Creative Project Presentation

'Decay'

Genre: 

Zombie Horror / Thriller, this will be reflected through the use of quite isolated shots, quite a varied pace with a range of shots that change between fast and slow, costumes, props, and make-up will be used to create clear 'Zombie' and 'Survivor' roles. 

Extract:

It is an ending scene.

Target Audience:

My niche target audience is fans of zombie films that show a more 'human' side to the outbreak instead of having a focus on just killing zombies; it is also generally targeted at fans of thrillers and horrors, as well as just fans of zombies. In terms of age it's for 15+.

Stylistic Elements:

There will be a large focus on mise-en-scene particularly due to having to create the right atmosphere, I will also focus on editing due to the range of shot length and to weave together the lines of action; I also feel that sound will be quite important as I want there to be non-diegetic sound during the opening and ending shots but I want the majority to be done using diegetic sound so that it creates a real sense of isolation and stillness.

Influence:

My main influence for the film is 28 Days Later (dir. Danny Boyle) due to the film having a more realistic approach to the genre and also because it puts a lot of focus in how it would be like as a real person as opposed to being a zombie killing machine as is commonly seen in Hollywood films.

Shooting:

Inside College: The end scene of a dark evening landscape can be filmed on the college field.

Outside College: Elmside (a street in New Addington), a field near my house, my house.

Performers:

Jordan James, Alfie Shine, Me.

Creative Practical Proposal

Name of short film:
Decay

Genre:
Monster (zombie), Thriller.

How will the conventions of the genre(s) be shown:

Zombie:

• Features a 'zombie' whether it is a reanimated corpse, an infected person, etc. The 'zombies' are usually defined by their ability to run either fast or slow, and whether they are intelligent or unintelligent.
• Isolation.
• Abandoned locations.
• A range of slow and fast cut shots.
• Dealing with loss.

Thriller:

• Suspense and tension.
• A murderer that is after someone (in this case a zombie) and they are usually shown in small glimpses.
• The protagonist is at least partly unaware of the imminent danger.
• Low lighting.
• A range of slow and fast cut shots.
• A suburban environment.

What aspects of film will I focus on:

• Editing: A range of cuts that change the pace of the sequence for a narrative effect.
• Cinematography: A range of shots that make build tension and help to show isolation.
• Mise-En-Scene: Making the scene look abandoned; zombie SFX.

Influences:

28 Days Later - The isolation and confusion caused by a zombie outbreak.

Shaun of the Dead - A zombie film based in a 'normal' suburban environment.

Similarities between Fish Tank and the first half of Sket.

Similarities between the film Fish Tank, and the first half of the film Sket; the main, strikingly obvious similarity between the films is that both of them can be identified as British Crime films, the crimes committed in the films however is where you can really see the similarities and differences that are within the narrative that help the audience to understand the sort of area that the characters live in; such as in Fish Tank the majority of crimes are quite small, petty, and are usually just dismissed as regular activity and even when a potentially serious crime happens (not the most serious in the film) such as when Mia breaks her old friends nose, there is a only an extremely small consequence as the police turn up at her house looking for her but then give up; another point about this is that even the serious crimes in the film don't seem to have legal consequences, the people just take it into their own hands; this is also shown in Sket as the main crime that is committed throughout the first half of the film is assault and in every case there is seemingly no legal consequence and all that happens is that the characters use their own skewed form of justice which in turn causes more crime to be committed. I feel that the difference in crime between the two films however is that in Sket the crimes are a lot more violent and brutal but don't seem realistic like the violence in Fish Tank does, I feel this is caused by Sket's use of more conventional film shots which turn the violence into the sort you would seem in an action movie as opposed to in Fish Tank where the scenes shot quite mundanely to force a realistic perspective and make audiences feel distress or worry for the characters, this is further shown through the use of sound in the violent scenes; in Sket the scenes of violence tend to have a quick music track in the background to give them a sense of urgency and pace whereas in Fish Tank the fight scenes usually don't have background music which makes the audience focus on what is happening on screen and gives a sense of realism as you are hearing noises from the characters whether it be pain or the sound of them being hit which is used to distress audiences and it shows the impact that violence has on the persons life as opposed to it just being a casual occurrence.
A large similarity between the films is the settings, they are both set on run-down estates but Sket seems as though it is run by drug dealing criminals whereas Fish Tank is just a standard run-down estate that seems to actually be habitable as opposed to Sket where you hardly see anyone apart from the main characters in the streets which sets a strangely eerie tone that may have been intended by the director.
A large difference between the two films is the sound, Sket has a large amount of loud, quick music which is often layered with the sounds of a characters headphones or just by conversation whereas in Fish Tank, music is only really used in scenes where there is a source of music and it is usually used to either show contextual realism (such as the car radio, or the party) or it is used to signify the relationship between Mia and Connor.

