They start to worry about where their friend is and in the panic the girl who originally heard the scream trips over a rock and falls into a hole. Her friends start laughing and then go to help her realizing in horror that the pit was a trap and full of spikes and the girl has been killed. They run back to the car only to realize that the original girl who was driving the car had taken the keys with her! They have a discussion and one of the guys ends up staying with the car trying to hitch a lift and the other 2 end up going to look for their missing friend. After hours of searching they return to the car to find their friend long gone. They decide to sleep in the car. During the night they are woken by a large bang as something hits the top of the car. They get out and find out to their horror it is the body of the boy that they left earlier by the car.
Ending - They run down Duel carriageway towards a light they believe to be a house. They reach the house and as they are knocking on it the house opens by itself. They enter the kitchen and find their missing friend sat drinking a cup of tea. The girl carrying the camera drops it and then the picture cuts out and all the audience can hear is screaming ...
Alternative Narrative Structure ideas
The film opens with the police finding the house where the girl is after everything that happens during the story. They find the girl in the house and believe she is a survivor. The police the then find the car and start investigating the scene of the murders and start to draw up their own conclusions about what happened to the group of teens. Towards the end of the film the police at the house find the camera and start to view the real events through which it becomes apparent that the girl is the murderer the film then ends with the police trying to find the girl.
Ending - They run down Duel carriageway towards a light they believe to be a house. They reach the house and as they are knocking on it the house opens by itself. They enter the kitchen and find their missing friend sat drinking a cup of tea. The girl carrying the camera drops it and then the picture cuts out and all the audience can hear is screaming ...
Alternative Narrative Structure ideas
The film opens with the police finding the house where the girl is after everything that happens during the story. They find the girl in the house and believe she is a survivor. The police the then find the car and start investigating the scene of the murders and start to draw up their own conclusions about what happened to the group of teens. Towards the end of the film the police at the house find the camera and start to view the real events through which it becomes apparent that the girl is the murderer the film then ends with the police trying to find the girl.
Analysis of Genre in Film Posters
Film posters are a way of advertising a film before it is released at cinema. This means that posters have to take certain images from a film to give some message about the events of the film. They will generally give a sense of the genre of the film. To prove this i am going to analyze 3 film film posters:
This poster suggests that the films main characters are 2 young adults and that the film is set in London about the 21st Century - we can tell this because it is a very familiar sky line. The poster gives quite a clear message that the film is a horror film. There are many different different elements of the poster that suggests the film will be a horror; The body language and expression on the faces of the 2 young adults show fear - as well as the fact that the older looking girl seems to be sheltering the younger boy. The fact the figures in the background have been blacked out also seems to suggest horror as we can't tell their identity of them and this creates a sense of mystery about their identity (unless you have seen the original film), The final suggestion towards the film been a horror film is the tag line of the film "Week Twenty Eight: No Escape" which suggests horror due to the words no escape because that suggests there's something happening to escape from.
The poster for Mean Girls suggests that the main character in the film is Lindsay Lohan - who is on the left hand side and is also emphasized by the fact that she is the only character that has the actresses name above her. It also seems to show the other 3 girls as other major characters - possibly as the protagonists of the film. The poster gives very little information as to where or when the film is set. The only indication is the style of clothes the characters are wearing which suggests that the film is set in modern times and possibly in one of the richer countries in the world. The picture suggests that the 3 girls are friends whereas it suggests that Lindsay Lohan's character is a loner or is not friends with the other girls. The color scheme of the poster suggests that the film is a chick flick as it has quite a bit of pink in it and pink is normally associated with feminine films. Also the fact that all the characters are female which suggests the film is more oriented towards a female audience who will be able to relate with the characters.
Poster 3: Alice in Wonderland (2010 Version)
This extended poster for Tim Burton's 2010 version of classic children's tale Alice in Wonderland shows many of the films characters. The characters of the film suggest that it has surreal element to it for example their is a rabbit wearing a waist coat. The setting also adds to the fact the genre of the film is probably a fantasy film because it is unlike any setting that you would normally see on the Earth. The dress's in the film seem to be quite old fashioned suggesting that wherever the film is set it may be less developed then our earth.
Poster 1: 28 Weeks Later
This poster suggests that the films main characters are 2 young adults and that the film is set in London about the 21st Century - we can tell this because it is a very familiar sky line. The poster gives quite a clear message that the film is a horror film. There are many different different elements of the poster that suggests the film will be a horror; The body language and expression on the faces of the 2 young adults show fear - as well as the fact that the older looking girl seems to be sheltering the younger boy. The fact the figures in the background have been blacked out also seems to suggest horror as we can't tell their identity of them and this creates a sense of mystery about their identity (unless you have seen the original film), The final suggestion towards the film been a horror film is the tag line of the film "Week Twenty Eight: No Escape" which suggests horror due to the words no escape because that suggests there's something happening to escape from.