How do Mise-En-Scene and Cinematography construct meaning and provoke a response in The Thing? First Draft

The film that I have chosen to analyse is The Thing directed by John Carpenter, 1982. The basic plot of The Thing is that a body-snatcher-esque alien parasite is assimilating (consuming and taking over) members of an Antarctic research facility.  The basic theme of the film, being a sci-fi horror, is fear; which leads to the main stand-out theme of paranoia which causes uncertainty in both the narrative and in the audience. A brief summary of the extract I have chosen is; MacReady (Kurt Russell) who was thrown out into the tundra returns with a flare and dynamite which causes Norris to have a heart attack, the group take him to the doctor who tries to resuscitate him using a defibrillator but Norris has assimilated and his chest cavity opens up and bites off the doctors hands, Norris' body mutates and MacReady takes charge and kills it with a flamethrower; throughout the whole extract there is an underlying sense of paranoia throughout the characters due to the parasite being able to manifest in whatever body it chooses.

The Mise-En-Scene in the film is used to create a sense of both isolation and paranoia for the characters that reaches out to the audience, partly due to the harshness of the setting as the research facility is in the middle of the nowhere, this makes the audience see that even if escape becomes possible the character wouldn't have anywhere to go and would more than likely die of exposure, a way that the setting constructs paranoia is that it's an unfamiliar setting for audiences as Antarctic research facilities aren't exactly a common setting, this allows the film makers to manipulate the setting as at that time the audience didn't really know what to expect from the setting whereas if it was set in some backwater town in the middle of America the audience would have some expectations of the movie prior to watching and wouldn't be watching it with the same uncertainty as they would in the Antarctic setting. The lighting in the scene is used to give a sense of dread, specifically the lighting from the flare as it causes a large part of the mise-en-scene to get flooded with red lighting which provokes a worried response from audiences as it's almost as if it is signalling an impending doom or being used to represent blood; aside from those connotations it also reflects MacReady's anger, as it causes his face to be lit from below which is commonly used in horror films (specifically older horror films) to reveal the monster or evil character as the audience associates the connotations with the person being lit. Another aspect of the mise-en-scene that provokes a feeling of isolation is the positioning of the characters in the frame, specifically at the beginning of the extract as MacReady is on the very edge of the frame in the bottom right whilst the others are close to the centre and at the top left corner of the frame but as the scene progresses they go through a door in the centre of the frame and MacReady, on his own, edges towards the centre from the edge of frame; a way that this framing shows paranoia is that in the extract at 0:31 there are 3 men in frame who are shown to be "allied" as they don't outright suspect each other but the framing of the shot shows that they are paranoid specifically which constructs a level of doubt within the group due to the man on the left who throughout the shots edges away from the group without saying a word, this also shows use of space because that shot is being used to give a backdrop of a new, seemingly quite open, location as a transition from the tight storage (?) room that the extract begins in. The use of props in this extract greatly construct a sense of paranoia, particularly within Macready as he doesn't trust any of the others and would be willing to kill with the flare and dynamite, this provokes a response from the audience that he is likely not assimilated as if he were 'the thing' he wouldn't be threatening them with dynamite, he would just transform and start killing them. The use of props further shows paranoia with Macready and also his isolation in the surgery room when he has the flamethrower, as he is standing isolated in the corner of the room and aiming it around in all directions due to paranoia and his distrust of the other people; Macready isn't the only character however that shows paranoia through the use of a prop, at 1:41 in the extract you see a character (I'm not sure who) pick up a scalpel, seemingly in case Macready gets close but then 'the thing' transforms on the table and the character keeps the scalpel (as he uses it later in the film) due to his paranoia and distrust.
The setting is used to provoke a response in the extract again when they are in the operating room as it looks like a standard blank room that has been turned into a makeshift clinic with the help of some medical equipment and what appears to be a lot of shiny, sterile-looking metal furniture which, whilst giving it the look of a clinic/surgery, also makes it look like a cold and unwelcoming place, provoking the audience to feel like something important is going to happen in that room. The use of costumes and make-up is also done well to construct meaning and provoke an audience response; the costumes are a big part of making the Antarctic climate a believable setting (despite the filming location in Canada) as the characters are wearing actual clothing that an Antarctic Researcher would wear, such as the huge winter coats; the make-up in the beginning of this extract (the ice frozen onto MacReady's face) is also used to reinforce the idea of the Antarctic climate whilst also constructing isolation by showing the effects of exposure which were caused by him being isolated from the group, almost killing him and causing him to feel a large amount of paranoia and anger towards the group of people that isolated him and threw him out into the tundra. The final aspect of mise-en-scene in this extract that I am going to be writing about is the use of special effects, specifically the work of Rob Bottin who designed and created the majority of them. In this extract specifically the special effects are used to provoke a response from the audience as they get to see a glimpse or a scene featuring the grotesque creations that are causing the whole trouble; it also allows audiences to understand the assimilation concept easier as 'the thing' unique and different each time, often manipulating parts of its host during the transformation which provokes the audience to respond with intrigue, fear, and possibly even disgust which puts them in the position of the characters, allowing audiences to empathise with the characters and further develop them. The special effects construct paranoia as they show the audience what the assimilated characters could turn into at any moment without indication which helps convey that the characters don't know who they can trust but it also makes it so that the audience doesn't know who to trust either as any of them may have assimilated.

The cinematography of the film is also used to construct meaning and provoke a response through the use of camera, a key example of this from the extract I chose is at 1:41 when the character picks up the scalpel, the camera has both the scalpel in someones hand, and MacReady in the same shot which shows the characters paranoia towards MacReady and also that he intends to use the scalpel on MacReady.

Extract Presentation Details

Extract: The defibrillator  scene from John Carpenter's The Thing.

Themes/ Emotions: Paranoia, Fear, Vengeance, Shock.

Analytical Techniques for this extract:

Mise-en-scene: Use to analyse the Antarctic Outpost setting, the interior sets that were actually refrigerated to 4°C to make them have a natural 'cold' aesthetic due to the interiors being filmed in Florida, Rob Bottin's amazing special effects work, and general set design, costumes, makeup, etc.

Performance: I'll focus on Kurt Russell's performance mainly and focus on the way that he portrays paranoia, fear, and vengeance whilst also focusing on his reaction to Norris being infected. I'll also be looking at the performance of Copper (the doctor), and Clark (the guy with the beard that takes the scalpel).

Editing:  I'm going to analyse the editing in this extract to explain how it is being used to build tension and also how it is edited (for example focusing on the scalpel) to make the audience think that will have a role in this scene when the key part is Norris being defibrillated. 

Film Extract - The Thing (John Carpenter)

Camera work Analysis - Oldboy and Harry Potter

Oldboy

This extract is from the film Oldboy by Chan-Wook Park; this extract is close to the beginning of the movie and shows the character Oh Daesu's experience after he is freed from the room he had been kept in for 15 years.

At the beginning of the extract the camera starts off as a medium shot at eye level in the corner of an elevator showing a frightened woman, it then pans to Oh Daesu who is pressed up against the wall terrified; this shot was clearly done for comedic purposes as it is showing that he is having trouble adjusting to life and he hasn't even gotten out of the building, following this the camera (which I assume was attached to a jib or a crane) lifts up through a vent in the elevator (CGI vent?) and shows the elevator going down.