Poster 2: Mean Girls
The poster for Mean Girls suggests that the main character in the film is Lindsay Lohan - who is on the left hand side and is also emphasized by the fact that she is the only character that has the actresses name above her. It also seems to show the other 3 girls as other major characters - possibly as the protagonists of the film. The poster gives very little information as to where or when the film is set. The only indication is the style of clothes the characters are wearing which suggests that the film is set in modern times and possibly in one of the richer countries in the world. The picture suggests that the 3 girls are friends whereas it suggests that Lindsay Lohan's character is a loner or is not friends with the other girls. The color scheme of the poster suggests that the film is a chick flick as it has quite a bit of pink in it and pink is normally associated with feminine films. Also the fact that all the characters are female which suggests the film is more oriented towards a female audience who will be able to relate with the characters.
Poster 3: Alice in Wonderland (2010 Version)
This extended poster for Tim Burton's 2010 version of classic children's tale Alice in Wonderland shows many of the films characters. The characters of the film suggest that it has surreal element to it for example their is a rabbit wearing a waist coat. The setting also adds to the fact the genre of the film is probably a fantasy film because it is unlike any setting that you would normally see on the Earth. The dress's in the film seem to be quite old fashioned suggesting that wherever the film is set it may be less developed then our earth.
Friday, 10 September 2010
Genre
In our 1st lessons we have been looking at Genre. Wikipedia describes genre as 'the term for any category of various forms of art or culture' - in the case we are looking at it is used to define the type of a film, for example Star Wars would be mainly classed as been in the Sci-Fi Genre (although it can fit into other genres).
The Genre of a film will often effect the way the film is shot as there are several conventions and technical codes that will most of often be used in one genre. The Horror genre often uses the same conventions and technical codes. Horror films will very often use the dark and an isolated setting to create the tension that the film makers which the audience to feel. Horror films will also tend to use blood and gore much more then films that are classed as belonging to other genres.
Example of genre in a specific film:
One of the major blockbuster hits of the summer of 2010 was Christopher Nolan's film Inception. The film can actually be classed as several different genres. One of the main genres of the film is Science Fiction, of which there are many elements of that genre throughout the film. One of the main elements of the film that adds towards the science fiction genre is that in the film the characters are able to use technology to infiltrate and explore another persons dreams. This is a science fiction device as it is currently impossible to read another persons dream. Inception can also be classed as an action film as it features high speed chases, gun fights and quite a few explosions all of which are most commonly used in the action genre. The ending of the film however can make the film be classed as a suspense because it leaves the audience of the film wondering and questioning the events of the film.
The Genre of a film will often effect the way the film is shot as there are several conventions and technical codes that will most of often be used in one genre. The Horror genre often uses the same conventions and technical codes. Horror films will very often use the dark and an isolated setting to create the tension that the film makers which the audience to feel. Horror films will also tend to use blood and gore much more then films that are classed as belonging to other genres.
Example of genre in a specific film:
One of the major blockbuster hits of the summer of 2010 was Christopher Nolan's film Inception. The film can actually be classed as several different genres. One of the main genres of the film is Science Fiction, of which there are many elements of that genre throughout the film. One of the main elements of the film that adds towards the science fiction genre is that in the film the characters are able to use technology to infiltrate and explore another persons dreams. This is a science fiction device as it is currently impossible to read another persons dream. Inception can also be classed as an action film as it features high speed chases, gun fights and quite a few explosions all of which are most commonly used in the action genre. The ending of the film however can make the film be classed as a suspense because it leaves the audience of the film wondering and questioning the events of the film.
Coursework Brief
Welcome,
As part of our coursework we have been asked to produced a blog to record the planning and production stages of the creation of a Short Film that we will produce this year. The brief for the rest of the coursework is to produce a Short Film, 3-5 minutes long, that includes the themes of Time and Technology, A Poster for the film and a Double Page Magazine article featuring our film.
As part of our coursework we have been asked to produced a blog to record the planning and production stages of the creation of a Short Film that we will produce this year. The brief for the rest of the coursework is to produce a Short Film, 3-5 minutes long, that includes the themes of Time and Technology, A Poster for the film and a Double Page Magazine article featuring our film.
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