Following that scene there is a quite long eye level, close up tracking shot (using a hand held camera) which shows Oh Daesu leaving the building wearing the woman from the elevators glasses and walking nonchalantly across a road whilst a man (who is a part of the narrative at the beginning of the film) jumps off of the building and onto a car, I feel that this shot may have been done to show that wherever Oh Daesu goes he is followed by chaos, I feel the frontal tracking shot was done however to show how in awe he is about being free that he doesn't even turn around when he is almost hit by a van and when he man jumps off of the building.

Another sequence I feel works well is after Oh Daesu crosses the road at 0:56 and there is a crane shot of him looking over the edge which then pans to show who he is looking at before tilting up to show him walking down the stairs towards them; I feel this shot is used to show Oh Daesu's inquisitive character and impulsiveness and to build tension in the audience as they are unsure what he is going to do.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

This is an extract from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in which Harry visits the department of mysteries for the first time.

Near the beginning of the extract there is a sort of shot-reverse-shot at eye level of Arthur trying (and failing) to get through a barrier into a tube station, the shot switches from the side of the barrier they are on to the opposite side of the barrier which then pans to the right as Arthur gets through, this scene was shot like this for comedic value as it helps to show the muggles walking throughout the scene whilst Arthur is amazed and confused by the technology of the barrier and thinks he has to hit the oyster reader to open the gate, it also allows the camera to show Harry explaining how to work the reader  whilst also showing Arthur's cluelessness.

Later in the extract, in the ministry of magic there is an extreme long crane shot that shows the crowds and pans to show the whole of the inside the ministry to create a sense of awe among the audience to make them empathise with Harry at that moment in the film.
Another sequence from the extract is when Lucius Malfoy is talking to the Minister of magic, there is a medium-close shot at eye level of them talking but it is also a long shot of Arthur and Harry walking past an catching them talking; this scene was filmed this way to infer that the Minister was perhaps taking a bribe or that him and Lucius were talking about ways to affect Harry's trial and it creates a sinister tone.

In Bruges - Assessment

"How does 'In Bruges' use Mise-En-Scene to reflect and develop the characters of Ray, Ken and Harry? How does the performance style of Colin Farrell (Ray) , Brendan Gleeson (Ken) and Ralph Fiennes (Harry) also reflect and develop character?"

The Mise En Scene of the film is used in this case as a strong character development device as it seems to be used to reflect the nature of the characters (especially Ray and Ken) and how they truly feel about the situation that they are in.

An example of how the Mise En Scene reflects the characters is the way that the Old Town of Bruges, where the majority of the film is set, is often referred to during the movie as being a “fairytale town” and could be a reflection of the persona that the characters have created for themselves as being tough, hardened hitmen when throughout the movie it is revealed that even though they kill people for money, it doesn’t mean that they don’t feel guilt or have morals that they like to pertain to; especially Harry who even though throughout the film he is shown to be the strict, serious, and a powerful figure that Ralph Fiennes plays excellently, with a powerful and almost chilling stature that causes the audience to immediately be aware that he is the antagonist of the film and this can also be seen in his other movies as he played Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter franchise which could have been the reason that he was cast for the part as Harry.

The costumes are also strongly used to reflect their characters for example Ray, who is seen to be inexperienced and less serious about the job, spends most of the movie wearing quite floral, and more vibrant dress shirts underneath a suit jacket which would make a hitman stand out and be noticeable as opposed to Harry and Ken who tend to wear darker clothes to seem inconspicuous and less noticeable as they realise that it may make them more identifiable.

The acting style that Colin Farrell uses to portray Ray is reminiscent of the tragedy genre as he is trying to bury his emotions and keep himself calm whilst the narrative reveals that he has killed a child; this behaviour can be seen through the Colin Farrell's use of expression and body language when he tells the 'jokes' that are actually true stories about his life for example when he's in the restaurant with Chloe and tells her that he kills people for money to which she laughs, asking who he kills and he responds "Priests, children, you know... the usual." and you can tell by his body language that he is extremely nervous and you see that he is trying to forget, or at least come to terms with, what he's done; this also makes the acting style naturalistic as the audience is supposed to believe him and feel empathy for him; another point is that the part of Ray was supposed to be English but due to Colin Farrell's portrayal and also due to Brendan Gleeson's performance, they changed the narrative to make Ray and Ken Irish.

The acting style that Brendan Gleeson uses to portray Ken seems quite patriarchal towards Ray, in that you can tell that in some form he cares about Ray even going as far to sacrifice his life for Ray to have the chance of a better life and you can see this care especially through Brendan Gleeson's voice when he says to Ray "Then save the next little boy. Just go away somewhere, get out of this business, and try to do something good." and you can tell by his facial expression that he truly wants Ray to leave because he knows that he can contribute to something better because he can turn the pain he feels into a sort of passion to help.

The use of Mise En Scene is also used to foreshadow the events that happen about half way into the movie as it shows the ancient, grey buildings early on whilst music from the early romantic period such as Der Leiermann from Franz Schubert's song cycle Winterreise (Literally meaning Winter Journey) which is appropriate for the scene as it is about a man playing music in the streets but no-one is giving him any money or taking notice of him and he wants to give up because even dogs are growling at him but he just carries on playing; this could have been an intentional choice as it is quite reminiscent of Ray  and this piece is played throughout the movie and sets quite a depressive tone for the film which helps the audience to emphasise with and allows Colin Farrell to utilise this and further develop Ray through his almost tragic portrayal.

Mise En Scene is also used to in Harry's house to reflect his character, for example his house seems quite minimalist and smart with more neutral colours; the reason for making it quite minimalist and smart could be to reflect the amount of professionalism that Harry has whilst also implying his superiority over Ray and Ken based on the style of his house but also because he has the ability to send Ken and Ray to a different country and at a moments notice can himself fly to another country without any sort of hassle.

In conclusion I feel that Mise En Scene has been used extremely well in showing a clear reflection of the true characters and also in allowing the actors to adjust to the role and use their own performance styles to develop the character, helping them seem more believable whilst also giving the audience a sense of empathy and familiarity.

Acting Performance Analysis

The performance that I am going to be analysing is the actor Leonardo DiCaprio playing Calvin Candie in the film Django Unchained; I am going to be analysing his performance in 5 key points.

Physical Characteristics:

Height - 6' 0"
Weight - Average
Age - 38
Ethnicity - White American
Nationality - American
Speaking Style - American English with a Californian accent

What the actor has done for the role:
For the role as with most characters in the film, he has grown out his hair and beard to be more era-appropriate, he also seems to have learnt to speak in a southern dialect as in his character is from Mississippi, also in interviews he admitted to being uncomfortable with his role as his character is extremely racist and narcissistic and after rehearsals felt like dropping the role but was convinced by his co-stars to continue with the movie.

Acting Style:
His acting style in this film is supposed to be both historical and natural as he is playing a character from the 1800's that is supposed to be believable and seem like he is from the era.

Traits and function of the character:
The character he portrays owns a plantation, slaves, and at one point takes entertainment from watching them fight; he also smokes with a cigarette holder (like Johnny Depp in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas) which in the context implies his wealth; the character also seems to be quite defensive and inquisitive in that he doesn't really trust anyone other than Samuel L Jackson's character so his body language is quite tense as he is trying to read people and keeps his guard up.

Key Scene:
In my opinion this is the key scene that defines Leonardo DiCaprio being what I believe to be an amazing actor:

The main reason that I feel this scene shows how good the performance is, is because at 1:44 he wasn't actually supposed to smash the glass as it wasn't a fake glass prop and he actually cut his hand open enough to require stitches but then carried on with the scene using it to enhance his performance and went on to use it in the next scene when he uses his blood to get a reaction from Kerry Washington making it seem organic and real simply because it is.

Prop Analysis: Big Kahuna Burger - Pulp Fiction

The scene I have chosen to show how an object is made significant; is the scene from Pulp Fiction in which Jules eats the Big Kahuna Burger (and sprite).

In this scene the prop(s) in question is Brett’s cheese burger from Big Kahuna Burger (and a sprite) that Jules asks for and starts to eat; this is a good example of making an object significant as Tarantino takes an object would probably be overlooked and instead makes it a part of the narrative and a way to help develop the character of Jules and show how intimidating he is in that he can quite literally just walk in to someone’s apartment and take their breakfast, it also helps to show how the character Marsellus Wallace can instil fear, giving the audience an idea of the sort of person he is.  The scene also shows Jules trying to make Brett lower his guard by politely asking him for the burger and drink and also allows the character to give some backstory when he explains to Brett why he doesn’t usually eat burgers which leads to Jules introducing Brett to Vince who is in the background looking for Marsellus Wallace’s briefcase and you can tell from his responses that he is focused. Another thing about the scene is that Samuel L. Jackson’s performance is impeccable and makes the scene perfect as he executes the lines in a way that is unique and memorable, also the whole time he is trying to keep eye contact on Brett which makes the Jules, particularly in the shot when he is drinking the sprite seem like he is trying to read Brett and trying to figure out how to be when Vince finds the briefcase.      

Mise-En-Scene Analysis

Mise-En-Scene:

Mise-En-Scene means quite literally means 'Placing on stage' in French and is used to describe what the audience see in the frame and is taken to mean that everything that the audience see has been put there for a reason.

Scene: Reservoir Dogs Torture scene.

Set Design:

I feel the set has been designed perfectly for the scene as it makes the audience feel that the majority of the film was shot inside an abandoned warehouse which works with the plot to make it seem like a place that someone may well run to after failing a crime as the area seems quite secluded when the Michael Madsen goes out to his car.

Lighting:

The lighting of this scene is done well as it simply looks like sunlight coming through the windows and it lights up the key parts of the scene such as the Policeman being lit well and Tim Roth’s character on the ramp has decent lighting on him, which works well for the end of the clip. Also the use of shadow makes the warehouse seem larger and like a more real environment.

Space:

Space is one of the key aspects that makes this a great scene in my opinion, it shows the vastness of the set and also allows for the camera  to have room to move around; it also allows for the key scene of the ear being cut off to be shot off screen which makes the viewers focus on the sounds of what is happening whilst also adding an amount of ambiguity to the scene which helps to build tension.

Composition:

You can tell from, the scene that the composition has been thought about quite extensively before filming as everything is framed perfectly when it is supposed to for example when Michael Madsen is just walking around it is filmed quite loosely and he isn’t always in the centre of the frame which gives the viewers a sense of normality and realism and makes his character seem more psychotic, the composition is also used to make Tim Roth seem like he is completely irrelevant to the scene and makes the audience forget about him until the end when he shoots Michael Madsen; the best example of composition in my opinion though is when the policeman is getting his ear cut off and the camera pans away from what is actually happening and focuses on a corner which just looks like a bland, normal wall and it makes the scene great as it makes the audience focus on what they can hear and reminds them that it isn’t in a fancy lair or a place from an action film, it’s just in an ordinary warehouse.

Acting:

The acting of this scene, primarily being Michael Madsen, is amazing; I feel he completely makes the role his own and portrays the characters psychotic although strangely normal personality perfectly.

Even though it isn’t a part of Mise-En-Scene I am going to mention the sound as it completely makes the scene and the use of fading when Michael Madsen goes outside really makes the audience feel immersed and the gruesome sounds used when the policeman’s ear is cut off create an image in the audiences head and keep the movie interesting even though it isn’t shown; this is all happening set to the song  Stuck in the Middle with You, by Stealers Wheel.

Sound of Cinema - The music that made the movies. Assessment.

 

Presented by the composer/performer Neil Brand, the first part of this 3 part documentary primarily focuses on the music used in the era of silent films and the beginning of  spoken film, this includes silent films which have the music played live in the cinema in which they weren’t told a specific song to play by the film maker and had to play what they thought was best; and moving on to when directors started to include a soundtrack on the film, one of the first being The Assassination of the Duke of Guise which was composed by Camille Saint-Saens in 1908.

He also moved on to talk about the amazing soundtrack of King Kong (1933) which was composed by Max Steiner and cost the studio $50,000 and Max Steiner used experimental techniques such as using a leitmotif to keep in time by punching a small hole of the 35mm film that when played through headphones created a sort of metronome effect.

  After this he went to the Warner Brothers film lot and talked about the soundtrack of The Adventures of Rob Hood that was composed by Erich Wolfgang Korngold who was given an academy award for the score which was the first time that a composer rather than the music department was given an award.

 Brand then starts to talk about how it took Bernard Herrmann to bring soundtracks into a dark, grittier place as is seen in his work with Alfred Hitchcock in Psycho and with Martin Scorsese in The Taxi Driver.

 To wrap the first episode up Brand speaks with Scorsese to discuss film score and talk about working with Bernard Herrmann; and then he spoke with Hans Zimmer that has composed some of the most iconic modern film soundtracks whilst working predominantly with Christopher Nolan on Inception and The Dark Knight trilogy.



First Recorded Assignment. (Scenario "Only Five Minutes to Save the World")

This is a joint blog post with  http://coulsdonfilmkrystyanhacker-hurnn.blogspot.co.uk/ 

The goal of this project was a to create a 5 minute (or less) film with the scenario of "Only Five Minutes to Save the World" 

It had to meet the criteria of:

• At least 5 shots
• A storyboard
• 30 Mins to film
• No disturbing other classes
• No being killed

Scene 1: The Table Scene

We used this scene to try and introduce the character roles and the event to audiences in a short period of time without having too much exposure, this scene was recorded after 3 rehearsals.

Scene 2: The Stairwell

In this scene the character that is doubting that the apocalypse is happening falls down a stairwell and dies, we did this to create a sense of irony as the character believed all was fine.

 This was filmed after 2 rehearsals.

Scene 3: The Running Scene

In this scene new character is introduced whilst one of the other characters runs off out of the scene, this was done to shock the viewer and to make them wonder where he went.

This scene took 1 rehearsal and had to be recorded quickly because people were walking in and out of the college.

 

 

Scene 4: The Falling Scene

 

This scene was shot quite close and shows one of the characters smoking a cigarette to try and calm his nerves, we also used another cigarette to try and imitate smoke coming out of a hole in the ground.

This scene took 1 rehearsal.

 

Scene 5: The 'End It' Scene

 

 

This scene also used a cigarette to creat the same smoke effect as before but we had to do it quickly as the cigarette was almost out, also this was the only scene filmed without a rehearsal and we didn't really know when to stop recording so that's why at the end the character says 'End it?' but we added a 6th scene to make up for that.

Scene 6: T'was all a dream.

 

This scene was added last minute just so that it added an extra story element to our film and also so that the parts in the film that were messed up could just be seen as intentional, therefore it made it so the character saying 'End it?' could have been talking to the main character that makes him wake up.

This scene also wasn't rehearsed.

Film Studies favourite and least favourite films

Film Studies

Why my favourite film is my favourite film:

At the moment my favourite film is Fight Club, one of the main reasons being that I love the book Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk which is what the film is based on and the film is in fact written by the same man; another reason that this is my favourite film is because I feel the casting is perfect and the actors work incredibly well in their parts and also work well with the director, David Fincher which brings me to my next point. I personally feel that David Fincher has been pretty up and down when it comes to film making and in my opinion peaked with Fight Club, however I also really like Se7en and Zodiac. I think that back on the subject of Fight Club that David Fincher handled the themes of Fight Club extremely well and even Chuck Palahniuk has said that he prefers the film adaptation to the to the book that he wrote. One of the main reasons that this is my favourite movie is based on the cinematography, I feel the movie is shot extremely well and the use of colours compliments the tone of the film perfectly. 

Also, Meatloaf.

Why my I dislike a film:

I'm not really sure what my least favourite film is as there are a huge amount of terrible and forgettable films that I could easily pick, for this though I am going to to say Hellraiser, as I saw it recently and didn't really think it was as great as I had been told and was completely different to what I expected it to be as I went into it thinking it was a slasher movie having only seen pictures of Pinhead but it turned out to be an extremely slow paced horror movie hat tried to build suspense in ways that I found quite silly for example a man cutting his hand open on the sharpest rusty nail ever; also from what I remember of the film it didn't really seem to go anywhere or have any sort of conclusion. I do however feel that the special effects and makeup departments did a great job and it's a good example of classic 80's horror effects; however the characters in the movie were pretty odd but I feel that may have been intentional and I'm going to try and rematch it soon but go into it with a different mindset.